Ready4Work In Brief: Update on Outcomes; Reentry May Be Critical for States, Cities

This issue of P/PV In Brief provides updated data from the Ready4Work prisoner reentry initiative, with a focus on the prison crisis occurring in many cities and states. While much more research is needed to understand the true, long-term impact of prisoner reentry initiatives, outcomes from Ready4Work were extremely promising in terms of education, employment and program retention, with recidivism rates among Ready4Work participants 34 to 50 percent below the national average.Funded by the US Department of Labor and the Annie E. Casey and Ford foundations, Ready4Work was a three-year national demonstration project designed to address the needs of the growing ex-prisoner population and to test the capacity of community- and faith-based organizations to meet those needs. Ready4Work programs provided employment services, case management and mentoring in 11 adult sites around the country (data from seven juvenile sites are being analyzed separately)

Reaching Through the Cracks: A Guide to Implementing the Youth Violence Reduction Partnership

In 1999, the Youth Violence Reduction Partnership (YVRP) was launched by a group of key stakeholders in Philadelphia -- including the district attorney's office, adult and juvenile parole, other city agencies and community organizations. Its goal is to steer young people, ages 14 to 24 and at greatest risk of killing or being killed, away from violence and toward productive lives. To accomplish this, YVRP provides participants with a combination of strict supervision and ongoing support. Each participant is assigned to a team that includes a probation officer and a community streetworker, who maintain intensive contact with the young person to make sure that he (and less often she) not only stays out of trouble but starts on a path toward responsible adulthood.Reaching Through the Cracks draws upon lessons learned from seven years of experience in Philadelphia to describe how cities and other jurisdictions can plan and carry out an initiative like YVRP. It includes an overview of the key elements of YVRP; steps in planning the initiative; roles and training of staff who work with the participants and details about the supervision and support these staff provide; essential practices for maintaining and strengthening YVRP; and an exploration of the costs and other issues involved in making decisions about expanding the initiative

Treatment and Program Effects in a Violence Reduction Program

Because serious crime has widespread negative effects on communities, families and our nation\u27s young people--we must make our go to responses--such as policing, probation and incarceration--more effective. The current study will examine an intervention that aims to reduce recidivism through support and supervision of serious youthful offenders who live in high-crime urban neighborhoods. The program aims to bridge a critical tension faced by probation--the dueling goals of social control and social welfare (i.e., punishment and rehabilitation). Specifically, this research will aim to 1) determine the extent to which the program causes decreases in recidivism and 2) explore if level of contact with program staff (street workers) is related to recidivism outcomes. The information gleaned from this study will be useful to both researchers interested in serious and persistent youthful offenders and to practitioners and policy makers aiming to reduce serious crime and optimize community corrections

Mustering the Armies of Compassion in Philadelphia

The role of faith-based organizations in meeting the most pressing needs in America's poorest neighborhoods has been the subject of national debate over the past several years. However, few reports have carefully examined these organizations' performance. Mustering the Armies of Compassion in Philadelphia takes a detailed look at a group of faith-based organizations running a literacy program, Youth Education for Tomorrow (YET). Mustering examines the programs' start-up, relatively consistent classroom results, and their many reactions to partnership with a secular organization. Ultimately, the YET Center program shows that with a clear model and sufficient support and oversight, a large and diverse group of independent faith-based organizations can collectively provide a demonstrably effective service

Relationships in a Career Mentoring Program: Lessons Learned from the Hospital Youth Mentoring Program

This report is an examination of the Commonwealth Fund's Hospital Youth Mentoring Program which took place in 15 hospital/school pairs around the country. The program focused on career mentoring for older youth by concentrating on their academic and career goals

P/PV Preview: Mentoring Ex-Prisoners in the Ready4Work Reentry Initiative

Promoting successful reentry for ex-prisoners is a critical issue facing individuals, families, communities and governments across the country. This brief presents findings from a forthcoming report on the mentoring component of theReady4Work prisoner reentry initiative.Ready4Work participants who met with a mentor remained in the program longer, were twice as likely to obtain a job and were more likely to stay employed than participants who did not meet with a mentor. The report's authors conclude that while mentoring alone is not enough, supportive relationships -- which can be fostered through mentoring programs -- should be considered a core component of any reentry strategy

Alive at 25: Reducing Youth Violence Through Monitoring and Support

In 1999, seeking to reduce Philadelphia's homicide rate and put youthful offenders on the path to a productive adulthood, various Philadelphia agencies and organizations, including Public/Private Ventures, partnered to form the Youth Violence Reduction Partnership (YVRP). The projects goal is to steer youth, ages 14 to 24 and at greatest risk of killing or being killed, toward productive lives through increased support and supervision. This report describes YVRP and presents early evidence the initiative may be reducing homicides

Enriching Summer Work: An Evaluation of the Summer Career Exploration Program

To determine the impact of the Summer Career Exploration Program (SCEP), a privately funded summer jobs program for low-income teens, P/PV examined the lives of over 1700 applicants. These youth were randomly assigned to participate or to not participate in SCEP in the summer of 1999, and their outcomes were compared at four and twelve months after program application. Researchers found that implementation was strong, but program impacts were less impressive. While SCEPs participants got summer jobs at a substantially higher rate (92%) than the control group (62%), the programs ability to translate this large and immediate summer employment impact into intermediate gains (in terms of future plans, college enrollment, work success, sense of self-efficacy or reduced criminal activity) proved to be negligible. Although impacts were short lived, the report concludes that SCEP and similar programs have an important place in the larger mosaic of supports, programs and opportunities for young people

Raising the Barre and Stretching the Canvas: Implementing High Quality Arts Programming in a National Youth Serving Organization

Experiences of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America suggest that large, multidisciplinary youth organizations can establish high-quality arts program

Setting the Stage: Practical Ideas for Implementing High-Quality Afterschool Arts Programs

Afterschool programs looking to add high-quality arts learning to their programming might do well to keep three practices in mind: Employ professional teaching artistsProvide current, high-quality equipmentCreate dedicated art spaces that welcome and inspireThese practices are essential to enriching arts experiences that engage young people. They may entail higher costs than what an organization currently spends on arts programs. But these costs may not be vastly different from the costs of sports, STEM, or other programs.And there are ways to keep the costs down.  These are the major findings from research about a Wallace Foundation effort that sought to increase access to high-quality arts education for students from historically marginalized backgrounds