KOOTASCA Crisis Nursery Celebrates 10th Birthday

Itasca Area crisis Nursery, a community-based program that provides emergency short-term care for children ages birth to 12. "We've survived budget cuts and losses in state funding...we're able to provide quality services and a sustainable program, and we're keeping the integrity of families through it all," said Becky Boelter, Crisis and Homelessness Prevention Coordinator.

Parents are allowed to utilize the Crisis Nursery for no fee, for up to 72 hours at a time, any time of the day or night including weekends and holidays. Children are temporarily placed in licensed foster-care homes (called shelter homes) or with licensed daycare providers.

Over the Crisis Nursery's 10 year history, there have been 46 shelter home providers and 26 day-care providers, plus 40 volunteers who have given more than 70,000 hours of their time to answering phones for the 24-hour crisis line.

Ami, a Crisis Nursery participant, summed up the service she and her husband, Bryan received last year, "They're lifesavers, it saved us quite a few times. There could have been jobs lost."

The Open House will be held April 29 from 5-7 p.m. at the Itasca Resource Center. Call Becky Boelter at 327-8652 for more information. The public is invited to attend.

Report shows: Head Start works

The Head Start Program is locally administered, meaning that although the goal has remained the same since 1965, "Boost the school readiness of low-income children," programs across the nation are able to achieve that result in a way that fits the community and families they serve.

KOOTASCA Head Start serves 217 pres-school students and 36 infants and toddlers in Itasca and Koochiching counties. In Itasca County, much of the Head Start programming is in a blended model with the Invest Early Project. This model is unique to this community and allows the local program to enhance its programming further and combines resources to achieve great outcomes for more children and families.

According to the Head Start program's 2008-09 Creative Curriculum Outcomes Report, children in Itasca County area are making great strides and are entering kindergarten ready to learn.

2008-09 school year: 4year old children

Language Development:
Fall 2008: 51% proficient
Spring 2009: 87% in the highest two domains

Literacy Development:
Fall 2008: 44% proficient
Spring 2009: 82% were in highest two domains

Math Development:
Fall 2008: 38% proficient
Spring 2009: 85% proficient

Science Development:
Fall 2008: 42% proficient
Spring 2009: 86% proficient

First Time Homebuyer Alert

Must be able to acquire own mortgage,
Attend a homestretch workshop and individual counseling,
Buyer must meet required income limits,
Newly remodeled, new roof, windows, siding,
Two bedroom, basement and three stall garage,

Located at 220 SE 2nd Ave, Grand Rapids
Across the street from the old hospital site
Call Sandy at 218-999-9250 for more information

Ladder out of Poverty Bill

This bill emerges from the Legislative Commission to End Poverty by 2020 findings and it is currently moving through Senate committees.

It focuses on building and maintaining financial assets as a key to leaving poverty permanently;

It addresses predatory lending practices that erode or deplete financial assets, and supports increased financial literacy to enhance skills for achieving and maintaining economic self sufficiency;

It establishes a Task Force to generate recommendations for the legislature to take action and draft policies that help Minnesotans to escape (or avoid) poverty through the accumulation and maintenance of financial assets.

Circles of Support Open House

You are invited to check out the new offices for the Circles of Support on Wednesday, February 17, from 1:00 - 6:00 p.m. at 805 NE 4th Street, Grand Rapids. It is in the Wendigo building across the street from Treasure Bay. Enjoy some refreshments!

Call Brianna at 999-5883
Or Alice at 999-5728

Why be counted? Census 2010

Every year, the federal government allocates more than $400 billion to states and communities based, in part, on census data.

The census data are used to determine locations for retail stores, schools hospitals, new housing developments and other community facilities.

Did you know that ancestry tracking uses the census data?

Census data determine boundaries for state and local legislative and congressional districts. Minnesota could lose a district if we don't county everyone.

Don't forget the snowbirds that go south for the winter. We want them to be counted in Minnesota!!

Watch for your census questionaire in the mail during February or March 2010.

A resolution for Tuesday's Caucus-February 2, 2010

Whereas Minnesota has a national reputation for creating opportunities to move people out of poverty;

Whereas Minnesota has a strong historic and cultural tradition of funding quality investments that promote families who thrive and contribute to the health of the state;

Whereas the number of Minnesota's children living in poverty increased by 20 percent from 2000 to 2008, (140,000 in 2008 as indicated by the Federal Poverty Guidelines, a very inadequate measure of the real extent of poverty);

Whereas a bi-partisan Legislative Commission to End Poverty conducted a two year process to identify the extent of poverty in this state and solutions that would contribute to ending poverty by 2020;

Be it resolved that over the next ten years, the state of Minnesota focus its efforts on ending poverty in this state by:

Restoring work as a way out of poverty;
Refocusing public assistance to streamline services and support every one's capacity and potential;
Help Minnesotans build and maintain financial assets;
Revitalize our communities through infrastructure and person to person support;
Modernize our system of education to build the best workforce in the nation;
Develop an ongoing structure to monitor Minnesota's efforts to end poverty.

(These six areas are the focus of the recommendations made by the Legislative Commission to End Poverty by 2020.) Contact nancymaeker@mnwithoutpoverty.org for more information.