The MCCC Youth Development Community of Practice (YDCoP) has a new professional development opportunity for practitioners who serve Montgomery County (MoCo) youth.

Montgomery County Community Youth Support & Engagement Program Hubs

Issue Date: February 18th, 2021

Deadline to Submit Questions: February 26th, 2021

Closing Date: March 12 , 2021

The Montgomery County Collaboration Council for Children, Youth and Families, Inc. (the Collaboration Council), is a quasi-public non-profit organization and the Local Management Board for Montgomery County, Maryland. Further information about the Collaboration Council can be found at it’s web site www.collaborationcouncil.org.

The County recognizes that youth from low-income families face significant challenges as a result of the economic impacts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and social isolation arising from the need to prevent the spread of the virus. Continued distance learning in public schools and limited opportunities to congregate safely with peers, due to COVID-19 pandemic prevention measures, have increased feelings of alienation and isolation among young people a

nd has impacted engagement of students in school. The purpose of this funding is to increase accessibility to quality youth programs, focused on the positive development of and the academic, social-emotional, and overall well-being of the County’s students. Montgomery County Collaboration Council has been designated by the County to provide these program services as a pilot targeting the communities in the following MCPS Cluster areas: Gaithersburg, Wheaton, Paint Branch (East County-Downcounty Consortium) and Watkins Mill in partnership with MCPS and through the engagement of the youth serving provider community in contractual publicprivate partnerships. 2

For complete details and how to submit your Letter of Interest with Cover Page Click here

The Community Action Agency’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is currently using a virtual tax preparation model during the COVID-19 emergency. Virtual VITA allows residents to use an online platform to securely upload their tax documents and have their taxes prepared for free by a certified tax preparer. No in-person contact is required, allowing for the health and safety of staff and community members to be maintained.

Position Summary:
The Manager of Finance is responsible for providing timely financial information, managing assets and risks, and utilizing best practices in finance and accounting, internal controls, and operations to provide critical financial information to staff and management. The Manager of Finance promotes the mission of the Collaboration Council by supporting employees, managers, the Board of Directors and its committees in the furtherance of their financial responsibilities of managing, sustaining, promoting, and doing the work of the organization. The Manager of Finance is responsible for the monthly, quarterly, and annual accounting of financial information in the organization’s ledger system. The ideal candidate must have experience with federal/state grants, audits, financial reporting, and budgeting within the non-profit sector.

For complete details and where to submit your resume and cover letter with salary requirements click here

• All licensed, registered and certified health care providers
• Front line hospital staff
• Nursing home residents and staff
• Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Assisted living, independent living, behavioral health and developmentally disabled group homes, and other congregate facilities
• Law enforcement and firefighters, EMS
• Education staff, including K-12 teachers, support staff and daycare providers
• Correctional health care staff and officers
• Public safety workers not covered in Phase 1A
• Health care workers not covered in Phase 1A, including but not limited
• to lab services, public health, vaccine manufacturing and other health care professions
• Front line judiciary staff
• Continuity of government
• Food/agriculture production, critical manufacturing, U.S. Postal Service, public mass transit, grocery store employees
• Veterinarians and support staff
• Clergy and other essential support for houses of worship
• Adults age 65 and older

At this time, the federal government is giving the state approximately 10,000 doses/day for over 1.5 million people who are eligible. Supply is very limited.

Find a Vaccination Clinic Near You

If you are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccination, enter your address, ZIP code or location here to find a vaccination clinic near you.

• March 15-June 16 (or last day of MCPS school year): end of the school day until sundown.
• Weekends and June 17-Aug. 15: 7 a.m. to sundown.

Issue Date: January 12, 2021

Deadline for Submitting Questions: January 19, 2021

Closing Date: February 2,2021 4 p.m.

The Montgomery County Collaboration Council for Children, Youth and Families, Inc. (the Collaboration Council), is a quasi-public non-profit organization and the Local Management Board for Montgomery County, Maryland. The Collaboration Council’s mission is to improve the well-being of children, youth and families through collaborative partnerships. For information regarding the Montgomery County Collaboration, its initiatives and programs, visit our website at www.collaborationcouncil.org.

Community of Practice for Youth Development Practitioners

The Youth Development Community of Practice (YD CoP) of the Collaboration Council coordinates the training and education for youth development practitioners working in youth-serving fields such as workforce development, mentoring, and recreation. The practitioners we serve are those professionals working in out of school time programs, with disconnected youth, with homeless youth and with court-involved youth in Montgomery County. This request for proposals seeks to identify qualified trainers to deliver live or developed webinars or workshops to the YD CoP. The content and activities of each webinar must include principles and practices that supports/aligns with youth development philosophy, social emotional learning, and cultural linguistics. Facilitators are encouraged to submit webinar topics relevant to youth development practitioners, specifically webinars that increase practitioners understanding of: • Youth Development practices for Programming Equity and Inclusion • Best Practices to support youth experiencing homelessness and disconnection from supports and opportunities • Virtual Strategies and practices to build healthy relationships with youth program participants • Program Strategies that support youth coping with pandemic disruptions All approved webinars will be recorded and archived on Youthdevelopmentnow.org for future use by practitioners in Montgomery County. Qualified trainers may submit multiple proposals for separate topics, or submit a proposal for multiple session trainings.

