Targeted Outcomes, Objectives & Programs

The mission of Project GRAD Akron, a community based, non profit organization, is to ensure quality education for students in the Buchtel Cluster. Math, reading, classroom management, social services, parent involvement, college preparation and scholarship programs are offered.

PfS is assisting GRAD’s literacy component, which focuses on supporting the teaching of reading at the elementary level. Reading specialists provide a balanced approach to reading by incorporating strategies of decoding, fluency, and comprehension. GRAD focuses on prevention, early intervention and acceleration to ensure that students improve reading achievement. This is funded by PfS and a new Akron Community Foundation Grant. Website- www.projectgradakron.org
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Objective: Increase School Attendance
Program: PROJECT THRIVE
Project THRIVE is a comprehensive truancy and substance abuse prevention program designed to provide school districts with sound strategies for addressing truancy among youth in Summit County. Program components include truancy awareness, early intervention, treatment, case management and mediation. PfS hopes to expand THRIVE
into those schools exhibiting high levels of truancy or attendance problems. Community Health Centers administers THRIVE. Funding for Project Thrive ended in February, 2006. Alternate funding is being explored. Website- www.commhealthcenter.org
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Targeted Outcome: Reduce Delinquency
Objective: Reduce Delinquency Offenses
Program: Juvenile Diversion
The Juvenile Diversion Program is based on nationally recognized models of juvenile diversion that builds on services already offered by some community agencies and builds in new components that have proven effective in early intervention in other communities. Greenleaf Family Center and Juvenile Court will work collaboratively to provide services to young people and their families who become involved in the Juvenile Court with a 1st or 2nd misdemeanor offense. This program meets the priority of the PfS goal established by the Quality Life/Summit 2010 Project to implement and monitor an early response and diversion system for youth with problem behaviors. This is funded with a DYS Title II grant.
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Targeted Outcome: Reduce Violence
Objective: Reduce Domestic Violence Referral Rate of Juveniles
Program: Social Marketing Campaign
A social marketing campaign designed to create a community culture that is non-accepting of children’s exposure to violence is proposed. Social marketing is the application of commercial marketing to change people’s behavior for the benefit of the consumer and/or of society as a whole. By increasing the number of community members who understand the devastating impact that witnessing violence has on children, we increase the numbers of individuals who are motivated to act in the best interests of children. The social change that occurs under these circumstances increases the percent of exposed children referred for services while ideally decreasing, over time, the total number of children exposed to violence. Each of these, in conjunction with the process and outcome evaluation, will provide the rationale and model for national replication of this innovative service delivery system to a heretofore unserved population. This will be administered by Children’s Hospital and Community Partnership.
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Program: Juvenile Domestic Violence Program
Greenleaf Family Center will work collaboratively with Summit County Juvenile Court to establish a well-coordinated, timely response for youth who have been charged with domestic violence. This includes proper screening and assessment, evaluation of factors contributing to the violence, family counseling and case management services to ensure that youth will not have a repeat offence for the same type of behavior. The program is funded through PRC.
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