January 25, 2023 edition

Share appreciation and gratitude for a fellow CIS employee. Giving a shout out is a great way to recognize an individual or group for their extra effort and talent, and to contribute to a culture of appreciation, community, and kindness.  

Employee Excellence Nominee Spotlight: Rebecca Staffon

“In shadowing Rebecca while training, and now working alongside her, I see how amazing she is at her job as a Care Coordinator. During a monthly meeting I witnessed Rebecca facilitate the meeting in English and Spanish, and stay client focused as we discussed some heart heavy topics the family is facing. She maintained compassion and professional and advocated for top needs from the team and for the family. In the last 3 months on the CC team. I have witnessed Rebecca go above and beyond all the time... she has checked in with me to make sure I am doing ok as I embark on all the new, she emails the team with reminders and insights of CIS things, and external insights connected to social work and mental health. Her heart is fully invested in all that we do for our families, and witnessing her in her role has been an inspiration.” *excerpt from nomination

Nominate someone for Employee Excellence. Click here for the form and here to learn about employee recognition & appreciation at CIS of Central Texas. 

DEI training for all staff is one of our agency goals this year.

New CIS staff will participate in Race Equity training as part of onboarding. Returning staff need to participate in at least 2 DEI trainings by June 15th. A few options include the CIS National Equity Fundamental Series, the CIS of Central Race Equity Series, and upcoming Let’s Talk events.

The Communications Department is looking for campuses to participate in the Spring Photoshoots starting in February. Please reach out to Angela @ [email protected] to schedule your date and time.

Resource for Parents with Young Children – Bright by Text

Bright by Text is for families. They share helpful tips, activities and events based on your child's age and your location.

Bright by Text information video

Bright by Text sign up (English)

Bright by Text sign up (Spanish)

Strong Start is a program of SAFE that offers free parent education classes and support services to help parents with their kids’ behaviors (tantrums, routines, anxiety) and the overall stress of parenting. As of now our parent educators conduct sessions over the phone or virtually based on the parent’s availability. In-person services are an option as well

Strong Start Program Highlights:  

• SAFE’s Strong Start Parenting Program offers FREE one-on-one parenting support to families in the Travis or Williamson County with children ages 0-11.  
• All of our services are hybrid at the moment.
• Classes are 1 hour a week or every other week.  
• Parent Educators use evidence-based curriculum to guide their lessons for 10-16 weeks. Groups range from 6-7 weeks.
• Classes are available in multiple languages.  
• Participants in Strong Start also have access to many other incentives, basic needs, and support services both inside and outside of SAFE. This can look like FREE counseling, FREE diapers & wipes, or maybe help with a utility bill-just depends on the family’s needs.  
• We currently DO have a small waitlist, but time does move rather quickly which means families can start getting support almost immediately.  
• Check out our website
• To get more information - call the Outreach Specialist, Shirdelle Cummings, at 512-264-4100 or by contacting her via email: [email protected]    

Austin Pets Alive! is creating a Youth Advisory Board for Travis county families with children that are 18 or older.

The board members will be dedicated to helping with signature events, advocacy, providing insight to fundraising and marketing campaigns, spreading education and awareness, and leading fundraising events. The board will provide incredible experience for individuals that may want to pursue a future career in animal welfare, event planning, fundraising, and philanthropy. See interest form here.

If you have any questions regarding the Youth Advisory Board with Austin Pets Alive!, contact Tiffany Hudson (she/her) (c) 682-936-0473

Program Managers Alicia and Denaijah are coordinating a family engagement event, Spring Echo at Cedar Creek Elementary School. The event is on February 2nd from 5 pm to 6:45pm and invites families from Cedar Creek Elementary and Red Rock Elementary. There will be workshop provided for families, activities for students, and prize give-a-ways. We will need help beginning around 3:45pm up until 7:30pm (clean-up). We will be expecting families from Red Rock ES and Cedar Creek ES to attend the event and appreciate any help.



For anyone interested in participating, they can fill in this form or contact Catarina directly at 915.449.8110 or [email protected]

Volunteer/Donation Opportunity



The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) is currently preparing for the 2023 Point-in-Time Count, a biennial survey of our unhoused neighbors. ECHO is in need of volunteers for the night of the count and donations of goods for care kits which are handed out as volunteers canvas. More information about how to support ECHO and PIT Count volunteers can be found on their webpage linked here: 2023 Point In Time Count - ECHO (austinecho.org) [austinecho.org].

