Author: Mandy Lambert

Central Kentucky Community Action Council, Inc. (CKCAC) and the Marion County Area Technology Center (MCATC), along with the Family Fellowship Prayer Center have partnered together to provide beds for the children of Marion and Washington Counties. There are many children in both of these counties who are currently sleeping on the floor, and it is no coincidence that these are the children who are showing multiple school performance issues. Therefore, CKCAC needs the help of the community! 

Students at MCATC have volunteered to build the beds, but we are still in need of the supplies. We are looking for donations such as wood, fasteners and bedding for when the beds are completed and delivered to the children.

“There are children without beds. Hard to believe, but true,” said CKCAC Executive Director, Hal B.  Goode. “Ashley and her partners are doing a noble thing by providing what most of us overlook so a child will not have to sleep on the floor. Please support this program, continue to talk about the needs here for these families.”

If you would like to support this program, please contact our Community Collaboration for Children Director, Ashley Caldwell-May, at 270-766-8027 or acaldwell@ckcac.org. To hear CCC Director, Ashley Caldwell-May, speak about the Build a Bed Program, click here.

April is Child Abuse Awareness Month. Below is a list of events CKCAC will be doing all month long across the Lincoln Trail Area.

Marion County – Child Abuse Awareness Walk with Head Start at Centre Square, Lebanon. April 13 from 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. There will be a petting zoo for families, a resource fair, giveaways, face painting and much more!

Marion/Washington – We have started a Build A Bed Program in Marion and Washington Counties in honor of April’s Child Abuse Prevention Month. We are in the very early stages of this program as we expect the production of beds to begin April 8.

Washington County – Cradle School with Washington County Family Resource Centers on April 26. I will be passing out information and discussing with parents how they can prevent child abuse and neglect.

Nelson – High School Kick Ball Showdown with Violence Prevention Group on April 22. We will have a resource table at this event and will also have time during the event to discuss the prevention of child abuse and neglect.

Larue – Caterpillar Corner Day Care, Parental Skills Development Class. We will be passing out information as well as resources to the parents that attend this class.

Grayson – Baby Bucket Laugh and Learn with Grayson County Family Resource Center. The event will be held at the Grayson County Extension office on April 12 at 9 a.m. CT.

Hardin – Poverty Simulation with Hardin County Task Force Development. The Poverty Simulation will be held April 11 at the Pritchard Community Center. The simulation is designed to take participants through a series of tasks that are similar to what individuals living in poverty experience in their daily lives.

Meade – The Thaw & Crawl 5K will be held April 19 at 6:30 p.m. We will have a resource table at this event to pass out materials and information that raise the awareness and the prevention of abuse and neglect.

Breckinridge – We will have a resource table set up in the Breckinridge County Library. The table will contain free information and resources that raise the awareness and prevention of abuse and neglect.

Central Kentucky Community Action’s Weatherization Program is in full swing and performing weatherization services in our eight-county service area. As of the end of December 2018, CKCAC’s weatherization program had completed 25 homes with 11 walkaways. As of January 1, CKCAC had 30 clients on the waiting list to receive services. The Weatherization Program is fully staffed with an in-house crew, along with contractors to perform HVAC, electrical work as well as weatherization that we have to perform to the dwellings receiving services

Staff includes highly trained supporting and technical staff personnel consisting of Denny Baxter, Dwelling Needs, Evaluator/QCI, Dustin McGowan Crew Leader, Aaron Haycraft, Retrofit Installer, Bob Turci Retrofit Installer, and supporting staff Barbara Garrett, Payroll and Weatherization Assistant.

Our services include testing of aliening air and thermal boundaries, pressure diagnostics, heating system diagnostics, indoor air quality, and base load energy consumption diagnostics. Weatherization staff attended training in the months of January and March to obtain new certifications, which are now required by the US DOE to participate in the weatherization program.

Denny Baxter will be attending training in the month of April to obtain his certification of BPI Energy Auditor as required by the DOE. We would like to say a huge thank you to all weatherization staff for their dedication for improving the quality of work and the dedication to ensure the health and safety of all the clients we serve.

