JFCAC is proud to announce the launch of a new program. Recovery Support Services.
Please click HERE for further information on the program.
Please click HERE for further information on the program.
 The COVID-19 outbreak and the appurtenant mobilization of Staff from many Industries has resulted in mass email attacks from hackers posing as legitimate news sources, software companies, financial services, and IT administrators. We urge you to raise your level of security awareness as we work together to navigate these unusual times.
Be Watchful and Check Sources Hackers are using emotion-driven emails and/or text messages to try to get people to act quickly, without thinking. Usual practices for Businesses and organizations are forced to evolve to meet these unusual demands, staff and systems may be vulnerable. We have heard of at least one major bank that had to shut down their wire system because of unusual activity that occurred while they were implementing their emergency plan. The messages often appear to be from legitimate sources:
Watch for These Red Flags Beware of coronavirus-themed phishing attempts. It’s easy to lose focus when email volume is high or when working in a different setting. Protecting your email is one of the most important things. Watch out for these red flags:
Stay Safe and Health! Jefferson Franklin Community Action Corporation JFCAC is currently operating in Phase One of our Emergency Action Plan. Please see individual program updates below. Behavioral Health - The Behavioral Health program is currently operating as normal. If clients would prefer to have their appointments via Telehealth that is also an option.
Head Start - The Head Start program will support currently enrolled children and families through weekly phone contact and provision of the most up to date resources in Jefferson and Franklin Counties. Families interested in receiving educational support for children ages birth-five years or prenatal mothers, can complete an application by clicking HERE. Housing - The housing program will operate as usual, with the exception Clients, and Landlords will need to communicate with staff by means of phone, mail, or email. Paperwork may be mailed in to P.O. Box 920, Hillsboro MO 63050, or be left in the drop box located outside the Hillsboro office or St. Clair office. Inspections will be conducted as normal. Applications for the housing assistance program will be mailed to anyone who requests one. WIC - The WIC program has temporarily changed how we will be issuing benefits. WIC staff will be contacting WIC participants on their scheduled appointment day to provide services and education over the phone. WIC checks will be mailed out via certified mail. WIC Breastfeeding services will continue via WIC’s Breastfeeding support line. Pump rentals will still be available on a case by case basis and will be delivered curbside or at a central location. Weatherization - Weatherization will continue normal operations. Current clients however, have the option to postpone inspections or service work during these uncertain times. Clients can contact use by phone, mail or email. Community Services - Although many of our procedures have changed, Community Services Specialists are available by phone to answer questions and provide referrals to food, utilities, and more. We are still registering children for the Back to School Fair that will be held in July. Limited case management and coaching services are also being offered through our Skill Up and Empowerment Coaching Programs. Energy Assistance - Our Energy Specialists are accepting applications for assistance on natural gas, electric, propane, and wood. To obtain an application for Energy Assistance call our office or visit our website. Applications and utility bills can be mailed to our P.O. Box or placed in a locked drop box near our main entrances in Hillsboro and St. Clair. If you have questions don't hesitate to contact us by phone, email, or on our Facebook page.  The Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Program at Jefferson Franklin Community Action Corporation (JFCAC) announces that a contract to continue to provide WIC services for federal fiscal year 2020 has been signed with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Under the terms of the contract, the JFCAC WIC Program will be able to serve more than 2662 persons eligible for WIC every month. WIC is a special supplemental nutrition program providing services to pregnant women, breastfeeding women, postpartum women, infants and children up to the age of five. WIC provides breastfeeding education and support, health screening, nutrition education and counseling, and referrals to community resources. Nutritious supplemental food is provided at no cost to participants. To be eligible for WIC, applicants must have an income of less than or equal to 185% of the poverty level (for example, a family of four with an annual gross income of $46,435.00 or less). Those with MO HealthNet, SNAP, or TANF are automatically income eligible. Migrant families are also eligible. WIC supplemental foods are specially chosen to provide protein, iron, calcium, and vitamins A and C. Eligible women and children can receive fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, peanut butter, beans, whole grain products (bread, tortillas, pasta, rice), hot or cold cereals, and more. The WIC program recommends breastfeeding, provides breastfeeding support, baby foods and infant cereal. For women who are unable or choose not to breastfeed, infants may receive supplemental iron fortified formula. WIC participants obtain their foods by redeeming food checks for specific items at local grocery stores and pharmacies. Studies confirm that pregnant women who enroll in WIC during the early months of pregnancy have fewer low birth weight babies, experience fewer infant deaths, obtain prenatal care earlier in pregnancy and eat healthier. WIC is administered in Jefferson County at JFCAC. Persons interested in applying or who are in need of more information should contact the JFCAC WIC Program at 636.789.2686 Option 5. Information can also be found on the website, www.jfcac.org/wic and on the JFCAC Facebook page, @JFCACmo. JFCAC WIC Program services are offered in Hillsboro on Mondays and Thursdays and in Arnold on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Appointments are available at both sites from 8:30 AM to 11:15 AM and from 1 PM to 4:30 PM. Evening hours are available by appointment only. Clinics are closed from 12-1 PM for lunch.
