J Miles, Author at CKCAC

Community Action Transportation Services (CATS)

Kerri Taylor, Director

CKCATS has had a very busy but exciting year thus far! Our trip capacity continues to climb as our Drivers work diligently and expeditiously to keep up with the number of trips pouring in! Although our trip capacity has increased, we have been able to continue to provide all of our offered services: Medicaid, Intercity, Senior, Veteran, and General Public trips.

We are still waiting to hear back from OTD about funds that we will be awarded through the FY23 5339 and 5311 Grant applications that were submitted. Due to the shortage and predicted wait time for 12×2 and 8×2 larger vehicles, we did request a total of $405,760 in rehab funding in the 5339 Grant to maintain the fleet that we currently have.

We received great news last month that CKCATS was awarded $851,329 through the Competitive Section 5339(b) that we applied for! Some funding will be used to purchase 10 Expansion Vehicles to start a Pilot Program that will take individuals to and from work. Some funding will be used to rehabilitate some of our parking lots where we park our fleet. Part of this funding will also be used to enhance the technology in CKCATS. We will be updating all cameras in our vehicles to obtain live view, going paperless by providing drivers smart tablets to log and record trips, and doing a major update on our scheduling software system.

CKCATS participated in the Loretto Street Fair. We had a CATS vehicle on site and handed out our brochures and Intercity rack cards. CKCATS also participated in the Senior Celebration Day held in Marion County on June 29^th. We handed out brochures and goodie bags to the seniors and donated a gift basket for a door prize. The Seniors had a great time at the celebration and CKCATS felt fortunate to be in attendance.

You may have recently seen me or my staff in some of your counties. Last month the office staff and I dedicated a week to visit the counties to promote CATS and our services and gain more participation in our Intercity program. We visited many sites in each county and were able to talk to individuals and answer questions about our services. We booked 2 Intercity trips during our visits to the counties! If anyone you know has any questions about CATS services and our Intercity Program or would like a visit from CATS to answer questions or receive some of our brochures, please feel free to contact me at 270-692-2136 or kerri.taylor@ckcac.org.

CKCATS continues to hire drivers in all counties. If you or anyone you know is interested in driving for CATS either full-time or part-time, please go to careers@ckcac.org to apply.

LIHEAP Vendor Solicitation

Central Kentucky Community Action Council, Inc. is seeking vendors to provide propane, firewood, kerosene, fuel oil and coal to eligible clients during the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Subsidy will run from November 7, 2022 through December 16, 2022 and the Crisis phase of the program will run from January 9, 2023 through March 31, 2023 (or until funds are expended). Anyone interested in supplying any of the above items and being placed on the subsidy and/or crisis approved vendor list, must complete a vendor application packet. Packets may be picked up at your local Community Action Community Services office or you may request one via email. Please email your request to csbgassistant@ckcac.org. The vendor solicitation packet must be returned to the Community Action Office located at the address below and must be returned no later than, October 7, 2022. Emailed packets will be accepted otherwise must be mailed to:

CKCAC

Judith Moffitt

PO Box 830

Lebanon, KY 40033

(270) 692-2136 ext 402

Both phases of LIHEAP are federally funded programs. Operations of both phases are contingent upon Federal appropriation.

This project is funded in part under a contract with the Cabinet for Health & Family Services with funds from CSBG Act of the U.S. Deportment of Health and Human Services.

Equal Opportunity Employer

CKCAC Area Board of Directors Meeting

As a non-profit agency, Central Kentucky Community Action, Inc. is required to inform the local community of the Area Board of Directors Meeting which is open to the public. The meeting will be on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, at 2:30 PM EST at the Lincoln Trail Area Development District. For more information, call the Central Office at 270-692-2136.

CKCAC Area Special Called Board of Directors Meeting

As a non-profit agency, Central Kentucky Community Action, Inc. is required to inform the local community of the Area Board of Directors Meeting which is open to the public. The meeting will be on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, at 10:00 AM EST via Zoom. For more information, call the Central Office at 270-692-2136.

Welcome Back!!!

Tammy Stanley, Head Start Director

As the month turns to August, Head Start and Early Head Start prepares for a new beginning to the school year. We are renewed and refreshed from the summer and have our full attention to welcoming 494 children to our programs. Many faces will be familiar, and some will be new. Regardless, the beginning school year brings an opportunity to start anew and do all we can for our children and families.

Head Start and Early Head Start has many updates to report as we wrap up our summer planning processes. We are beginning a new initiative entitled the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP). ELP will allow Instructional Assistants the opportunity to be selected to complete advanced training and college coursework with the intention of being fully qualified Teachers within two years. These Instructional Assistants will be trained to work with our Head Start and Early Head Start classrooms and will be deployed to support classrooms across the agency throughout the year.

To help increase support for our teaching staff and enhance services to children, Head Start and Early Head Start is adding a 4^th Education Coach. We want to make sure that all staff are adequately supported and can provide the highest quality services to our children. Adding an additional Education Coach to our ranks increases Head Start and Early Head Start’s ability to do so.

Lastly, COVID-19 is still with us. Head Start and Early Head Start is working closely with the Lincoln Trail Health Department to implement pandemic safety protocols in alignment with the CDC and Ky’s Division of Regulated Childcare. We would like to encourage you and your loved ones (ages six months and older) to consider getting vaccinated. The more children and families who are vaccinated, the safer we all are and the more likely we can keep all classrooms and centers open this year.