The Rural Assistance Center is a collaborative effort of the University of North Dakota Center for Rural Health, and the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI); and is funded by a grant through HRSA's Office of Rural Health Policy.

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In This Issue:

1. Recent News
2. Funding Opportunities
3. New Documents
4. Tools
5. Success Stories
6. Upcoming Events
7. Tell Us How RAC Has Impacted You
8. Subscriber Services

Recent News Go to RAC Recent News page

The Key to Rural Development
Sep 23, 2009 -- Daily Yonder article tells of the small town of Canadian, Texas, who hasn't accepted the fate of most dusty Panhandle towns to curl up and die, but instead have a lot of people who try things to make the town better, and who keep trying.

Too Many Bars in Rural America Linked to High Suicide Rates Instead of Idyllic Life
Sep 21, 2009 -- ScienceDaily article tells of a new look at suicide and alcohol that has found that both attempted and completed suicides occur at greater rates in rural communities with greater bar densities.

Federal Support for Rural Small Business Makes Cents
Sep 18, 2009 -- Center for Rural Affairs weekly column discusses why investing in small business development is the most critical step our leaders in Washington can take to create genuine opportunity in our small towns.

USDA Launches 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' Initiative to Connect Consumers with Local Producers to Create New Economic Opportunities for Communities
Sep 16, 2009 -- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced a new initiative - 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' - to begin a national conversation to help develop local and regional food systems and spur economic opportunity.

New National Survey Reveals Significant Decline in the Misuse of Prescription Drugs
Sep 11, 2009 -- The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reports that the misuse of prescription drugs decreased significantly between 2007 and 2008 among those aged 12 and older, including among adolescents, according to 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).

The Towns That Build Entrepreneurs
Sep 10, 2009 -- Daily Yonder article discusses what rural communities can do to help entrepreneurs succeed.

Nearly 1 in 5 Older Americans Believed to be in Poverty — Almost Double the Official Rate
Sep 4, 2009 -- Associated Press article via Star-Tribune, (MN) reports that the poverty rate among older Americans could be nearly twice as high as the traditional 10 percent level, according to a revision of a half-century-old formula for calculating medical costs and geographic variations in the cost of living.

Search Begins for New Director at Center for Rural Health
Sep 4, 2009 -- The University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences has appointed a search committee to help select the next director of the Center for Rural Health at the medical school for the position formerly held by Dr. Mary Wakefield, who was appointed in February by President Obama to serve as administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration.

SAMHSA Accepting Applications for CSAP’s Prevention Fellowship Program
Aug 31, 2009 -- The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for its Center for Substance Abuse Prevention’s (CSAP) Prevention Fellowship Program, designed to build a workforce of highly competent substance abuse prevention professionals.

Commerce and Agriculture Announce Strong Demand for First Round of Funding to Bring Broadband, Jobs to More Americans
Aug 28, 2009 -- The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) announced today that they received almost 2,200 applications requesting nearly $28 billion in funding for proposed broadband projects reaching all 50 U.S. states and territories and the District of Columbia.

Providing Social Support for Rural Seniors
Aug 27, 2009 -- Fox 14 News, (KS) tells of some ways seniors in rural areas can reach out for social support.

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Funding Opportunities Go to RAC Funding Database

Public Welfare Foundation
Application deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
Grants to provide services to disadvantaged populations in the areas of criminal and juvenile justice, health reform, and workers' rights.

Section 538 Multi- Family Housing Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program (GRRHP) Demonstration Program
Application deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
The Demonstration Program's purpose is to test the viability and efficacy of the concept of a continuous loan note guarantee through the construction and permanent loan financing phases of a project.

AmeriCorp Indian Tribes Planning Grants
Application deadline: Oct 19, 2009
Grants directly to Tribes and Tribal organizations to assist them in developing an AmeriCorps program.

AmeriCorps National Planning Grants
Application deadline: Oct 19, 2009
The Corporation awards these grants directly to organizations to assist them in developing an AmeriCorps program in more than one state.

