The 2007-2008 Bridging the Opportunity Gap Initiative Grantees
Commonwealth Corporation, in conjunction with the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services, is pleased to announce the selection of nine grantees to receive funding through the 2007-2008 “Bridging the Opportunity Gap” competitive grant process. The goal of the grant competition was to seek collaborative partnerships for effective career readiness and work-based learning that provide “bridges” to employment services for youth in the custody of the Department of Youth Services.
The nine successful proposals were selected because they provided a plan of action that addressed the grant’s three primary goals:
- Providing direct services that meet the career readiness, pre-employment and employment needs of youth in the custody of DYS;
- Developing community connections that result in the delivery of services to youth who are currently reporting to a DYS Community Re-entry Centers and that are asset-based and involve personnel that have demonstrated success working effectively with DYS clients;
- Develop and strengthening collaborations and partnerships between agencies and organizations that have expertise with youth job readiness and youth training and/or employment.
In total, Commonwealth Corporation received 12 proposals by the deadline of November 9th. The proposals were reviewed and scored by an inter-agency review team comprised of staff from the Department of Youth Services, Hampshire Educational Collaborative, and Commonwealth Corporation. The nine proposals that were recommended for funding included:
Elements of Successful Proposals
Effective Recruitment and Retention of Youth Strategies
- Tiered stipends and rewards and incentives
- Identified plan for re-engaging youth after revocation
- Diversity of staff
- Youth Advisory Committee—youth voice
- Job retention—dress, meal money, transportation
- Good retention elements (recognition, speakers, field trips)
Effective Program Elements
- Proposing to serve more than 25 youth
- Specific reference to and information that underscores the applicant and partnering organization’s cultural competence in working with a racially, ethnically and socio-economically diverse population of youth.
- Work plan—addressed number of youth who would stay employed; planning for attrition
- Strong support from the Department of Youth Services Community Re-entry Center (CRC) shown through the signature and active involvement with proposal development by the CRC’s director/manager or through a regional DYS regional director
- Demographic data that reflects the specific population of young people to be served from the DYS CRC.
- Strong collaboration with one of more community based organizations that are enthusiastic and familiar with effectively (prior positive outcomes) serving youth in DYS custody.
- A clear set of project activities that reflect an innovative, hands-on approach to learning that will engage and motivate youth.
Strong Support Services
- Connection with DYS education liaison
- Team approach to case management; Inclusion of wrap around services
- GED component
- Connections to Community College—would bring a new perspective for DYS youth
- Racially and culturally diverse mentors
Connections to Other Funding/Resource Linkages
- Range of funding connections (WIA,YouthWorks, P21, USDOL Shared Vision grant, Shannon Grant.)
Elements of Proposals Not Receiving Funding
Weak Employability Elements
- No external employability component—no clear plan for linking youth to jobs outside of the program
- Lack of employability component
- Limited employment options, which are an unlikely source of employment for more than 2-3 youth.
Minimal Collaboration/Partnership
- Unclear DYS support/involvement with proposal development and submission
- Lack of collaboration of organizations in a similar or same geographic area
- Insufficient community partners participating in activities
Budget Issues
- Too much administrative overhead or administrative salaries
- Proposal over budget
Overall Issues
- All required components not addressed in proposal
- Proposal did meet the minimum threshold of program elements in more than one area
- Over reliance on unpaid volunteers to deliver program services
- No mention of demographics of youth population to be served
Please contact Nikki Bynoe, Program Manager, at 617-727-8158, ext. 1325 or nbynoe@commcorp.org for further information.
