In May 2009, Providence, Rhode Island, was the only “small city” to snag a $372,500 grant as part of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Wal-Mart Foundation’s Green Jobs Training Initiative. The grant is helping Providence develop an innovative program that builds on city efforts to train lower-skill residents for weatherization and other green jobs while coordinating related training, literacy, workforce, and other programs to take advantage of new federal stimulus dollars.

The grant, awarded to the Apeiron Institute for Sustainable Living based in Providence, benefited from Making Connections Providence Consultant Sarah Griffen’s support and expertise. A longtime technical assistance provider for the Casey Foundation initiative, she was well suited to help craft the application after working for months to identify opportunities for Casey-supported places to make best use of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

Griffen wrote two comprehensive guides that promote Casey’s two-generation strategy, advising cities on how to ensure that entry-level jobs and training don’t bypass low-skill, low-wage workers and that their children are healthy and prepared to succeed in school and beyond. Her role is one example of how Casey has been advocating on many levels for policies to help vulnerable families and disadvantaged communities and to ensure that those policies reach their target.

"We want policies that promote what works and avoid what doesn’t work," says Ralph Smith, Casey’s executive vice president. "Once these policies are adopted, we want to make sure that they are implemented in ways that reach the most vulnerable populations and places."

Providence is well positioned to focus on that goal. Bert Cooper, the former family economic success director for Making Connections Providence, oversees the city’s new anti-poverty effort, which resulted from a mayoral task force that Cooper, in partnership with Mayor David N. Cicilline’s Office and Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, helped spearhead. He is also part of a Providence team, led by the city’s Director of Policy and Legislative Affairs Matthew Stark, which is pinpointing where to spend stimulus money. The city is applying for some $9 million in Department of Labor ARRA training funds for green jobs and health care jobs.

"We are using these new funding opportunities to help the Making Connections community and the City of Providence realize key goals of Mayor Cicilline’s green jobs agenda," notes Stark.

The city also partners with a grassroots organization, the John Hope Settlement House, in managing Making Connections and benefits from strong on-the-ground advocacy by Rhode Island KIDS COUNT. The Rhode Island division of Casey Family Services, based in Providence, also provides expertise in serving low-income families.

"Having a mayor who is committed to an anti-poverty and family economic success agenda and has strong ties with grassroots organizations and the workforce community is a major asset in targeting ARRA funding to help lower-skilled workers and their families," notes Cooper.

The work in Providence is an example of Casey’s efforts to engage partners and grantees in helping states and localities navigate new federal initiatives and maximize available resources to help poor urban and rural areas. "The real challenge is to make sure that the benefits flow through," says Ralph Smith.

Policies Reflect Casey Priorities

Casey's efforts to help shape, influence, and guide the implementation of new initiatives reflects its core priorities, which include:

Other emerging areas of focus include:

• Responding to the mortgage foreclosure crisis by helping families avoid losing their homes, assisting dislocated renters, and helping communities blighted by foreclosures.
• Shaping new federally supported community change initiatives.
• Ensuring that children can read at grade level by third grade.
• Removing obstacles to productive re-entry into society for prisoners and helping their families.

ARRA offers unprecedented opportunities to not only revitalize the economy but also to improve the outlook for jobs, opportunities, and the health and well-being of vulnerable families and children. Other laws and initiatives set in motion under the Bush and Obama administrations also offer potential to advance Casey priorities, such as:

• The Second Chance Act of 2007, which provides assistance and support services for people leaving prison to improve outcomes, support re-entry, and reduce recidivism.
• The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, which expands support for children and youth in foster care and promotes the goal of permanent homes.
• The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, which provides coverage to additional disadvantaged children.
• The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 2009, which increases incentives to participate in national service and creates a Social Innovations Fund to leverage public-private partnerships to replicate or expand proven solutions to community challenges. White House officials will travel across the country to find the most promising nonprofits for these grants. President Obama has highlighted the exemplary work of two Casey grantees: the Harlem Children’s Zone and Bonnie CLAC, which provides car loans and counseling.
• Making Home Affordable, an initiative that is part of President Obama’s Financial Stability Plan, which brings together government, lenders, and borrowers to ensure that working Americans can afford to stay in their homes and to prevent foreclosures.
• The Promise Neighborhoods Initiative, an initiative proposed by the Obama administration that was inspired by the Harlem Children’s Zone, which helps children succeed in school, graduate, and achieve post-secondary success.
• Race to the Top, a $4.35 billion ARRA fund that provides competitive grants for states doing innovative education reform work in: standards and assessments, teacher and principal recruitment, data systems, and turning around low-performing schools.

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