TheConnector

TheCONNECTOR is Youth Community Connections’ (YCC) communication tool for sharing updates and for seeking action from its partners. TheCONNECTOR contains the following highlights:

RECENT NEWS AND EVENTS
YCC's New Funders Database is Now Ready for Use!
2010 Legislative Session Comes to an End
National Afterschool Matters Initiative Practitioner Fellowships

YCC Launches New Funders Database
Youth Community Connections has partnered with Access Philanthropy to develop a searchable Youth Funders Database.  This online database was designed for youth service providers, organizations, and other stakeholders to search for funding opportunities and search for organizations that fund quality opportunities for children and youth in Minnesota. Click on the following link to access the database:http://www.accessphilanthropy.com/clients/youth-community-connections/

2010 Legislative Session Comes to an End
May 20, 2010

The 2010 Legislative Session came to an end, May 17, 2010, after a last minute deal was struck between the Governor and leadership of the Minnesota Senate and House to fix the $3 billion budget deficit.  The late budget agreement required the legislature to go into “overtime," which was called by the Governor to allow the House and Senate time to pass the necessary legislation. 

The budget deal addresses Minnesota’s current budget deficit through cuts in government spending and a nearly $2 billion cost shift in payments to schools.  The budget bill has a provision stating that school districts will be paid back in the next biennium, but does not provide a funding source or mechanism to guarantee the repayment.    

In addition to the late hour budget deal, the 2010 Legislature reduced spending in March by roughly $312 Million.  These budget cuts included reductions to Local Government Aid (LGA), Public Safety and Higher Education.  The Youth Intervention Programs funds were reduced in this bill by 1.5% beginning FY 2011.

There are several omnibus bills that did not make it through the legislative process this session, including the K-12 Education and Health and Human Services Bills. 


Farewell to a Key Youth Advocate
While several legislators announced their retirement, we want to acknowledge the leadership of State Senator and Co-Chair of the Children and Youth Caucus, Mee Moua who unexpectedly announced her retirement this past weekend. Her leadership will be greatly missed!

National Afterschool Matters Initiative Practitioner Fellowships
The National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST) at the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College is accepting applications for the National Afterschool Matters Initiative Practitioner Fellowships for Out-of-School Time (OST) mid-level career professionals in the Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Minneapolis areas. The Fellowship will be conducted by and based at three locations for the National Writing Project:  The Bay Area Writing Project at UC Berkeley, the Philadelphia Writing Project at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Writing Project at the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis.  This year-long Fellowship will address a critical need in the out-of-school time field: A long-term professional development opportunity that, through inquiry, supports knowledge generation by practitioners themselves to identify program improvement strategies and features of effective out-of-school time programs.  

Please see the Program Overview for more information, and complete the National Afterschool Matters Practitioner Fellowships application. For more information on the practitioner fellowships, visit http://www.niost.org/content/view/1673/310. Call Sara Hill at 917.418.3780 or email her sara@sarahill.net should you have any questions.

Youth Community Connections
200 Oak Street SE, Suite 270B ~ Minneapolis, MN 55455
PH: 612.627.0160
WEB: www.youthcommunityconnections.org