Sustainability Planning Right From the Start
Not only is the Utica (New York) Safe Schools Healthy Students Partnership going strong one year after its Federal funding ended, but 32 of the 35 programs initiated under the Federal grant are still operating. Nancy Kelly, former Project Director for Utica's SS/HS project (and current National Center Technical Assistance Specialist) attributed this success to: 1) a sustainability strategy suggested by one of their board members and 2) careful attention to program sustainability from day one.
The Partnership garnered most of the funds needed to sustain itself by winning a contract from the county to help Utica receive its fair share of state funds. In New York State, Title 20 funds (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families - or TANF) are provided to counties based on the number of families officially reported in need according to established criteria. The nonprofit agencies providing services to these families are asked to collect information on clients which is used by the county to ensure that it receives its fair share of state funding. Because the data collection process is difficult and time-consuming, all too often, the it is not done accurately - or at all.
The Director of Utica County's Department of Social Services is a member of the SS/HS Partnership's Advisory Board. He told project director, Nancy Kelly that it was evident that the county was not submitting accurate data for Title 20 reimbursement since the number of reported families in need was far below the number of families whose children were eligible for free school lunches-a clear indicator of need. He suggested that the Partnership apply for the contract to collect this information. This would supply the Partnership with some of its operating expenses while helping the county receive its fair share of Title 20 money. The Partnership applied for and won the contract - which, along with a no-cost extension, provided operating funds for an additional year. The Partnership used its Community School Coordinators to collect the data.
This new source of funding allowed the Partnership to continue in its role as coordinator for the community-based programs that were originally supported through the SS/HS grant. Fortunately, the Partnership's early emphasis on sustainability prepared the 25 community-based service providers to find new ways to continue operating their programs. They tapped into a number of funding sources, including their own general operating funds and new grants through agencies such as the United Way. In fact, Nancy paved the way for this support by convincing the United Way that it should require organizations receiving their Impact Grants to provide more efficient and effective services by working in collaboration with each other and by using evidence-based strategies.
The SS/HS Partnership continues to be an essential part of Utica County's human service infrastructure. Recently, the City of Utica contracted with the Partnership to conduct (with the help of a local social science research company) an Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Youth Violence Assessment and write a Comprehensive Youth Violence Prevention Plan, which is being submitted to OJJDP in support of an Implementation Grant. This grant has the potential of providing Utica with $350,000 a year for 3 to 5 years for additional youth violence prevention activities. Nancy hopes that if Utica wins this award, that the Partnership will be chosen to manage it. This would enable the Partnership to continue as an essential component of Utica's prevention infrastructure.
