Archive for August, 2009

Pew Releases 2009 State Legislative Review





State lawmakers this year made deep cuts, raised taxes, and borrowed funds to cover a staggering $215 billion in estimated budget gaps for 2009 and 2010—the equivalent of nearly $700 for every man, woman and child in the country, according to the annual 2009 Legislative Review released this month by Stateline.org, a project of the Pew Center on the States (PCS).

The report, online at http://www.stateline.org/live/static/Legislative_Year_in_Review_2009, offers:

  • Summaries of how each state closed its budget gap and used federal stimulus funds; and
  • Trends developing in key areas, such as education, energy and health care.


“This was a year of fiscal reckoning for states of every size, in every region of the country,” said Sue Urahn, managing director of PCS. “The challenges are far from over — states will face even tougher choices in the next couple of years.”

Even with the federal stimulus package providing billions of dollars in assistance, California, Kentucky, New York, Nevada and Washington struggled with the largest deficits in modern history. The report shows most states took dramatic measures to balance their ledgers for 2010. Among the findings:

  • At least 18 states raised personal income and/or state sales taxes, with seven states levying higher taxes on those in upper-income brackets;
  • At least 18 will collect more revenue in cigarette and/or alcohol sales;
  • Some 35 states cut higher education spending or increased tuition;
  • At least 26 states slashed funding to prisons, including seven that reduced spending by more than 10 percent and another seven states closed prisons entirely;
  • Seventeen states forced state employees to take furloughs or unpaid leave, affecting well over 830,000 employees, and at least six offered state employees buyouts;
  • At least four states are forcing Medicaid patients to pay more for their care and at least eight states cut optional benefits under Medicaid, the joint federal-state program that provides health coverage to more than 60 million low-income people;
  • Seven sought new gambling revenue, including Delaware, which will join Nevada this fall as the only states to allow sports betting. Ohio approved some 17,500 slot machines at race tracks and Illinois added video poker at bars.


Stateline.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan online news site that practices journalism in the public interest by reporting on emerging trends and issues in state policy and politics. It is a project of the Pew Center on the States. The Pew Center on the States is a division of The Pew Charitable Trusts that identifies and advances effective policy approaches to critical issues facing states. By researching emerging topics, Pew Center on the States highlights innovative policy approaches to complex problems for states.

Source: Pew Charitable Trust

Christian Science Monitor Spotlights Opportunity Knocks Employer





Christian Science Monitor Spotlights Opportunity Knocks Employer, Florida Virtual School (FLVS). Read complete article below.

Miami - It’s a sultry summer day, and Andrea Bryant is holed up in the chill of the public library, clicking her way through an online science course to make up for the one she failed in sixth grade.

Offering online summer-school classes instead of face-to-face teaching has been a popular way for school districts facing budget cuts to save this year. But Andrea’s state has long been racking up savings through its year-round Florida Virtual School (FLVS), often cited as a model of efficiency.

Based in Orlando, it serves everyone from home-schoolers to traditional school students who need an extra course for catch-up or enrichment. The state treats it as a school district of sorts, but funds it at a significant savings over its bricks-and-mortar counterparts.

The state doesn’t have to pay for busing, food, or building maintenance for this “district.” Its per-pupil costs are lower as well. About 54,000 Florida students completed a total of 116,000 semester-long courses through FLVS in 2007-08. That translates into just over 9,600 “full-time equivalent” students – and for each of those the state saves about $1,000, according to a study by the nonprofit group Florida TaxWatch. Enrollment has been growing fast.

Schools save indirectly, too, because of this option. A small group of students might be able to take Latin or an advanced biology course through FLVS, for instance, rather than their school having to hire teachers with those specialties. And every time a student is promoted to the next grade because they pass a class through FLVS that they failed in the regular classroom, a year’s worth of costs are saved on that student.

The funding model for FLVS is particularly innovative. The school gets state dollars not for every student who enrolls, but only for those who complete their course with at least a D.

“When it works at its best, [online learning] is outcome-based rather than based on seat time…. That’s a huge change from the factory-model system” of most schools, says Michael Horn, coauthor of “Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns.”

While many schools add computers into standard classroom practice and only marginally improve the status quo, the “anytime, anywhere” approach of online learning better taps into the technology’s potential, he adds.

Students enrolled in FLVS courses achieve higher test scores than those in the state’s traditional public school courses. In 2006, 70 percent of FLVS sixth-graders earned a passing score in math on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, compared with 53 percent of all public school students; in reading, the figures were 80 percent versus 64 percent; and on college-level Advanced Placement exams, FLVS students scored an average of 3.05 on a five-point scale, compared with 2.49 for all public school students.

The teachers – who communicate with students via e-mail, instant messaging, and phone (especially when it’s time to conduct oral tests) – earn high marks in surveys of students and parents.

