CAN 2017 Annual Report
Inform
CAN Dashboard Report & Website Redesign 
 
The CAN Dashboard website was redesigned last 
year to make i t easier to  navigate and more aesthetically pleasing. The Dashboard covers  17 socio-economic indicators which provide an overview of the social health and well-being of Austin and Travis County. By tracking the indicators in this report over time, it identifies areas where collective attention and action are needed. The dashboard includes demographics and an equity analysis.
 
 

 
Profiles of Collaboration: Kindergarten Readiness

In 2017, as part of its 25th anniversary activities, CAN developed a  new publication called  Profiles of Collaboration as a way to highlight effective collaboration that is being undertaken in our local community. This is intended to capture the elements that are characteristic of effective collaboration and that, ultimately, can be used as a template for determining how to initiate collaborative action to address other pressing challenges faced by our community and to grow these collaborative efforts in a way that is sustainable and leads to the desired outcomes.  The 2017 Profile focuses on the issue of "kindergarten readiness" and, specifically, the efforts aimed at supporting the implementation of the School Readiness Action Plan by a variety of community partners. 
Engage
Community Council Report  on Child Poverty

The CAN Community Council spent the better part of 2017  hearing  from individuals and organizations who provide support to low income families and/or children. In its report to the CAN Board of Directors, the Community Council documents the activities that were pursued by the CAN Community Council to gain a better understanding of the issues faced by families living in poverty, to summarize the information that was shared in his year-long exploration and to outline the observations/recommendations that were generated by Community Council members for each discussion topic.  
Deliberative Dialogues on Safety & Justice 

In 2017, CAN, in partnership with iACT, hosted a series of Deliberative Dialogues on the topic of Safety and Justice discuss and consider how we can increase safety in our community, while at the same time ensure justice. These conversations have been happening across the country. The National Issues Forum has developed an issue guide that walks people through a conversation about how communities can restore goodwill and trust between law enforcement and citizens.
 


In 2018, the topic for our Deliberative Dialogues series will be "Addressing the Opioids Epidemic," If you are interested in participating on a planning team for these community dialogues, please email Jelina Tunstill, CAN's program coordinator, at  [email protected] .
Activate
Update to Cultural Competence, Diversity & Inclusion Toolkit
 
In 2015, CAN developed the Cultural Competence, Diversity & Inclusion (CCDI) Toolkit as a resource to help individuals and local organizations meet the diverse needs of their clients. Since that time, it has become the most utilized resource on the CAN website (i.e., it is used more extensively than the CAN Dashboard). In 2017, CAN worked with a group of UT Social Work students (Jenna, Lev & Sarah) who, as part of Professor Cal Streeter's Class, Dynamics of Organizations and Communities, undertook the monumental task of revising the toolkit so that it: utilizes the latest research on cultural competency; offers tips for applying these principles; outlines the benefits of utilizing CCDI strategies; and updates the resources and services for specific populations. Please make use of this great resource. Thanks Jenna, Lev, Sarah and Dr. Streeter!

Language Access Work Group Final Report 

CAN's Language Access Work Group finalized their report in December 2017. The work group was established after CAN polled over 100 social service providers about their ability to meet the language needs of Central Texas and found that 93% of agencies felt that families could be better served if agencies collaborated in providing language services. Recommendations in the report include: coordinating in the collection of data relating to language needs; developing a consistent and effective language identification system; creating a central website for language assistance; and developing a formalized structure for collaboration around language access.

Click Here to View the Language Access Report
CAN to Form Action Team  in 2018 Focused on Expanding Access to Language Services

After reviewing the recommendations in the Language Access Work Group Report, CAN partners decided at the 2017 CAN retreat to create a Language Access Action Team in 2018 that would be charged with: creating tools specified in report and others that may help expand awareness of and access to language services. The first meeting of the Action Team is scheduled for February 7th. If you are interested in participating in this Action Team, please contact CAN's Executive Director, Raul Alvarez, at [email protected] for details about that meeting.
Celebrate
CAN Recognizes Butler Award Recipients at Annual Celebration
2017 was CAN's 25th Anniversary and as you can tell, CAN was able to accomplish a great deal in this silver anniversary of the partnership. At 
CAN's 2018 Beginning of Year Celebration, CAN staff highlighted the year's accomplishments at the City of Austin's new Central Library. As part of this annual celebration, CAN
also conducts the annual Butler Awards presentation. The award is named in honor of CAN's first Executive Director, Fred Butler, and recognizes individuals and collaborations that
have worked to bring together people and organizations to collectively address community needs. The focus of the work of the individuals and/or collaborations being recognized must be upon issues that affect community well-being in Austin or Travis County. 

The Butler Award for  Community Leadership  was presented to  Anne H. Harutunian and Jacquie Porter, individually, for   exhibiting integrity, trust, vision and passion to champion and meaningfully support collaborative efforts aimed at improving the health, well-being and safety of the community.


The Butler Award for  Spirit of Collaboration was presented to  SAFE Alliance &  HOST  (Homeless Outreach Street Team) for being organizations or initiatives that  worked to bring together people and organizations to collectively address community needs and improve the health, well-being and safety of the community.

CAN is a partnership of governmental, non-profit, private and faith-based organizations which leverage mutual resources to collective improve social, health, educational and economic opportunities in our community.
 
Visit our website:  www.canatx.org