Worcester Ready4Work Initiative

This grant will allow Straight Ahead Ministries to replicate the Ready4Work project in Boston and Lynn MA. Ready4Work is designed to recruit, assess and provide program components for a group of youth ages 14-18 who have been detained, were sentenced and have served time for a nonsexual criminal law violation. These youth will be returning to a high-crime urban community and have enrolled in the Ready4Work program. The project will provide reintegration services though the following critical programmatic components: 1) assist with relationship building through the provision of caring adult mentors; 2) provide educational services; 3) provide employment training and placement opportunities, and 4) case management services in all areas relating to barriers to successful reentry, including but not limited to: child support, housing, addictions, physical and mental health, and strengthening family support. Data will be collected and reported in the area of percent of youth who offend or reoffend once they have enrolled in the program. Additionally, the grantee will measure pro-social behaviors in accordance with the performance measure percent of program youth exhibiting desired change in targeted behaviors specifically gang involvement and school attendance. Additional performance measures include: number of program youth served and number of service hours completed by program youth. NCA/NCF