Community Development Technical Assistance Program: Homeless Supportive Housing Program
Application deadline: Oct 21, 2009
Funding to assist homeless persons to move to self-sufficiency and permanent housing.

Community Development Technical Assistance Program: Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Program
Application deadline: Oct 21, 2009
Grants to local communities, States, and nonprofit organizations for projects that benefit low income persons medically diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and their families.

Community Development Technical Assistance Programs (CD-TA)
Application deadline: Oct 21, 2009
Funding to provide technical assistance to five separate community development program areas: (1) HOME; (2) CHDO (HOME); (3) Homeless and; (4) HOPWA.

Service Coordinators in Multifamily Housing
Application deadline: Nov 5, 2009
Funding to enable independent living for people with disabilities and the elderly.

Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly
Application deadline: Nov 13, 2009
This program provides funding for the development and operation of supportive housing for very low-income persons 62 years of age or older.

Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities
Application deadline: Nov 16, 2009
HUD provides funding to nonprofit organizations to develop rental housing with the availability of supportive services for very low-income adults with disabilities, and provides rent subsidies for the projects to help make them affordable.

Green and Healthy Homes and Technical Studies Program
Application deadline: Nov 17, 2009
Funding to improve our knowledge of the effects residential green construction has on both indoor environmental quality and occupant health, with a particular focus on children and other sensitive populations.

Lead Hazard Control Capacity Building Program
Application deadline: Nov 19, 2009
Funding to develop the infrastructure necessary to undertake comprehensive programs to identify and control lead-based paint hazards in eligible privately owned rental or owner-occupied housing.

Healthy Homes Demonstration Program
Application deadline: Nov 24, 2009
Develops, demonstrates, and promotes cost-effective, preventive measures to correct multiple safety and health hazards in the home environment that produce serious diseases and injuries in children of low income.

American Recovery Reinvestment Act of 2009 Communities Putting Prevention to Work
Letter of Intent (Optional): Oct 30, 2009
Application deadline: Dec 1, 2009
Funding to reduce risk factors, prevent/delay chronic disease, promote wellness in children and adults, and provide positive, sustainable health change in communities.

Echoing Green Fellowship Program
Application deadline: Dec 1, 2009
Echoing Green awards two year fellowships to emerging social innovators.

Do Something Awards
Application deadline: Dec 15, 2009
This program honors and funds the efforts of dynamic leaders age 25 and under.

2009 National e-Commerce Extension Initiative: Program Implementation Mini-Grants
Application deadline: Jan 15, 2010
Funding to expand the adoption of e-commerce strategies by communities, small/micro businesses, and entrepreneurs across the country.

2010 Mission and Ministry Fund Violence Prevention Grant
Application deadline: Mar 1, 2010
Funds may be requested to cover the costs of community-based planning, conducting community meetings, assessing community violence related assets and needs; continuing specific community-based violence prevention efforts and related activities.

Christopher Reeve Foundation Quality of Life Grants
Application deadline: Mar 1, 2010
Grants to organizations nationwide that help improve opportunities, access and day-to-day quality of life for individuals living with disabilities, primarily paralysis, and their families.

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New Documents Go to RAC Document Database

2008 Annual Homeless Assessment Report
Reports on family homelessness in rural and suburban areas. Includes data through September 2008 that found a nine percent increase from 2007 to 2008 in homeless families using shelters.
Organization: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Date: 07 / 2009

A Compass for Understanding and Using American Community Survey Data: What Users of Data for Rural Areas Need to Know
An introduction to the American Community Survey for those who use rural social, economic, and housing data.
Organization: U.S. Census Bureau
Date: 08 / 2009

Baby Boom Migration and Its Impact on Rural America (Executive Summary)
An analysis of the migration shift of baby boomers that indicates a propensity to migrate to nonmetro counties as people reach their fifties and sixties and projects a shift in migration among boomers toward more isolated settings, especially those with high natural and urban amenities and lower housing costs.
Organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Date: 08 / 2009

