From Parking Lot to Housing

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Faced with a shortage of affordable housing and an ambitious goal to develop 10,000 new affordable units by 2030, Fairfax County Supervisor James Walkinshaw has worked aggressively to convert vacant and underutilized county-owned land to affordable housing. Working in partnership with the county’s housing authority, non-profit affordable housing developers, and the private sector, the transfer of county-owned land can make possible projects that would otherwise be too expensive due to the significant cost of land acquisition in Northern Virginia. The county has also utilized federal COVID funds on several recent projects.

The conversion of surface parking to housing, community space, and child care will have economic, social, and environmental benefits.

Impact:

Success will be measured by progress toward the goal of creating 10,000 new affordable units in Fairfax County by 2030. Recently, the Board of Supervisors approved Residences at Government Center II, which when complete will deliver 279 units of housing affordable to families earning 30% to 70% of the area median income, and more than 100 child-care slots for low and moderate-income families on what is now an underutilized parking lot in front of the county’s main government center building.

Comprehensive Reporting of Education Expenditures by School Districts

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Connecticut Senate Democratic Majority Leader Bob Duff championed a bill that requires the State Department of Education to compile and publish all education related expenditures by school districts. The data will be formatted and publicly published to allow the comparison of the data across all districts. This information will allow parents and interested parties to see where their district is concentrating their resources and help parents and taxpayers in lower performing districts advocate for change.

Impact:   

The bill was signed into law in June 2023 and Senator Duff sees the ultimate goal of the effort to help poor performing districts raise their scores and ensure all students have access to programs that work for their educational needs.

Climate Risk Analysis of Maryland’s Pension Investments

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman led the push for her state to approve legislation requiring that a consultant do a climate risk analysis of its $64 billion pension fund investments every other year. 

They have conducted several analyses demonstrating that rising temperatures will have a negative effect on their pension investments. This analysis provides the Board of Trustees and Chief Investment Officer the ability to take immediate action to ensure our investments are smart and sound based on climate risk.  

Additionally, they have codified that climate risk is investment risk and that actively seeking investments in the new green economy is imperative.

 

Impact:

The program is already having an impact, and the Comptroller office is using data to make changes to the state’s investment portfolio.

 

Maryland’s New Start Act

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Previously justice-involved citizens often find themselves without work or opportunities upon their reentry. Even fewer are able to go on to become small business owners or entrepreneurs. The New Start Act, introduced by Maryland Delegate Jazz Lewis, provides grant money to train returning citizens to be small business owners and with seed money to start their small businesses.

 

Impact:

Approved in 2022, the program has started accepting applications from nonprofits looking to provide training for returning citizens who would like to be small business owners. Graduates from the program are able to apply for funding for their business ideas so that they can turn their ideas into functioning and operating businesses. Success will be measured by looking at the graduates who go on to be entrepreneurial small business owners who move on with their lives to be active participants in their local economy.

Tax Deduction for Union Dues

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

Maryland State Delegate Jazz Lewis pushed for a tax deduction to taxpayers on any union dues that they might pay. This was a deduction that was provided before the Trump administration’s passed tax reform bill stripped this reduction out of the code.

Impact:

 Success will be measured in the amount of money that this puts back into the pockets of working families. The State of Maryland will see the results in the next tax year as they start to look at the number of people that take advantage of this deduction and the amount union members deduct.

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.

Requirement for Employers to Post Minimum and Maximum Salary Information

2023 Ideas Challenge Entry

New York City Councilmember Nantasha Williams’s bill would revise local salary disclosure laws to clarify that the law that requires employers to include the minimum and maximum salary ranges that apply to both employees who are paid hourly and those who receive an annual salary. A person would not be able to bring a lawsuit against an employer based on this law unless that individual is a current employee who is bringing an action against their employer for advertising a job, promotion, or transfer without posting a minimum and maximum hourly wage or annual salary. This bill would also clarify that the penalty for the first violation of this law would be zero, and employers would have 30 days to correct the violation. This bill would also move the effective date of Local Law 32 of 2022 to November 1, 2022.

 

Impact:

The Committee on Civil & Human Rights (CCHR), which Williams Chairs, has started receiving complaints about employers failing to comply with the transparency law. Williams plans to enact legislation to study the overall pay equity of the city after a few years of the full implementation of the law to see its impact.

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.

 

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