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Archive for the ‘Workforce Development’ Category

Peace Corps, Nukes & Unemployment

Saturday, April 10th, 2010

Great to learn that President Obama and Dimitry Medvedev of Russia signed the “new START” treaty this week in an effort to reduce the number of nukes by one-third. It is just a start but a solid one with proliferation and a complete breakdown between US and Russian relations during the previous administration. Is the world safer? Not really, but at least the big boys are talking, agreeing to keep a lid on things and and an eye on new entrants into the nuclear bomb family of nations.

Simultaneously, a bill is coursing through Congress to put some more money into creating Peace Corps jobs that I believe should have a Department of Labor contribution in it. Is the “More Peace Corps” bill a State Department activity? Of course. But isn’t also a smart way to boost unemployment in a small but meaningful way.  A couple of thousand PCV jobs are always welcome and these kinds of jobs are just what is needed. They build new skills, meet national security interests if deployed properly and send the signal that the US is investing in its people in creative ways.

The confluence of national security interests and reducing unemployment should not be a novel concept. I do not believe there is any linkage of this sort between the Departments of State and Labor. There certainly are linkages between the Departments of State and Defense but one more player at the table is needed.

Until we see foreign aid, the crippled economy and unemployment as national security issues, the kinds of action needed by Congress and the bureaucracies will be harder to come by and a signature of the way the US leads through creativity and innovation.

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Sad Results of Illiteracy, Substance Abuse & Mental Illness - A Day At Framingham Women’s Prison

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

A strange and new form of heavy, helpless sadness overcame me during a recent tour of the Framingham Massachusetts Women’s Prison on April 18, 2010 as the most recent stop on the year-long Leadership MetroWest Academy . 

It began with the first stop where young women in their late teens to mid-twenties in blue jeans and MCI t-shirts were processed on their way to court - shackled, handcuffed, searched and loaded into the back of an unmarked white van.  A few made eye contact as if to look for someone to acknowledge their humanity.  Most never bothered to see who we were and went through the motions in a zombie-like way. What awaited them outside the prison walls, I did not know.

The sadness grew heavier as we toured medium and maximum security units. MCI Framingham was clean, the staff showed inmates respect and most of the staff smiled, were polite with us and the inmates, and traded light-hearted banter with the Assistant Superintendent (Warden) and guards who led us on our 3-1/2 hour tour.  The sadness came from seeing women confined with no privacy and very little ahead that promised to improve their lives. It grew with repeated references to recent suicides that the staff were shaken by because they could not prevent them.

The Superintendent dropped some stats on us that resonated all day long: over 600 prisoners in a facility designed for 450, average reading level is 6th grade, 85% of the crimes for which inmates were admitted involved substance abuse, over 70% of inmates on some form of mental health treatment plan.  Most had been subject to some form of childhood or sexual abuse. Of the 600+ inmates, the guards felt that maybe 120 or so were dangerous and were better off locked up for their own sakes and the public’s. Prisoners ages ranged from 17- to 78-years-old. Average cost per year of housing them: $45,000 per inmate. Average number of children per inmate: 2-1/2. Whoa.  That’s 1,500 children out there with their mom in prison.

The statistics helped explain but not lessen the sadness.

There were a few encouraging stops along the way - the program where six inmates are training puppies to be assistance dogs for disabled children and adults, the cosmetology and restaurant program, the industrial embroidery program and the GED and remedial classes. But for the most part, the sadness got heavier.

As a society, we must think about how we deal with illiteracy, learning disabilities and behavioral health.  For most of these women, responsible parenting, early childhood education, dropout prevention and early intervention in substance abuse and mental health would have set them on a different course.  This passage of health care reform is a step in the right direction - more working poor will have some coverage down the road and kids 18-26 will be able to stay on their parents’ policies.  But so much more is needed.

I hope that sadness is never one I feel for someone I know or love.  I also hope I never lose touch with that sadness and urgency to do something about it.

