April 1, 2017
Program Development & Training Officer
Major projects completed –
AmeriCorps Member Conference was held March 29th at Thomas College in Waterville. 103 AmeriCorps members and 17 program staff members attended. Initial feedback has been positive. Session specific feedback is being aggregated. AARP Maine continued to sponsor the conference, as the did last year, but at a slightly lower contribution level. Members on the planning committee were able to also secure a sponsorship from Oakhurst Dairy.
AmeriCorps Opioid Initiative: Transitioned from initial lead agency to a more likely candidate and worked with contractors and with agency to develop a smaller scale program that would work with available funding, focusing on Aroostook, Hancock and Washington counties. Made contact with county Commissioners to develop commitments to partner in the efforts with monetary support. Also reached out to DHHS office of Substance Abuse and Prevention to ask them to contribute cash support to the program.
Service Enterprise: Continued working with midcoast Service Enterprise cohort. Effort this month included hosting the 3rd training session and extending the timeline to incorporate more individualized coaching with the involved sites. Cancer Community Center completed their input into the SE Diagnostic and which was completed and followed with an agency specific meeting focused on interpreting the results.
AmeriCorps Rural: Ramped up outreach to organizations likely to have interest in the Rural Initiative, focusing on organizations in the rim counties and emphasizing the goals of the program. Initial outreach was to sixteen organizations, with individualized follow up to seven. Outreach was also aimed at organizations with statewide networks of affiliate organizations (i.e. state library network.)
Participated in events in Portland and Bangor that offered unique targeted networking opportunities. The Portland session focused on the Orten Foundation’s support for “Heart of” community planning efforts that have included AmeriCorps support in the past. The Bangor event focused on was to attract talent and young professionals to the state; which AmeriCorps service does.
Provided individualized AC technical assistance training on financial management to RSU 14 and background check procedures to Maine Conservation Corps.
Continued low level outreach for AmeriCorps Affiliate opportunity – next deadline is June 2017. Also continued outreach for organizations interested in developing AmeriCorps NCCC projects.
Continued proctoring of Winter session Certificate in Management of Volunteers novice level course and created waiting list of individuals interested in participating in the late spring session.
Issues to be aware of –
Opioid Initiative continues to hinge almost entirely on the issue of identifying local cash support. Work this month was focused largely on working with lead applicant on marshalling adequate local match. The applicant, at one point, elected to forego the opportunity and so a significant effort was made to support them in going forward – including a face to face meeting in Ellsworth.
The Rural RFP took longer than expected in getting final approval from the Office of Purchases (which is transitioning to a new paperless contracting system). This pushes the due date later into May, which will shorten the available window for application review.
Uncertainty over the federal budget for the current year has impacted new applicant outreach. It also has the potential to impact award dates and, thus, program start dates. It has become necessary to include information about these eventualities in outreach to develop new applicants.
Major focus of effort in the new month –
Identification of funding sources for Opioid Initiative and working with consultants and lead agency in finalizing application (if DHHS is able to commit to monetary support).
Finalize both proctoring and instructing CMV course and completing Service Enterprise training of midcoast cohort.
Complete outreach for Rural AmeriCorps Initiative and notify contacts of RFP release.
Connect E & E membership with Service Enterprise Training Staff to share information on SE statewide structure (E & E) and on Business model and associated training costs (Trainers) that each has been working on through the winter.
Other activity –
Ongoing participation on conference planning team for National Service Regional Conference, scheduled for early June.
Regular AmeriCorps Technical Assistance to existing grantees via email, teleconference & face to face.
Staff support for E & E task Force
Procurement system management and initial entry of financial documents in state purchasing system, including purchase orders, bids, and contracts.