http://www.menshealthmonth.org/
Friday, June 1, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
NRRC: Juvenile Justice Program Deadlines Approaching
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Center for Juvenile Justice Reform Certificate Program Application Deadlines Approaching
The application deadlines for the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform’s 2012 Certificate Programs are approaching. CJJR is offering three Certificate Programs at Georgetown University, in Washington, DC:- Information Sharing Certificate Program, October 1-4, 2012 (final application deadline is June 28, 2012)
- Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare: Multi-System Integration Certificate Program for Public Sector Leaders, October 10-17, 2012 (final application deadline is June 21, 2012)
- Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare: Multi-System Integration Certificate Program for Private Sector Leaders, November 7-14, 2012 (final application deadline is July 17, 2012)
For more information and to apply, please visit http://cjjr.georgetown.edu and click on “Certificate Programs” or email CJJR at jjreform@georgetown.edu.
This is a National Reentry Resource Center Announcement. This announcement is funded in whole or in part through a grant (award number: 2010-MUBX-KO84) from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this announcement (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided).
Webinar: June 26th. U.S. Nuclear Industry A Year After Fukushima
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Sunday, May 27, 2012
AP IMPACT: Almost half of new vets seek disability
By |
Associated
Press
As the nation commemorates the more than 6,400 troops who died in post-9/11
wars, the problems of those who survived also draw attention. These new veterans
are seeking a level of help the government did not anticipate, and for which
there is no special fund set aside to pay.
The 21 percent who filed claims in previous wars is Hickey's estimate of an
average for Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield. The VA has details only on
the current disability claims being paid to veterans of each war.
The AP spent three months reviewing records and talking with doctors, government officials and former troops to take stock of the new veterans. They are different in many ways from those who fought before them.
More of the new veterans are women, accounting for 12 percent of those who
have sought care through the VA. Women also served in greater numbers in these
wars than in the past. Some female veterans are claiming PTSD due to military
sexual trauma — a new challenge from a disability rating standpoint, Hickey
said.
The new veterans have different types of injuries than previous veterans did. That's partly because improvised bombs have been the main weapon and because body armor and improved battlefield care allowed many of them to survive wounds that in past wars proved fatal.
"They're being kept alive at unprecedented rates," said Dr. David Cifu, the VA's medical rehabilitation chief. More than 95 percent of troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan have survived.
Larry Bailey II is an example. After tripping a rooftop bomb in Afghanistan last June, the 26-year-old Marine remembers flying into the air, then fellow troops attending to him.
"I pretty much knew that my legs were gone. My left hand, from what I remember I still had three fingers on it," although they didn't seem right, Bailey said. "I looked a few times but then they told me to stop looking." Bailey, who is from Zion, Ill., north of Chicago, ended up a triple amputee and expects to get a hand transplant this summer.
He is still transitioning from active duty and is not yet a veteran. Just over half of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans eligible for VA care have used it so far.
Of those who have sought VA care:
—More than 1,600 of them lost a limb; many others lost fingers or toes.
—At least 156 are blind, and thousands of others have impaired vision.
—More than 177,000 have hearing loss, and more than 350,000 report tinnitus — noise or ringing in the ears.
—Thousands are disfigured, as many as 200 of them so badly that they may need face transplants.
One-quarter of battlefield injuries requiring evacuation included wounds to the face or jaw, one study found.
"The numbers are pretty staggering," said Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, a surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston who has done four face transplants on non-military patients and expects to start doing them soon on veterans.
Others have invisible wounds. More than 400,000 of these new veterans have been treated by the VA for a mental health problem, most commonly, PTSD.
That's still a big number, and "it's very rare that someone has just a single
concussion," said David Hovda, director of the UCLA Brain Injury Research
Center. Suffering multiple concussions, or one soon after another, raises the
risk of long-term problems. A brain injury also makes the brain more susceptible
to PTSD, he said.
