Volunteer for an advisory board, commission, or other boards in your community.

BEMA Network members (All):

Seek out, review, and apply for local government advisory, commission, and other advisory board positions in your area.  

Your talent and experience can be utilize by your community, local politicians, and administrative agencies to provide the necessary input and advice ensuring the sustainability, and resiliency of your community.

Compensation may be in the form of payments for travel, parking, or other incidental cost to attend meetings.  

Review the article below on the number of positions available serving on boards and commissions.

Remember to get involved.

Charles D. Sharp

Emergency Manager

Senior Advisor

"One of the true test of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency."       Arnold H. Glasgow

 

http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/dc/2012/03/dc-boards-sit-empty-outdated-process-stalls/351706

D.C. boards sit empty, outdated as process stalls

The District's boards and commissions, which oversee matters ranging from tax appeals to dentists, have more than 700 open seats, a Washington Examiner analysis shows. Also, more than two dozen of the city's 175 panels are empty or composed of members whose terms have expired.

The number of available slots -- 729 out of 2,071 positions -- has fallen by 74 since October. Then, 21 panels had no members at all or were exclusively made up of people whose terms had ended. Since, that figure has risen to 27.

Depending on the board, District law permits members whose terms have ended to serve 180 days or until the new selection makes it through the nomination process, meaning some members can serve indefinitely.

Help wanted

The number of District boards and commissions that are vacant or staffed only by appointees whose terms have expired has jumped to 27 from 21 in October. Those panels include:

Homeland Security Commission Occupational Safety and Health Board

Real Property Tax Appeals Commission

Statewide Health Coordinating Council

Destination D.C.

Mayor Vincent Gray is responsible for filling the boards, and some nominations require the D.C. Council's approval.

But the process has stalled, and an additional 38 boards don't have a majority of their seats occupied by people whose terms are current, meaning 65 panels aren't functioning at all or are doing so with members whose terms have expired. Officials couldn't immediately on Thursday provide a roster of the boards that are listed as vacant yet continue to function with holdovers, but mayoral spokesman Pedro Ribeiro said they are plentiful. "A lot of the boards ... are actually fully operational and continue to do their jobs because they have that leeway," Ribeiro said.

Ribeiro also said that so far in fiscal 2012, Gray has named 44 percent more nominees than he did in the last fiscal year.

One city official suggested part of the backlog could be blamed on former Mayor Adrian Fenty.
"We inherited the largest number of vacancies a mayor has ever inherited," the official said on the condition of anonymity. "It has swamped the capacity of [the Office of Boards and Commissions.]"
Complicating Gray's efforts to fill positions: That office has only one permanent employee -- and he's on leave. An interim director and two staffers are temporarily working in the office.

The head of the city's police union, which has a lawsuit pending against the city for failing to name members to the panel that sets standards for police officers, said vacancies of any city boards are troubling.
"Obviously, Gray is just not interested in the long-term future," Kris Baumann said. "It's either paralysis or incompetence, but they have not done what they were elected to do."

ablinder@washingtonexaminer.com

National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day. May 9, 2012

As National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day approaches on May 9, 2012, a data point will be released at least once a month about trauma and resilience in children and youth. Help raise awareness about the importance of children's mental health by sharing these data points with your distribution list of child-, youth-, and family-serving organizations, associations, agencies, and individuals and encouraging them to share with their contacts.

February 2012

Among a sample of youth in juvenile detention, 93 percent of males and 84 percent of females reported exposure to a traumatic experience. Eleven percent of males and 15 percent of females met the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD and other mental health challenges can impair a youth's capacity to reach age-appropriate developmental goals.

With help from families, friends, providers, and other Heroes of Hope, children and youth can be resilient when dealing with trauma. Visit http://1.usa.gov/zKxV8K to learn more.

January 2012

Children and youth who experience trauma display increases in stress hormones comparable to those displayed in combat veterans. Researchers point to multiple potential outcomes for children exposed to trauma, including attachment, mood regulation, dissociation, self-concept challenges, and behavioral, cognition, and biological changes, all of which can have a negative impact on school attendance, learning, and academic achievement.

With help from families, friends, providers, and other Heroes of Hope, children and youth can be resilient when dealing with trauma. Visit http://1.usa.gov/AbbNsM to learn more.

May 2011

When exposed to a traumatic event, children as young as 18 months can have serious emotional and behavioral problems later in childhood and in adulthood. More than 35 percent of children exposed to a single traumatic event will develop serious mental health problems.

With help from families, providers, and the community, young children can demonstrate resilience when dealing with trauma. Visit http://1.usa.gov/eURFX5 to learn more.

Late April 2011

In 2009, researchers found that more than 60 percent of youth age 17 and younger have been exposed to crime, violence and abuse either directly or indirectly including witnessing a violent act, assault with a weapon, sexual victimization, child maltreatment and dating violence. Nearly 10 percent were injured during the exposure to violence, 10 percent were exposed to maltreatment by caretaker, and 6 percent were a victim of sexual assault.

With help from families, providers, and the community, children and youth can demonstrate resilience when dealing with trauma. Visit http://1.usa.gov/fAInvl to learn more.

April 2011

As the number of traumatic events experienced during childhood increases, the risk for the following problems in adulthood increases: depression; alcoholism; drug abuse; suicide attempts; heart and liver disease; pregnancy problems; high stress; uncontrollable anger; and family, financial, and job problems.
With help from families, providers, and the community, children and youth can be resilient when dealing with trauma. Visit http://1.usa.gov/h1fWPD to learn more.

March 2011

Studies on the brain show that physical, emotional, or sexual abuse in childhood can cause permanent damage to the brain, reduce the size of parts of the brain, impact the way a child’s brain copes with daily stress, and can result in enduring problems such as depression, anxiety, aggression, impulsiveness, delinquency, hyperactivity, and substance abuse.

With help from families, providers, and the community, young children can demonstrate resilience when dealing with trauma. Visit http://1.usa.gov/faK4p1 to learn more.

February 2011

Young children exposed to 5 or more significant adversities in the first 3 years of childhood face a 76 percent likelihood of having one or more delays in their cognitive, language, or emotional development.
With help from families, providers, and the community, young children can demonstrate resilience when dealing with trauma. Visit http://bit.ly/ik4yas to learn more.

AT&T High School Retention Program

2012 AT&T Aspire Local High School Impact Initiative request for proposal is now open

3/8/2012

AT&T’s Local Impact RFP will provide funding for currently operating high school retention programs consisting of elements aligned to the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Dropout Prevention Practice Guide. AT&T is looking to support organizations that are ready to expand to serve additional students or locations, or to add components to strengthen successful programs. Payments ranging from $100,000 to $300,000 for 24 months (2012-14) are available for local programs that emphasize:

• Service to high school students at-risk of dropping out of school, particularly 9th graders or students in transition from 8th to 9th grade
• Intervening quickly with targeted services to help these students re-engage
• Increasing students’ chances of earning a high school diploma
• Preparing students for college and/or career
• Providing substantial data to demonstrate positive outcomes

The RFP deadline is April 27, 2012. Visit www.att.com/eduation-news for more information on the 2012 Local High School Impact Initiative and check back often for updates on AT&T Aspire. The AT&T Aspire Local High School Impact Initiative team will review and evaluate all those who respond to the RFP and make determinations as to eligibility after that time.

• Visit www.att.com\education-news for the details on the program.