The City of New York continues its leadership in rolling out proven strategies that reduce poverty by making a big investment in the evidenced-based Jobs-Plus program, and Public Works Partners is helping.

In partnership with MDRC and the Workforce Professionals Training Institute, Public Works Partners recently began training and providing technical assistance for New York City’s new portfolio of Jobs-Plus service providers who are serving eight different public housing communities. We are assisting sites to implement key components of the program model, including the use of work supports to “Make Work Pay,” and building “Community Support for Work.”

The Public Works Partners team has been involved with this exciting initiative since 2009 when we worked with MDRC, the NYC Center for Employment Opportunity, and Hostos Community College to launch New York’s first Jobs-Plus program at Jefferson Houses in East Harlem. Through that experience we observed the program’s power to break the cycle of poverty through its three-part model:

• A place-based employment service that literally meets customers where they are;
• Strategies for using rent incentives and work supports to be sure that public housing residents keep most of their employment earnings; and
• Building local networks that support and empower individuals to achieve employment success.

We are especially excited for the opportunity we now have to work with programs to more tightly integrate financial counseling and employment services which has been shown to improve employment outcomes and enable public housing residents to achieve higher degrees of financial empowerment more quickly.

Stay tuned!