On a more mundane level, many new veterans have back, shoulder and knee problems, aggravated by carrying heavy packs and wearing the body armor that helped keep them alive. One recent study found that 19 percent required orthopedic surgery consultations and 4 percent needed surgery after returning from combat.
More than 560,000 veterans from all wars currently have claims that are
backlogged — older than 125 days.
The VA's benefits chief, Hickey, gave these reasons:
—High number of ailments per claim. When a veteran claims 11 to 14 problems,
each one requires "due diligence" — a medical evaluation and proof that it is
service-related, Hickey said.
For taxpayers, the ordeal is just beginning. With any war, the cost of caring for veterans rises for several decades and peaks 30 to 40 years later, when diseases of aging are more common, said Harvard economist Linda Bilmes. She estimates the health care and disability costs of the recent wars at $600 billion to $900 billion.
"This is a huge number and there's no money set aside," she said. "Unless we take steps now into some kind of fund that will grow over time, it's very plausible many people will feel we can't afford these benefits we overpromised."
How would that play to these veterans, who all volunteered and now expect the government to keep its end of the bargain?
America's newest veterans are
filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most
medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever
seen.
A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million
veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation
for injuries they say are service-related. That is more than double the estimate
of 21 percent who filed such claims after the Gulf War in the early 1990s, top
government
officials told The Associated Press.
What's more, these new veterans are
claiming eight to nine ailments on average, and the most recent ones over the
last year are claiming 11 to 14. By comparison, Vietnam veterans are currently receiving
compensation for fewer than four, on average, and those from World War II and
Korea, just two.
It's unclear how much worse off these new
veterans are than their predecessors. Many factors are driving the dramatic
increase in claims — the weak economy, more troops surviving wounds, and more
awareness of problems such as concussions and PTSD. Almost one-third have been
granted disability so far.
Government officials and some veterans'
advocates say that veterans who might have been able to work with certain
disabilities may be more inclined to seek benefits now because they lost jobs or
can't find any. Aggressive outreach and advocacy efforts also have brought more
veterans into the system, which must evaluate each claim to see if it is
war-related. Payments range from $127 a month for a 10 percent disability to
$2,769 for a full one.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is mired
in backlogged claims, but "our mission is to take care of whatever the
population is," said Allison Hickey, the VA's undersecretary for benefits. "We want
them to have what their entitlement is."
The AP spent three months reviewing records and talking with doctors, government officials and former troops to take stock of the new veterans. They are different in many ways from those who fought before them.
More are from the Reserves and National
Guard — 28 percent of those filing disability claims — rather than career
military. Reserves and National Guard made up a greater percentage of troops in
these wars than they did in previous ones. About 31 percent of Guard/Reserve new
veterans have filed claims compared to 56 percent of career military ones.
The new veterans have different types of injuries than previous veterans did. That's partly because improvised bombs have been the main weapon and because body armor and improved battlefield care allowed many of them to survive wounds that in past wars proved fatal.
"They're being kept alive at unprecedented rates," said Dr. David Cifu, the VA's medical rehabilitation chief. More than 95 percent of troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan have survived.
Larry Bailey II is an example. After tripping a rooftop bomb in Afghanistan last June, the 26-year-old Marine remembers flying into the air, then fellow troops attending to him.
"I pretty much knew that my legs were gone. My left hand, from what I remember I still had three fingers on it," although they didn't seem right, Bailey said. "I looked a few times but then they told me to stop looking." Bailey, who is from Zion, Ill., north of Chicago, ended up a triple amputee and expects to get a hand transplant this summer.
He is still transitioning from active duty and is not yet a veteran. Just over half of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans eligible for VA care have used it so far.
Of those who have sought VA care:
—More than 1,600 of them lost a limb; many others lost fingers or toes.
—At least 156 are blind, and thousands of others have impaired vision.
—More than 177,000 have hearing loss, and more than 350,000 report tinnitus — noise or ringing in the ears.
