“People Helping People”www.tvoc.org

Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc.

2015

JANUARY NEWSLETTER

In This Issue:* CEO News and Notes (Jason Carlson)* Winter Day in Hendrum* Upcoming Calendar Items* Bloggers Wanted

In This Issue:* MNsure Outreach Event* Congratulations Martha!* NMSHSA Summer Internship Program* Safety and Survival Parent Meeting

I am going to start off this month with a term that we will all become very familiar with very soon….Uniform Guidance. Formerly known at Tri-Valley as the Super Circular, Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) is the new set of rules published by the Office of Management and Budget that replaced the circulars that governed administrative requirements, cost principles and audit standards for nonprofits, educational institutions and units government that spend federal dollars. The rules became effective for any federal grants awarded after December 26, 2014. For Tri-Valley that means our Transportation grant is already subject to the new rules. We are working directly with Transportation management to ensure the new rules are followed. As an entire agency we will be working hard to update policies and provide training by April 1st. Nikki Aaker and I attended a comprehensive two day training on the new rules on January 12th and 13th. As with almost any change I think it is safe to say that there are some aspects that you will like and some that you won’t like, but there is nothing too disruptive in the new rules. If you are

wondering why we haven’t had training or had policies updated earlier, the final interim rule regarding implementation was not published until December 19, 2014. I ask for your utmost cooperation as we move ahead toward full organizational implemen-tation of the Uniform Guidance.

The Head Start monitoring visit that was previously mentioned did happen as scheduled. We don’t have our official notification yet but the preliminary report showed no adverse findings. Congratulations Head Start and Fiscal Department!

Speaking of Head Start, I had my first opportunity to attend the annual meeting of the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Associ-ation. I was denied that opportunity last year due to weather. It was great for me to observe parents, staff, Head Start Directors and Executive Directors come together to problem solve and craft policy. There is such a different feel with the Migrant and Seasonal group due to the small size of the membership compared to the National Head Start Association. While in Washing-ton I had the opportunity to attend a couple of days of the NHSA Winter Leadership Institute. The institute provides an oppor-tunity for Head Start grantees to interact with leaders from the federal agencies that fund our Head Start operations. We are also given opportunities to hear from experts on early childhood from outside the government. The biggest news I can report from the meetings I attended is that there is some serious talk about the reauthorization of Head Start. If this proves out, we have a tremendous opportunity to address in statute how Head Start will work with potential changes in pre-K funding for schools at the state and federal level to provide the best possible outcomes for all children.

Tri-Valley’s Strategic Plan is nearing completion. I expect to provide the board with a plan based on our needs assessment and the discussion held during the January board meeting; once finalized I will share the board priorities and our proposed initia-tives with the entire agency.

I will close this month with a huge thank you to our IT Department. Tri-Valley officially moved from GroupWise to Outlook on January 23rd. As you would expect, the guys were busy before and during the migration and continue to be busy as we figure out how to best use our new tools. The fun won’t stop in IT for some time as staff comes back to work prior to the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start program gearing up for another season. After we get that sorted out there will be much to do continuing work on using more and more of the Office 365 capabilities while we spin down our data servers and move away from Novell Vibe. Thank you Greg, Nate and Ike for connecting us to the tools that will help us do our jobs better.

Bloggers Wanted!

If you are interested in writing an occasional blog arti-cle for the Tri-Valley blog page, please email Mitch at mitch.bakken@tvoc.org.

Upcoming February Calendar Items:* Feb. 2- Head Start / Early Head Start Policy Council Meeting.* Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25- Basic Parenting 101 (Crookston) @ 3:30 pm.* Feb. 10- Tri-Valley Board of Directors Meeting.* Feb. 17- Parent Meeting at CFSC (Crookston) @ 5:30 pm.

MNsure Outreach EventLindsay Aune from the Northwest Regional Grassroots Organization of MNsure and Mitch Bakken of Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc. set up shop at Anytime Fitness in Crookston to answer any MNsure-related questions that citizens have. (Photo by Jess Bengtson- Crookston Daily Times)

Winter Day in Hendrum!The Hendrum Head Start Center held a Winter Day event with the parents and children on December 18th. The group spent their time working on winter crafts together!

R.E.D. Day (Read Every Day with your child)The East Grand Forks Center has reserved every 2nd Wednesday of the month as a day dedicated to reading. The first reading day was held on December 10th. Re-search shows that reading aloud is the single most import-ant thing you can do to help your child prepare for read-ing and learning. More than one in three children arrives at Kindergarten without the skills necessary for lifetime learning. The number of words a child knows upon en-tering Kindergarten is a key predictor of his or her future success.

Are you interested in participating in the 2015 NMSHSA Summer Internship Program? For more information, visit www.NMSHSAOnline.org or email internship@nmshsa-online.org.

Congratulations Martha!

Congratulations to Martha Martinez (Bilingual Classroom Advocate) from the Grafton Center who received her Child Development Associate Cre-dential (CDA). She completed her CDA in only five months!

The CDA is a nationally rec-ognized entry level credential in the field of Early Childhood

Education. It is issued by the Council for Professional Rec-ognition. The CDA is designed for those individuals who are working with young children in all settings.

Safety & Survival Parent MeetingThe Crookston Center held a Safety & Survival Parent Meeting in December. After the meeting the children gave a short program and sang songs for the parents and staff in attendance to include Twinkle,Twinkle Little Star and Let It Go from Frozen.

Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc. (TVOC) is a community action agency headquartered in Crookston, MN. It is our Mission to provide opportunities to individuals and communities in order to improve the quality of our lives. In existence since 1965, TVOC provides services in 84 counties in Minnesota and Northeast North Dakota. For more infor-mation on services offered by TVOC please call 218-281-5832 or 800-584-7020.

Did You Know?...* You can receive more information on Tri-Valley’s programs and services by calling 218-281-5832 or 800-584-7020.

* You can keep up with Tri-Valley news on the TVOC website at www.tvoc.org, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TVOCInc and on Twitter at @Tri-Valley_TVOC.

* Everyone can receive the Tri-Valley Newsletter. If you know of anyone who would like a copy please have them contact Mitch Bakken at 218-281-5832 or mitch.bakken@tvoc.org.

This information is available in alternative formats to individuals with disabilities. Contact us at 1-800-584-7020 or by calling the Telecommunication Relay Service at 711 or 1-800-627-3529. Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer/provider. EOE/M/F/D/V