CKCAC’s weatherization program has received funding from both DOE and LIHEAP with DOE funding of just over $260,000 and LIHEAP being just over $699,000 for 2018/2019. Central Kentucky Community Action Council has leveraged funds from utilities to expand the reach of the Weatherization Assistance Program. This year we are leveraging funding from DOE, LIHEAP, ATMOS, East Kentucky Power, Kentucky Utilities, and Louisville Gas& Electric.

Our goal is to continue to reduce energy waste and assure the health and safety of each client we serve. We look forward to the future of CKCAC’s weatherization program to progress and better serve our eight-county service area.

We have several programs updates to share.

LIHEAP Crisis – The application deadline for LIHEAP Crisis has been extended through April. County office staff members have processed 4,920 Crisis applications for 3,179 families between January 8, 2019 and April 3, 2019 for a total of $1,017,775.48 in benefits.

Kentucky Utilities Heating Assistance Program – The Community Services staff has re-certified 101 active participants in the KU Heating Assistance Program. Through this program, eligible Kentucky Utility customers will receive an $88 credit on their electric bill during the seven months of expected highest electricity usage. The total value of this program equals $62,216 for families. To qualify for the program, the family must be a KU customer, and have made an application for LIHEAP Subsidy.

Educational Scholarship Program – Scholarship packets have been delivered to the principals and counselors at each high school and vocational school, and the Adult Learning Centers in our service area, informing them of this program. Students are encouraged to apply for the scholarships which are paid directly to the college or technical school for tuition or books.

Community Needs Assessment – The Community Needs Assessment has been completed. Results will be used to establish the priorities for the CSBG Work Plan that will be included in the 2019-2020 CSBG budget proposal. Thanks to all who completed the Needs Assessment Survey Form. In all, 1,598 surveys were completed.

We will start with the most exciting news— the Kentucky Works Program (KWP) has once again been offered a contract for the next fiscal year. CKCAC has had this contract since 2007, and has expanded services from the original eight CKCAC counties to currently providing services in a total of 17 counties, encompassing the state’s Salt River region.

Having the opportunity to serve in counties outside of the original eight has allowed CKCAC to forge partnerships with other agencies and organizations that have benefited not only KWP, but also the entire agency. We hope that these partnerships will open doors for other program opportunities.

Staff regularly attend Inter-Agency meetings in all eight counties to ensure that we can offer all available resources to our participants. In addition, the collaboration with the other agencies also helps to spread the word of the many different programs that CKCAC has to offer. Community Partnerships are the key to any programs success and has proven so valuable to the Kentucky Works Program.

An exciting April is coming up with many positive programs and activities, but I am going to look into the Central Kentucky Community Action Council (CKCAC) crystal ball for an awesome look at May. National Community Action Month in May was created by the Community Action Partnership to reinforce Community Action agencies’ role in helping low-income families achieve economic stability.

During National Community Action Month, Community Action Agencies truly make the promise of Community Action—to help people and change lives—come alive by hosting events that help put a “face” on the families striving to achieve self-sufficiency. CKCAC will be hosting events throughout May with success stories being honored and personal achievements being recognized.

Community Action Agencies also use National Community Action Month to call attention to the positive programs that help thousands of families achieve self-sufficiency. As Central Kentucky Community Action Council continues to showcase our programs, we are also giving local residents -many of whom are unaware of the poverty in their communities -a first-hand look at the struggles low-income families face and how CKCAC programs help these families achieve financial security.

CKCAC will also be a part of the Senior Celebration on May 16 at the Pritchard Community Center in Elizabethtown as we celebrate Older Americans Month. This has been going on for over 50 years. Let’s keep it going and celebrate our seniors.

We don’t want to do this without you. I welcome you to be a part of it.

More to come….much more.

Hello from the CCC family! We are extremely busy providing CCC in-home services as well as the operation of the Lincoln Trail Regional Network.

We deliver quality in-home services to our families and provide professional coaching and support. Right now, we are aiding families in increasing positive parenting and discipline skills, obtaining housing, improving household cleanliness, increasing budgeting skills and financial management, building positive relationships with schools and most importantly we are providing a positive support for families. We are striving to connect families to available community resources and supports that may be beneficial to the family.