Those interested in volunteering can sign up here: PIT Count 2023 Volunteer Sign Up Form [docs.google.com]

For those you want to sign up as a group, please fill out this form: PIT Count 2023 Group Sign Up Form [docs.google.com]

Additionally, ECHO is accepting goods for the care kits given to anyone experiencing homelessness. Items for the care kits can be seen on ECHO’s Amazon wish list here: ECHO Amazon Wish List [amazon.com]. ECHO asks that items are received no later than January 25^th. Items can also be dropped off at ECHO’s offices located at 210 Barton Springs Rd., Suite 400, Austin, TX 78704.

WHAT TO EXPECT AS A VOLUNTEER:

Volunteers are teamed up and assigned a section of Austin/Travis County to survey. Because this event takes place overnight, in the very early hours of the morning, volunteers are asked to make sure they are not only comfortable with being out anywhere from 2AM to 8AM but also walking distances of up to 3 miles. Volunteers are required to attend a one-hour training virtually or in-person and sign a release form.

CONTACT:

If you have any questions, you can reach out to ECHO at [email protected].

PMD Office Hours

Fridays from 2:00-3:00pm via Teams; if you have questions or need support, stop by and chat! No need to register, the link will always be the same.

Spring 2023 Audit Process

We’re halfway through the year, which means it’s time to start auditing our data! Here is a resource that reviews the audit process; Campus Based Services team, look for more information from your supervisor about specifics for your team.

REMINDER: Inactivating Students in CIS-NAV

If you are requesting a student be made inactive, please email [email protected] with the following information:

• Name of student and Casefile ID (preferred)
• Date of withdrawal
• Reason for withdrawal
• Remember to add Post-SHAW and ABA backup documentation to the Closeout tab before sending your request

Kind Campus Week Volunteers

Mina Elementary has partnered with The Kindness Campaign to make "Kind Campus" Week come to fruition.

Kind Campus Week will be on February 27^th to March 3^rd.

It will be a week long school wide initiative where students get to engage with Magic Mirror (affirmations related) and KindArt activities. Additionally, this month students have been working with their music teacher to develop song lyrics, these song lyrics will be recorded by an independent artist and revealed during Kind Campus week (very exciting).

Kind Facilitator, Carolyn Midboe is seeking volunteers to support KindArt activities and Magic Mirror Affirmations. Please sign-up using this link.



Check out the presentation Program Manager Carolyn Midboe developed to present to BISD Principals that describes more about the school wide initiative and partnership with The Kindness Campaign.

FREE TRAINING

"Breaking out of the Man Box" virtual training from A Call to Men.

Are you an advocate, community member, educator, corporate leader, or practicing aspiring ally committed to helping dismantle sexism and racism in your life, family, community, or organization? A Call to Men’s training provides in-depth training and education to help you create a meaningful impact in your work and allyship practice.  

February 7th, 2023 @ 11:00 - 2:00 pm (Central Time) 

Register

Click here for flyer

Free presentation: Suicide Awareness and Prevention for Caregivers and Communities on Tuesday, February 7, from 4:30-5:45pm (Eastern) via Zoom. 

No registration is required, click here to join!

The presentation will include:

· An overview of suicide and suicidal behavior in children and adolescents, including risk and protective factors. 

· Guidance on identifying suicide risks and warning signs and practical steps to address them, including safety planning in the home.

· Recommended language to use when talking about suicide.

If you have any questions about this training, please contact the TRAILS Trainings Team at [email protected]. 

• Spring AmeriCorps Site Supervisor Training was held on Friday, January 13^th. Click here to view the AmeriCorps Site Supervisor Application Info Session and click here to view the AmeriCorps Site Supervisor Spring Training.
• The AmeriCorps Site Supervisor Application for the 2023-2024 school year is due February 15th! Click here to review the Application Overview and for a link to the application.
• Spring Stipended Site Supervisors, please check out this Training Make Up Plan if your member missed a training at MOST. We will have multiple opportunities to review any missed trainings.  
• Our next Collaborative Learning Space is this Friday, January 27th. Sign up for this event on Auzmor here for the Zoom Invite and calendar hold.  
• Life After AmeriCorps Conference is Monday, February 20th, 8am-4pm! ALL AmeriCorps Members (Mentors, Squad Leaders, ASPIRE, EAOs) are invited to attend. Read below to see if it is required or optional by position type: 
• Mentors/Squad Leaders who normally serve on Mondays: Required 
• Mentors/Squad Leaders who don’t normally serve on Mondays: Optional 
• ASPIRE: Optional 
• EAO Interns: Optional 
• Call for Speakers for Life After AmeriCorps Conference: AmeriCorps of Central Texas is actively seeking Members, staff, friends, and/or family to help bring talent & sessions to our annual Life After AmeriCorps Conference on February 20th. If you or someone you know is interested, please fill out this form by Friday January 27, 2023.