The Hillsboro clinic is located at 105 Municipal Drive (JFCAC lower level). The Arnold clinic is located at 1818 Lonedell Rd (Jefferson County Health Department lower level). This institution is an equal opportunity provider.  In 2017, Jefferson Franklin Community Action Corporation (JFCAC) began an endeavor to increase self-sufficiency through diversification of funding. It was identified that this could be done by focusing on increasing unrestricted agency dollars. Three areas were identified for the agency to focus on that would drive the agency toward achieving this goal. These three are as follows: Fundraising, Social Enterprises, and Medicaid Fee for Service Billing Opportunities.
With the assistance of JFCAC's devoted Board, much progress has been made over the last two years toward building strength in the above three areas. The most recent accomplishment being the establishment of the Partners Realizing Opportunity (PRO) - the agency’s own for profit C-Corporation. The intent of PRO is to partner, when possible, with other entities in the community to develop needed social enterprises that can be profitable for the agency, and can also serve as training grounds for those in our communities who are in need. As JFCAC is the sole shareholder of PRO all proceeds not needed for the ongoing support of the social enterprises, through an official PRO Board approval process, will be allocated back to JFCAC to support additional programming and/or to assist existing programs when funding dollars are threatened. PRO’s Board which is comprised of four JFCAC Board Members and three individuals hand selected from the community was established in May 2019. The Board had its first official meeting in May and subsequently has been meeting at least quarterly since then. The focus has been and will continue to be identifying great partners and needed business opportunities in our communities. JFCAC is extremely excited about the establishment of PRO and is looking forward to its first LLC opening in 2020. For more information please feel free to contact Jill Quaid, JFCAC/PRO, CEO @ jquaid@partnersrealizingopportunity.com Please also visit our website: www.partnersrealizingopportunity.com. Jefferson Franklin Community Action Corporation (JFCAC) is giving notice that beginning March 3, 2020 applications for the Section 8 tenant-based Housing Choice Voucher Program and Mainstream Voucher program will be accepted in Franklin and Jefferson Counties.The waiting list will be open to all households; however, certain preferences will be granted to applicants who either live or work in Jefferson or Franklin County at the time of their application. In addition to this preference, families who meet one of the following criteria will receive additional points on the waiting list. These include families who are transitioning out of institutional and other segregated settings (this does not include a correctional facility), at serious risk of institutionalization, homeless, at risk of becoming homeless, or previously experienced homelessness and are currently a client in a permanent supportive housing or rapid rehousing project as referred by the Missouri Balance of State or local Continuum of Care Coordinated Entry System.
JFCAC’s Housing Choice Voucher and Mainstream Program provide rental assistance to help low income families obtain affordable housing which is safe, decent, and sanitary. A household where the sole member is an emancipated minor is not an eligible household. To be eligible for a Mainstream voucher, there must be one disabled household member who is between the ages of 18 and 61. Applications will be accepted beginning March 3, 2020 at 7:30 a.m. Applications will be taken at #2 Merchant Dr. in Hillsboro, Missouri and at 1020 Plaza Court Suite B in St. Clair, Missouri. These housing offices are open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and closed from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Applicants will be placed on the waiting list by the date and time their completed application is received in one of the JFCAC’s housing offices and by preference. Applications may also be requested by phone (636-789-2686 ext. 1401 or 1415) or mail beginning March 3, 2020. Completed applications must be mailed or hand delivered to one of our housing offices. Faxed or electronic submissions will not be accepted. There is an after-hours drop box at both office locations. Applications will be made available in an accessible format upon request from a person with disabilities or with limited English proficiency. Reasonable accommodations for those with special needs may be arranged by calling (636) 789-2686 option 3. Relay Missouri Service users may call 711 or 800-735-2966 TT/TTY or 866-735-2460 VOICE.JFCAC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, familial status, ancestry, disability, marital status, gender identity, or sexual orientation; and operates in accordance with the Federal Fair Housing Law.  