EMERGE VISTA Request for Host Site Applications Program Year

Transcription

1 EMERGE VISTA Request for Host Site Applications Program Year EMERGE Community Development (EMERGE), in partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), is requesting proposals from organizations interested in hosting an AmeriCorps VISTA member for the service year (members will serve Aug 2015-Aug 2016). The EMERGE VISTA program expects to place 14 Full-Time service members throughout Minnesota to create capacity for programs serving current or former offenders within private non-profit organizations, faith based organizations, tribal agencies and public agencies (state and local government organizations). We invite your organization to participate in the competitive selection process. VISTA members are resources that serve to build the long-term sustainability of programs. Host sites re-apply each year and can be awarded up to five years of VISTA members. VISTA positions should be developed with a goal to phase out the need for VISTA members and maintain programming without them. Please tailor your applications accordingly. *Note: VISTA members should not replace an existing paid staff position and should not take the place of a permanent staff position. Proposals must be submitted via to martins@emerge-mn.org on Monday, February 2 nd, Process Timeline Applications due for new and returning project partners Monday, February 2 nd, 2015 Notification of initial partner acceptance and allocation of member slots February 13, 2015 Site supervisors attend work plan training day February 23, 2015 exact time? Sites submit work plan March 6, 2015 Sites recruit and interview applicants March 6- June 3, 2015 VISTA members approved by EMERGE June 5, 2015 VISTA Members begin their year of service August 7, 2015 * Dates subject to change If you have any questions or are experiencing technical difficulties, please contact: Sara Martin: Ph: or martins@emerge-mn.org Page 1

2 Program Information What is VISTA? AmeriCorps VISTA (which stands for Volunteers In Service To America) is often described as the domestic equivalent to the Peace Corps. The mission of VISTA is to build permanent infrastructure in organizations to help them more effectively bring individuals and communities out of poverty. VISTA is sponsored by a grant through the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which is a program of the federal government. Why should I read this RFP? Through this resource, host sites (you!) can receive a full-time paid volunteer for one year who can help you increase your capacity to serve people with criminal records. EMERGE issues this RFP to elicit applications from sites who wish to host a member, and then you, if selected, would be able to recruit and select a member who would serve with you from Aug-Aug and would be paid a monthly living stipend by CNCS. Who is EMERGE? Emerge Community Development (EMERGE) is a Minneapolis-based non-profit with substantial workforce development experience with ex-offender populations. EMERGE serves as an intermediary between CNCS and the VISTA host site. EMERGE has been hosting this VISTA program for 4 years. Who can apply to host a VISTA? Any private non-profit organization, faith based organization, tribal agency and public agency (state and local government organizations) in Minnesota is welcomed to apply. Your agency does not need to be ex-offender focused in order to qualify for this project. However, because our program places members in positions where they can build capacity for current or former offenders to gain greater access to employment, financial or housing services, the position(s) that you apply for must focus mainly on increasing access for people with criminal records. What is the host organization s financial commitment? The Host Site commits to making a non-refundable site placement fee of $4,500 per year per member to EMERGE Community Development to offset VISTA program expenditures. The host site must also reimburse any required travel. This does not include travel to and from your office, but it would include travel to and from mandatory trainings hosted by EMERGE or any other travel that you would require your member to do. While it is not mandatory, it s also advisable that you plan to allocate a small budget for your VISTA member to attend trainings throughout the year. What can a VISTA member do at my site? VISTAs will be placed at agencies that support the mission statements of EMERGE and AmeriCorps VISTA, and proposals should therefore focus on increasing the capacity of the host site to assist unemployed or underemployed current or former offenders: 1) Gain access to employment, housing, or financial literacy services, 2) Escape poverty, 3) Lead stable and productive lives in the community (i.e. lower recidivism). Host sites will propose what they would like a member to do in their program. The EMERGE VISTA program is focused on 3 areas of service. Host sites can propose a member to work in one or more of the following service areas: Page 2

3 Service Area One: Employment and Educational Services: This service area allows members to create capacity for current or former offenders to access employment and educational services. You may propose that this be done in a variety of ways. Sites in the past have had members do job development with employers to increase the number and types of jobs available to people with criminal records, create trainings to better prepare clients for employment, or create relationships with educational institutions to offer job skills trainings to people with criminal records. 1. The number of employment or educational connections made; 2. The number of participants who achieve gainful employment and their rate of pay; 3. The number of participants who receive job training or other skill development training; 4. 3 and 6 month job retention rates for clients placed into employment; 5. Re-incarceration rates for all ex-offenders served. Service Area Two: Financial Services and Education: This service area allows members to create capacity for current or former offenders to access financial services and financial literacy trainings. You may propose that this be done in a variety of ways. Sites in the past have had members create, implement and lead financial literacy trainings for agencies that didn t previously have the capacity to provide that service before, work to implement processes and procedures to increase client access to financial services such as Bridge to Benefits or tax preparation services, or work with local financial institutions to create programs for people with criminal records to access additional financial services, such as IDA accounts, savings accounts, tax preparation services, etc. 1. The number of participants that receive financial and financial literacy services; 2. The number of participants who complete a financial literacy training, and, of those, the number who increase their financial literacy knowledge; 3. Re-incarceration rates for all ex-offenders served Service Area Three: Housing Services and Education: This service area allows members to create capacity for current or former offenders to access housing services. You may propose that this be done in a variety of ways. Sites in the past have had members create relationships landlords and other housing providers to increase the number and types of housing available to people with criminal records, create trainings to better prepare clients for finding/maintaining housing or overcoming poor rental histories, or creating programs to help people with criminal records get on a homeownership track. 1. The number of housing connections made; 2. The number of participants who secure housing; 3. The number of participants who receive housing education; 4. Re-incarceration rates for all ex-offenders served. Can a VISTA work directly with clients? VISTA is meant to build the capacity of organizations to better serve clients with criminal records. Rather than providing direct service (i.e. case management), VISTA members strengthen and support organizations by building infrastructure, expanding partnerships, securing long-term resources, coordinating training, designing new or expanding existing programs, and more. When you respond to this RFP, you should focus the VISTA member s responsibilities on activities that create a lasting impact on your organization s ability to serve low-income communities in the area of ex-offender reentry, through employment, housing and training programs as well as financial literacy. Page 3

