March 2023 | Issue 3

Medicaid Expansion in the Cards at Last

NCCAA Executive Director, Sharon Goodson and Bryan Duncan (I-CARE, ED) at Lobby Day for Medicaid in Raleigh.

WUNC: House, Senate leaders reach deal on Medicaid expansion for North Carolina


After months of failed negotiations, North Carolina House and Senate leaders announced an agreement to expand Medicaid on Thursday.


The proposal would expand the government-funded health care program to an estimated 600,000 people. North Carolina has been one of a handful of states that haven’t expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.


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NC Policy Watch on the Details


Commentary from Rob Schofield


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2023 Annual Conference


Dr. Henry McKoy Highlights Weatherization Track

We are excited that Dr. Henry McKoy, the Inaugural Director for the U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of State and Community Energy Programs, will join us as the keynote speaker!


Dr. McCoy headlines a robust weatherization track that will include accredited sessions. We'll be releasing the workshop topics and speakers within the next couple of weeks so please stay posted for details.


Awards Nominations Accepted


We're seeking nominations for several annual awards.

Please visit the links below to submit your nominations!


Hall of Fame

Gloria Williams Award

Roselle Copeland Award

Lonnie D. Burton Award

The Essential Piece


 

McKoy to be Keynote Speaker


Dr. Henry C. McKoy, Jr.,

Inaugural Director, Office of State and Community Energy Programs, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)



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Dr. Andrea Harris Community Action and Leadership Scholarship

The North Carolina Community Action Association is proud to award its inaugural scholarship in honor of the late Dr. Andrea Harris. Dr. Andrea Harris was a trailblazer who never stopped fighting for social and racial equity. As the executive director of the Franklin Vance Warren Opportunity Inc., she was the first Black woman to oversee a community action agency in North Carolina.


A leader and advocate for the marginalized and disenfranchised, Andrea dedicated her life to overcoming barriers to economic growth and opportunity, especially for people of color and women in the state. Dr. Harris’ legacy of community service and leadership exemplify the heart of community action and we are proud to continue her legacy by supporting the next generation of community leaders. 


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A voice for the voiceless: Non-profit leader helps empower community

When asked what Twana Wellman-Roebuck wants her legacy to be, she pauses. “I want my legacy to be that I was the voice for the voiceless. I want people to say, ‘She cared.’” As a woman in leadership as the Executive Director of Experiment in Self-Reliance (ESR), Roebuck has spent nearly 25 years doing just that – demonstrating compassion for others and being a voice for low-income residents in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County.


But her journey to build her legacy didn’t start when she became the leader of Forsyth County’s only Community Action Agency. For more than forty years, Roebuck has dedicated her career and volunteer service to teaching, convening, and advocating for the needs of others.


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NCCAA Ramps Up Partnership with Southern University

The NCCAA's online certificate partnership with Southern University offers certificates in both Head Start Management and Case Management.


Our Case Management certificate program is a comprehensive, web-based certification curriculum developed in response to updated CSBG Annual Reporting guidelines and CSBG Organizational Standard 7.9. Agencies with enrolled staff will not only meet this critical organizational standard, but will also be able to document staff time spent completing the course in the newly updated Community Service Block Grant Annual Report.

Case Management
Head Start

Community Action News From Around State

Dr. Ericka Jones Whitaker Honored by SCAP


March is Women’s History Month, and the Southeastern Community Action Partnership highlights its CEO, Dr. Ericka Jones Whitaker, as she shares what Women’s History Month means to her, what impacts she’s having in our local communities, and who is her source of inspiration. 

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Panelists discuss how to approach diversity, equity, inclusion in the workforce


Members of the community gathered for a discussion on “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: How to Succeed in Today’s Workforce,” which was presented by the Salisbury-Rowan Community Action Agency Inc.


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Surry Meals on Wheels Benefit Run Scheduled


YVEDDI’s 10th annual fundraiser 5k/10k to benefit its Meals on Wheels of Surry County program. The event is planned for Saturday, March 25 at 8 a.m. at Dobson Square Park, 110 S. Crutchfield St.


The race benefits a much-needed program in the county. YVEDDI Meals on Wheels is so much more than a meal. For many homebound seniors the driver who delivers the meal is the only person they see all day.


