HUD "Best Practices" AwardThe HUD "Best Practices in Housing
and Community Development" symposium in Charlotte represents the second opportunity
communities have had to share among themselves their knowledge and experiences in
successfully planning and implementing HUD programs. This year HUD
agency-wide identified 461 "Best Practices" in 272 Blue Ribbon communities,
where counties, cities, states, non-profit organizations and their private sector
partners, established new benchmarks of success for implementing HUD programs.
The Kansas Department of Commerce & Housing was thus recognized for its program
innovation and use of HUD monies leading to the creation of the North Central Kansas
Community Network.
North Central Kansas Community Network
The North Central Kansas Community Network (NCKCN) is an outgrowth of a 1995
Demonstration Grant awarded Mitchell County, Kansas by the Kansas Department of Commerce
& Housing shortly after a rural six-county area lost 130 jobs directly related to a
single plant closing.
NCKCN was initially set up to foster greater communication amongst the communities
affected by the job loss so that they might better coordinate their responses to the
situation. Furthermore, the system offered a means of communicating what job
opportunities were available throughout the region to those individuals directly affected
by the closures. The individuals were thus benefited by leads on new jobs, as was
the region by having the opportunity to preserve its labor force through the retention of
the individuals and their families.
Today, NCKCN is accessible to a virtual community of 16,500 residents living in ten
(10) communities scattered across nine (9) counties. Internet service is
provided at no cost to all schools, libraries and units of government and to
Low-Moderate Income (LMI) households.
|