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Spotlight On...
Self Sufficiency
Organization: Willimantic-Danielson
Partnership: ACCESS Agency, Inc.
Main
Office: Danielson, CT
The Willimantic-Danielson Partnership: ACCESS Agency, Inc. emerged as
a result of a partnership between a non-profit community-based organization
and two Department of Labor/Connecticut Works One-Stop Employment Centers.
ACCESS is a non-profit community action program geared toward meeting
the needs of low- and moderate income individuals residing in rural communities,
with special emphasis on the delivery of its services to welfare recipients
transitioning into the workplace. ACCESS offers a broad range of programs
such as life skills training, personal and group counseling, family skills,
mentoring, job training, and post-placement services.
ACCESS trainers use seven of the Money Smart modules to teach classes on
a weekly basis over the course of a seven-week period. The Money Smart curriculum
is used in conjunction with the financial education component within a number
of the programs offered by ACCESS to its English- and Spanish-speaking clients.
Financial self-sufficiency is an integral part of the service strategy for
the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and Individual
Development Accounts (IDA) program. In support of the IDA program, the Savings
Institute of Willimantic provides low-cost bank accounts to participants.
ACCESS also provides the full ten module Money Smart course to the public
twice a year.
Organization: Summer HEAT (Help Employ Area Teens)
Main
Office: Trenton, NJ The Summer HEAT program was developed
as part of New Jersey’s Public
Safety Plan (PSP), which aims to reduce youth delinquency, gang involvement,
and gun violence in New Jersey’s cities through partnerships between
local government and the community to reduce the impact of risk factors on
youth. The HEAT program helps disadvantaged youth gain positive employment
experiences. When New Jersey’s Summer HEAT Program was created, New
Jersey Youth Corps recommended that Money Smart be incorporated into the
initial training phase for all participants. The idea was adopted, and Money
Smart
for Young Adults is now part of the orientation for all Summer HEAT participants
that must be completed prior to job placement.
As a compliment to New
Jersey’s
Summer HEAT Program, New Jersey Youth Corps created a Summer Youth Corps
Program to help out-of-school youth ages
16-25 gain positive work experience. Due to the success of the Money Smart
Training Program with regular Youth Corps members, Money Smart has been
incorporated into this summer employment program as a significant component
of the life
skills training program, and the curriculum is offered at all 12 of its
program sites throughout New Jersey. One site enhanced its financial
literacy component
by partnering with Wachovia Bank. Bank staff, meet with HEAT participants
on an ongoing basis to share information on banking and discuss how to
open an account.
Organization: The
Women’s Resource of Greater Houston
Main
Office: Houston, TX
The Women’s Resource of Greater Houston (TWR) helps women and children
develop social, financial and personal skills through education and experience.
Their guiding principle is that women who control their money control
their destiny. TWR utilizes both Money Smart and Money Smart for Young
Adults in their educational seminars that are taught by trained volunteers.
TWR partners with more than 30 local civic and community based organizations
and social service agencies to deliver Money Smart. These seminars are
offered in various venues, including to public assistance recipients,
probationers, employees in workplaces, public and private school students,
and non-profit agency clients.
TWR has provided financial education to over 7,500 individuals and awarded
over $850,000 in grants to 80 agencies and programs. In addition, TWR has published ten significant research papers authored by experts at several of the City’s leading universities.
Organization: The Housing Authority of Kansas City (HAKC)
Main Office: Kansas
City, MO
The Housing Authority of Kansas
City, Missouri (HAKC) assists in the development, rehabilitation and management
of safe, sanitary and affordable,
quality
housing. HAKC maintains affordable housing that, meet the long-term
needs of low-income households and serve as viable community resources
that
promote economic independence and self-sufficiency for their residents. The
HAKC
is also committed to promoting economic self-sufficiency and improving
residents’ quality
of life via its Resident Services department. An integral component is financial
education and FDIC’s Money Smart curriculum serves as the core instructional
element for six programs within HAKC. Hence, HAKC has trained staff
members teaching an average of three classes per week and overseeing three
computer-based
instruction (CBI) classes. One program utilizing Money Smart is the
Youth Build program for individuals, ages 18-23 pursuing their General
Education
Degree (GED); students are required to complete an average of 36 hours
of Money Smart year round. Other HAKC programs that incorporate Money
Smart are: Public Housing Homeownership; Section 8 Homeownership; Public
Housing
Family Self-Sufficiency, Section 8 Family Self-Sufficiency and Resident.
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