Welcome to the November-December issue of Provplan’s e-newsletter. This issue has lots of good news—additional federal funding for New Roots and YouthBuild Providence, a donation of IBM computers for Ready to Learn and a new grant from the National Institute of Justice to continue our work with the R.I. Department of Corrections, Providence Police and the Family Life Center on prisoner reentry issues. In addition, Mayor David Cicilline joined with the Building Trades Council and the Associated General Contractors to announce the creation of Building Futures, our new initiative to move unemployed and underemployed neighborhood residents into union apprentice positions. Success is always a team effort and I want to thank and congratulate all our partners for making good things happen. We look forward to more good news ahead.

Thanks,
Pat McGuigan, Executive Director
pmcguigan@provplan.org

Donning hard hats and standing high above the city, officials formally launch Building Futures
“Before Building Futures, I had no future,” Varsana Sihavong told the group gathered on the 32nd floor of the new Westin Tower, a structure that is still under construction. “I was going from one dead-end job to another. I didn’t think I had a lot of choices.”

Varsana is one of the first candidates to receive support from Building Futures, a program designed to help unemployed and unskilled young adults secure apprenticeships in the building trades.
Having received tutoring and other assistance through Building Futures, Varsana now feels ready to take his apprenticeship exam later this month.

At a press conference held on November 14 to formally announce the initiative, Mayor David N. Cicilline explained that “Building Futures is about creating a promising career path to excellent paying jobs with good benefits in the construction industry for Providence residents.” But, he stressed, “It’s not just about giving people a trade. It’s about giving people hope and opportunity.”

[more on Building Futures...]

New Roots expands its focus with $1.5 million grant 
With the recent award of a three-year, $1.5 million federally-funded Compassion Capital Fund Demonstration Grant, New Roots Providence is ready to expand its reach. The Providence Plan program, which got under way just two years ago, helps community and faith-based organizations build their capacity to serve those in need.

New Roots, which until now has served agencies only in the Providence area, is expanding into other urban communities in the state. In its first 17 months, New Roots focused on agencies serving at-risk youth, prisoners re-entering the community, children of prisoners, and families in transition from welfare to work. Thanks to the new grant, New Roots will add three new focus areas – elders in need, the homeless, and substance abuse and addiction.

Launched in 2005 with Compassion Capital and private-sector funds, New Roots has invested in more than 150 organizations with free training workshops, small grants and other forms of technical assistance. By helping these organizations strengthen their management structure, develop new sources of funds, and create vibrant partnerships, New Roots has given these groups the capacity they need to pursue their goals more effectively. [more on New Roots Grant...]

YouthBuild Providence awarded nearly $1 million in federal funds
At a well-attended press conference held on November 5 at the home of YouthBuild Providence in Olneyville, U.S. Senator Jack Reed announced that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) had awarded the workforce development program a two-year, $960, 000 grant.

“This money will offer more young people an opportunity to build for their future and help create a better educated workforce for Rhode Island,” said Senator Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee, which oversees funding for Labor Department programs.

“We are extremely proud that Senator Reed’s efforts on the national stage have translated into tangible results for Rhode Island’s young adults in need,” said Andrew Cortes, director of YouthBuild Providence.

YouthBuild Providence, a program of The Providence Plan, is one of 226 YouthBuild programs across the country. Senator Reed, a strong supporter of the national program, has sought to double its funding this year, from $50 million to $100 million.

“A lot of these young people have struggled in a traditional school setting, but they have thrived in the YouthBuild program and are on their way to launching successful careers in the construction business,” Senator Reed noted. [more on YouthBuild Grant...]

ProvPlan and The Urban Institute receive NIJ grant to develop mapping tool
The Providence Plan is currently developing a mapping application designed to help corrections, public safety and social service agencies better supervise and assist returning prisoners. One goal of this statewide project is to produce a tool that can be easily replicated – at very little cost – in communities across the country.

ProvPlan and The Urban Institute in Washington D.C. received funding from the National Institute of Justice to develop, evaluate and disseminate this tool. ProvPlan has partnered with The Urban Institute on numerous projects in the past, including the Institute’s Prisoner Reentry Mapping Network and the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership.

This project relies on widely used open-source software to produce maps identifying the up-to-date locations of recently released prisoners and related support services. As a Web-based application with a familiar architecture (Google Maps), this password-protected tool will bring state-of-the-art mapping technology to users operating anything from a desktop computer to a small handheld.

Users will be able to conduct specialized queries of the locations of released prisoners, map those results at the address level, and then overlay the results with additional datasets, such as support services. With maps showing all released prisoners living in a particular neighborhood – and with the capacity to refine that search with variables such as “type of offense” – it is expected that probation and parole officers will be able to schedule their rounds more efficiently. [more on NIJ Mapping Tool...]