—Thousands are disfigured, as many as 200 of them so badly that they may need face transplants.
One-quarter of battlefield injuries requiring evacuation included wounds to the face or jaw, one study found.
"The numbers are pretty staggering," said Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, a surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston who has done four face transplants on non-military patients and expects to start doing them soon on veterans.
Others have invisible wounds. More than 400,000 of these new veterans have been treated by the VA for a mental health problem, most commonly, PTSD.
Tens of thousands of veterans suffered
traumatic brain injury, or TBI — mostly mild concussions from bomb blasts — and
doctors don't know what's in store for them long-term. Cifu, of the VA, said
that roughly 20 percent of active duty troops suffered concussions, but only
one-third of them have symptoms lasting beyond a few months.
On a more mundane level, many new veterans have back, shoulder and knee problems, aggravated by carrying heavy packs and wearing the body armor that helped keep them alive. One recent study found that 19 percent required orthopedic surgery consultations and 4 percent needed surgery after returning from combat.
All of this adds up to more disability claims,
which for years have been coming in faster than the government can handle them.
The average wait to get a new one processed grows longer each month and is now
about eight months — time that a frustrated, injured veteran might spend with no
income.
The VA's benefits chief, Hickey, gave these reasons:
—Sheer volume. Disability claims from all
veterans soared from 888,000 in 2008 to 1.3 million in 2011. Last year's
included more than 230,000 new claims from Vietnam veterans and their survivors
because of a change in what conditions can be considered related to Agent Orange
exposure. Those complex, 50-year-old cases took more than a third of available
staff, she said.
—A new mandate to handle the oldest cases
first. Because these tend to be the most complex, they have monopolized staff
and pushed up average processing time on new claims, she said.
—Outmoded systems. The VA is streamlining and
going to electronic records, but for now, "We have 4.4 million case files
sitting around 56 regional offices that we have to work with; that slows us down
significantly," Hickey said.
Barry Jesinoski, executive director of
Disabled American Veterans, called Hickey's efforts "commendable," but said:
"The VA has a long way to go" to meet veterans' needs. Even before the surge in
Agent Orange cases, VA officials "were already at a place that was unacceptable"
on backlogged claims, he said.
He and VA officials agree that the economy
is motivating some claims. His group helps veterans file them, and he said that
sometimes when veterans come in, "We'll say, 'Is your back worse?' and they'll
say, 'No, I just lost my job.'"
Jesinoski does believe these veterans have
more mental problems, especially from multiple deployments.
"You just can't keep sending people into war five, six or seven times and
expect that they're going to come home just fine," he said.For taxpayers, the ordeal is just beginning. With any war, the cost of caring for veterans rises for several decades and peaks 30 to 40 years later, when diseases of aging are more common, said Harvard economist Linda Bilmes. She estimates the health care and disability costs of the recent wars at $600 billion to $900 billion.
"This is a huge number and there's no money set aside," she said. "Unless we take steps now into some kind of fund that will grow over time, it's very plausible many people will feel we can't afford these benefits we overpromised."
How would that play to these veterans, who all volunteered and now expect the government to keep its end of the bargain?
"The deal was, if you get wounded, we're
going to supply this level of support," Bilmes said. Right now, "there's a lot
of sympathy and a lot of people want to help. But memories are short and times
change."
___
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Government Contracting: A Three-Part Webinar Series. June\July\August 2012
BEMA Network members (Individual\Private, Affiliate, Community Participation, Critical Infrastructures):
Something of special interest to Non-profits, and Affiliate members.
If you are outside of the Washington, D.C. area knowing even the D.C. contracting requirements could be of some us.
Federals workers and their
families live either within D.C. or the neighboring communities that stretches
even further then Baltimore, Maryland in the North, Richmond, Virginia in the
South, Delaware in the East, and West Virginia in the West.. The degrees of
seperation are far less then you think.
It doesn't hurt to know how
business is conducted in the District of
Columbia.
