Resources from our colleagues at USDA-Rural Development. Lots of resources for rural health and several grants which target rural workforce efforts.
PUBLICATIONS
There was a problem with a BLS link last week (titled Employment Projections: 2012-2022 Summary) – here is the correct link - http://bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.nr0.htm
Weekly Column: Census of Agriculture Results Tell Story of Unlimited Potential in Rural America
This week, USDA released preliminary data from the 2012 Census of Agriculture that provides a snapshot of a rural America that remains stable in the face of difficult economic times. While the data do not paint a perfect picture, they do tell a story of the unlimited potential and growing opportunity in modern rural America. USDA 2/21
A Small Library with Big Ideas (2/26) By Rachel Reynolds Luster - Although it only has 632 square feet of space, the Myrtle, Missouri, library leaves a big imprint on its patrons. Librarian Rachel Reynolds Luster shows how libraries create access and opportunity in rural communities. Read the story.
Real estate assets play a major role in the U.S. farm sector financial outlook - Reflecting land’s role as a key input in agricultural production, real estate assets (the value of land and buildings) play an important role in the farm sector’s financial health. Real estate has traditionally accounted for the bulk of the total value of farm sector assets—in 2014, real estate assets are expected to comprise 82 percent of total farm assets. When combined with generally lower annual increases in farm sector debt, the increasing value of farm real estate has helped the farm sector attain record low debt-to-asset ratios in recent years, a trend expected to continue into 2014. Change in the debt-to-asset ratio is a critical barometer of the farm sector's financial performance with lower values indicating greater financial resiliency. In addition, as the largest single component in a typical farmer's investment portfolio, real estate values affect the financial well-being of agricultural producers and serve as the principal source of collateral for farm loans. A chart can be found in Farm Income and Wealth Statistics, updated February 11, 2014. Find additional information and analysis in ERS’ Farm Sector Income and Finances topic page.
OIG 2014 Workplan Includes CAH and RHC Studies - Feb 13, 2014 -- The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has released its Fiscal Year 2014 Workplan, including plans for studies on critical access hospitals and rural health clinics.
How Rural ME Hospitals are Tackling Financial Challenges - Feb 11, 2014 -- HealthLeaders Media article tells how reimbursement cuts aren't the only challenge rural hospitals face. Recruitment and retention of clinical staff is a perennial issue. But creative leadership and telemedicine are making things better at two small Maine hospitals.
On the Redwood Coast a Collaborative Approach to Health Blossoms
Feb 3, 2014 -- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation article tells how in a remote region in Northern California, physician, patients, and hospitals have been experimenting with new ways to work together. Their discoveries should interest anyone looking to transform health care.
Zip Code Overrides DNA Code When it Comes to a Healthy Community
Jan 31, 2014 -- Health Affairs Grant Watch Blog article tells of the recommendations of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthy America and how the health of the community you live in directly impacts your own health. It tells of Colorado's new approach to community revitalization.
The Economic Impact of Community Colleges: American Association of Community Colleges Releases EMSI Report with ROI Documents
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has released a report, "Where Value Meets Values: The Economic Impact of Community Colleges," showing that community colleges are a boon to the American economy at large and to the individual student. The study was compiled by Economic Modeling Specialists Intl., (EMSI). The report release notes:
In 2012 alone, the net total impact of community colleges on the U.S. economy was $809 billion in added income, equal to 5.4 percent of GDP. Over time, the U.S. economy will see even greater economic benefits, including $285.7 billion dollars in increased tax revenue as students earn higher wages and $19.2 billion in taxpayer savings as students require fewer safety net services, experience better health, and lower rates of crime. Students also see a significant economic benefit. For every one dollar a student spends on his or her community college education, he or she sees an ROI of $3.80.
Please access the links below to read more:
- Where Value Meets Values: The Economic Impact of Community Colleges (Full Report)
- Where Value Meets Values: The Economic Impact of Community Colleges (Executive Summary)
- Economic Impact Study Fact Sheet
- Return on Investment: Social
- Return on Investment: Student
- Return on Investment: Taxpayer
HHS Issues Policy Rules on Administration for Native Americans Programs
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Native Americans (ANA) has issued final rules, general statements of policy, and rules of agency organization, procedure, or practice for the following programs:
· Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS)
· Sustainable Employment and Economic Development Strategies (SEEDS)
· Native Language Preservation and Maintenance
· Native Language Preservation and Maintenance (EMI)
· Environmental Regulatory Enhancement (ERE)
Click here for more information and to view the full notice in the Federal Register.
