MNA VISTA Program July 31 2014 VISTA 101 Everything you want to know and more Coming Up Brief History VISTA Today What do VISTAs do What dont VISTAs do Benefits Q amp A History Envisioned by President Kennedy and first implemented under President Johnson ID: 514588
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Slide1
Supervisors’ Orientation
MNA VISTA ProgramJuly 31, 2014Slide2
VISTA 101
Everything you want to know and more!Slide3
Coming Up
Brief HistoryVISTA TodayWhat do VISTAs do?What don’t VISTAs do?
Benefits
Q & ASlide4
History
Envisioned by President Kennedy and first implemented under President Johnson“Your pay will be low; the conditions of your labor often will be difficult. But you will have the satisfaction of leading a great national effort and you will have the ultimate reward which comes to those who serve their fellow man
.” – LBJ
First 20 VISTA members began in January 1965. By the end of the same year, over 2,000 VISTA members were serving in Appalachian towns, Californian migrant worker camps, and Hartford, Connecticut.
VISTA continued to provide skilled volunteers to communities across the country in various issue areas such as health care, low-income housing, and literacy.
In 1990, President George H.W. Bush began expanding national service, and in 1993, President Clinton signed the National Community Service Trust Act, leading to the creation of AmeriCorps. VISTA became a part of the newly-formed AmeriCorps agency.Slide5
(Corporation for National and Community
Service)
CNCS
AmeriCorps Programs Slide6
VISTA Today
Roughly 8,000 VISTA members are serving in all 50 states and most U.S. TerritoriesPrograms address root causes of poverty and helping to equip organizations and communities with the tools to eliminate poverty
VISTA service terms are 12 months in order to promote sustainability rather than being dependent on an individual. VISTA members strive to build systems that create lasting change.Slide7
MNA VISTA Program
Let’s talk specificsSlide8
Michigan Nonprofit Association
Civic
Engagement Team
Michigan
Campus Compact
Volunteer Centers of Michigan
The LEAGUE Michigan Slide9
Program Goals
Priority Area: Education
Student
Engagement:
Engage in activities intended to improve learning and success in low-achieving schools.
Service-Learning
:
Engage in high quality service and service-learning projects in low-achieving schools.
College
Access & Success:
Engage in counseling, academic, enrollment, and retention support activities for economically disadvantaged K-12 students and first-generation college students.
Priority Area: Economic
Opportunity
Financial
Literacy:
Engage in activities that provide, support and/or facilitate access to resources and services that improve financial literacy, stability and security.
Employability: Engage in activities that provide, support and/or facilitate access to workforce development resources and services intended to improve employability and, ultimately, lead to employment.Slide10
Who are all these people?
A national service who’s whoSlide11
Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)
AmeriCorps VISTA
State Office of
CNCS
(Detroit)
Local VISTA Projects (MNA
)
Sub-Sites/Host
Sites
AmeriCorps VISTA Members
Cathy Sharp
Jenny & VISTA Leaders
Supervisors!
Your membersSlide12
Program Manager vs. VISTA Leaders
Program Manager
Oversees program overall
Supports Supervisors
Steps in if problem arises
Facilitates meetings/trainings
Supervises VISTA Leaders
Reports to CNCS
Submits federal paperwork
Guides program direction
VISTA
Leaders
Support VISTAs
Help identify problems and successes
Help plan meetings/trainings and sometime facilitate
Help coordinate reports
Share resources among VISTAs
Coordinate VISTAsSlide13
Supervisors
Acclimate VISTAs to host site
Introduce VISTA to relevant stakeholders and community partners; serve as liaison if relevant
Help VISTAs figure out day-to-day tasks associated with accomplishing the VAD activities
Approve (look at)
VISTAs’
QPRs, timesheets, etc
.
Conduct mid- and end-year evaluations
Be program representative for host siteSlide14
Leave
is taken without approval
There are still behavioral problems after receiving written or verbal warnings
There is a change in the VAD
There is a change in address of VISTA or project site
There is a change in supervisors
There is a change in community
partner
The VISTA is not accomplishing goals of the project
Involve the Program Manager If…Slide15
VISTA Rules & Regulations
A refresherSlide16
What Can VISTAs Do?
VISTA Members are tasked with building the capacity of their host organization/community to eliminate povertyBuilding and implementing programs
Recruiting and managing volunteers
Establishing and strengthening local partnerships
Raising awareness of poverty issues in the community
Ensuring program sustainabilitySlide17
What Can’t VISTAs Do?