“Everybody likes the computer … [and] I can do this on my own time,” says Andrea, an aspiring thespian. Her mother, Angela Bryant, however, is concerned about the time lag of a day or so between Andrea’s sending a question and her receiving the teacher’s answer the next time she gets to the library (they don’t have high-speed Internet at home). “I’m sure the virtual class is … an affordable situation [for the district], and that’s fine, but it needs tweaking,” Ms. Bryant says.

The number of K-12 students taking online classes nationwide grew 10-fold between 2001 and 2007, to nearly 2 million students, according to University of Florida professor Cathy Cavanaugh.

“Three years ago, online learning was simply a choice program in many [education] leaders’ minds,” says Julie Young, president and CEO of FLVS, which also contracts services to districts outside Florida.

“This year it’s a staple,” she continues. “Students are demanding it … and schools need gap fillers.”

Source: Christian Science Monitor

Survey: Hiring prospects looking better





The employment outlook is improving, with more than half of employers saying they plan to hire full-time employees in the next 12 months, and 40 percent expecting to hire contract, temporary or project professionals, according to a survey by Robert Half International and CareerBuilder.

The report – Employment Dynamics and Growth Expectations – provides a look at the current employment situation, as well as the future hiring landscape.

Technology, customer service and sales are the top three areas where employers say they expect to hire. Four in 10 employers say they expect stimulus money will help create jobs in their organizations in the next two years.

Entry- and staff-level workers can expect to benefit the most, with 32 percent of hiring managers saying they plan to hire staff-level professionals and 28 percent planning to hire entry-level workers.

Despite high unemployment rates, employers continue to report having a hard time finding skilled professionals for open positions. They say that, on average, 44 percent of resumes they receive are from unqualified candidates. Forty-seven percent of hiring managers cited underqualified applicants as their most common hiring challenge, followed by the reluctance of qualified candidates to leave secure positions (22 percent).

Looking ahead, more than half of those employees polled said they plan to make a career change or go back to school once the economy recovers.

Nearly half of workers polled (49 percent) said that, after the economy improves, the most effective way to keep them will be pay increases, with 28 percent planning to ask for a raise.

The survey was conducted among more than 500 employers and more than 500 employees between April 30 and May 31.

Source: Business Journal

What 40-Hour Workweek?





If you feel like you’ve been working a lot lately, you’re not alone.

Businesspeople have settled into the 10-plus hour workday and the 41-plus hour workweek.

Seventy-seven percent of senior executives and managers work 41 to 60 hours a week, according to a worldwide survey conducted by NFI Research.

Twenty percent of business leaders work 11 hours or more a day.

“With so many people working a lot of hours, many need to make sure they save some time to think,” said Chuck Martin, CEO of NFI Research.

Forty percent of businesspeople work 10 or more hours a day. A small number (3 percent) work 30 hours or fewer.

All senior executives and managers working in large organizations (10,000 or more employees) work at least a nine hours a day. Nobody works eight or fewer hours.

Fifty-two percent of businesspeople work 51 hours or more a week.

Of business leaders who work outside the United States, a quarter of senior executives and managers work 40 or fewer hours, according to the survey of 139 people.

NFI Research surveys 2,000 senior executives and managers globally every two weeks.

Source: Talent Management

Six Strategies for Young Nonprofit Employees to Become Next Generation Leaders


By Joanne Fritz




It is well known that a leadership gap is coming in the nonprofit sector. Due to the deluge of baby boomer nonprofit staff that will be retiring and the explosion in the sheer number of nonprofits, the sector will be scrambling to fill leadership positions.

A recent study, Ready to Lead? Next Generation Leaders Speak Out, by the Casey Foundation and others, asked more than 600 nonprofit workers of various ages what problems they find in nonprofit work as well as why they chose it, stuck with it, or thought about leaving it.

The report provided a number of suggestions for current nonprofit leaders and their boards to get ahead of the coming crunch. In addition, the study authors provided advice for young staffers on how to become the next generation of nonprofit leaders:

1. Take control of your career.
You are in charge of your own career. It is true that your executive director should have your best interests at heart, but don’t wait for him or her to mentor you. Take the initiative by asking your director for opportunities to lead or take on special projects. Offer to lead a staff development effort, facilitate a meeting, or present a report to the board. Find workshops and trainings you wish to attend and ask for support in doing so.

2. Develop broad management expertise.
Look outside your particular area of interest and find ways to broaden your experience. Next generation leaders will need to understand budgeting, grant-writing, and how to supervise. Embrace these responsibilities instead of dismissing them as administrative. You will need to be a generalist if you aim to serve as a leader and these areas and skills will put you closer to the heart of the organization. Building management skills while you build programmatic skills will help you overcome the nonprofit tendency to pit program against management.

3. Join a board.
The study found that only 30% of the respondents had served on a nonprofit board of directors. If you haven’t done so, you are missing out on an ideal way to prepare yourself for nonprofit leadership. Besides providing great experience, contacts made while on a board may become mentors or even referrals to new job opportunities.

