E-3 Re-entry Program

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Chester County, PA Commissioner Josh Maxwell used federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to launch the county’s E3 (Exit, Enter, Employ) Re-entry Program, a free 12-week program that provides individuals exiting the justice system with a direct pathway to enter the manufacturing industry. This ”outside the box” initiative led by the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) helps to meet the workforce needs of the regions companies, particularly manufacturing employers, looking to find skilled people, and it trains those who can develop the skills, supporting them as they re-enter the community, and the workforce (annual need for 1,700 jobs). The county. 

 The CCIU developed the comprehensive skills training program, found interested employers to participate in the placement of graduates of the program, and provided participants with training in social skills, positive self-change, and problem-solving. The program consists of 45 hours of manufacturing training, cognitive behavioral therapy, and job readiness training. Upon completion of the program, students participate in a job fair where they meet and interview with local companies supporting the E3 program. Graduates are offered one year of follow-up support.

 

Impact:

 The Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) has successfully completed 2 E3 Post Release program cohorts to date. Between the two cohorts, 9 participants successfully graduated, with the first cohort graduating 100% of those enrolled. Of the nine post-release graduates, five have successfully secured full-time employment-4 in manufacturing, one part-time employment, two graduates are currently interviewing with companies (from cohort 2 that graduated June 16), and two have not responded to efforts to maintain contact with our office following graduation.

Peake Early Childhood Center / Virginia Peninsula Community College Center of Excellence

 2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones led the Council adoption of the city’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan with the objective of ensuring that children enter school ready to learn and be successful. A strategy to support this objective is to increase the availability of and strengthen early education in pre-kindergarten programs, particularly for low-income children. To fulfill this strategy, the city is partnering with the Peake Childhood Center to develop and operate a fully accredited and licensed early childhood center. The joint facility in partnership with PEAKE and Virginia Peninsula Community College (VPCC), will provide a sliding scale tuition for up to 200 youth, from infant to 4 years old. Additionally, VPCC will train the next generation of childcare professionals through its onsite training program.

 Newport News also allocated over 20% of its ARPA funding to establish a new Early Childhood Education Center. This center will ensure that pre-kindergarten programs are universally available — particularly for low-income families — increasing options for our working families who need safe places for their children to learn and grow and empowering parents to become actively involved in their child’s learning and also remain in the workforce.

 

Impact:

The Peake Early Childhood Center will ensure that families, who struggle financially, have access to a center that addresses the early educational needs of their children and supports the needs of the family. Data reveals how important high-quality and affordable early learning and childcare are for the economy. The availability of early education programs attracts home buyers and increases property values by $13 dollars for every dollar invested. Also, a lack of childcare costs businesses $4.4 billion annually because parents/guardians must be absent from work to take care of their children.

Ensuring Flood Resilient Infrastructure Investments

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Florida Representative Christine Hunschofsky’s Sea Level Rise Impact Projection legislation requires that public entities, who are using state funding, conduct sea level rise studies for construction projects in any area threatened by sea level rise – including those areas that are vulnerable and located in inland areas. This policy aims to give communities a better understanding of how flooding affects them and will empower them to take appropriate steps to prepare. The policy will lead to smart investments, saving communities money and protecting residents and communities for future generations.

 

Impact:

 Success will include having communities more aware of the areas that are prone to flooding and sea level rise. It will increase awareness that many areas beyond coastlines are impacted by sea level rise and flooding. Success will include flooding and sea level rise being included in infrastructure planning.

Work To Break the Cycle

 2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Shelby County, TN Mayor Lee Harris’s “Work to Break the Cycle” is a job website featuring updated Shelby County Government positions for individuals with arrest or conviction records. It complements the 2020 Ban the Box Ordinance, which removed questions about criminal history from job applications. This initiative has facilitated numerous opportunities for previously incarcerated individuals to join the county government workforce, with over 100 employment offers extended. By offering tailored jobs, Harris aims to reduce recidivism rates, as employment cuts reoffending chances by 20%. This dedicated job site enhances application confidence, promotes local economic engagement, and reduces incarceration expenses, aligning with the goal of reintegrating justice-impacted individuals into the community.

 

Impact:

Harris believes each hire is a marker of success. Since launching in May 2023, the program has resulted in employment offers to over 100 individuals so far, with plans to partner with the local Chamber of Commerce to provide more job opportunities. These jobs not only change their situation, but it has a ripple impact for their families and the Shelby County Community as a whole.

 

Renters’ Right to Counsel Program

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

The City of St. Louis is grappling with a housing affordability crisis, where nearly 60% of renter households pay an average monthly rent of $951. Although there was a slight dip in eviction during the pandemic, eviction filings have increased year over year and are more than twice as common in majority-black census tracts compared to majority-white ones.

As part of her broad initiative to provide families with a safe and stable roof over their heads, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones launched the Right to Counsel program (RTC) to provide access to legal services for tenants facing eviction proceedings. She utilized $685,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to establish the program, ensuring St. Louis renters have access to legal services for tenants facing eviction and the ability to access the Missouri court system, regardless of income level. This bill demonstrates Jones’ commitment to strengthening tenant protections and reducing housing instability in the communities. 