4 Why would someone want to be a VISTA member? VISTA members receive a living allowance of 105% of the poverty level (currently $983/mo for metro area members and $973/mo for most of greater Minnesota), a health benefit, training, child care assistance (if eligible), a relocation allowance (if eligible), 10 sick days and 10 holidays, and choice of an education award (approximately $5,550) or endof-year stipend ($1,500) in exchange for a year of full-time service. All costs associated with the above benefits are supported by Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) funds. VISTA members typically serve 40 hours per week and should be available full-time for evening and weekend project needs as necessary. Accordingly, they are not permitted to hold other jobs or attend full-time school while in service. This sounds great! What s expected of me as a host site? In addition to the site placement fee discussed above, host sites must also: (1) Identify one site supervisor who will provide daily supervision to the VISTA member. A supervisor s involvement in the VISTA s year of service directly relates with the success of that VISTA member. Plan to have a site supervisor spend 3-5 hours each week supervising and supporting the VISTA. Please take this into careful consideration when choosing a staff member to supervise the VISTA. (2) Provide a comfortable work environment for each member, which should include: a desk space; access to a computer, printer, copier, , and phone; and other amenities comparable to that of a paid staff. (3) Allocate an additional budget to cover transportation for EMERGE VISTA members if their service activities require them to travel during the work-day from one site to another. This will include transportation to required monthly Corps day activities and trainings presented by EMERGE VISTA. Although it s not required, sites must also encouraged to allocate additional funds for VISTA training if there is a training needed outside of what EMERGE can provide. EMERGE cannot provide funds for individual members to attend individual trainings. (4) Take the lead on recruitment and selection of the VISTA members. EMERGE will assist in the process by providing training and technical assistance. CNCS will make the final decision on whether or not to place a member, but we look to host sites to take the primary responsiblity in finding and recommending the best candidate for the position. (5) Complete three progress reports per year according to EMERGE VISTA guidelines. (6) Complete monthly timesheets as required by EMERGE VISTA guidelines. (7) Allow the VISTA member time to attend monthly Corps day trainings. Corps days will be one full day of training and community building put on by EMERGE VISTA staff each month. Corps days are required and host sites should help their member plan accordingly for these. (8) Keep the focus on sustainability! Host sites must ensure that the work of the VISTA is continually leading towards building organizational and/or community capacity to continue the efforts of the project once the VISTA resources are withdrawn. All VISTA projects should be developed with a goal to phase out the need for VISTA members and strengthen the ability of the project to continue without them. Selection Criteria Proposals will be judged against the following criteria: (1) The extent to which the project supports EMERGE and AmeriCorps VISTA missions and program goals, specifically as they relate to our core service activities. (2) The extent to which the project is sustainable and supports capacity building at the host agency. (3) The ability of an organization to provide appropriate support, training, and an adequate work environment. (4) The project s ability to fit into EMERGE VISTA s goals of geographic distribution throughout Minnesota. Special consideration will be given for under-served areas. (5) The extent to which the project s goals and objectives align with EMERGE VISTA and are clearly defined and demonstrate measureable outcomes. (6) Innovation and creativity in addressing generational poverty. Page 4

5 Examples Here are some examples of positions that have been proposed and approved in the past: Focus Area: Employment and Educational Services Major Duties for the year: Identify new second chance employers to target as employer partners Research complimentary sector and other training opportunities to enhance ex-offenders employment opportunities Assist with the creation and implementation of tool that will allow staff to link participant records with employers and their hiring opportunities. Manage and Refine Mock Interview process for Employer Services Department. County Agency Focus Areas: Employment and Educational Services AND Financial Services and Education AND Housing Services and Education Research, design and implement a Computer Skills Training workshop Create, research best practices, and develop a pilot financial literacy & tenant education program Offer 2 Ex-Offender Employment Incentive Workshops and ongoing education and support to willing-to-hire employers in the community. Offer 2 Ex-offender Employment Incentive Workshops to offenders Focus Areas: Employment and Educational Services AND Financial Services and Education Create new relationships with employers to increase employer outcomes for ex-offenders. Develop tools, resources and events to benefit participants served. Will include creating and implementing a Mock Interviewing program, developing job readiness website and workbooks accessible to incarcerated individuals, and events such as job fairs and information sessions. Research, create and implement Financial Literacy Training for exoffenders onsite. Develop relationships with local financial institutions (banks, credit unions) and community organizations in order to develop pipeline of volunteers who can continue to implement a financial literacy training. Focus Area: Employment and Educational Services AND Financial Services and Education Work with program staff to design and implement a series of on-site weekly job and soft skill training curricula. Work with program staff to design and implement a series of on-site quarterly life skill training curricula. Create and develop a Financial Literacy training Work with program staff to design and implement on-site new client orientation training curricula. Develop relationships with local organizations to allow financial resources to ensure program participants have access to the financial tools and accounts they need. Develop volunteer program to sustain the financial literacy trainings. Focus Areas: Financial Services and Education Develop new relationships with local financial institutions to establish a strong referral network and determine eligibility for local banking and asset development services. Organize, coordinate, and facilitate financial literacy trainings Serve as as agency liaison with AccountAbility MN to develop and manage the logistics of implementing a free tax prep night offerings Page 5