SUMMARIES OF FY 1993 JOLI PROJECTS
1. The Job Creation Center is operated by the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (SOBRO), a non-profit community development agency in the Bronx, New York. John T. Patterson is the president and the Project Director is Valarie White. The project is a business expansion project that will train low-income individuals for employment in jobs created as a result of assisted business expansion. Focusing on the Port Morris Economic Development Zone, the Job Creation Center will first identify individual companies or industries that are likely to expand; work with each company individually to develop an expansion plan and provide technical and financial assistance; and work with each company individually to develop and implement a related employment plan, which will include hiring qualified labor; identify and prepare trained, job ready "Zone" residents and matching them to available positions at expanding firms; and provide initial skills assessments, motivational training, on-going counseling and skills upgrading to ensure that low-income participants placed into the newly created jobs are successful and retain their jobs. Over the three-year grant period, the project expects to place 120 participants in new jobs at a cost per job of $4,167. The grant amount is $499,999. The evaluation will be conducted by Dr. Donna Kirchheimer.
2. Boston Home Care Associates (BHCA) is a business development project operated by the Home Care Associates Training Institute of the Bronx, New York. The Executive Director is Peggy Powell and the Project Director is Janet Saglio. The project, designed as an economic development strategy, will assist low-income women of color toward self-sufficiency through permanent employment in the health care field. This will be achieved through the creation, expansion and maintenance of a new private employer -- BHCA -- a worker-owned home care company that will provide para-professional-level care to ill and elderly homebound patients. The project will undertake to identify, train and employ the targeted population in permanent jobs within BHCA. Planned interventions include, on the enterprise creation track: refining the business plan financial projections for the creation of BHCA; securing and packaging all necessary debt and equity financing; completing incorporation and refining the worker ownership structure; training the chief executive and selecting and training middle management; and providing on-going market, technical and management assistance to the board and management of BHCA. On the targeted population track, interventions include: recruiting and selecting 216 participants over three years for training as para-professional home health aides; designing and implementing the training program, which includes entry-level training (occupational skills, work maturity and basic-skills upgrade), on-the-job-training and in-service training; assessing the capability of each trainee
to become a permanent worker at BHCA; and providing orientation of all new workers to worker ownership. BHCA expects to employ at least 93 low-income women over the three-year grant period, at a cost per job of $5,375. The grant amount is $499,869. The evaluation will be conducted by Nancy Nye.
3. Project SEW is a project operated by the Tampa-Hillsborough Community Development Corporation (T-HCDC) that will provide resources and leadership to create jobs in an apparel manufacturing business. T-HCDC is a non-profit community development corporation active in development projects in depressed urban communities in the city of Tampa, Florida. The Executive Director and Project Director is Noble L. Sissle. Project SEW is a micro-entrepreneurial project that is expected to provide approximately 105 jobs for unemployed and low income residents in the inner city areas of Tampa. Cooperating with the Tampa Housing Authority, the Project SEW will provide educational and business development services to assist low-income individuals in preparing for and creating an apparel manufacturing enterprise for their participation and ownership. Participants will be provided with work skills training, including training in various categories of apparel manufacturing, in addition to general and basic education training, concurrently with the implementation of the business plan to create the apparel manufacturing enterprise. Over the project's three-year period, up to 109 permanent jobs will be created, at a cost per job of $4,587. The grant amount is for $500,000. The evaluation will be conducted by Dr. Mary Ellen Kiss.
4. The BOND Program is a self-employment/small business development project operated by the Community Socio-Economical Center of Hope (COH), a non-profit organization that assists underprivileged individuals in Lexington, North Carolina. The Chairman and Executive Director is Steve L. Carlton and the Project Director is Irene Perry. The BOND project will help low income individuals overcome barriers to self-employment through a comprehensive program of technical and financial assistance. Key aspects of the project will include: outreach to potential participants; up front business training for interested participants; the formation of "peer borrower" groups; access loans; ongoing business technical assistance; and assistance with support services and benefits-related issues. The initial business training and formation of "peer borrower" groups will be of central importance to the project, and will involve intensive effort on the part of participants along with strong support from the project team. Over the three-year grant period, the BOND Program will train 125 individuals who would have started their own micro-entrepreneurial enterprise, at a cost of $4,000 per job/new business. The grant amount is $500,000. The evaluation will be conducted by Betty Mosely.
5. The Potential Opportunities for Work or Entrepreneurs for Recipients/Residents (Power) Project is operated by Dillard Building, Inc., a community development corporation in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Jean Ann Harris is the Executive Director and the Project Director. Power Project is a multi-faceted business and personal development training program designed to assist low-income individuals toward economic self-sufficiency through self-employment, employment created by new enterprise and other employment developments. The salient features of the model include: intake and assessment; on-going case management; basic skills and competencies training; a basic business course on self-employment; computer literacy and training; an in depth business development course and entrepreneurship training; group formation and group dynamics; and management and operational techniques workshops for low-income entrepreneurs. Using these interventions, the project expects to increase employment readiness and employment stability of participants, increase the number of AFDC recipients who become economically self-sufficient through self-employment, increase the self-esteem and problem-solving skills of participants, increase business networking and the pooling of resources among low-income entrepreneurs, increase academic, business, and financial skills of low-income participants, and expand and increase community involvement and supportive services for low-income participants. Power Project plans to have 70 participants in self-employment positions over the course of three years, at a cost per job of $6,987. The grant amount is $489,107. The evaluation will be conducted by Gail Dove.
