Highlights from CCUSA

Early-bird deadline to register for the 2021 AG has been extended to August 9!

Don't miss the chance to join your colleagues from the Catholic Charities national network. Visit 2021 Annual Gathering to register before August 9, 2021, to receive the early-bird member pricing. The Annual Gathering brings us together to celebrate our commitment to transform the lives of people and communities we serve and to grow CCUSa's national, vibrant and innovative ministry.

The Laudato Si' Action Platform

Pope Francis is challenging Catholic communities and organizations across the world – including Catholic Charities agencies - to gradually work toward "total sustainability" in our common call to care for creation. This invitation is centered upon a Laudato Si’ Action Platform through which Catholic organizations publicly commit to a seven-year journey of ecological conversion. The action platform is framed across seven Laudato Si’ goals which reflect Catholic Social Teaching and provide “footsteps” in areas such as education, spirituality, the adoption of sustainable practices, community engagement, and a commitment to address poverty. Registration to commit to this process has now opened and will conclude on October 4, the Feast of Saint Francis. Read more here. You may also reach out to Scott Hurd, Vice President for Leadership Development and Catholic Identity at CCUSA.

CCUSA Social Policy team interested in feedback, concerns about U.S. Department of Labor's proposed rule regarding minimum wage

The U.S. Department of Labor issued a proposed rule regarding increasing the minimum wage for federal contracts. The department is soliciting feedback about the proposal to raise the hourly minimum wage to $15 to be paid by contractors to workers performing work on or in connection with covered federal contracts, beginning January 30, 2022; and beginning January 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, an amount determined by the Secretary of Labor. The CCUSA Social Policy team is interested in hearing your concerns, feedback. 

Events and Webinars

Introduction to Datastory: Using location intelligence to assist in decision making

Location intelligence describes the capacity to organize and understand the relationship of data in a geographic context. CCUSA member agencies use location intelligence regularly in making strategic and practical decisions such as the location of a real estate project or the location of a food distribution site. This webinar will introduce the network to Datastory and its various location intelligence offerings that assist you in making strategic and practical decisions. The webinar will emphasize and demonstrate the use of location intelligence in the context of affordable housing and food/nutrition services. Date: Aug. 4, 2021. Time: 2 PM EST. Register here.

Outreach webinar from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

CBPP is hosting a webinar on local strategies for Child Tax Credit outreach on Tuesday, August 3, 2-3:30 PM ET. Local communities, including city governments, will share how they are conducting outreach and providing hands-on assistance to help ensure all eligible children receive the Child Tax Credit. We’ll also explore approaches to address funding and capacity challenges for conducting outreach and resources to support Child Tax Credit outreach efforts.

CCUSA Immigration and Refugees Services CofP meeting - 2020 CCUSA/CLINIC Annual Survey results

Please join us for the CCUSA Immigration and Refugee Services CoP meeting to receive a policy update from CCUSA, MRS/USCCB, and CLINIC. Additionally, during this meeting, we will provide an overview of the 2020 CCUSA/CLINIC Annual Survey Immigration and Refugee Services Results, including summary statistics and performance measures highlighting the impactful work completed across Immigration and Refugee Services programs throughout the Catholic Charities network. We will include the results for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC)/CCUSA joint survey on immigration legal services. Register in advance for this meeting here Date: August 11, 2021. Time: 3 PM EST.

Changing hearts and minds: JustFaith as a tool for expanding social mission

For over 20 years, JustFaith Ministries has been crafting small group formation programs emphasizing the linkage between faith and compassion/justice. Join us for a conversation with Jack Jezreel, the founder and originator, about how the tools of JustFaith might benefit your work. Catholic Charities agencies have used JustFaith programs for staff formation or with parish social ministries. Current JustFaith programs focus on discipleship, Catholic Social Teaching, faith and poverty, racial justice, eco-justice, youth, advocacy, spirituality, food insecurity, migration, and peace and non-violence. Date: Aug. 18, 2021. Time: 3 PM ET. Register here. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

2Gen series: Our future work in racial equity webinar

The loss and lessons of the last year have delivered a new understanding of the inequities and system failures that block people from reaching their full potential. Our recent experiences and the recognition of the historical work to address inequity have opened hearts and helped us see new possibilities. We have in front of us a legacy moment to improve our professional and organizational practices for delivering well-being services and rethink how our systems and communities function. Join this webinar to gather ideas and resources to help your organization and your community navigate this moment to create just, equitable, and thriving environments. Date: August 24, 2021. Time: 2 PM EST. Register here.

