In Attendance
- Adam Ragsdale, Missoula Housing Authority
- Monique Fortmann, Lifelong Learning Center
- Kellie Battaglia, Homeword
- Michelle Dorsey, Missoula Job Service
- Kristi Harman, Missoula Job Service
- Jodi Rasmussen, Lifelong Learning Center
- Carol Bellin, Homeword
- Vida Wilkinson, Missoula College UM
Agenda/Updates
Crosstraining Academy- now Community Resource FairThe group decided that ‘Cross Training Academy’ is too difficult to know what’s provided and decided it should be called ‘Community Resource Fair’ again. It will be held Thursday, October 24 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at The Lifelong Learning Center. The focus is on service providers (case managers, new staff at agencies), although the public is always welcome.
Missoula Job Service will have volunteer greeters to help direct attendees to various parts of the event. Michelle Dorsey (mdorsey@mt.gov) continues track table registrations and will do outreach for more agencies to have tables. Agencies are welcome to start setting up their table from 1:00-1:30pm. 1:30-2:00pm will be the HiSET Transition presentation (see below). Agencies are welcome and encouraged to attend the presentation after setting up their table. The Lifelong Learning Center will provide drinks and the Missoula Job Service will provide snacks.
Folders will be handed out to attendees once again. Agencies wishing to have materials in the folder can continue to bring handouts to The Lifelong Learning Center until Thursday, October 17. One hundred and fifty copies of handouts will be needed for the folders.
HiSET
There will be a GED to HiSET Transition presentation immediately before the Community Resource Fair from 1:30p-2:00pm. This is a computer based program. Information covered will include an overview of the new exam, eligibility requirements, registration changes and costs, how to interpret the new scoring system and how to access scores and options for combining GED scores with HiSET scores. There will also be a HiSET table at the Fair for continued discussion. Monique Fortmann gave a handout that showcases the HiSET presentation and the Community Resource Fair. She will send an electronic copy to Michelle Dorsey, who will send it out to all the CMT members later today.
CMT Roundtable Event
The next CMT Roundtable meeting will be on Thursday, January 16th from 3pm-5pm. Location still needs to be decided. Discussion took place on if we should have a presenter and how the format works best. It was decided that the most valuable information comes from networking and there is no need to have a speaker just to have a speaker. Everyone likes the idea of each agency giving updates to the group in a mediated format. A June CMT Roundtable meeting was also discussed, but was decided that a better format might be agency updates through email. Michelle Dorsey will send out a call for agency updates in May to give everyone enough time to put a paragraph together for June.
Michelle Dorsey – Missoula Job Service
Door traffic at the Job Service has slowed and they are seeing job seekers need more intensive services. With the October 1st shutdown there have been a few Federal employees come in to file for unemployment, but many are most likely filing claims online. Employers are reporting that recruiting is becoming more difficult with fewer applicants applying for job openings.
Monique Fortmann/Jodi Rasmussen – The Lifelong Learning Center
The Lifelong Learning Center currently has an opening for a full time secretary. They will also be hiring for a part time customer service/secretarial position that may be ideal for a college student as the hours will be Friday evenings and Saturdays. The construction is finished in the front office. They are gearing up for the HiSET transition. Adult Basic Education is starting to see an increase in lower level, hard to serve students with many barriers to their education. Monique will be contacting Betsy Cohen, a reporter for the Missoulian, to promote the Community Resource Fair and HiSET presentation.
Kellie Battaglia – Homeword
Homeword has hired a new Housing Project Manager and Financial Literacy Coordinator (Carol Bellin). They are striving to be a sought out employer in the community offering competitive wages and a quality place to work and focusing on the community impact their organization has. The home buyer education classes are very popular, filling up usually a month in advance. They are promoting free pre-purchaser housing counseling to anyone thinking about purchasing a home in the future.
Carol Bellin – Homeword
Carol is the new Financial Fitness Coordinator for Homeword. To avoid unnecessary holiday stress, there are two Financial Fitness Classes being offered. They are Saturday, October 12th or Saturday, November 16th from 9a-6pm. Refreshments, free childcare, gift cards, prizes and counseling sessions are all offered with these classes.
Vida Wilkinson – Missoula College UM
Stated the Upward Bound class enrollments are low. If you are working with a veteran it’s not too late to sign up. It was announced yesterday that the Missoula College site has been chosen for the East Broadway location. With the October 1st shutdown, funding is unclear on the new Training grant that two year colleges received recently. There are internal challenges on how the monies will be spent across the colleges.
Adam Ragsdale – Missoula Housing Authority
MHA has recently purchased River Ridge Apartments on Santa Fe Court. There are 70 units and will be used for senior housing. There are 10 new families involved with the Matched Self Help Builds. Vantage Villa rebuild is currently in the design phase. They are also seeing staffing issues with few applicants for their open positions. Their most recent hire for Property Manager did have a good pool of qualified candidates.