The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, remains in operation in Missouri. Local agencies continue to support current participants and to enroll new participants who may now be income-eligible due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Given the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to control the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic through means of social distancing, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has approved Missouri’s request to waive the WIC program’s physical presence requirement. Normal clinic operations that require employees, participants and applicants to physically come into the clinic create an undesirable risk and there are mandatory clinic closures in some areas. A waiver of physical presence removes a requirement that could prevent or impede the provision of essential WIC services to participants under current circumstances. The approval to waive the physical presence requirement includes the ability to defer anthropometric and bloodwork requirements necessary to determine nutritional risk for the period the physical presence waiver is in effect per section 2203(a)(1)(B) of H.R. 6201. Missouri WIC has requested additional waivers to allow WIC local agencies and retailers to better serve current and new WIC participants while limiting exposure and travel for WIC participants and staff. These strategies will help local, state and national efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 and will allow WIC participants to receive services if under quarantine. Missouri will act swiftly to implement new strategies for remote service delivery as additional waivers are approved. The current waivers have been approved through May 31, 2020, with an option to request an extension, if needed. WIC participants may now choose from expanded options in a variety of food categories to help address WIC product shortages that have occurred because of food distribution issues. WIC participants may substitute Jif, Skippy and Peter Pan peanut butters in the same size; substitute medium eggs if large eggs are not available; and purchase quarts and gallons of the same variety of milk to total the number of gallons on their checks. The WIC state agency will decrease the maximum quantity printed on checks to allow WIC customers to purchase smaller quantities of food items from multiple retailers for up to the full amount of their food prescription. The WIC program is considering other product list expansions at this time to be effective throughout May 31, 2020, unless extended. Per WIC requirements, retailers must allow WIC participants to purchase the full amount of items on their check, if available in the store, and should not be held to quantity limitations. WIC participants may also inquire about the possibility of ordering formula from an authorized pharmacy for later pick-up within the same month if formula is not available in their immediate area. Pregnant women, new mothers, and families with children from birth through their fifth birthday can learn more about qualifying and enrolling in the Missouri WIC program by visiting the Missouri WIC website at wic.mo.gov to locate their local agency’s phone number, or by calling 1-800-TEL-LINK (1-800-835-5465). Contact the local agency to find out about program changes due to COVID-19, or if an appointment by phone is needed due to illness or quarantine. The Franklin County Public Housing Agency will hold a Public Hearing on June 18, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. at the office of the Jefferson Franklin Community Action Corporation (JFCAC), #2 Merchant Dr., Hillsboro, Mo. The purpose of the Public Hearing is to invite public comments from interested persons on the proposed Five Year and Annual Plan for Fiscal Year October 1, 2018 –September 30, 2019 to be submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program which is administered by JFCAC in Franklin and Jefferson Counties.
The Annual Plan is a requirement of the federal Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act. A copy of the plan is available for review from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday at the JFCAC Housing office, #2 Merchant Dr., Hillsboro, MO. and is posted on the JFCAC website at www.jfcac.org. JFCAC is an Equal Opportunity Housing provider. All questions should be directed to Janna Bittle.  October is Weatherization month!
https://thestateofpoverty.org/2016/09/12/toolkit-3-energy-action-month-weatherization-day-in-october/ “We find hidden treasure” James Trout Hundreds of households have found a hidden treasure in their home with the help of Jefferson Franklin Community Action Corporation’s (JFCAC) Weatherization Program. Clients have found free “energy equity” recovered from their home’s utility budget after getting weatherized. That equity arrives in the form of money saved on utility bills, every month, over and over again, thanks to the expert energy audit and retrofit made possible by JFCAC’s free Weatherization (Wx) program for income eligible households. “I saw results on my very next utility bill!” Wx client “The average un-weatherized home leaks air equal to a 4 foot hole in the wall” Department of Energy The improvements can run deeper than just energy savings. Recently one of our energy auditors was reading a diagnostic tool that said a furnace was ok, but he was suspicious of evidence he saw that there might be a problem. He ordered a checkup by our heating technician and he found a burned out firebox inside that was leaking carbon monoxide (CO). He said it was amazing that the owners were still alive. They thought their health problems just came from growing old. Now they are enjoying aging at home, breathing healthier air, paying lower utility bills, and living more comfortably. The Department of Energy helps fund Weatherization in Missouri, and every dollar invested generates an overall return of $2.40. We also hear back from homeowners who no longer miss work due to chronic ailments, who can stay in their homes now that living is more affordable. Energy efficiency measures are a far more effective way to control energy costs than building new utility plants. To find out if you qualify for weatherization, call David at 636-789-2686 x 1302, or email Wx@jfcac.org For public speaking on Weatherization, contact James Trout, 314.677.1123 or jtrout@jfcac.org
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