With gift from IBM, R2LP expands Internet access to providers and families
A gift of five computers and monitors from IBM Corporation will have a tremendous impact on Ready to Learn Providence’s efforts to connect low-income providers and families with resources that promote school readiness, according to Joyce Butler, director of R2LP.

Some 40 percent of all family child-care providers in Providence do not own computers. By making these computers available to providers – and families – who participate in R2LP’s professional development programs and club activities, R2LP gives them access to the many valuable programs and resources found on the Internet.

The computers also are available to R2LP’s 30 AmeriCorps members who work at the libraries, child-care centers and with family child-care providers to promote school readiness.

In way of thanks, R2LP is contributing to an IBM-supported cause by adding World Community Grid software to 10 of its computers. World Computer Grid software uses the idle time of Internet-connected computers for the advancement of research projects that benefit humanity. Using the idle time of computers around the world, World Community Grid’s research projects have analyzed aspects of the human genome, HIV, muscular dystrophy and cancer.

This is the second gift of computers that IBM Corporation has made to R2LP. [top]





Building Futures , cont.
Andrew Cortes, director of Building Futures, said that in this pilot year the program is focusing on commercial construction and expects to place some 30 young adults from inner-city neighborhoods into apprenticeship programs.

Surrounding Andrew and the Mayor at the podium were representatives from the building trades. “The construction industry has an aging workforce,” noted Michael Sabitoni, president of the R.I. Building Trades. “This program assists us in replenishing that workforce. It gives us new blood and new enthusiasm.”

Building Futures is a partnership of The Providence Plan, Build RI and YouthBuild Providence. In addition to recruiting, assessing and supporting candidates for placement into apprenticeship programs, the initiative seeks to bring systemic change to the construction industry in ways that will help the sector meet future needs while creating employment opportunities for low-income adults in urban areas.

Funders for Building Futures include The United Way, Making Connections Providence, the R.I. Department of Education and the Governor’s Workforce Board. [top]

New Roots Grant, cont.
“We now have evidence that this investment is working,” says Nzinga Misgana, director of New Roots. “Groups tell us that with technical assistance from New Roots, they are now more successful at raising funds, managing their staffing needs, creating strong boards, and ultimately building more sustainable organizations.”

“New Roots is the answer that church and community have been waiting for,” says the Rev. Israel Mercedes, pastor of Iglesia Vision Evangelica, an Olneyville church that provides after-school programs addressing the educational and emotional needs of youth in the neighborhood.
“With three additional years of funds,” notes Nzinga, “New Roots Providence can help more groups improve their communities.” [top]

YouthBuild Grant , cont.
The DOL grant will allow YouthBuild to serve 60 students over the next two years. “With a 92 percent retention rate of our last class and more than a $12-per-hour average wage for our graduates, YouthBuild Providence represents effective federal investment on a local level, improving the quality of life for both our young adults and our communities,” Andrew said.

YouthBuild is an alternative education program that helps young adults – most of whom are high school dropouts – acquire the academic and job-readiness skills they need to succeed in the workforce.

“This funding allows YouthBuild Providence to continue helping young people access the training and skills they need to build a brighter future for themselves,” says Anthony Hubbard, associate director of YouthBuild Providence. “We will continue to strengthen and improve our program to better serve our participants for many years to come."

NIJ Mapping Tool, cont.
Social service agencies will be able to use this technology to identify nearby support services, such as rehabilitation centers and transportation. The Family Life Center of Rhode Island, a nonprofit agency that helps ex-offenders and their families by providing long-term case management services, will be among the initial users of this tool. Other initial users include the R.I. Department of Corrections, the Department of Children, Youth and Families, and the Providence Police Department.

“Rhode Island is a good place to pioneer this application because nearly all of our released prisoners come from the Adult Correctional Institution,” says Jim Lucht, who is heading up the project for ProvPlan. “But it could prove even more useful in states with many levels of jurisdiction because it will centralize all the information.”

The Urban Institute will oversee the evaluation, process documentation and dissemination activities of this mapping tool. The evaluation will include focus groups, one-on-one interviews and data from user web logs. Surveys to probation officers will determine whether the tool increased efficiency and if the officers found it easy to use. After a full evaluation is completed, refinements will be made and the tool will become available to jurisdictions across the country.

“Once this mapping software is fully developed, it won’t be a big investment for other jurisdictions to adopt it,” explains Nancy LaVigne, senior research associate with The Urban Institute. “It’s just a matter of plug and play.”

ProvPlan and The Urban Institute will receive $360,000 over a 27-month period to develop, evaluate and disseminate this mapping application. The R.I. Department of Corrections is supplying ProvPlan with the necessary data. [top]