4. Find a mentor.

A mentor provides a model of career development and he or she can also introduce you to people, provide strategic career advice, and help you avoid mistakes. Look around. Who is doing interesting work? Who inspires you? A mentor does not have to be in your organization. Look around at people in your professional networks and approach likely people and develop a relationship. Someone you ask to mentor you will likely be flattered but don’t overwhelm them right away…start with coffee and conversation first.

5. Work with a coach.

Mentors can help you build a network and give advice, but a coach can help you build your skills and develop a career strategy. Executive coaches have existed in the business sector for many years and now that practice is appearing in the nonprofit world as well.

6. Recognize and respect generational differences.

Try this: stop saying they just don’t get it. It doesn’t matter who is right or wrong, just try to understand generational differences and take the intiative to work over and around them. Remember it may be just as difficult for your older colleagues to understand you. When you recognize these differences, find a way to remember to focus on the work rather than on individuals. Understand that you are all working towards the same goal but your approaches might be different.

Follow these suggestions and you will be on your way to avoiding disillusionment with the nonprofit world and on track to being a next generation leader. Your future job prospects have never been brighter.


Source: About.com

Nonprofits work to weather recession





U.S. nonprofits are employing a number of strategies, including layoffs and program cuts, to shore up their organizations and improve their chances of surviving the recession, a new report says.

With demand on the rise and revenue still falling, the majority of the nation’s nonprofits are making cuts in a number of areas, says the National Council of Nonprofit’s review of recent research.

One in three nonprofits has been forced to dip into their operating reserves, while two in three smaller groups have less than three months worth of cash reserves on hand, says a survey by the Bridgespan Group.

More than half have reduced services and more than a third reduced their budgets, a report from Guidestar says.

Almost half have explored partnerships with other groups, more than half have cut administrative costs, and four in 10 have trimmed or eliminated travel budgets, says the Johns Hopkins University Listening Post Project.

About one in three nonprofits have laid off staff or eliminated positions, more than a third have instituted salary freezes, and more than four in 10 are putting off new hires, the surveys say.

Going forward, the National Council of Nonprofits recommends nonprofits become more involved in the public-policy debate and work together as a sector at the statewide and national levels.


Source: Philanthropy Journal

Jacksonville, FL Named Easiest City to Find Work In





It’s easier to find a job in Jacksonville than any other city in the U.S. except for Washington, D.C., according to jobs search engine Indeed.com.

The largest 50 cities in the U.S. were ranked by comparing the number of unemployed to the number of job postings.

Jacksonville had three job postings per unemployed person. D.C. had six job postings for every one unemployed person in June.

Baltimore is No. 3, where there is one posting per unemployed person.

Among the cities where it’s hardest to find open jobs were Los Angeles and Riverside, Calif., Miami and Detroit, where there are 18 unemployed people for every one job posting.

Source: Business Journal

Government Jobs Attract Interest





Working for Uncle Sam is suddenly sexy. Throngs of applicants crowded a public sector job fair held this month in Washington, D.C. – three times as many as last year.

It was sponsored by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service (PPS), whose president, Max Stier, forecasts a need for 600,000 more federal workers over the next four years. While the job fair was targeted at young people, PPS also recognizes the need to find millions of highly skilled and experienced older workers who are approaching retirement age, or are already retired, from all sectors of the economy and is recruiting them via its FedExperience initative.

Stier told John Dimsdale of Marketplace that he believes people at the job fair were looking for more than just jobs, noting, “Government now is more real and important in the public’s mind than it’s been in at least a couple of generations. Whether it’s solving the financial crisis or the two wars or you name it, that makes people interested.”

President Obama’s call to community service may account for some of the enthusiasm. But the generous benefits accorded to government workers are also a factor. Some public employees can retire in their 50s and receive pensions at 80 to 90 percent of their pay, along with medical benefits.

USA Today noted in April, “Last year, government benefits rose three times more than those in the private sector: up 69 cents an hour for civil servants, 23 cents for private workers.”

One recent college graduate at the job fair, Melody Gilbert, mentioned both motivations. “There is absolutely new life breathed into Washington, and the atmosphere and people’s expectation of federal work is completely changing,” she told Dimsdale. She added that she was also attracted by the government benefits that would help pay off her student loans and the upward mobility created by baby boomer retirements.

Source: Encore Careers

Environment America Executive Director Talks About Staffing Up


Environment America Executive Director Talks About Staffing Up





In an interview on OK Radio host Lynne Norton speaks with Environment America Executive Director, Margie Alt, on how Environment America is working on staffing up and hire more people to accomplish its mission?

Currently, Environment America is searching for various positions nationwide including fellowship programs and environmental advocacy positions. Alt talks about the benefits of their fellowship program and environmental advocacy positions with OK Radio.

Click here to listen to the Environment America OK Radio Interview.

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