Good Essay About Build USA

What can we learn from YouthBuild’s initial expansion in NY?

Initial expansion in New York brought to light the fact that the head office taking all the responsibilities and outcomes in its subsidiary will fatally affect the coalition. On giving the whole appropriation to YAP, Dorothy observed, “the surest way to destroy a coalition is for the leader to take all the money.” In an effort to avert this, YAP did not receive any funds for the first year. That it was financed by the state played a significant role. Additionally, early replications to run the Housing Model by nine-community-based organizations were doomed by a lack of technical assistance and training. The existence of a prototype or a handbook for the organizations to learn from further crippled the efforts. The YouthBuild manual was successfully completed in 1988. That was when three groups were able to replicate the housing model.How does a leader know that the time is right for expansion?
In the YouthBuild case, Dorothy – leader of YAP – was partly motivated to expand by good press received by the HREWE program and lack of advocacy for low-income youth by the federal government. Various stakeholders interested in bringing the program to their communities had begun calling YAP at this time. It was clear that the broad organizing methods Dorothy had used in New York would work at the national level. Swiftness was needed in filling a gap at the federal level and advocating the youth. This would amalgamate advocacy and soliciting opportunities for the youth. A unit of ten diverse community-based organizations from around the country through their representatives unanimously decided to form a national coalition. The coalition’s purpose was to persuade the US government to fund national replication efforts of the Housing Model.
As these negotiations were underway, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the FordFoundation was caught by the Youth Action Program’s attention. Both foundations were urging YAP visionary, Dorothy to replicate the model. Thus through grants and their support, Dorothy launched the Nation replication project of YAP. The project would build on the existing advocacy efforts and providing assistance to organizations looking to bring the Housing Model to their communities.Why did Dorothy move so quickly to expand the YAP Housing Model? What would have been the advantages and disadvantages of waiting until the model was more rigorously tested, formally evaluated, and standardized?
This was so as to gain funding from the city. The coalition had realized the need to lobby for something that public funds had not filled. The revelation led to the redesigning of the model. It was transformed into a comprehensive full-time job training program for high school dropouts. Dorothy discovered that YAP’s core emphasis on leadership development and movement-building made it attractive to precisely the population that had been considered most difficult to reach. This population had academic deficiencies, but they wanted to be part of something they believed in. In addition, they wanted to be where they were respected, and where they were improving their communities and were treated as potential leaders. The discovery was a breakthrough, and it influenced the entire field of developing workforce and national service. It gave shape to what became the standard YouthBuild model.Advantages
The coalition having passed apparent proficiency tests such as accountability would have suffered delays in implementing successful housing model in the country. It is unfathomable what consequences would befall such delays. A simple educated guess can reveal that continued inadequate advocacy for the youth from the federal government could result in increased crime in the country. Further look at the matter, drug use, social and moral decadence and a decline in economic growth could be eminent.Disadvantages
The initial replication efforts of the model failed. Five of the replication programs failed within two years, these were consequently de-funded. It was clear that lack of training and technical assistance, coupled with the fact that there had been no handbook or prototype from which the organizations could learn, had doomed this early replication. Rigorous testing, formal evaluation, and standardization could have aided in ensuring these failures actualizing.Do you think Dorothy made the right or wrong decision in, not accepting the initial funding from the Department of Employment for her organization to replicate the Housing Model in NYC? What are the risks and benefits of this approach?
She made the right decision. When the coalition initially needed funding, the DOE provided a meager $4.75 million having requested $10 million to fund six different employment training initiatives that the coalition had recommended. Despite this, the aim was to ensure that an arm of the organization could pick up. The organization risked losing support from key government agencies in its future operations. It could have been a sign of goodwill and a good gesture to take funding from such a government agency. Their being in control of policies and regulations was motivation enough.What do you think of the decision to form a national coalition to go after federal government money for this initiative?
The formation of the national coalition to persuade the US government to fund the Housing Model nationally was a brilliant idea. It could help bring the successful New York-based housing model to other communities in the country where its constituents were in dire need. The need is exhibited by community-based organizations coming together to help bring the model to their communities. According to the case study, Dorothy launched the National Replication Project of the YAP of the East Harlem Block Schools to build on the existing advocacy and to provide assistance for organizations interested in bringing the Housing Model to their communities. Support from popular foundations - the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and The Ford Foundation – urging Dorothy to replicate the model are an assurance of how forward-looking the model was in solving societal problems.What alternative strategies could this group have used to pursue its goals of national expansion and movement-building?
As it initially begun, the group could alternatively have sought national expansion and movement building through awareness and perspective of the young people. The group being organizations that are community-based, and the young people forming a majority of their members, they could have sensitized them to cooperate in their attainment of their goals. It could have created a crusade with communal leveled support. This could not have missed the attention of sponsorship and funds from persons sharing the same interest. This could have gone a long way in soliciting public relations officers from blue chip companies seeking to attain corporate social responsibility. As seen, in this case, philanthropic foundations - Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and The Ford Foundation – could not help but notice their efforts.Why create YouthBuild USA as a separate organization from the YAP?
The YouthBuild USA was built so as to persuade the federal government of the US to fund replication of the YAP’s Housing Model nationally. The national replication project was named YouthBuild USA and was incorporated in 1990 as a separate national organization, spinning off from the Youth Action Program and the East Harlem Block of Schools. The spin-off from its mother organization was due to the need for a national feel and not the New York one where the parent organization was founded. On the other hand, the parent organization, YAP, was shouldering different burdens including being the primary organization to ensure continuity of the Housing Model in New York.What should be the next steps for YouthBuild USA?
YouthBuild USA should leverage its extensive experience being an intermediary agency, its relationship with its community-based organizations, and its role in leadership and human capital development to foster further nationwide change. According to Dorothy, “we have – organization - achieved incremental gains but not the breakthrough to fund at the level of need and capacity. I want federal funding to expand and make YouthBuild comparable to Head Start and Job Corps. We will be stuck at partial scale until or unless something changes. And that change could come from any number of places.” In order to attain these ambitions, the next steps of YouthBuild should be to lobby and seek attention of political allies and other community-based organizations. With these in place, YouthBuild’s goals can be dramatically achieved.