Resource Innovation Campus (RIC)

Problem

The Phoenix City Council has set a goal of Zero Waste by 2050, with an interim goal of diverting from the landfill 40% of trash generated in Phoenix by 2020. Through a partnership with Arizona State University’s Resource Innovation and Solutions Network, the City is focused on creating value and economic development opportunities from solid waste streams.

Solution

Repurposing existing resources, rather than mining non-renewable resources is a sustainable smart investment. To achieve Zero Waste, Phoenix is developing the Resource Innovation Campus. Located on approximately 40 acres of land adjacent to the City’s 27th Avenue Transfer Station, the RIC is key to “transforming trash into resources,” diverting materials from Phoenix’s waste stream to grow a circular economy that supports manufacturing innovation and job growth. The Campus attracts innovators with manufacturing processes and conversion technologies to use trash as a resource. These innovators are also fueling the generation of new manufacturing jobs at the RIC and throughout the community.

Code Louisville – Free Training for Web Development Careers

Problem

Every ninety days, there are about one hundred unfilled junior software development opportunities open in the greater Louisville area, and those numbers are growing fast. However, the region lacks the number of qualified applicants to fill these positions. The community needed a quick, entry-ramp approach that makes these good jobs possible for a broad and diverse range of people.

Solution

Code Louisville, developed by KentuckianaWorks (the region’s workforce development board) offers a series of 12-week software development tracks to adults who want to pursue a career in the software development industry at no cost to the student. The program is designed to provide accountability, guidance, and support to people using online tools to learn. Students learn web development using the latest technology and practices. Aided by expert volunteer mentors and online software, students complete coding projects and build portfolios of their work. This community-supported program organized by a public entity is able to train people for a challenging career at a large scale for a fraction of the cost of an in-person school or boot camp. More than 90 companies have hired from Code Louisville with many of those serving in an advisory capacity to make sure the program is responsive to their ever-evolving needs. The program also has a community college partnership to help more people earn Computer and IT certification.

Occupational Licensing Reform

Problem

State rules for licensure and registration for certain occupations has become burdensome and created barriers to entry for workers through unnecessary fess and other requirements. 

Solution

By reexamining our occupational licensing and limiting it to those positions where it is necessary because of higher levels of training, health or safety considerations we are removing regulations and opening up employment to people who might not otherwise be able to enter these fields. This also cuts down on the costs to consumers and businesses, while maintaining safety for consumers by keeping licensing where it’s needed. First, we passed a law to phase out occupational licenses for jobs that don’t have educational or professional prerequisites, including for Wholesaler Salesmen, Residential Flat Glass or Automotive Glazier, and Real Estate Intern. The next step will be to continue to work with the relevant state agencies and across the aisle to examine all of the occupations and determine whether they are being properly regulated by state government or not.

Rural Economic Advancement of Colorado Towns – REACT

Problem

Small communities are impacted by job loss more significantly that urban areas because families often leave town in search of new jobs. This puts stress on schools, Main Street small businesses, and health care providers. Slowly, the town begins to struggle to even exist. Small towns also do not have the resources to search for and coordinate the many state and federal programs that may be able to help them solve the problem.

Solution

REACT is targeted at helping towns experiencing substantial job loss. REACT would coordinate non-monetary assistance and award grant money to assist rural communities with job creation or retention. This helps towns take advantage of existing state programs with the state’s help, rather than requiring new sources of funding for new projects that may still not reach towns in need.

Rapid Assessment and Support Services Diversion (RASS)

Problem

Following the national trend, Douglas County, Kansas has experienced an explosion in its female jail population. Most incarcerated females are being held for misdemeanor or drug offenses, with a significant portion of the population in-custody because of failure on pre-trial release or probation.

Diversion has long been used to divert low level offenders away from the criminal justice system. Historically, any history of prior offenses has barred participation in standard diversion programs. Since standard diversion programs are designed to address low level offenders, support services such as drug treatment, employment assistance and housing stabilization are not addressed. 

Solution

The District Attorney’s Office is developing a new pre-trial, prosecutor-led diversion program aimed at nonviolent repeat female offenders that will allow for quick release of the female to meaningful monitoring program with support services aimed at addressing substance abuse, mental health, housing and employment, resulting in restoration of their social status. The goal of the program is to rapidly divert the defendant from the jail to a system that addresses underlying issues contributing to her criminal behavior. If she successfully completes the support program, pending charges are dismissed with prejudice. We would start with a data-driven review of the target population and then engage local stakeholders to create a map of available resources to support them.

Whole Child Leon: Building Community Support for our Youngest Children

Problem

We know that 90% of brain development takes place before the age of 5, yet community support for families with young children is sporadic and fragmented. Although Leon County houses the Capitol of Florida, 2 major research universities and a community college, more than 25% of Leon County children live in poverty and a corresponding 25% enter Kindergarten without the language or basic skills to succeed. Leon County rates for infant mortality, premature births and low birth weight in Leon County are higher than in the state as a whole.