Family-friendly Policies for Rural Working Mothers
Presents an analysis of differences in access to family-friendly policies between rural and urban mothers.
Organization: Carsey Institute
Date: 09 / 2009

Food Insecurity in Households with Children: Prevalence, Severity, and Household Characteristics
Describes the prevalence and severity of food insecurity in households with children as of 2007, the trends since 1999, and characteristics of households affected by food insecurity.
Organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Date: 09 / 2009

Healthy Communities - Healthy People
Examines what rural communities can do to reverse trends showing rural people, on average, eat less nutritious food, get less physical activity, and are more often obese than their urban counterparts. Presents policy examples involving grocery stores, local governments, schools, churches, and libraries that could help people lead longer, healthier lives.
Organization: Center for Rural Affairs
Date: 09 / 2009

Homegrown Responses to Economic Uncertainty in Rural America
Discusses how rural communities can approach economic development by looking inward to community strengths and existing resources.
Organization: Rural Sociological Society
Date: 2009
Journal: Rural Realities

Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity (Report Brief)
Summarizes report on strategies that local governments can take to help combat and prevent obesity among children and adolescents.
Organization: Institute of Medicine
Date: 09 / 2009

National Advisory Committee on Rural Health & Human Services Meeting Minutes, Rapid City, South Dakota, June 9-11, 2009
Minutes from the NACRHHS, which provides recommendations on rural health and human services issues to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Meeting included the following topics: rural primary care provider workforce, home and community based care for rural seniors, and health care provider integration,.
Organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
Date: 06 / 2009

Poverty Continues to be Higher in Rural Areas
Brief overview of rural poverty rates from the U.S. Census Bureau's report, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008.
Organization: Housing Assistance Council
Date: 09 / 2009

Results from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings
Presents the 2008 survey results, which is the primary source of information on the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of youth and adults.
Organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Date: 09 / 2009

Rural America At A Glance, 2009
Annual update of the USDA-ERS series that concentrates on social and economic conditions in rural America with references to the effects of the major recession on rural populations.
Organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Date: 09 / 2009

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Tools

FederalReporting.gov
The central government-wide data collection system for Federal agencies and recipients of Federal awards under Section 1512 of the Recovery Act.
Organization: White House

Local Community Action Agency Directory
A directory of local community action agencies (CAAs) developed by VirtualCAP.org that provides contact information by either state or agency name.
Organization: Virginia Community Action Partnership

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Success Stories Go to RAC Success Stories

Aroostook County Action Program, Inc. Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Container Gardens Program
Demonstrates and promotes container gardening to encourage families receiving Women, Infants, and Children nutrition services to grow their own fruits and vegetables.
Source: Jovita Tolbert, Director of Program Services, NASCSP

Clinch Valley Community Action Camp Joy Program
Camp Joy provides access to recreation, sport and educational activities to low-income children in a rural area that has few organized summer activities.
Source: Jovita Tolbert, Director of Program Services, NASCSP

Community Action Partnership-Minot Region Be Amazed Teen Maze Program
A community effort to teach students in grades 7 through 12 to make positive life choices that can prevent some of the most serious threats to their health and safety.
Source: Jovita Tolbert, Director of Program Services, NASCSP

Daniel Boone Community Action Agency, Inc. Credit Repair Program
The Daniel Boone Community Action Agency, Inc, and their Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) staff provide both a Credit Counseling Program and a Housing Program within their integrated case management approach.
Source: Jovita Tolbert, Director of Program Services, NASCSP

Highland County Community Action Organization Television Show Program
The Highland County Community Action Organization created a cable television show as a means to efficiently reach individuals and families who are spread throughout their rural service area, in their own homes.
Source: Jovita Tolbert, Director of Program Services, NASCSP

Mid-Kansas Community Action Program Mission El Dorado Program
Pools the resources of area service providers, including supplies and volunteer labor to identify, screen and provide service to low-income families in need of minor home repairs.
Source: Jovita Tolbert, Director of Program Services, NASCSP