CoP Open Solicitation Proposal Information

The Collaboration Council seeks proposals from organizations and qualified individuals with experience using adult learning principles to facilitate online webinars. CoP webinars are expected to be 60-90 minutes in length, facilitated using adult learning and engagement principles, and support the youth development philosophy. We will be accepting proposals for live facilitated webinars as well as permissions to share previously recorded webinars. Each proposed webinar must contain original content that the facilitator can document has been previously delivered by them, either in person or via webinar. The maximum compensation for each live facilitated webinar will be $450. In the proposal, each webinar must include:

1. An agenda with specific and clear objectives

Montgomery County has leveraged federal COVID-19 funding to install outdoor public Wi-Fi at 10 Public Library (MCPL) locations: Aspen Hill, Davis (N. Bethesda), Gaithersburg, Germantown, Maggie Nightingale (Poolesville),  Marilyn Praisner (Burtonsville), Rockville Memorial, Twinbrook, Wheaton, and White Oak branches; and in front of the Silver Spring Civic Building at Veterans Plaza.

This free service is available 24 hours a day in parking lots adjacent to the library buildings. Additional coverage is provided in grass area behind the Davis branch, in the park from the library to the playground area at Wheaton, and in the Rockville Town Square.  Wi-Fi coverage varies by location.  Customers are advised to follow COVID-19 safety recommendations and are required to adhere to executive orders and Health Officer directives when using the services.

 “The COVID-19 pandemic has brought greater awareness of the impacts of the widening digital disparity, which often deprives community members of opportunities to participate in important daily-life activities such as remote learning, accessing workforce development and employment information or staying up-to-date on news and information,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “The work of MCPL and the Department of Technology Services (DTS) to secure funding to provide Wi-Fi availability for outside use at 11 County facilities is another step in working to ensure that all community members have equitable access to reliable connectivity.”

“Outdoor public Wi-Fi will provide more places for people without home Wi-Fi to access the Libraries’ early literacy, education, workforce development and health and wellness information and the robust digital programs and services,” said MCPL Director Anita Vassallo.

MCPL and the Department of Technology Services (DTS) applied for but were not awarded an Institute of Museum and Library Services federal COVID-19 grant.  DTS then worked to leverage other federal CARES Act COVID-19 grant funding to install the free outdoor Wi-Fi access. 

“With the support of the County’s Chief Administrative Officer, we thought strategically about how we could leverage remaining federal COVID-19 funding to help families and small businesses respond to COVID-19,” said Montgomery County Chief Information Officer and Director of DTS Gail M. Roper. “Internet is essential during the pandemic and DTS is proud to work with MCPL to find ways to expand internet access for those that do not have it at home. I am also pleased that the Poolesville branch was selected to support small business owners and will also provide more internet access for rural Montgomery County.” 

The 10 library branches were chosen by analyzing U.S. Census and MCPL data.  Seven library branches were selected by mapping Census data neighborhoods with lower incomes and households without home internet. The Pew Research Center for Internet & Technology reported that as of 2019, 18 percent of adults with incomes less than $30,000 do not have home internet access, compared to only 2 percent of adults with incomes greater than $75,000, and 85 percent and 86 percent  of Black and Hispanic adults use the internet compared to 92 percent of White adults.  Median per capita income in the Census Block Groups served by the 7 libraries is $35,372 and the population is 27 percent Black and 28 percent Hispanic. Three additional locations (Davis, Rockville and Wheaton Regional) were selected because prior to the pandemic they had greater participation in MCPL small business programs.

“Small business owners who relied on MCPL indoor Wi-Fi to run their businesses asked the County for help and we were glad to assist them,” said Assistant Chief Administrative Officer for Small Economic Development Jerome Fletcher.  “Small businesses are critical to County’s economy recovery and more outdoor public Wi-Fi is another way the County is offering relief to small businesses.” 

For more information about the outdoor Wi-Fi services contact MCPL Assistant Director James Donaldson at James.Donaldson@montgomerycountymd.gov or 240-777-0030.

For more information about the County’s digital equity initiatives contact ultraMontgomery Director Mitsuko Herrera at Mitsuko.Herrera@montgmerycountymd.gov or 240-777-2928.   

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