February 2, 2018
Present: David Wihry, Ed Barrett, Nicki Pellenz, Carol Rancourt, Dan Hinman, Laurel Bernier, Maryalice Crofton, Beth Lambert
The task force met by web conference and convened at 8:30 am.
DISCUSSION ITEMS:
1. Task force membership changes.
Aaron Dombroski resigned from the Commission so he has left the task force. Dan Hinman is the newest Commissioner and has joined the task force. Dan introduced himself.
2. Strategic plan stakeholder meeting
This session will be April 6 from 9am to 4pm in Waterville. (Location may shift slightly.) It is designed to combine the public input required under law and consultation with leaders in volunteer and community service about strategies and priorities. If task force members think certain folks should be invited, please submit the name/title/email to Maryalice as soon as possible. The save-the-date invitation will go out late Monday.
3. AmeriCorps strategic priorities competition is underway.
This is an AmeriCorps State Competitive special grant cycle. CNCS dropped the federal Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) on January 12. Maine received funding last summer to develop AmeriCorps program proposals related to child abuse prevention, support for youth aging out of foster care, and infrastructure (rural transportation). The Commission call for proposals has been developed and sent to state procurement for review. The legal notice for applications should appear the week of Feb. 26 with a due date of March 29.
4. EMDC Northern Maine AmeriCorps Collaborative.
Unexpectedly, this AmeriCorps program’s sources of grantee share are restored so the program can start. EMDC is proposing they reduce the size to fit the remaining 9 months and then return to full scale in year two. The work plan and budget were posted for task force members before the meeting. The consensus was to proceed with the reduced size for year one and see if they can get traction.
5. Review risk assessment results for the 17/18 continuations.
Maryalice shared the results of using the updated risk assessment tool to assess continuing AmeriCorps grantees. The task force worked on the tool in 2016 and the question now is whether the results it yields are in line with what they expected. The consensus was it does function as expected. Ordinarily this would be just an administrative task and not come to the task force.
6. Consider monitoring protocol tied to risk level.
The final step in revamping monitoring is to establish a protocol tied to the risk level. A draft was posted for feedback. Some members asked if this wasn’t work already done in 2017. It was explained that the sampling protocol was developed in 2017. Task force members will review the document over the weekend and email suggestions/edits to Maryalice by noon Tuesday so the protocol can be finalized and Laurel can begin planning her work.
7. Proposed new Grant Policy: All Maine projects will include "AmeriCorps" in program name.
Members were very pleased with this proposal. After some discussion, it was determined the policy should apply to new grants beginning summer 2018.
8. Discussion of parameters for Maine Rural State AmeriCorps grants.
AND
Discussion of parameters for AmeriCorps State Formula standard and fixed amount grants
Maryalice reviewed the differences between the two types of competition that will occur this spring. Members accepted the recommendation that the Maine Rural State AmeriCorps grants be 3-year grants going forward. There was a proposed change in minimum size for the standard AmeriCorps Formula grants. Members agreed to change the minimum size to 8 Member Service Years.
9. Timelines and needs for grant competitions.
There will be 4 grant competitions between now and June. The Volunteer Generation Fund competition is underway. After some discussion, it was agreed that this task force would appreciate having Excellence and Expertise handle the VGF competition.
Members were asked to recruit peer reviewers. Interested persons should read the role description and submit an application. The information is at www.MaineServiceCommission.gov/grants
Anticipated open/submission dates:
AmeriCorps Targeted Priorities – open Feb. 26 with due date of March 29; Commission votes on 4/20 AmeriCorps Formula Continuations –due April 20; task force action May 4, Commission vote 5/18
*AmeriCorps Rural State – open April 2 with due date of May 3; Commission vote 6/15
[* subject to change because these funds are tied to current federal budget appropriation]
10. National Direct recommendations to CNCS.
The Commission needs to determine how it will advise CNCS regarding AmeriCorps applications submitted by multi-state organizations. When the request comes to states there is a very short window to complete the process. Maryalice will post on the hub information about the applicants who consulted with MCCS as required by the law. Task force members will review and indicate their assessment (support, neutral, do not support) using a “vote.” If staff have to respond before the next meeting, they will use the votes as guides. If CNCS does not ask for the advice before March 2, the task force will discuss and settle on assessment.
There being no other items to discuss the meeting ended at 9:37 am.