 

Impact:

Mayor Jones signed the new ordinance into law in July 2023, and the city is currently distributing funds to several legal aid service providers across the city to serve ZIP codes with the highest rates of eviction. Additionally, the city is working to hire a program coordinator housed within the St. Louis Department of Human Services that will oversee the program’s implementation. Board Bill 59 also requires landlords to provide tenants with information regarding the availability of the program.

 

Free Gun Locks By Mail

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris helped launch a Free Gun Lock By Mail program, a first-of-its-kind program by a local government, to prevent unintended gun tragedies. The total cost of each lock with postage is $7 a piece, making this program incredibly cost-effective, especially considering the cost to the community of even one lost life or gunshot wound can be astronomical.

More than 800 Shelby County residents, representing all zip codes in Shelby County, have requested a gun lock online and received it through the mail since the program was rolled out this year.

Impact:

The program has already been wildly successful. The city is measuring success not just by the number of locks that have been requested and distributed, but also by the comments from those asking for the locks who have expressed their gratitude and their reasons for wanting to securely store their weapons. Many mention the safety of their children and grandchildren, and being responsible gun owners to keep the community at large safe.

Affordable Housing Incentives

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

At the beginning of 2023, Las Vegas City Councilmember Brian Knudsen and the Las Vegas City Council adopted an ordinance formalizing incentives for affordable housing. This created a process by which incentives can be offered to all developers during the application process. Incentives help to offset rising costs, stretch funding received for affordable housing from the state and federal government, and take risks associated with uncertainty away from developers and developments. Incentives include: expedited plan reviews, density bonuses, height bonuses, and permit fee reductions, which are all tied to a percentage of units being set aside as affordable.

Impact:

The city expects to see similar results to these incentives seven in peer cities (Austin, Denver, Virginia Beach, Nashville, Sacramento, Seattle, and Orlando), which resulted in 5% affordable housing units to total units built.

 

Peake Early Childhood Center / Virginia Peninsula Community College Center of Excellence

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Newport News Mayor Phillip Jones led the Council adoption of  the city’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan with the objective of ensuring that children enter school ready to learn and be successful. A strategy to support this objective is to increase the availability of and strengthen early education in pre-kindergarten programs, particularly for low-income children. To fulfill this strategy, the city is partnering with the Peake Childhood Center to develop and operate a fully accredited and licensed early childhood center. The joint facility in partnership with PEAKE and Virginia Peninsula Community College (VPCC), will provide a sliding scale tuition for up to 200 youth, from infant to 4 years old. Additionally, VPCC will train the next generation of childcare professionals through its onsite training program.

Newport News also allocated over 20% of their ARPA funding to establish a new Early Childhood Education Center. This center will ensure that pre-Kindergarten programs are universally available — particularly for low-income families — increasing options for our working families who need safe places for their children to learn and grow and empowering parents to become actively involved in their child’s learning and also remain in the workforce.

 

Impact:

The Peake Early Childhood Center will ensure that families, who struggle financially, have access to a center that addresses the early educational needs of their children and supports the needs of the family. Data reveals how important high quality and affordable early learning and childcare is for the economy. The availability of early education programs attracts home buyers and increases property values by $13 dollars for every dollar invested. Also, a lack of childcare costs businesses $4.4 billion annually because parents/guardians must be absent from work to take care of their children.

ARP: Missouri: St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones Invested $10.6M in Local Arts and Culture

Missouri: St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones invested $10.6 million of American Rescue Plan funds into local arts and culture after devastating revenue losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Arts generates much economic activity in the area by generating more than $600 million, supporting over 19,000 jobs and small businesses. “St. Louis is the cultural heart of our region, and this historic investment will help support local artists and beautify our neighborhoods while strengthening this critical industry after the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic,” added Jones. This funding was distributed among the general operating support grants, artist support grants, and program support grants to help organizations and individual artists continue their work.

ARP: Partnering with Community Colleges to Prepare Workers for High-Demand Sectors

Problem

According to the Congressional Research Service, in general, persons with lower educational attainment experience relatively higher unemployment rates compared to peers with high levels of educational attainment. This population was also hit hardest during the pandemic with the highest rates of unemployment. Furthermore the report found that  persons identifying as Black or Hispanic and younger workers also experienced relatively high levels of unemployment and relatively steep declines in labor force participation over the course of the pandemic.

Solution

After a tech firm recently chose Phoenix as the location for a new semiconductor factory, Mayor Gallego partnered with community colleges to make it easier for residents to obtain degrees and training that prepare them for jobs at the plant and other high-demand sectors. The Rescue Plan is allowing Phoenix to offer monthly stipends of up to $1,000 to help residents who enroll in courses for high-demand industries, such as technology and health care. The funds can be used to offset costs such as books and child care. And Gallego is particularly focused on ensuring single parents are able to participate.

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