“I thank God every day for Meals on Wheels and my driver who delivers the meals,” said one homebound client. “My driver is a wonderful person, always thinking of others. I am almost 92 years old and the meals also help to enable me to stay in my home. Thank you!”



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Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP) Program Off and Running


An experimental program in North Carolina striving to shift health care’s focus on wellness instead of sickness is in full swing in Haywood County.


The Healthy Opportunities Pilot program provides non-medical services for select Medicaid recipients that many believe can enhance health. In the long run, addressing the so-called social determinants of health could reduce medical bills paid by Medicaid.


“I’m really excited about this program serving folks in our community with services they really need to address social determinants of health,” said Brooke Smith, assistant director at Mountain Projects. “If they go home and they’re hungry or can’t connect with their community or the power turns off, those affect your physical health.”


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Media Watch

WNC braces for a wave of food insecurity


Food banks and non-profits in Western North Carolina are preparing for a wave of food insecurity in March, when Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP) emergency benefits that began during the pandemic come to an end.


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Rev. William Barber: 'When you block living wages people die'


MSNBC’s Alicia Menendez is joined by Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Reverend William Barber, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign, to discuss the end of pandemic-era SNAP benefits, the political finger-pointing from Republicans over cutting Medicare, and the fight for Americans living in poverty.


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Closing the Digital Divide - a real-time snapshot of demand for digital skills in the US labor market


National Skills Coalition (NSC) in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta released Closing the Digital Skill Divide, a real-time snapshot of demand for digital skills in the US labor market. The analysis finds that 92% of jobs analyzed require digital skills. Previous NSC research found one-third of workers don’t have the foundational digital skills necessary to enter and thrive in today’s jobs. Together, these findings point to a significant digital skill divide.


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Eli Lilly to Cut Insulin Prices


Eli Lilly announced Wednesday a series of price cuts that would lower the price of the most commonly used forms of its insulin 70% and said it will automatically cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 for people who have private insurance and use participating pharmacies.


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Social Entrepreneur Spotlight: Vichi Jagannathan Of Rural Opportunity Institute


Rural Opportunity Institute (ROI), one of eight organizations in New Profit’s first Health Equity Cohort, supports youth, organizations, and communities in rural North Carolina to help them interrupt the cycle of generational trauma and design innovative solutions for healing and resilience. ROI builds new tools and is open-source, freely sharing what works. ROI works to turn wisdom and the newest science into common practice.


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ECU dental school kicks off Jones County oral health program


The East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine kicked off a new program earlier this month that will provide oral health care and dental hygiene education to schoolchildren in Jones County.


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Run For Coverage: Children in Danger of Losing Health Coverage in 2023


Children across North Carolina have had extraordinary access to health coverage over the past three years thanks to a 2021 law that prevented those covered by Medicaid and NC Health Choice from getting dropped during the COVID-19 public health emergency. As the provisions of the Public Health Emergency come to an end, that extraordinary coverage guarantee will also end gradually, beginning April 1, 2023 – increasing the risk of children and families becoming uninsured. 


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3 Strategies to Help Women of Color Navigate Biases at Work


Women of color face an amplified and distinctive set of challenges as they climb their career ladders, including isolation, acculturative stress, and bias. Many women of color in leadership positions have shared how they’ve been expected to perform above and beyond the norm. While the responsibility for leveling the playing field lies first and foremost with company leaders, women of color can adopt strategies to survive and succeed in spite of the inequity they face. Here are three strategies to try, based on my work with clients.


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We Want Your Stories!

Working together to share the impact of Community Action


Does your Community Action Agency have impactful content to share? Let's collaborate. The NCCAA develops creative content year-round to celebrate, educate and inform. Images like the one above will appear on our socials pages regularly, often, like this one, in support of informational series surrounding the work of our network. Let's amplify the voices of organizations in our network! Let's share the impactful work of community action and tell the stories of our clients! Reach out for collaboration: communications@nccaa.net.

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The purpose of Community Action agencies is to provide a broad range of activities and services that help individuals move the needle towards self sufficiency. Our programs help and encourage children and youth, support the working poor, support individuals and households in crisis, sustain and honor the elderly, strengthen families and work to strengthen the entire community. #CommunityAction #NCCAA

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