Charles
Government Contracting: A Three-Part Webinar Series Thursday, June 21, 2012 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT
Webinar Registration
This three-part webinar is designed for small business owners, including sole proprietors, business partnerships, general managers and owners of LLCs. Participants will learn the basics of government contracting from experienced attorneys at WilmerHale.
Thursday, June 21, 2012 "Intro to Federal Government Contracting and Subcontracting"
Thursday, July 19, 2012 "Government Contacting as a Small and Disadvantaged Business"
Thursday, August 16, 2012 "Contracting with the DC Government & Performing Government Grants"
Each webinar will start at 12 noon Eastern Time and last 60 minutes.
Presenters: Joe Smith, Counsel, WilmerHale Matthew Haws, Counsel, WilmerHale
Carla Weiss, Associate, WilmerHale Leslie Harrelson, Associate, WilmerHale
Please note: Registering here signs you up for all three webinars. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/353658632%3E
Charles
Charles D. Sharp
Chief Executive. Founder
"One of the true test of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." Arnold H. Glasgow
Government Contracting: A Three-Part Webinar Series Thursday, June 21, 2012 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT
Webinar Registration
This three-part webinar is designed for small business owners, including sole proprietors, business partnerships, general managers and owners of LLCs. Participants will learn the basics of government contracting from experienced attorneys at WilmerHale.
Thursday, June 21, 2012 "Intro to Federal Government Contracting and Subcontracting"
Thursday, July 19, 2012 "Government Contacting as a Small and Disadvantaged Business"
Thursday, August 16, 2012 "Contracting with the DC Government & Performing Government Grants"
Each webinar will start at 12 noon Eastern Time and last 60 minutes.
Presenters: Joe Smith, Counsel, WilmerHale Matthew Haws, Counsel, WilmerHale
Carla Weiss, Associate, WilmerHale Leslie Harrelson, Associate, WilmerHale
Please note: Registering here signs you up for all three webinars. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/353658632%3E
Friday, May 25, 2012
Webinar: SBA Small Loan Advantage Program
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Thursday, May 24, 2012
FEMA's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System
Mobile wireless
emergency alerting capabilities will be available nationwide through
participating carriers
WASHINGTON - Hurricane
Season begins June 1, 2012, FEMA is providing additional tools for federal,
state, local, tribal and territorial officials to alert and warn the public
about severe weather. Using the Commercial Mobile Alert System, or CMAS, which
is a part of FEMA's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, this structure
will be used to deliver Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) to wireless carriers
for distribution to the public.
The CMAS system will
allow the National Weather Service to soon begin issuing WEAs for the most
dangerous weather through participating wireless carriers directly to cell
phones. The alerts will be broadcast by cell towers much like an AM/FM radio
station, and cell phones within range will immediately pick up the signal,
provided they are capable of receiving these alerts. The availability of WEA
alerts will be dependent on the network status of the wireless carriers and
handset availability, since not all cell phones can receive WEAs. People should
check with their cellular carriers to see if WEA alerts are available in their area.
"The wireless
emergency alert capability provides an additional opportunity for the public to
receive life-saving information needed to get out of harm's way when a threat
exists," said Timothy Manning, FEMA deputy administrator for protection
and national preparedness. "The public also has a critical role in their
personal preparedness. There are a few simple steps that everyone can take to
be prepared, like knowing which risks exist in your area and making a family
emergency plan. Information and resources to help individuals and families
prepare can be found at ready.gov."
WEAs will look like a
text message, and will automatically appear on the mobile device screen showing
the type and time of alert along with any action that should be taken. The
message will be no more than 90 characters, and will have a unique tone and
vibration, indicating a WEA has been received. If an alert is received,
citizens should follow the instructions and seek additional information from
radio, television, NOAA Weather Radio, and other official sources for emergency
information. Citizens should only call 911 in a life threatening situation.