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Gary Indiana’s Response to High Dropout Rates

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

 

Gary, Indiana’s leaders share profound concern and inspiring commitment to their young people, many of whom are being left behind by the 21st Century.  Over the past three years, Gary’s leaders produced their Multiple Education Pathway Blueprint. The blueprint may serve as a catalyst for  education attainment that leads to employment and supports economic development in Gary and NW Indiana.

In-School Portfolio of Options: In 2008, the Gary Community Schools unveiled a set of ten specific strategies known as the “The New Secondary Experience.” The objective was to implement best practices from work being done in other cities that were possible with limited resources.

The ten components include:

  1. Collecting and utilizing school-based data to provide early indicators of students at-risk of dropping out by: a) identifying all students falling behind, b) classifying students by credits earned, and c) using KidTrax data systems to foster connectedness between community and in-school activities,
  2. Transforming schools to allow students to pursue interests, talents and abilities
  3. Eliminating all social promotions and engage students and their parents in developing a plan for credit recovery and intensive remedial education
  4. Implementing “Double Dose” classes for students falling behind in mathematics and language arts
  5. Implementing extended day strategies supported by existing Title XX and remediation funds
  6. Engaging employers and workforce specialists to provide career and job awareness, exploration, mentoring and employment
  7. Implementing immediate instructional interventions and exploring the use of technology options to support teachers and counselors
  8. Implementing reading and literacy classes at the high school level to provide remediation for those students not reading English at grade level
  9. Providing credit recovery and acquisition opportunities for all students classified as behind their grade level in credits earned after regular school day, and
  10. Developing an individual Career Pathway Plan for all Gary students

New Pathways Options through “Magnet Schools”: In the winter of 2008, faced with a $22 million budget shortfall, the Gary Community Schools Board designed and passed a sweeping secondary school re-organization built on principles of “The New Secondary Experience.” The strategy, “Magnet Schools,” requires students, parents and faculty to choose where their talent and interests lie in selecting one of four schools that will offer choice of 1) Leadership/Military Academy & Gifted/Talented Focus, 2) Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM),  3) Career and Technical options, and 4)Visual & Performing Arts.

“Oldest and Closest”: An immediate strategy to arise from MEP Blueprint planning process is for the Gary Community Schools and its partners to rapidly identify its 2008-2009 students missing the least number of credits and who were oldest students at risk of “aging out” for immediate interventions. It was estimated that roughly 10% of the students most likely to drop out were in this category. Intensive time and resources for students in need of assistance to secure credits or a satisfactory ISTEP score to graduate could produce momentum and early success.

 

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The Power of Getting Not Out Of Your Life

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

In a few shevelopmentort days of presenting the Get Not Out of Your Life campaign to various partners, leaders showed through their reactions the power of looking differently upon one’s condition.

Remaining open to possibilities and taking a step to strengthen skills, literacy and credentials are essential to overcoming fear, hopelessness and loss of control in one’s life. It is not easy to adapt or overcome limitations, but doing so is very often more self-imposed than merely one’s fate.  Get Not Out of Your Life is focused on older adults, pregnant teens, kids who have dropped out, the working poor in search of family-supporting  jobs, Spanish-speakers looking to succeed in high-skill jobs and those who struggle with reading. 

From a social marketing perspective, the Get Not Out Of Your Life campaign is special in that it places the emotional needs of displaced adult workers and off-track youth and young adults first.  Institutions and there products are a distant second.  It has the potential, if implemented thoughtfully, of branding a region or organization as one that puts those in need first.

Getting Not Out Of Your Lifecampaign materials is designed for those who undestand and value servant leadership.  It is not for self-promoters or those wishing to place their organization’s name out in front.  That, they will have to on their own.  What will be interesting to see is if elected officials see the power of Getting Not Out Of Your Life as an expression of their commitment to public service.

As further reactions and suggestions emerge, I will try to capture them here.

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