Trauma-informed care and trauma-informed social action in a parish context

Join Catholic Charities of Santa Clara to learn the mind body connection, principles of Polyvagal theory (an explanation of how we interpret our environment and respond to it), the connection between childhood trauma and adult mental health and racial disparities in accessing trauma treatment and how this theory shapes advocacy efforts. Participants will walk away with a working knowledge of what research-based treatment modalities they can implement within the context of parish life and how to use these modalities to form and train new community leaders to use their own authentic voice in advocacy work in a way that is safe and sustainable. Learning Objectives:

• Understand how the Mind Body approach restores and improves personal and inter-relational functionality for those suffering trauma
• Apply basic principles of a trauma-informed approach for working in parishes in high-poverty and high-crime areas, large population of immigrants, and unstable housing.
• Use trauma-informed techniques in leadership development for volunteers, community leaders and promotoras.
• Apply trauma-informed practice to current efforts of community-based care and advocacy work

NOTE: This webinar offers 1.0 Continuing Education Credit. Course completion requirements - To earn CE credit, participants must log in at the scheduled time, attend the webinar and complete an online course evaluation and CEC post-test. The post-test survey will close 7 days after you receive the link to your email. CE Certificates will be emailed within 10 business days of course completion. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Register here. Date: August 25, 2021. Time: 3 PM EST.

West Coast disaster recovery and resiliency during a pandemic

The West Coast is subject to wildfires, earthquakes, floods and mudslides. In 2020 alone, nearly 10,000 wildfires burned over 4 million acres that damaged or destroyed over 10,000 homes and resulted in 33 fatalities. Smoke-filled summers and recovering from large disasters are becoming the new normal for the West Coast. COVID-19 adds even more challenges to preparedness and recovery efforts. This webinar will focus on the prioritization of disaster survivor cases, data collection to inform funding needs, construction analysis as it relates to unmet needs, and building preparedness activities into recovery plans. Date: Aug. 26, 2021. Time: 1 PM EST. Register here. NOTE: This webinar offers 1.0 Continuing Education Credit. Course completion requirements - To earn CE credit, participants must log in at the scheduled time, attend the webinar and complete an online course evaluation and CEC post-test. The post-test survey will close 7 days after you receive the link to your email. CE Certificates will be emailed within 10 business days of course completion. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

To boldly go: Harnessing the power of pop culture for use in trauma-informed care

This webinar will specifically explore how pop culture can be very helpful in trauma-informed care, particularly in trauma-focused therapy with children and teens. By using pop culture as a tool, clinicians can provide engaging, informative treatment that teaches psychoeducation about trauma types, symptoms, and reminders, demonstrates and reinforces positive, healthy coping strategies, and promotes wellness, resiliency, and healing among clients. Even outside of clinical work, these same concepts can be applied to organizational development; supervisors and agency leaders can use pop culture in professional development, staff wellness activities, and other self-care initiatives to connect with staff and address relevant, meaningful topics in an approachable and appealing format. Learning objectives:

1. Recognize how pop culture explores trauma symptoms and reactions.
2. Identify ways to harness pop culture as a tool when working with trauma survivors
3. Describe how pop culture can be used to promote wellness and resiliency among clients and in the workplace.

NOTE: This webinar offers 1.0 Continuing Education Credit. Course completion requirements - To earn CE credit, participants must log in at the scheduled time, attend the webinar and complete an online course evaluation and CEC post-test. The post-test survey will close 7 days after you receive the link to your email. CE Certificates will be emailed within 10 business days of course completion. Date: Sept. 8, 2021. Time; 2 PM EST. Register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Financial wellness at work: Supporting low wage workers with financial stability services

Learn about the experiences of Catholic Charities, Portland, Oregon, which created an LLC to collaborate with employers to help workers attain financial wellness for themselves and their families. This partnership provides educational resources, workshops, financial coaching, and strategies for asset creation and debt reduction. This webinar will also introduce participants to the FINRA Foundation/United Way Financial Wellness at Work program, which helps community-based nonprofits design and deliver workplace financial wellness services for lower-income employees. Hear how the FINRA Foundation supports financial wellness practitioners at community-based nonprofit organizations, and how nonprofit leaders have collaborated with employers to develop effective and sustainable workplace financial wellness solutions. Find out about upcoming training opportunities to help bring workplace financial wellness programs to your community. Date: Sept. 9, 2021. Time: 2 PM EST. Register here. 