Solution

Whole Child Leon (WCL) is a community-wide initiative designed to address critical issues affecting our children by bringing together public, private and nonprofit partners, business leaders, elected officials, educators, health care providers, parents and caregivers to work together towards systemic change. WCL empowers these partners with data to better understand children’s needs and equip the entire community to measure progress, provide recommendations and to inform progress moving forward. Key initiatives include the PACT Early Childhood System of Care, a monthly Whole Child Leon Professional Network, an annual Maternal Child Health Community Conference, an ongoing Breastfeeding Policy Workgroup, bi-annual Early Childhood Developmental Screenings, ongoing Childhood Obesity Prevention Education and neighborhood equity work.

Rural Infrastructure, Transportation and Innovation Act

Problem

Wisconsin’s construction industry supports 100,000 people in the state, with jobs located in urban and rural areas with public and private contract opportunities. Currently, a disparity exists between large and small construction companies being awarded public building contracts. Since 2015, Wisconsin’s five largest contractors were awarded 25% of the aggregate contracts, as large companies are often able to underbid smaller companies. Small businesses face hurdles when trying to increase their workforce, improve equipment and technology, and cut costs. Another issue facing Wisconsin is a workforce shortage of skilled workers who trained at certified apprenticeship programs, learning from experts in their field.

Solution

This proposal creates tax incentives for Wisconsin construction companies that invest in employee development, business growth, and process updates. Allowing small companies to compete and win contracts could create an influx of revenue in rural communities, while increasing family-supporting jobs, and potentially lowering costs to local governments. Incentivizing smaller companies to equip themselves to compete for larger public projects will increase market competition, while creating construction cost efficiencies; with these efficiencies Wisconsin will save tax dollars on necessary projects. Additionally, if a project is awarded to a general contractor in a rural area and they are able to hire more employees, the entire community will see microeconomic growth. To help communities across the state, we must invest in our small businesses so they are able to prosper equally.

Make Head Start A Full Day Program

Problem

The average cost for quality Pre-K programming is $14,000 annually in Montgomery County, while a family of 2 at the federal poverty line makes $16,000. Head Start Pre-K programs are available for families up to 100% of the federal poverty line, but federal funding only provides a 2.5-hour half day program. A 2.5 hour program is just not enough to meet the children’s needs or the family needs. Our Title 1 schools leverage their dollars to create full day programs, but not all Head Start-eligible children attend a Title 1 school. There were 14 schools who did not have a full day program, leaving the students further behind their wealthy peers.

Solution

We expanded Head Start Pre-K for poor families from a 2.5 hour program to a 7 hour full day program to maximize the early care and education that our children and their families need to be more successful. The key innovation is for the local government to take ownership of expanding Head Start rather than relying on Federal and State funds, which will not come soon enough. Through a partnership with the Community Action Agency and the Public School System, we were able to come to identify sufficient school facilities and teachers, and an endless supply of energy from the implementation team for full day programming. The school system was able to generate the budget requirement for funding.

OregonSaves 2.0

Problem

Many workers lack short-term savings. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, 60 percent of Americans experienced an unanticipated pay cut, trip to the hospital, spousal separation, major car or home repair, or other large expense in the past 12 months; and 44 percent of Americans said they could not come up with $400 to cover an emergency expense without borrowing or selling something. This short-term financial instability is a root cause for retirement account loans or leakage, and is putting Oregonians’ long-term financial health at risk.

Solution

My earlier work to establish OregonSaves created the first state-level automatic enrollment retirement plan, which is helping workers save for the long-term. To augment this capacity and help workers fund short-term emergencies, I’m proposing adding a short-term emergency savings “sidecar” account, funded with a participating worker’s first $1,000 in contributions. Additional contributions greater than $1,000 would be automatically diverted into the target date fund default investment. Should the worker access the short-term sidecar account, new contributions would automatically replenish short-term savings before diverting to the long-term investment vehicle. This dual account method would allow workers to seamlessly meet both short- and long-term financial goals and reduce the pressure on Oregonians dealing with emergency expenses.

Data Science for Water Infrastructure

Problem

The City of Syracuse experiences frequent water main breaks, and the Department of Water spends most of their time responding to emergencies rather than undertaking proactive main repairs. Additionally, when the water main breaks occur, oftentimes the valves to isolate the breaks don’t work. This forces the Department of Water to use valves farther away from breaks to turn off the water, which means that more people are affected by water system failure.

Solution

We used data to develop a model with risk scores for each water main segment. These risk scores help the water department to prioritize work and identify projects to ensure that water system failures cause as little disruption as possible. With this model, Syracuse is now 5 times more likely to identify a main that is likely to break, allowing us to deploy crews to test and repair water main valves and isolate the break to the smallest area possible, thereby reducing the number of people affected by water system failures. This not only allows us to identify priority main segments and coordinate main repairs with other departments and utilities, but also allows us to adjust operations and prioritize other types of work. We have also been able to deploy technology to help identify leaks before they become debilitating breaks.

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