Trenton's accepted President Obama's My Brother's Keeper challenge in December
TRENTON -- Six months after Trenton accepted President Obama's "My Brother's Keeper" challenge, the city has laid out a plan it hopes can help boost opportunities for disadvantaged youth.
The president's initiative was launched in 2014 with the goal of helping boys and young men of color and other young people overcome barriers to fulfilling their potential.
The capital city announced its participation in December, joining hundreds of other cities and towns across the country.
The action plan that was unveiled this month is the final step following a local action summit and a policy review.
The efforts of "Capital City My Brother's Keeper" will be aimed at reducing chronic absenteeism, improving literacy and helping young men find jobs.
Some of the action steps are as follows:
Chronic Absenteeism
- Work with organizations that provide Early Head Start, Head Start and prekindergarten to track attendance data;
- Increase access and participation in Head Start programs;
- Analyze the impact after-school programs have on attendance rates; and
- Determine how Check and Connect, a program at Rivera Middle School aimed at helping kids who have shown a disinterest in school, can be replicated at other schools
Childhood Literacy
- Set up more reading nooks and book exchanges throughout the city, with barbershops among the places;
- Provide opportunities for fathers and male role models to read books to their children and others;
- Increase access to a reading software program at all of the elementary schools and after-school and summer programs;
- Create and distribute a comprehensive literacy resource of expectant and new parents;
- Make the libraries a community anchor; and
- Work with community health partners to address prenatal and infant health needs that can in turn help increase literacy rates later in life
Employability
- Survey and assess the quality of job-training services in the city;
- Find out the needs state offices and other local businesses will have over the next five to 10 years and identify opportunities for Trentonians to participate in apprenticeship or career preparation programs;
- Support the mayor's summer employment initiative that this year provided jobs and training to 100 youth; and
- Re-develop relationships with local trade unions
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.