https://youthreconnect.org

Reconnecting youth to educational and economic success.

RFP Released

by

Capital Workforce Partners, the Workforce Investment Board for North Central Connecticut, released a request for proposals for career pathway programs for Opportunity Youth between the ages of 18-24 who are out of school or underemployed and eligible for services under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Legally recognized governmental and private organizations, whether for profit or nonprofit, may apply. Funding awarded as a result of this solicitation will be for two years with a renewal option for year three.

Proposals must focus on one or more of the following targeted subpopulations:

  • Youth with disabilities
  • Justice-involved youth
  • Young parents
  • Young men of color
  • Youth aged or aging out of foster care

IMPORTANT DATES

  • Mandatory letter of intent: February 13, 2015 — No new bidders accepted.
  • Mandatory bidders’ conference: February 18, 2015
  • Proposal due date: March 16, 2015 by 5:00 pm

CWP will accept written questions via email to WIOAYouthRFP@capitalworkforce.org through February 20, 2015.

Click here for the RFP.

Youth Leaders on Facebook

by

10940595_341511379368403_2880584248829742771_nOur youth leaders created a Facebook page to promote the message of Reconnecting to Success.

Keelishaye Downer, one of Hartford’s youth leaders, manages the Facebook page on the group’s behalf. She notes the page is about empowering young adults around issues of education and employment. It includes messages of motivation, unemployment data, and information on career competencies.

Go here to “like” their Facebook page.

For more information about our youth leaders, e-mail Kelvin Lovejoy.

Meet ALICE

by

Connecticut’s United Ways released the ALICE report, a study of financial hardships in our state and finds that 69% of households in Hartford are not able to afford the basic necessities. Learn more about ALICE here.

Learn about our plan to reconnect youth and their families to success here.


The HBO documentary “Paycheck to Paycheck” spotlights the a year in the life of one ALICE family.

Hartford Leads National Employer Engagement Discussion

by

The Aspen Forum for Community Solutions held its second annual Fall Convening for the Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund gathering grantees, strategic partners, funders and guests to share emerging lessons and strategies in reconnecting opportunity youth to education and employment through collective impact. Speakers included Melody Barnes, chair of the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions and former director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, Jim Shelton, deputy secretary at the US Department of Education, and Hartford’s Alex Johnson, chief operating officer and executive vice president of Capital Workforce Partners.

Alex speaking at Aspen 2014 - 3Addressing an audience of 250 civic leaders, Mr. Johnson noted, “It’s not traditional job development. It’s looking at how we engage employers in the long term to support the development of our youth using career pathway models.” He continued the discussion during a panel exploring opportunities and best practices.

Also, on the panel, Kim Oliver, the director of Hartford’s collaborative who has extensive experience in engaging businesses to strengthen outcomes, shared, “Businesses are looking for qualified, skilled workers. Deliver that and you’ve made partner that will be there for you and your youth in the long-term.”

Learn more about the Aspen Institute Convening here and see the story here.

Learn more about how we engage employers here.

Hartford Invited to Apply for SIF Funding

by

Jobs for the Future (JFF), in partnership with the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund (OYIF), released a Notice of Funding Opportunity inviting communities using a collective impact approach to improve outcomes for opportunity youth to apply for funding to implement Back on Track pathways for these youth. By March 2015, JFF/Aspen will select up to twelve communities to receive between $175,000 and $300,000 per year over at least three years, with the potential for continuation funding for an additional two years; the grants will require a 1:1 philanthropic match at the local level.

This funding opportunity is made possible through a grant to JFF/Aspen from the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), a key White House initiative and program of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Details about the funding opportunity can be found here.

Aspen Re-Invests in Opportunity Youth

by

On July 25, the Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund (OYIF) announced its second round of grants, which provides a new award to Capital Workforce Partners and the Hartford Opportunity Youth Collaborative as well as 18 additional communities across the United States. The Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund is managed by the Aspen Institute’s Forum for Community Solutions and is dedicated to reconnecting “Opportunity Youth” to education and employment.

All 19 OYIF community grantees received one year planning grants last year along with 2 communities that received multi-year awards. Collectively, these 21 community grantees, which includes Hartford, Connecticut, will continue to focus their efforts on the successful reconnection of Opportunity Youth through community collaborations that remove barriers, connect the various systems that touch their lives, and begin to scale effective pathways to jobs and long-term, family-sustaining success. The Aspen Forum for Community Solutions plans to provide up to $13 million in grants to the 21 OYIF sites and learning partners over the five-year course of the Fund.

Read more here.

Policy Working Session on July 15

by

As a follow-up to our Collaborative meeting, we are holding a working session on Policy & Systems Alignment on July 15th at 2 pm at Our Piece of the Pie.

Discussions will likely include:

  • What we mean by “systems change”
  • Our role as a change agent
  • How we can best scale up and sustain best and promising practices including career pathways for Opportunity Youth, career-based contextualized learning, etc.
  • How we can support a coordinated approach to serving Opportunity Youth involved in multiple systems

This is an optional meeting, but everyone is welcome to attend. If you have not done so already, please RSVP to koliver@youthreconnect.org.

MEETING MATERIALS

PRE-READING MATERIALS

Funded by:

Aspen Institute Community Solutions Opportunity Youth Forum
Bank of America Foundation
Berkshire Bank Foundation
City of Hartford
Generation Works – United Way (Annie E. Casey Foundation)
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
Lincoln Financial Foundation
People’s Community Foundation
State of Connecticut Department of Children and Families
State of Connecticut Youth Employment Program
Schultz Family Foundation
Travelers Foundation
US DOL Workforce Innovations and Opportunities Act

Recent Posts

Contact Us

Hartford Opportunity Youth Collaborative
c/o Capital Workforce Partners
One Union Place
Hartford, CT 06103
hoyc@capitalworkforce.org
capital workforce partners