Mental Health and Wellness Update

Attention:

Field Instructor Office hours will not be held this Friday, 1/27/23. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email [email protected] and add in the subject line, “consultation request.”

Menu of Interventions: Coming soon - a micro survey about the menu of interventions. All campus-based staff will be asked to complete this survey. It’s Micro which means no more than 5 questions! If you are interested in discussing the results and making recommendations for improvement of the Menu of Interventions please email Dorothy Garza to join a task-specific, time-limited committee – 2-3 meetings to be done by May 2023. Let’s build up this toolbox!

Atencíon, personal que atiende a estudiantes y familias que hablan Español: On March 8^th from 11-1 at CIS Central, the Mental health and Wellness department will host a training in Spanish to support campus-based staff serving Spanish-speaking students and families. The entire workshop will be in Spanish and translation will not be offered. Topics to be addressed include:

• Cultural overview
• Basic Spanish for schools and social services
• Engagement with Spanish-speaking students and families
• Developing strategies and programming to serve Spanish speakers

Sign up will be available in Auzmor. The training will be recorded.

As a follow-up to this training, 2 clinical case consultation sessions will be offered virtually in late March and early April to staff individual situations. More information coming soon.

Representation matters! 

We would like to invite members from the various programs to participate in a one-time focus group to discuss training needs related to mental health. If you are interested, please email Dorothy Garza by February 1^st and I will send a calendar invite. Let’s think outside of the box when it comes to mental health as it relates to work with students, work with colleagues, work with supervisees, balancing work and personal life demands, etc. 

BSW Requests for Fall 2023

The spring semester is underway which means the BSWs for fall are on their way!

Request a BSW generalist intern for the fall semester now. We will be advertising your requests to students March 1. Students decide on their top internship choices by reading the descriptions you enter in the database, so please make sure they are accurate, up to date, and interesting!

Request your interns by following the instructions below:

Make a request for the first time:  

1.      Login:https://employer.gradleaders.com/UTSSWField/Employers/Login.aspx?jprid=7073 

2.      Find and select the “Internship Requests” tab on the left of your screen.

3.      Select "Add New" above the “Internship Requests” title

4.      Fill in the required fields in the Internship Information and Posting Information fields.

5.      Under "Placement Process”, be sure to select BSW or MSSW Final Field for your request. 

6.      Click "Save". 

Request your interns by following the instructions below:

Copy a past request:  

1.      Login:https://employer.gradleaders.com/UTSSWField/Employers/Login.aspx?jprid=7073 

2.      Find and select the “Internship Requests” tab on the left of your screen.

3.      Find and select the internship title you would like to copy

4.      Click the “Copy” button beneath the Internship Status.

5.      Edit the Internship Request. 

6.      Click "Save"

NOTE: Your internship request in the database will be held in a pending bin until it is approved by the OFE. It doesn’t mean you did it wrong; it means we activate our placements when it’s time for the students to see them. If you see your placement as pending, you have entered it correctly. Thank you for understanding.

College and Career Success Department

Click here to find a list of scholarships that are currently available to Seniors! This link will be updated throughout the school year as more scholarships become available. If you and your Senior would like some support completing any scholarship application, please reach out to Jami Herrera with the College and Career Success Department at [email protected]

The winner of the Apple drawing for a Torchy's gift card is Anna Quiroga!

Grab n Go Hays team!

Welcome to our Spring AmeriCorps Members!

San Marcos participated in a District-Wide Event (CIS Day) hosted by the Youth Enrichment Department!

Program manager Gracy Lopez at Blake Manor Elementary provided a camp theme Literacy night where students and families were able to take a smore kit home or make one in the class on indoor burners. Girl Scouts earned their fire safety badges and were able to set up a cookie booth to kick off the cookie season 

Communities In Schools of Central Texas surrounds students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.