Neighborhood Meth Watch Community Policing Project
Adelante Juntos Coalition (AJC) designed and implemented the Neighborhood Meth Watch Program in many of the rural communities of Pinal County, Arizona.
Source: Betty Chavez, Project Director, Adelante Juntos Coalition

Northwest Montana Human Resources, Inc. Mutual Self-Help Housing Program
Northwest Montana Human Resources, Inc operates the Mutual Self-Help Housing Program, which organizes low-income families who are aspiring homeowners into working teams to help one another build their own homes.
Source: Jovita Tolbert, Director of Program Services, NASCSP

Ozark Action Inc. Vehicle Repair Loan Program
The program uses Community Services Block Grant funds to provide loans of up to $500 for vehicle repair. Participants are required to repay the no-interest loan within one year.
Source: Jovita Tolbert, Director of Program Services, NASCSP

Rural Opportunities Enterprise Center
The Center provides information on business start-up and expansion and offers microloans to qualifying businesses.
Source: Jovita Tolbert, Director of Program Services, NASCSP

Youth Emergency Services, Inc. Housing and Independent Living Program
The Housing and Independent Living Program provides the tools necessary for newly-independent foster youth to establish a self-sustaining and constructive life style.
Source: Jovita Tolbert, Director of Program Services, NASCSP

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Upcoming Events Go to RAC Calendar of Events for complete listing

Sep 28, 2009

Rural Tour
Secretaries Ken Salazar and Tom Vilsack will discuss production agriculture.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Gering, NE

Sep 30, 2009

Rural Tour
Secretaries Shaun Donovan and Tom Vilsack will discuss rural infrastructure.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Las Cruces , NM

Oct 13 - 15, 2009

Rural Community College Alliance Conference: "Keeping America Healthy: The Role of Rural Community Colleges
Bretton Woods, NH
603.472.4893
events@eventsyourwaynh.com

Oct 14 - 16, 2009

3rd Annual Rural Substance Abuse Prevention Conference
Coalition for Healthy Youth
Lancaster, SC
803.283.4995
info09@coalition4healthyyouth.org

Oct 22, 2009

InSOPHE Fall Workshop: Addressing the Obesity Epidemic in the Heartland
Society for Public Health Education
West Lafayette, IN
765.494.6475
asimons@purdue.edu

Oct 27, 2009

NOSORH Webinar: Managing Conflict:
2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Eastern
National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
586.336.4627
dpanosorh@comcast.net

Nov 3 - 6, 2009

Faces of a Healthy Future: National Conference to End Health Disparities II
Center of Excellence for the Elimination of Health Disparities
Winston-Salem, NC

Nov 9 - 10, 2009

Kansas MarketPlace: Opening Doors to Success
Center for Rural Affairs
Hays, KS
402.614.5558
joym@cfra.org

Nov 12 - 14, 2009

Wisconsin AgriSafe Training - Agricultural Medicine: The Core Course
Marshfield Clinic
Marshfield, WI
866.312.3002
kfisher@agrisafe.org

Nov 18 - 21, 2009

National MultiCultural Institute's 2009 Fall Conference
"Forging New Pathways for Diversity and Inclusion: Building Skills for Collaboration and Dialogue"
National MultiCultural Institute
Arlington, VA
202.483.0700
nmci@nmci.org

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Tell Us How RAC Has Impacted You

The Rural Assistance Center is seeking your comments on how our services have helped you in your efforts to improve health and human services delivery in rural communities. Have the RAC services helped you to stay informed, get a grant, find the proper federal agency contact or other expert, or otherwise changed your life? Please send an e-mail telling how RAC has impacted you to ksande@raconline.org. Your stories may be used in testimony, budget documents and presentations concerning the Rural Assistance Center.

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This e-mail and the RAC Human Services updates are a service of the Rural Assistance Center. The Rural Assistance Center (RAC) does not assume any legal liability for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of the information provided in this message. Web site links included in the message are for your convenience. The RAC is not responsible for the availability or content of these web sites. For additional services and information, see the RAC web site at http://www.raconline.org or call 1-800-270-1898.