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Newark,
NJ – Attorney General Anne Milgram today
announced the investment of $6.25 million
in state and federal funding in crime prevention
programs that will support education and job
training in at least four of the state’s
cities – Newark, Camden, Trenton and
Paterson.
The
funding, awarded through the prevention component
of Governor Jon S. Corzine’s Strategy
for Safe Streets and Neighborhoods, was announced
at a construction work-site for the YouthBuild
Newark program. YouthBuild is a comprehensive
program that is part school and part job,
designed to engage youth at-risk of dropping
out of high school or those who have already
dropped out.
The
YouthBuild program in Newark is one of four
YouthBuild organizations in the state that
will receive a total of $2,580,000 in state
funding over the next three years. Another
$3 million in federal economic recovery funding
has been set aside for competitive bidding
for three additional non-profit job training
programs that will spur the creation of job
opportunities for at-risk youth. Those programs
will also be supported for three years.
“We
are providing the resources necessary to help
young people who are living at risk to gangs
and violence in their communities, and who
want the chance to succeed,” Attorney
General Milgram said. “The alternative
is to not support these efforts and pay for
the costs associated with prison, emergency
health care, public assistance, and much more.”
“YouthBuild
is a proven program with excellent results,”
Milgram added. “Investing in evidence-based
programs is a hallmark of our Prevention Strategy
and one that I am pleased to say we are doing
here. The announcement today is a credit to
those who work in YouthBuild programs, as
well as everyone who is involved in supporting
these types of educational, job training and
leadership training efforts.”
The YouthBuild program in Newark will receive
a three-year grant award of $215,000 per year.
The other programs receiving the same funding
are Isles YouthBuild in Trenton; the Camden
Housing Authority’s YouthBuild program;
and the New Jersey Community Development Corporation’s
Great Falls YouthBuild program in Paterson.
Robert
Clark, the executive director of YouthBuild
Newark, said, “"We are truly excited
about this funding opportunity that will allow
YouthBuild Newark to serve more young people
who have decided to change their lives. We
are truly hopeful that the population we serve
remains a top priority of our State."
"Despite
the challenges facing Isles YouthBuild students
when they get to us, we are continually surprised
by their capacity for success,” said
Martin Johnson, president of Isles, Inc. “A
key ingredient for them however, is accessing
on-the-job experience early in their lives.
This funding from the Attorney General's office
will provide Isles YouthBuild students with
internships and apprenticeships to gain the
valuable experience they need for success."
"Thanks
to the innovative support of the Office of
the Attorney General
and Governor Corzine, we are excited by the
opportunity to expand our Great Falls YouthBuild
program in Paterson,” said Robert Guarasci,
president of the New Jersey Community Development
Corporation. “With this support, we
will double the amount of youth served and
provide a better foundation for Paterson youth
who are desperate to gain an education and
the skills necessary to build productive lives.
In Paterson, the need for expanding services
for at-risk youth has never been more important
and these resources will help to address prevention
strategies in a comprehensive way."
Dr. Maria Marquez of the Camden Housing Authority,
said, “We are truly excited to receive
this YouthBuild expansion grant, as it will
assist us in providing a higher level of service
in education for our at-risk youth and allow
them to prepare for future employment opportunities."
The
Initiative for Regional and Community Transformation
at Rutgers University’s Bloustein School
was also awarded a three-year contract for
$650,000 to independently evaluate the job
training programs.
In
the YouthBuild programs, students learn employment
skills and help build affordable housing and
other public projects within their own communities.
Since YouthBuild-Newark started in 2003, it
has served more than 500 young people and
can point to a recidivism rate of less than
5 percent for students who had previously
been arrested and who remained with the Youth
Build program for at least three months.
In
the 2008-2009 program, there were 104 students
enrolled in the Newark program. Eighty percent
graduated, with 71 percent attaining a high
school equivalency diploma, 91 percent attaining
construction certification, and 80 percent
demonstrating gains in literacy and math skills.
The
YouthBuild program model began in East Harlem,
New York in 1978 to provide education services
for youth and teach construction skills while
renovating and building homes for low-income
families. There are now more than 200 YouthBuild
programs in the United States.
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