Designing a Database for a Catholic Social Teaching-Based Case Management Model

This workshop introduces participants to the use of a logic model to support the design of a client centered database for a case management program. The model of case management used at CCCS is both malleable and adaptable, as is characteristic of this form of service delivery. Client needs, willingness to engage in services and access to resources vary to a great extent at the individual level and this lack of structure to the program model posed significant challenges to the database design team. The presentation will include a discussion of the logic model development process, the articulation of the process of care (i.e.: the CCCS Case Management Model), the key elements of database design, the conflicts that emerged along the way and the end product, which has been in use since September 2020. This presentation is intended to highlight the complexity involved in moving somewhat intangible and ambiguous service models – as are often present within many human service programs and may be even more pronounced among Catholic Social Teaching based models – into databases that necessitate rules and order and structure. Date: October 6, 2021. Time: 2 PM EST. Register here.

The Service at the Speed of Light: The New Non-Profit Normal webinar

This year has been one of the most challenging faced by non-profits, and the needs are incredible. By January 2021, American renters already owed $34B in back rent and growing! Agencies must work closely with community and civic leaders to broaden impact and improve effectiveness by quickly expanding service capacity through creative technology use allowing millions of dollars of assistance in a day. Is your agency ready to implement a program providing over $60M in financial assistance in 3 months? Does your agency understand impact on hiring, call volume, compliance, and finance? These are all challenges Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston confronted when they received a contract to provide CARES funding to more than 50,000 families in 3 months. This presentation will provide you with the insights gained through their experience. After this workshop, the answer to any of the questions listed above will be, “Absolutely, we can!” It is the new non-profit normal. It is service at the speed of light! Date: Oct. 12, 2021. Time: 2 PM EST. Register here. 

Grant Opportunities and Resources

Grant Opportunity: CCUSA Financial Education AmeriCorps Program

CCUSA is currently looking for additional grantees for the Financial Education AmeriCorps program! The AmeriCorps members in this program will primarily use the FDIC Money Smart curriculum to teach clients how to enhance their financial skills and create positive banking relationships. AmeriCorps members can also provide other asset-development activities, including tax preparation, financial counseling, IDA enrollment, and much more. This program has a goal to help clients improve their financial literacy and navigate financial decisions more efficiently. If your agency is interested in learning more about this federal grant opportunity, please reach out to Abby Qualliotine.

Emergency rental assistance, material to share

The eviction moratorium expired July 31, 2021. The administration has been pushing to raise awareness about the availability of emergency rental assistance to tenants and landlords. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently announced a new “rental assistance finder” tool that is now live, and the CFPB is seeking assistance with distribution across the country. The following resources provide information regarding the call to action and a link to the newly released CFPB tool. Links to available resources: (1.) CFPB - Consumer Rental Assistance Finder Tool; (2.) Overview: Emergency Rental Assistance Call to Action; (3.) Toolkit: Emergency Rental Assistance.

Outreach resources from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

CBPP has also developed resources that organizations can use to support Child Tax Credit outreach efforts including FAQs, guides to the IRS Non-filer form and Child Tax Credit Update Portal, an outreach toolkit with messaging, outreach materials, social media posts, and templates (press release, call and text scripts, newsletter, radio psa, and media pitch), and a separate toolkit that highlights immigrant eligibility for the Child Tax Credit and EIPs that is translated into five languages. These resources are available through CBPP’s Get it Back campaign, which has promoted refundable tax credits and free tax filing assistance for more than 30 years.

Employment Opportunities

Anyone can view the job opportunities by clicking on the "Careers" tag on the footer of the CCUSA webpage. To post a job opportunity, one must be a member and have access to the members' portal in order to fill out the submission form (click on "Careers" tag on members only portal homepage). If you have any questions about the new job opportunities submission form, please contact David Werning. Please click here to access job opportunities.

CCUSA Photo Gallery

Did you know that one of the benefits CCUSA provides to member agencies is access to a professional photo gallery? Visit our Flickr photo pages to explore our albums and photos. If you would like a high-resolution version for your agency's use, please email CCUSA with photo number.