Only authorized
federal, state, local, tribal or territorial officials can send WEA alerts to
the public. As with all new cellular services, it will take time for upgrades
in infrastructure, coverage, and handset technology to allow WEA alerts to
reach all cellular customers.
FEMA urges individuals
and businesses to take action to prepare themselves in advance of severe
weather and hurricanes such as taking the pledge to prepare at www.ready.gov/pledge. This is the first step in making sure you and your family is ready for an
emergency. This includes filling out your family
communications plan that you can email to yourself, assembling
an emergency kit, keeping important papers and valuables in a safe place, and getting involved.
With the start of
hurricanes season it is even more important to know your risk, take action, and
be an example. While hurricanes often offer some warning that a threat is
approaching, severe weather can occur at any time and in any place, including
high winds, inland flooding, severe storms and tornadoes.
For more on family
preparedness, visit www.ready.gov/hurricanes for more planning information and safety tips.
FEMA's mission is to
support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work
together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect
against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
Career Opportunities: Advancement Project
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
VOTING RIGHTS CAMPAIGN MANAGER
LAW FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR FALL 2013
STAFF ATTORNEY, ENDING LIFETIME DISENFRANCHISEMENT PROJECT
PARALEGAL
VIRGINIA CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR
STAFF ATTORNEY - ENDING THE SCHOOLHOUSE TO JAILHOUSE TRACK
PROJECT DIRECTOR AND SENIOR ATTORNEY, IMMIGRANT JUSTICE
STAFF ATTORNEY - IMMIGRANT JUSTICE
STAFF ATTORNEY - VOTER PROTECTION (TEMPORARY)
SENIOR ATTORNEY - VOTER PROTECTION (TEMPORARY)
DEPUTY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
Community Participation: Taking Control and Creating Change
Creating Change is the People’s Job
We—not just the
president—have to be the agents of change in our society. How do we extend our
electoral organizing beyond the elections?
by Deepak
Bhargava posted May 23, 2012
There is a grumble being repeated in some progressive circles.
It goes like this: “President Obama has been a disappointment. But what’s the
alternative?” It’s usually followed by a sigh and a plea for work to save the
“few minor” things we did get done in the last three years.
But this grumbling is largely wrong. Some of the disappointment is
understandable. For instance, on the President’s watch, thousands of immigrant
families have been torn apart by inhumane deportation policies
Even so, our achievements are by no means minor. The stimulus
contained the largest expansion of anti-poverty programs in a generation,
health care reform is already expanding coverage for millions of people, “Don’t
Ask, Don’t Tell” has been consigned to the history books, and efforts to slash
Medicare and Social Security have been held in check.
From where I stand, something more interesting is going on. We’ve
examined ourselves and found a fundamental weakness: We placed too much hope
and faith in the president. It was a mistake, but not because this president
has somehow betrayed us. He’s done what presidents do: governed under all the
stresses of competing pressures.
Abolitionists gave us abolition, not Lincoln. The civil
rights movement gave us voting rights for blacks. The suffragette movement gave
women the right to vote.
It was a mistake because we—not just the president—have to be the
agents of change in our society. Electoral victories without sustained
movements will never address inequality, poverty, or any of the major issues we
face. Abolitionists gave us abolition, not Lincoln. Powerful movements focus on
issues, not on presidents.
The civil rights movement gave us voting rights for blacks. The
suffragette movement gave women the right to vote. The gay rights movement gave
gays the right to marry and put an end to “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” Union
victories created the modern middle class.
Increasingly, those who are engaging in this more
interesting conversation are asking: How do we extend our electoral organizing beyond the
elections?
This is a far more exciting question because answering it correctly
will give us a chance at the real prize: building a society governed by
progressive values and policies that move us all forward together.
