Annual Report 2016-17

Career Mentors enrolled forty-seven participants in SWIFTStart offering skill development and access to childcare.

SWIFTStart is a grant awarded to the Roanoke and New River Valleys by the Department of Labor. New River Community Action and Total Action for Progress (TAP) have partnered to target a large service area, positively impacting a sizeable population.

Using career pathway development with short-term and credential-focused training, SWIFTStart helps participants qualify for employment in the specific workforce fields of Advanced Manufacturing, Health Care, and Information Technology.

Also, SWIFTStart provides participants with tools to reduce barriers that might prevent them from obtaining higher wages, including enhancing participants’ ability to select and evaluate child care providers. Career Mentors provide one-on-one and group career coaching, job placement assistance, and on-going support critical to program success.

In January 2017, SWIFTStart began serving Floyd, Giles, Montgomery and Pulaski Counties, and Radford City. One full- time and one part-time Career Mentors cover all five jurisdictions.

SWIFTStart collaborates with programs within New River Community Action, as well as other programs in the service area. NRCA Head Start and TAP Early Head Start parents receive priority in the referral process. Other SWIFTStart referral sources include the NRCA Children’s Health Improvement Partnership (CHIP), Department of Social Services, Women’s Resource Center, Workforce Development, Goodwill, Good Care, Health Department, and local churches. Referral sources are continually increasing due to efforts made by Career Mentors to collaborate and network with other local programs. The effective partnerships utilize one another’s expertise to decrease participants’ barriers without overlapping services. From January to June 2017, the NRCA SWIFTStart Career Mentors assisted forty-seven participants. Of these forty-seven, fourteen were Head Start parents, and another twelve were future Head Start parent enrollees. Twenty-one participants completed career assessments, CareerScope and Adult Basic Education testing. Sixteen participants completed three 18-hour SWIFTStart Orientations. By June 2017, seven participants entered healthcare training programs, with two completing their training in May/June 2017.

SWIFTStart offered hope to participants who, before enrollment, were unable to overcome barriers to economic self-sufficiency. Together Career Mentors and participants developed new ideas to keep obstacles from becoming permanent roadblocks to success. Many challenges were addressed successfully due to the consistency and determination of staff and program enrollees.

ZĞƵďĞŶ DŝůůĞƌ ;ĐĞŶƚĞƌͿ͕ ĂŶ Ğdž KůĚ KƌĚĞƌ ŵŝƐŚ ĂŶĚ ŶŽǁ Ă ŵŝĚĚůĞ ƐĐŚŽŽů ŵĂƚŚ ƚĞĂĐŚĞƌ͕ ƐŚĂƌĞĚ ŚŝƐ ƉĞƌƐŽŶĂů ƐƚŽƌLJ ŽĨ ŽǀĞƌĐŽŵŝŶŐ ĞdžƚƌĞŵĞ ďĂƌƌŝĞƌƐ ǁŚĞŶ ŚĞ ůĞŌ ƚŚĞ KůĚ KƌĚĞƌ ŚƵƌĐŚ ǁŝƚŚ ŽŶůLJ ĂŶ ĞŝŐŚƚŚͲŐƌĂĚĞ ĞĚƵĐĂƟŽŶ͘ One SWIFTStart ƉĂƌƟĐŝƉĂŶƚ ƐƚĂƚĞĚ͕ ͞tŽǁ͊ /Ĩ ŚĞ ĐĂŶ ĚŽ ŝƚ͕ / ĐĂŶ͕ ƚŽŽ͘͟

www.newrivercommunityaction.org

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