6. This JOLI Demonstration Project is a business expansion model operated by WSOS Community Action Commission, Inc., a non-profit organization in Fremont, Ohio that provides social and economic development services to individuals and communities in rural areas. The president is Donald Stricker and the Project Director is Billie Derivan. The project will assist no fewer than 100 participants at or below 100 percent of the Federal poverty level to gain permanent full time employment with the Whirlpool Corporation, Clyde plant. To this end, WSOS Community Action Commission has formed a public/private partnership with Whirlpool Corporation and four County Departments of Human Services. The project will train participants prior to employment by the Whirlpool Corporation, provide mentoring for the initial 16 weeks of employment and provide intensive case management during the first year of employment. Key interventions during the training period before employment include developing individualized skills training and affective training to improve participants' self-esteem and develop positive work habits; case management on an on-going basis with the participants' families; training workshops; job readiness training; community work experience; and workplace literacy/affective training. A two-week customized training period follows, taking place at the Whirlpool plant and conducted by Whirlpool staff. Once on the job, participants will come under the case management component of the project to help ensure participants' successful transition into full time employment. At least 100 full time job placements will be made available by Whirlpool and filled by project participants over the three-year grant period at $5,000 per job. The grant amount is $500,000. The evaluation will be conducted by Dr. William Timmerman.
7. Project Empowerment is operated by Impact Seven, Inc. (I-7), a private, non-profit community development corporation in Clear Lake, Wisconsin. The President is William Bay and the Project Director is Dileep Rao. Project Empowerment is a micro-macro jobs program, entrepreneurial skills development, self-employment, business management consulting, and job creation program. It will work within high unemployment communities and neighborhoods throughout Wisconsin to habilitate participants and beneficiaries in business management and financial planning skills. These skills are deemed necessary for them to get small businesses successfully started and growing. At the same time, jobs will be created for AFDC and other high needs groups who are not ready or interested in ownership and management of their own businesses. Key interventions will include -- in addition to the necessary business training and development of support and services for business development -- provision of financing and technical assistance to existing, expanding and start-up businesses to aid them in expanding their employment base. These assisted businesses would be required to hire from AFDC clients and other low-income individuals. A total of 101 participants will be assisted over the three-year grant period, at least 24 of whom will be provided self-employment training. The cost per job is $4,900, and the grant amount is $494,600. The evaluation will be conducted by Bob Brandwein.
8. The Microenterprise Directions Project (MDP) is operated by the Women's Self-Employment Project (WSEP), a private, non-profit organization in Chicago, Illinois, that specializes in microenterprise development and self-employment with low-income women. The Executive Director is Connie Evans and the Project Director is Lynette Boone. MDP's specific objectives are to provide women AFDC clients with access to knowledge, contacts, resources and market opportunities within two targeted industries--food and textile industries--where their skills and interests tend to dominate; to provide them with access to technology, equipment and facilities within their business interest in order to test new product development and entrepreneurship; to enroll 120 women over three years, of whom 90 will accomplish positive self-sufficiency outcomes; to provide them with a circle of support and networking opportunities for developing a micro business venture; and to provide participants who enter wage employment instead of self-employment with a circle of support and networking opportunities. Key interventions will include orientation where, once recruited, women will form "circles" or groups for on-going assistance and mutual support; training in industry-specific sectors; access to prototyping facilities; business planning assistance; and provision of credit through WSEP's Revolving Loan Fund. The cost per job over the three-year project period is $5,556. The grant amount is $500,000. The evaluation will be conducted by Dr. Michael Bennett.
9. The Welfare Transition Project (WTP) is a project operated by the Arkansas Enterprise Group"s Good Faith Fund (GFF), a non-profit community development organization in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Julia Vindasius is the Vice President and the Project Director. WTP is a self-employment program designed to improve the likelihood of AFDC recipients to start businesses. WTP's strategy is to implement a pre-business/self-employment training program that addresses the particular needs of AFDC recipients such as low self-esteem, basic skills and personal effectiveness. The program will make use of GFF's existing micro-enterprise program--a business training program that emphasizes group dynamics, consensus decision-making, basic business skills, preparing loan proposals, cash flow projections, and loan decision-making. Once participants have completed training under the WTP program, they will be encouraged to become members of the GFF and join a borrowing group in order to refine their business plans, receive additional technical assistance and, if required, have access to financing. Over the three-year project period, WTP proposes to create 16 self-employment businesses and 49 full time jobs at a cost per job of $9,796. The grant amount is $480,000. Lawson Veasey will be conducting the evaluation.
10. The Inner-City Entrepreneurial Training project is operated by The Black Dollar Days Task Force (BDDTF), a private, non-profit corporation in Seattle, Washington. The Executive Director is Robert Jeffrey and the Project Director is Rev. Zachary Bruce. The project will provide a three-year training and support program designed to create new business opportunities and to build small businesses in order to create new, stable employment for low-income individuals. The project's goals are to: provide participants with the educational, financial and technical assistance necessary to start businesses; increase the self-sufficiency of participants through the successful operation of these businesses; provide on-going assistance to graduates of past BSSTF programs, increasing and stabilizing their business in order to ensure self-sufficiency and create additional jobs; create jobs in the community in the businesses operated, targeting this employment to the low-income groups cited through Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA); and, generate a multifold return on investment as measured by sales generated vs. federal funds allocated to this project, enhancing overall community development through economic development. Over the three-year project period, 98 participants are targeted to achieve self-employment, at a cost per job of $4,992. The grant amount is $489,235. Dr. Harriet B. Stephenson will conduct the evaluation.