At the Center for Community Change, we’ve been doing
this with immigration policy. We are turning outrage over the administration’s
massive deportations into action to enhance the power of immigrants in our
society. Our “Change Takes Courage” campaign holds the White House accountable
for tearing families apart. At the same time, we send a clear message to all
those who oppose immigration reform by making our voter registration and voter turnout work be first and foremost about
raising the power of immigrants to make sure their voices are heard in all
ways, not just at the ballot box.
http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/making-it-home/creating-change-is-our-job?utm_source=mayjun12&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CreatingChange
U.S. Humanitarian Assistance: Honduras.
Honduras: Missouri Army Guard Soldiers celebrate building a schoolhouse for Hondurans
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Walter Van OchtenU.S. Army South
Army
South's Task Force Tropic, commanded by Army Lt. Col. Robert L. Jones, Missouri
Army National Guard, and Leonidas Matamoros, a community leader who had been
instrumental in getting this project for his community, thanked each for their
mutual help in building a school, in Micheletti, Honduras, May 8, 2012. (U.S.
Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Walter Van Ochten)(Released)
download hi-res photoU.S. Army South’s Task Force Tropic, commanded by Army Lt. Col. Robert L. Jones, Missouri Army National Guard joined with Micheletti key community leaders and San Pedro Sula officials for a “First Stone” ceremony at the site of a two-room school that is under construction as part of U.S. Southern Command’s Beyond the Horizon 2012.
Beyond the Horizon 2012 is a U.S. Army South planned exercise that deploys military engineers and medical professionals to Honduras for training, while providing services to rural communities. BTHs are conducted annually in the U.S Southern Command area of responsibility and are part of its humanitarian and civic assistance program.
The local leaders got a tour of the partially finished schoolhouse and bathroom.
Jones along with project manager, Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Vitale, 294th Engineer Company, 203rd Engineering Battalion, 35th Engineering Brigade; San Pedro Sulas’ vice-mayor Dr. Reiner A. Laitano; project manager for all villages at San Pedro de Sula, Dunia Jimenez, Preecidente de Patronatos, San Pedrd Sula, and Col. Calixto Tejada Honduran 14th Infantry Battalion executive officer, grabbed some shovels and dug into the earth symbolically displaying the commitment they have to the people living in this community.
Jones then stood in the midst of the large crowd as the Honduran officials gave speeches showing their gratitude to the Americans for their effort in building the school.
Once they finished, Jones stepped forward from the crowd to return the favor, his words echoed those of the Honduran speakers by stating he was “to the local community for their support of his Soldiers' training and commitment to the schoolhouse under construction.”
Before he said those words, on his way to the microphone, he encountered Leonidas Matamoros, a community leader who all day long had been leading his community in cheering and applauding and had been instrumental in getting this project for his community.
Jones stopped and with a hardy handshake and a bear hug the two thanked each for their mutual help in building the school.
The day, however, wasn’t just for the dignitaries and the commanders; it was for all those standing out in the heat, humidity and sun whose partnership is bringing a new school to this community.
http://www.nationalguard.mil/news/archives/2012/05/052312-Honduras.aspx?src=rss
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
USDA: Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships
 http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=FBCI | |||
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USDA has a long history of working with faith-based and community
organizations to help those in need, by providing federal assistance through domestic nutrition assistance programs, international food aid, rural development opportunities, and natural resource conservation. As we continue strengthening USDA's existing relationships and build new ones, the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will be instrumental in working with our community partners, faith-based and secular, to reach even more people in need throughout our country. On behalf of everyone at USDA, Secretary Tom Vilsack would like to thank each and every partner for their dedication to this important work. Please let us know how we can support your efforts. I Want To... |
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 assistance they need. We rely on local organizations and various partners to help get food to those in need. |
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 various grant and loan programs to help develop housing, community facilities and businesses in our small towns. |
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 conserve their soil, water and other natural resources. Additionally, USDA is the steward of our national forests. | ||
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Feed a Neighbor
Get Information |
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Gleaning Guide
Download the Toolkit |
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Let's Move Faith and Communities
Get Information |
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Know Your Farmer
Get Information |
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