TOOLS
Rural Care Coordination Toolkit
Designed to help identify and implement a rural care coordination program and provide supporting resources and best practices. The toolkit, developed in collaboration with the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, is made up of several modules each concentrating on different aspects of care coordination programs. AND
Care Coordination in Rural Communities (Webinar Recording)
Webinar, presented by Alexa Brown, NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis; Melissa Miles, Bi-State Primary Care Association; and Heidi Blossom, MSN, RN, Care Transitions Coordinator for MHA – An Association of Montana Health Care Providers. Discussed the Rural Care Coordination Toolkit and provided information on how rural communities can identify and implement a care coordination program. 60 minutes.
Rural Health Training Through MyVeHU Campus
Provides a series of webinar trainings that are offered for education credit. Open to the public, but you must register for a MyVeHU username and password to view the trainings. Topics have specific rural health content and examples include chronic pain management, caregiver resources for aging rural veterans, post deployment care integration for rural combat veterans, facilitating co-managed care, rural community collaborations and veteran outreach as well as cultural competence and caring for veterans. Organization: Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
Useful Stats: Utility and Design Patents by State, 2008-13
U.S. patents continued their rapid pace of growth in 2013, according to statistics from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). USPTO granted 122,593 utility patents last year, a 10 percent increase over the previous year and a 72 percent increase over 2008. Much of the increase in activity is due to the growth of IT and software patenting, as discussed in a separate SSTI Digest article. California leads the country in utility patents, representing about 27 percent of patents granted in 2013. Massachusetts narrowly leads California in per capita patenting activity, followed by Vermont and Washington. Read more...
SSTI has prepared a series of tables using the most recent USPTO data. These tables include utility and design patents by state, 2008-13, utility patents per 10,000 residents, patent numbers for the top 100 U.S. patenting organizations and the top 100 U.S. universities, 2008-12. Download in Excel (xlsx) format…
LEARNING
WEBINAR: The Sustainable Working Waterfronts Webinar is scheduled for Thursday, March 6 at 2:00 pm ET and provide insight about the Sustainable Working Waterfronts Toolkit, a web-based resource that contains a wealth of information about the historical and current use of waterfront space; the economic value of working waterfronts; and legal, policy, and financing tools that can be used to preserve, enhance, and protect these valuable areas. Click here to register.
WEBINAR: The Foreign Direct Investment and Exporting Webinar will be held on Thursday, March 13 at 2:00 pm ET and will provide insight about Best Practices in Foreign Direct Investment and Exporting Based on Regional Industry Clusters. This web-based resource is designed to promote ways to more effectively attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and develop export potential. Click here to register.
WEBINAR: Experimental Estimates for State Level Personal Consumption Expenditures, March 26, 2014, 2:00 PM - ET
Carol Robbins & Ledia Guci, U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economics
Registration: There is no registration and no fee for attending this webinar. http://connect.msu.edu/ncrcrd
Personal consumption expenditures make up the largest category of final demand and provide a direct measure of goods and services consumed by households. As such, state-level consumption statistics could facilitate regional tax policy analysis and marketing uses, and provide an additional measure of economic well-being to complement state level GDP and disposable personal income. Bureau of Economic Analysis economists have developed expenditures for eight categories of goods, seven categories of services, and net expenditures of nonprofit institutions serving households (NPISHs) for fifty states plus the District of Columbia for the years 1997 to 2011 that can be used on conjunction with other BEA regional statistics. This webinar will cover the methodology used for the experimental statistics, a first look at some of the results, and a discussion of BEA’s plans for refining and extending the statistics.
About the Speakers:
Carol Robbins is Chief of the Analysis and Special Studies Branch of the Regional Product Division at the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In this position she leads the development of new regional economic statistics and the improvement of methodologies for existing regional statistics. Her prior position at BEA was as a research economist in the Industry Directorate, focusing on the economic measurement of R&D, intangibles, and intellectual property. Carol holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Delaware and an undergraduate degree in Economics from Bryn Mawr College.
Ledia Guci is a research economist with the Regional Analysis and Special Studies Branch of the Bureau of Economic Analysis. She joined BEA in 2011, after completing a doctorate degree in Food and Resource Economics at the University of Florida. At BEA her work has focused on providing methodological support for the experimental estimates of state-level personal consumption expenditures. Ledia’s primary areas of expertise and interest include urban and regional economics, natural resource and environmental economics, and applied and spatial econometrics.
