Healthy Marriage and Relationship Program (HMREP) Lower Hudson Valley
Executive Summary
The Nepperhan Community Center (NCC) envisions the Lower Hudson Valley is an economically thriving region where responsible parenting is the norm and whose residents enjoy healthy relationships. NCC’s Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Program (HMREP) will develop and support economic self-sufficiency, healthy marriages, relationship and parenting skills for 500
at-risk youth ages 16-24; individuals; couples; caregivers and parents across six cities (Greenburgh, Mt. Vernon, New Rochelle, Tuckahoe, White Plains and Yonkers) in the Lower Hudson Valley Region of New York State.
The target cities are some of the poorest in New York. The unemployment rate of the region according to 2013 American Community Survey (ACS) data was 8.4%. According to FBI statistics (2011), Westchester exceeds the state and national averages in crimes involving weapons, homicides and robberies. Approximately 28% of children in the region live in single parent households.
According to New York State Education Department data for the 2013-2014 school year, of the students enrolled in the region’s public schools, 7% have Limited English Proficiency; 14% have disabilities and 35% are economically disadvantaged. As these children become young adults, the prospects for employment become uncertain. An estimated 12% of the region’s youth are neither working nor in school, putting them at great risk as they transition into adulthood (Opportunity Nation’s Opportunity Index: Youth Not in School and Not Working, 2014).
The NCC will launch an HMREP satellite site in each of the targeted cities. The launch is currently planned to be conducted in two (2) phases: 1) We plan to launch the Relationship Education in High School Program as early as April 1, 2016 in several of the satellite cities and 2) We plan to launch the Healthy Marriage Relationship Activities on June 1, 2016.
The NCC HMREP partners will support participant recruitment while providing services to the target group on a referral basis. NCC’s local partnerships in each city are comprised of a church, a community-based organization and a high school. NCC’s region-wide partners include LAI, Communications the Westchester Department of Social Services and the Workforce Development One-Stops in Westchester. Additional regional partners include agencies that specialize in healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood, housing, health and substance abuse, education, telephone based conflict resolution/mediation, child support/visitation matters, legal, domestic violence and child maltreatment services. Metis & Associates will conduct an independent, randomized, impact evaluation of the HMREP.
It is anticipated that each Host Partnering Agency will each receive rent to support the HMREP staff including Two full-time (a site coordinator/case manager and a program assistant) to staff each site and five (5) full-time employees (a program director, executive program assistant, a participant recruiter, and two (2) job developers) to lead and support the entire HMREP.
The NCC will execute an MOU with all partners and subcontractors providing services for the HMREP prior to the start of any programmatic activities.