We are currently serving 10 families and have many families on our waiting list. The families on our waiting list have been offered a family planning meeting. Family planning meetings are a resource used to bring the targeted family and appropriate community partners together in order to brainstorm and create an action plan that will best aid the family. These meetings have been a huge success and are beneficial to the families involved.

April is Child Abuse Awareness Month and the Lincoln TrailRegional Network has many activities planned in our communities to raise the awareness and prevention of child abuse and neglect. Our activities are as follows:

Marion County – Child Abuse Awareness Walk at Center Square on April 13^th from12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Washington County – “Prevention Talks” at North Washington Elementary SchoolCradle School on Fridays in April.

Nelson County – Violence Prevention Kick Ball Event at Bardstown High School.

Larue County– Prevention Resource Information Table displayed at the Larue CountyLibrary during the month of April.

Hardin County– Poverty Simulation at Pritchard Community Center on April 11^th.

Breckinridge County– Prevention Resource Information Table displayed at theBreckinridge County Library during the month of April.

Grayson County– Prevention Lunch and Learn at Lawler Elementary.

Meade County– Darkness to Light: Child Sexual Abuse Training at the Meade CountyLibrary on April 27^th starting at 9:00 a.m.

The Family Child Care and Unaffiliated Centers Programs have seen such growth in the past few months! It has been a whirlwind of signing them up and submitting the paperwork to the Child and Adult Care Food Program. There are 18 counties with homes and centers participating under the sponsorship of Central Kentucky Community Action.

The agency now serves as a sponsor for 21 centers, meaning nearly 900 children are being served meals and snacks with better nutrition as a focus. Staff at the centers are trained to plan menus with the children’s nutrition needs in mind. Less processed foods are being served and children are introduced to more fresh fruits and vegetables.

Although the Family Child Care Homes has steadily declined all over the state during the past few years, the homes sponsored by the agency have shown a determination to improve the nutrition and the overall quality of care. There are around 300 children impacted by the participation in the program.

It is a blessing for centers and homes to participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program. They are able to provide better nutrition for the children with the reimbursement. The children benefit so much being introduced to good nutrition at an early age. Parents can be assured children are getting better nutrition. They realize the importance of this because the bulk of a child’s daily nutrition is being served at the child care program. It is a win-win situation for all!

The Big Reveal……What an awesome day with our Capital Partners at Spring View Hospital and the unveiling of our first CKCATS van wrap for Central Kentucky Community Action Council. Thanks to Greg Gribbins and the Marion County Chamber for organizing the event.

Funding for this wrap will be used for programs at Central Kentucky Community Action Council to continue our research into transportation of potential employees for available workforce in our region. Making transportation more readily available to these workers could go a long way with the community discussion focusing on workforce development & transportation.

The CKCATS van wraps are a way to show partnerships and with the March Goode News, I think we should just think fictionally if one of our CKCATS vans could have a conversation with us what would it say? First, it would tell you about the many seniors it takes to meals daily here in the Lincoln Trail Area where they have a nutritious meal as our menus are prepared by a registered dietitian. It would tell you about the veteran it takes to daily dialysis and how someone donated funds to help pay for the transportation due to financial distress the individual faces.

I bet it would comment about what a pleasure it was to have six Korean students from Lindsey Wilson College transported to Louisville International Airport though Intercity Program where anyone can take transportation to the airport or greyhound bus station for only $10 per person. Most importantly, it would tell you about our CKCATS team that strive every day to provide care to those who are in transport. CKCATS has logged 100,000 trips by our 74 transport vehicles, equaling 1.8 million miles logged for the 2018-19 fiscal year.

CKCAC will continue to address the needs of our service area. We are proud to serve the citizens of the Lincoln Trail Area with life changing programs and services. We will continue to strive to empower those seeking economic stability, while working to strengthen families and build better communities. Funding from projects with our Capital Campaign will do just that. If you would like to be a part, please contact me.

More to come, much more…….

Special thanks to Gary White and Channel 6 for covering the event. If you would like to view the unveiling of the CATS van, please click here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WH2deL6S28.