CSBG DCL Training and Technical Assistance FY 2012
Community Services Block Grant Program
Dear Colleague Letter
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Office of Community Services
Division of State Assistance
370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20447
Dear Colleague:
In our efforts to ensure a comprehensive system of Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) targeted at the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Network, the Office of Community Services (OCS) reorganized and awarded grants in Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 to various organizations with significant expertise in providing T/TA to State Lead Agencies (comprised of the 10 Regional Performance Innovation Consortia (RPIs)), CSBG-eligible Entities, CSBG State Associations, Community Action Agencies (CAAs), and Tribal Organizations.
We are excited to highlight a very important component of these efforts, made possible through a partnership between the National Association for State Community Services Programs (NASCSP) and the Community Action Partnership (CAP). The CSBG T/TA Resource Center is a web-based application developed specifically for the CSBG Network, and is designed to provide a broad range of resources which can be helpful in all areas of CSBG administration and program delivery.
We hope that State CSBG offices, State Associations, and the Lead Associations will work together to ensure that T/TA is well-coordinated and information is disseminated to CAAs. Improving how States and State Associations work together maximizes the T/TA investments OCS makes. While it is not the only site available to the CSBG Network, nor is it exhaustive, it provides a unique set of functions in one location:
- A Request Mechanism to ask for T/TA from CAP or NASCSP;
- A Consultant Bank consisting of qualified individuals or organizations that can provide T/TA;
- A Resource Bank with evidence-based/ evidence-informed programs, toolkits, and resource guides;
- A Share Calendar which provides a platform to list conferences, training sessions, webinars, or other special events of interest to the CSBG Network; and
- A Discussion Forum which can be used to engage in online discussions and share information with colleagues across the country.
To ensure confidentiality:
- State CSBG Offices are directed to their colleagues at NASCSP when they enter requests for assistance.
- CAAs and State Associations are directed to CAP when they enter T/TA requests.
- NASCSP and CAP only have access to aggregate information of the other groups.
This comprehensive database is designed to help coordinate the T/TA needs of the CSBG Network, with the involvement of national technical assistance partners (such as NASCSP, CAP, CAPLAW, Inc., Meliora, Inc.) as well as RPIs, and a contractor organization involved in a Tribal technical assistance project (Lux Consulting). OCS is encouraging all grantees to use the system to track and coordinate their T/TA work to the extent possible. The goal is to capture the broadest possible picture of the T/TA efforts occurring throughout the Network.
The CSBG T/TA Resource Center can be accessed through the CAP or NASCSP websites. We strongly encourage CSBG State Lead Agencies, CSBG-eligible Entities and State Associations to make use of this important and valuable resource by completing the registration process. Moreover, we urge you to begin using the resources available to you through this important tool.
To register, please visit the NASCSP
or CAP
website(s). For further assistance and information, please contact Sandra Mendez at NASCSP [smendez@nascsp.org or (623) 748-3788] or Denise Harlow at CAP [dharlow@communityactionpartnership.com or (202) 595-0660].
Respectfully,
Seth Hassett, M.S.W
Director
Division of State Assistance