To join the webinar go to http://connect.msu.edu/ncrcrd, “enter as a guest” is by default already chosen. Type your name into the text box provided, and click on “Enter Room”. You are now in the meeting room for the webinar. If you’ve never used Adobe Connect on the computer you will be using, please use the “Test your connection” link below and do a test connection to the actual meeting space well in advance of the scheduled meeting time. http://connect.msu.edu/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm. The webinar will be recorded and archived at http://ncrcrd.msu.edu/ncrcrd/chronological_archive.
FUNDING
FY2014 Funding for SAMHSA Expands Vital Mental Health Services – Especially for Children and Youth
Feb 18, 2014 -- As a result of the Fiscal Year 2014 "Consolidated Appropriations Act", the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), will provide expanded help to meet the mental health needs of individuals, families and communities across the nation. The $276 million additional funding above the FY13 post-sequestration level will enable SAMHSA to better address the mental health needs of the nation’s children and young people – including those most at risk for serious mental illnesses.
Department of Labor Announces Second Round of Funding under “Training to Work – Adult Reentry” Competitive Grant Program
On February 18, 2014, the Department of Labor has announced the availability of approximately $30 million through the second round of the Training to Work — Adult Reentry competitive grant program to help men and women participating in a state or local prison work-release programs gain the job skills necessary to succeed in an in-demand occupation upon reintegrating back into society.
The Department will award approximately $30 million for 15 grants of up to $2 million each. Grants will be awarded to implementing partners that provide qualifying services in areas with high-poverty and high-crime rates, including communities that have a large proportion of returning citizens that typically experience higher rates of recidivism. Additional consideration will be given to applications who intend to serve areas designated as "Promise Zones" by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. February 18 News Release
Department of Labor Announces Availability of Approximately $73 Million in YouthBuild Grants
The Department of Labor has announced the availability of approximately $73 million in YouthBuild grant funds to develop programs that will help out-of-school youth complete high school or General Educational Development programs, as well as learn critical occupational skills in construction, health care, information technology and other in-demand fields.
The Department will award approximately 75 grants with a maximum funding of up to $1.1 million each. The grants will be awarded to organizations that oversee education and employment services for disadvantaged youths in their communities. The department anticipates serving approximately 4,950 young people in this grant cycle. February 18 News Release
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced $150 million in grants to prepare and place the long-term unemployment into full-time employment. The Ready to Work Partnership grant competition will support and scale innovative partnerships between employers, nonprofit organizations, and America's public workforce system to build a pipeline of talented U.S. workers and help those experiencing long-term unemployment gain access to employment services that provide opportunities to return to work in middle- and high-skill jobs. Around 20 to 30 grants ranging from $3 million to $10 million will be awarded to programs focused on employer engagement, individualized counseling, job placement assistance, and work-based training that facilitate hiring for jobs where employers currently use foreign workers on H-1B visas. Grant applications are due by June 19. Click here for grant eligibility information. Click here to apply.
World Hunger Leadership Challenge Accepting Student Entries for Service Learning Grants - DEADLINE: APRIL 11, 2014
A total of up to $750,000 in prizes will be awarded to teams of students to create and execute a service-learning project that raises awareness of world hunger....
Indian Land Tenure Foundation Invites Letters of Inquiry - DEADLINE: MARCH 3, 2014 and AUGUST 4, 2014 (Letters of Inquiry). Grants of up to $100,000 will be awarded to help Native tribes reacquire alienated federal lands and ensure that Indian people have, at minimum, access to the financial and natural resources within their own reservations....
MetLife Foundation, LISC Seeking Nominations for 2014 Community-Police Partnership Awards - EADLINE: MARCH 9, 2014
The annual program aims to recognize partnerships that exhibit tangible accomplishments in their efforts to advance the process, outcome, and/or evaluation of effective police-community collaborations....
Mountaineers Foundation Seeks Proposals for Mountain Conservation Projects - DEADLINE: MAY 1, 2014. Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded for projects that promote the study of the mountains, forests, and streams of the Pacific Northwest and contribute to preserving the region's natural beauty and ecological integrity....
Captain Planet Foundation Accepting Applications for Ecotech Grants - DEADLINE: MAY 31, 2014. Grants of $2,500 will be awarded to schools or nonprofit organizations for projects that motivate children to use innovation, nature-based design, or technology to address environmental problems in their communities....
Avon Foundation Invites Letters of Intent From Safety-Net Hospitals - DEADLINE: Various (Letters of Intent). Grants of up to $100,000 will be awarded in support of patient navigation programs, partial equipment support, and other personnel and infrastructure support that enhances breast cancer care services to the medically underserved....
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