VISTAs are serve behind-the-scenes - they serve indirectly. At host sites and community partners, VISTAs should not be asked to conduct:
Administrative tasks (VISTAs are not secretaries or interns)
Answering phones, making coffee, running errands, etc.
General
fundraising (VISTA are not
development
c
oordinators
)
Direct service
Counseling
clients, building homes, tutoring students
A VISTA
member may not
become
identified with a particular faction or group, or with a partisan or nonpartisan political group in the communities in which he/she serves
VISTAs may NOT hold other employment during their service termVISTAs may not engage in political or religious outreach or demonstration (during service hours)Slide18
VISTA Benefits
Living AllowanceVISTAs receive a living allowance twice monthly via direct deposit
The low amount helps VISTAs to relate to those living in poverty
Public Assistance
Sick/Vacation Days
10 sick days & 10 vacation days
Federal Holidays and Host Site holidays (VISTAs still serve during the summer even when school is out)
Health Care
Seven Corners coverage & special accommodations for the Health Care MarketplaceEnd-of-Service Benefits
$5,550 Segal Education Award or $1,500 Cash StipendSlide19
Questions?
Now’s your chance…Slide20
What does it mean to be a VISTA Supervisor?
What to expect throughout the yearSlide21
Educate community and staff about VISTA
Ensure adequate
resources to accomplish VAD tasks
VAD – Review & Utilize
Provide
regular feedback to Program Manager
Maintain oversight for overall sustainability
Encourage and provide opportunities for VISTA’s personal and professional growth
Attend
supervisor
meetings/trainings
Support the integration of VISTAs into your organization and the community
Be your VISTA’s GREATEST support!
Supervisors Roles & Responsibilities Slide22
Visual Depiction of a VISTA YearSlide23
Monitoring Plan
Monthly
Timesheets
Site
Visits
Quarterly
Progress Reports
Check-in
calls
Mid-year and End-year Evaluations
Monitoring Slide24
Community Partners
Educate
community partner about
VISTA
Work with community partner to ensure VISTA activities are engaging, VAD-related, capacity-building, etc.
Help VISTA coordinate schedules between host site and community partner
Host site supervisor and community partner supervisor work together to determine roles and responsibilities
Host sites and community partner organizations should be communicating regularly regarding the VISTA’s service and progressSlide25
We CommunicationSlide26
Questions?
Now’s your chance… the other supervisors are coming! Slide27
Effective Weekly Meetings and Coaching VISTA Members
Pssst…..There are resources on coaching in your binderSlide28
Stories from the Field
Telling it like it is Slide29
Logistics and Paperwork
Here we go…Slide30
Lets’ look at the VAD…
I know, it’s been a while since you wrote it Slide31
NEW CNCS Performance Measures
An activity!Slide32Slide33
Other logistics to know
Program Handbook
Program Website (
mnavista.weebly.com
)
Check the program calendar for dates: timesheets, QPRs, webinars/calls, etc.
On-Site Orientation Checklist
ReportingSlide34
Scenarios
Talk amongst yourselvesSlide35
The Value of a VISTA
Last chance! (in person, for a little while)Slide36
Over three
service quarters the 2013-2014 members have brought about the following results: 6,379 community volunteers
recruited for service
$74,782
in grants or monetary donations brought in to support their work
$35,199
worth of in-kind goods or service donated to support their work
27 events
implemented to promote college access & success with low-income and/or first-generation college students1,064 activities completed with
2,721 K-12 students
to increase successful educational completion
152 workshops or trainings
related to employability facilitated that reached
630 low-income job-seekers
; 87% of them reported better knowledge of resources and employment opportunities because of the workshop
169 workshops or trainings
related to financial literacy facilitated; 91.6% of workshop recipients reported better money-management skills as a result
811 consultations performed with teachers and/or administrators about successfully implementing service, service-learning and philanthropy education into the classroom826 high quality service-learning projects facilitated in K-12 schools and classrooms Slide37
What impact(s) have you seen in your community? What impact(s) do you hope to see at the end of this VISTA year?Slide38
Supervisors’ Orientation Evaluation
Survey regarding background checks and site visit days
August 12-15 Member Post-PSO
August 18 Members’ first day at host site!
On-Site Orientation Checklist
August 25-26 Post-PSO Training
August 27-27 The LEAGUE Michigan Training (for K-12 members)
Site visits!
Next Steps!
OverSlide39
Reflection
What have we learned here?Slide40
Questions?
Telling it like it is