CAPLAW Hosts 2007 National Training Conference

 

By Ariel Weiser, CAPLAW

     CAPLAW hosted its 2007 National Training Conference June 20-22 at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel in Philadelphia. From Wednesday morning through Friday afternoon, over 360 participants attended 24 legal, financial and management workshops featuring 36 speakers. Conference participants were affiliated with public and private Community Action Agencies (CAAs), CAA associations, federal and state governmental agencies and private law firms and accounting firms.

      The conference kicked off Wednesday morning with a guided tour of Philadelphia’s anti-poverty and community revitalization programs highlighting murals created by the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program as well as Workwise, Philadelphia’s job readiness and job search assistance program run by the Mayor’s Office of Community Services. Two pre-conference workshops were also offered: one dedicated to fundraising issues and the other to understanding annual audits.

      At the opening session Wednesday afternoon, Robert M. Coard, CAPLAW president, Gale Hennessy, CAPLAW treasurer, and Ralph Blakney, executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Services welcomed participants to the conference and to Philadelphia. Nancy Elmore, regional program manager for the Region III Office of Head Start, then spoke, emphasizing the need for increased financial and legal accountability in the Head Start program and ongoing dialogue between the Community Action and Head Start networks.

      Opening speaker Josephine Bias Robinson, director of the Office of Community Services (OCS), stressed the importance of dialogue between CAAs and state CSBG offices, as well as judicious
monitoring of CAAs by states. She also urged CAAs to include in their reports to the states Indicators explicitly demonstrating how they move low-income individuals and families to self-sufficiency. OCS can then use these indicators to highlight the successes of the Community Services Block Grant program in its own reports to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget.

      Workshops following the opening session addressed culture, religion and immigrant status in the workplace, borrowing for nonprofits, the National Community Action Standards, and affordable housing development.

      On Thursday morning, participants chose from five different workshops, including: affordable housing; entrepreneurial ventures; CAPLAW’s Legal Liability Audit and Bylaws Toolkit for CAAs;
employee benefits for nonprofits; and a Head Start update emphasizing the new PRISM review process.

      At Thursday’s luncheon, Professor Anita L. Allen, the Henry R. Silverman Professor of Law and Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, delivered a thought-provoking keynote
address on ethical and social justice issues implicated by a New York City pilot program that provides cash incentives for low-income students and their families for academic involvement and
performance.

      Thursday afternoon workshops addressed wage and hour law, risk management, federal oversight of grant funds, relationships with affiliated entities, funding source policies, nonprofit governance best practices and advocacy within lobbying and political-activity rules, as well as documenting the employment relationship, maximizing recovery of indirect costs and monitoring subgrantees.

      At breakfast on Friday morning, participants enjoyed lively roundtable discussions on board of directors, fiscal, Head Start, housing, human resources, rural CAA and CAA association issues.
After the roundtable discussions, participants split into three workshops: performance evaluations; a board meeting simulation; and legal and financial requirements for 501(c)(3) organizations.

      David Bradley, executive director of the National Community Action Foundation, concluded the conference by updating participants on current legislative issues affecting CAAs. CAPLAW thanks the conference sponsors – especially Diversified Investment Advisors, underwriter of the Friday morning breakfast roundtables – conference presenters, and the many others who helped
make the conference a success. We look forward to seeing you at next year’s conference in Denver, Colorado, June 18-20, 2008!