Signature Education and Poverty Program
The Promise Neighborhood Initiative is the Obama Administration’s signature education and anti-poverty program strategically developed to transform schools and communities into vibrant centers of opportunity and excellence.
Youth Policy Institute is the lead agency for the Los Angeles Promise Neighborhood and was awarded a $30 million grant by the U.S. Department of Education in December 2012 and again in 2016.
Every Student Succeeds Act
Promise Neighborhoods and Full-Service Community Schools are now a permanent part of education law, thanks to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) passed by Congress in 2015. And in 2016, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions sponsored a resolution about the importance of extending the Promise Neighborhoods work.
The Committee strongly believes that Promise Neighborhoods grantees may need more than five years to implement the transformational reforms and demonstrate the results envisioned by this program. ESSA, which authorizes Promise Neighborhoods as a stand-alone program, allows the Department to extend grants for a period of up to two years. The Committee directs the Department to use that authority to extend funding for current high-quality Promise Neighborhoods programs that have demonstrated promising results through their initial implementation grant.
Cradle-to-College-and-Career-Support
The Los Angeles Promise Neighborhood is transforming the communities of Pacoima and Hollywood by implementing a continuum of integrated cradle-to-college-and-career services. The Promise Neighborhood includes a range of school options including traditional, charter, pilot, and partnership schools.
New model for collaboration in Los Angeles
The centerpiece of the Promise Neighborhood is an innovative public-private partnership with the City and County of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) that incorporates diverse funding streams around a core set of outcomes and objectives. The Promise Neighborhood is currently transforming 19 neighborhood schools into full-service community schools. Many of YPI’s partners are involved in the collaboration and have the option to share data through the groundbreaking Efforts-to-Outcome data system.
Continuum of Services
The Los Angeles Promise Neighborhood and YPI focus on integrating wrap-around services that include: prenatal and early childhood development, extended learning time, linked learning, technology initiatives, summer and bridge programs, college preparation, career development, dropout and gang prevention, and reconnections for out-of-school youth. YPI also provides family support services that include: case management, referrals to health and housing services, and legal support. In addition, YPI offers adult education, including ESL (English as a Second Language), GED (General Educational Development) and computer literacy classes, as well as a comprehensive asset building program that includes financial literacy education, matched savings accounts, individual development accounts, financial coaching, and free tax preparation.
Every Promise Neighborhood Center has become a one-stop shop for families, modeled on YPI’s Hollywood FamilySource Center.
LA #’s
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Total population in LA living in poverty: 23%
source: Kids Count Data Center: Population in Poverty.
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Children living in poverty in LA: 60%
The share of children under age 18 who live in families with incomes less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. (2013)
source: Kids Count Data Center: Children Below 200% Poverty
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Of the population 25 years and older that lives in poverty:
- 44% of did not graduate from high school
- 22% graduated from high school
- 20% have some college experience or possess an associate’s degree
- 14% have a Bachelor’s degree or higher.
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High School Graduation Rate: 70.4%
51.5% for English Learners
source: Cohort Outcome Data for the Class of 2013-14 by Race/Ethnicity
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An income of $56,960 is required to afford a 2-bedroom unit at fair market rate ($1,424)—this translates into 3 full-time jobs at minimum wage.
source: National Low Income Housing Coalition, Out of Reach 2015
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YPI currently serves over 25,000 students and approximately 9,020 families through educational programming and supportive services.
source: YPI Research Department, 2015
As YPI continues to grow and expand wraparound services for youth and families, inter-generational poverty will end for thousands in Los Angeles.