Youth become a client of the Alliance through many distinct ways:

• Expanded street outreach activities conducted by Alliance staff and youth;
• Referrals from an Alliance member in the case where the young adult was not appropriate for the partner’s program
• External referrals from other community based organizations, faith based partners, government agencies or current SPA youth participants

Regardless of how a young adult gets to the Alliance, an assessment using a universal intake tool will help Alliance staff determine a young person’s academic, career, as well as supportive service needs, and also help plan the program that will meet their current needs and career/life aspirations. 

Individualized Service Plans – customized for education, employment, and support services – will be developed for each youth that the Alliance staff evaluates. This document will be updated regularly, and will follow participants from service to service throughout their participation. For example, a participant could have a service plan that would include an English class, employment placement and health care services, which are provided by Alliance partners. The Alliance Youth Specialists will be prepared to construct a service plan that engages multiple services at any one period in time, as well as services that span the term of a participant’s involvement with the Alliance. This document will live in real time.

The Alliance serves as the dedicated staff that will “stick” with the youth—our case managers are not making traditional referrals or hand-offs to our partner agencies.  The Alliance case managers perform an intake and assessment for each youth using a uniformed intake form; we also administer the reading and math portion of the TABE test so when a referral is made the youth does not have to tell their story again or re-test.  The case managers often accompany the youth to the first appointment for services and work closely with the partner agencies to provide any necessary services to connect the youth. 

The Alliance also offers a pre-program preparedness workshop called SPIN, Supporting Potential in the Neighborhood. Through this program young people gain confidence, computer skills, life skills, academic skills and hopefully become prepared to manage the responsibility of enrolling in a GED program.

Capacity Building

Partner Capacity

• Alliance partners serve 1,300 young adults in Sunset Park
• Created 226 additional Pre-GED and GED slots through funding from the Mayor’s Office of Adult Education
• Awarded Literacy Zone grant through New York State; grant facilitated through Turning Point.  
• AmeriCorps – Community Allies created through a SPA grant facilitated by Lutheran places 20 members at partner agencies
• BWI piloted program, New York Drives

SPA Capacity Building for Partners

• Training and technical assistance being provided to teachers by Staff Developer paid through Mayor’s Office
• Case managers will receive additional training and professional development by SPA coordinated trainings
• SPA piloting the Supporting Potential in our Neighborhood (SPIN) program to prepare youth for successfully transitioning to partner agencies
• Creating infrastructure for job developers, teachers and case managers
• Expanding job openings through Employment Partnership Developer