Community, Family and Youth Resilience (CFYR) Program Annual Report October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019
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Community, Family and Youth Resilience (CFYR) Program Annual Report October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019 Submission Date: October 30, 2019. Updated December 18, 2019. Submitted by: Creative Associates International 1 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AAA - Action and Advocacy Agenda BLES - Basic Life and Employability Skills CARICOM – Caribbean Community CSWC - Charlotte Street Wesleyan Church COP - Chief of Party CEC - Community Enhancement Committees CFYR - Community, Family and Youth Resilience Program CSP - Community Safety Plan CLC - Critchlow Labour College DQA - Data Quality Assessment DCOP – Deputy Chief of Party DPP - Director of Public Prosecution FACES - Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales FACT - Family Awareness Consciousness Togetherness FGD – Focus Group Discussion FYCW - Family and Youth Community Worker JJR – Juvenile Justice Reform LOP - life of program MoCD - Ministry of Community Development, Gender Affairs and Social Services (St. Kitts) MoE - Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Empowerment and Local Government (Saint Lucia) MoPT - Ministry of Public Telecommunications (Guyana) MoSP - Ministry of Social Protection (Guyana) NOC – New Opportunity Corps NIA - Nevis Island Administration PIFSM - Prevention and Intervention Family Systems Model RLE - Regional Learning Exchange 2 RLN - Regional Learning Network RLIC - Ruimveldt Life Improvement Centre SCP - Social Crime Prevention SDCP - Social Development and Crime Prevention SLHTA - Saint Lucia Hospitality & Tourism Association SLS - Social and Leadership Skills SSDF - Saint Lucia Social Development Fund SSF - Sacred Sports Foundation ToT – Training of Trainers TVET – Technical and Vocational Education and Training USAID - United States Agency for International Development USAID/ESC - United States Agency for International Development/Eastern and Southern Caribbean VYC - Volunteer Youth Corps WFD - workforce development YATTA - Youth Advocacy Through the Arts YES - Youth Empowerment Services Project YOFM - Youth on Fire Movement YSET - Youth Services Eligibility Tool YVP - youth violence prevention 3 PROJECT OVERVIEW/SUMMARY Program Name: Community, Family and Youth Resilience (CFYR) Program Activity Start/ End Date: July 1, 2016 – September 30, 2020 Name of Implementing Creative Associates International Partner: Contract/Agreement AID-OAA-I-15-00011 Number: Name of Pan American Development Foundation; University of Subcontractors/Sub- Southern California; Arizona State University awardees: Geographic Coverage Guyana, Saint Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis (countries) Reporting Period: October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019 Executive Summary This represents the Year III Annual Report (October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019) of the Community, Family and Youth Resilience (CFYR) Program. CFYR is managed by Creative Associates International (Creative) and this report is being submitted to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Eastern and Southern Caribbean (ESC) in compliance with Contract No. AID-OAA-I-15-00011 and Task Order No. AID-538-TO-16-00001. USAID’s CFYR Program supports vulnerable youth ages 10-29 from Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis and Guyana. The program is a component of USAID’s umbrella Youth Empowerment Services (YES) Project, which reduces youth involvement in crime and violence as part of a larger goal of creating a safer, more prosperous Caribbean. The program strengthens youth, family and community support systems; improves the skills of youth to resist involvement in violence; expands access to education and employment opportunities; and provides specialized services to youth at the highest risk of engaging in violence. Additionally, the program is working in Guyana on juvenile justice reforms to ensure that youth already in contact with the law can be successfully rehabilitated and reintegrated into the community. The goal is to empower youth to become productive citizens and make positive contributions to society. Key Life of Program (LOP) Results to date (July 1, 2016 – September 30, 2019): Over the life of the program (LOP), CFYR has positively engaged 5899 youth in development activities across Guyana, Saint Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis, with 4974 youth (84%) residing within CFYR target communities. Key results to date over the life of the program include: 4 • 667 youth1 aged 16-29 completed workforce development programs (WFD)2. Of this amount, 226 were from CFYR communities in Saint Lucia, and 441 were from CFYR Communities in Guyana. Among those trained, 269 youth secured new employment (Saint Lucia – 119; Guyana - 150). • 7457 persons were engaged in 261 Community Engagement Activities across Saint Lucia (ninety- six activities with 2829 participants), St. Kitts and Nevis (thirty-nine activities with 964 participants) and Guyana (126 activities with 3664 participants).3 4 • 1826F youth engaged in Supplementary School Programs as at September 30, 2019, across all locations in Saint Lucia (973), Guyana (757) and St. Kitts and Nevis (96). There were 464 youth who reported increased self-efficacy upon completion of supplemental school programs across all these three countries.5 These supplementary school program results comprise the following: o 899 youth aged 10-18 engaged in After-school Programs6 as at September 30, 2019 in Saint Lucia (387) Guyana (447) and St Kitts and Nevis (65). There were 3337 reported an increase in self-efficacy upon completing after-school programs in the three countries. This includes 208 youth during Year 2 across Saint Lucia Guyana and St. Kitts and Nevis and 125 youth during Year 3 in Saint Lucia and Guyana. o 617 engaged in Summer Camps in Saint Lucia (307) and Guyana (310). There were 95 youth of this 617 who participated in summer camps in Year 3, of which 26 reported increases in self-efficacy.8 o 31 engaged in Easter Camps in St Kitts and Nevis (31). o 279 engaged in Robotics and Coding pilot project conducted in Saint Lucia only in Year 2. There were 105 youth who reported increased self-efficacy upon completion of the Robotics and Coding project. Through its own funding, the Government of Saint Lucia extended the program to two secondary schools (Clendon Mason and Micoud). • 398 local stakeholders (community members, youth leaders, police, probations officers, youth workers) trained in social crime prevention to increase community participation in reducing local youth crime and violence.9 1 These results represent October 2018 –September 2019 results, which are also Life of Project results as WFD commenced at the very end of Year 2 and in Year 3. 2 Workforce development includes the Basic Life and Employability Skills (BLES) training and training provided by grantees in life skills and vocational/technical skills. 3 There may be instances where persons may have participated in more than one activity. 4 The 1826 youth engaged represent all youth who participated in supplemental school programs including: after-school programs Summer Camps, Easter Camps and the Robotics and Coding project conducted in Saint Lucia. This figure may contain youth who have participated in more than one of the aforementioned activities. 5 This includes 151 youth in Year 3 participating in after-school programs (125) and in summer camp (26); and 313 youth in Year 2 who participated in Robotics and Coding (105) and after-school program (208). 6 After-school -School Programs include a combination of academic, cultural and recreational services. 7 The 333 youth are a subset of the overall total of 787 youth who reported an increase in self-efficacy for all supplemental school programs. 8 There were 522 youth who participated in summer camps in Year 1 and 95 in Year 3. No self-efficacy assessment was undertaken in Year 1 as the tools was not yet developed. 9 Community engagement increased in Year 3 (4125 participants) as compared with Year 2 (2424 participants). 5 10 • 270 at-risk youth and their families (approximately 839 total beneficiaries4F ) completed six months of targeted family counseling services through the Family Matters Intervention to reduce their likelihood of entering into a life of crime and violence. Six-month assessment results indicate a significant reduction in risk factors linked with delinquency. There were 246 at-risk youth and their families enrolled as of September 30, 2019. • CFYR has trained 519 stakeholders (youth leaders, representatives of government, non- governmental organizations (NGO) and community members): Guyana – 159; St. Kitts and Nevis – 171; Saint Lucia – 189. Some key training areas focused on increasing knowledge and strengthening stakeholders’ skills in proposal writing, project management, monitoring and evaluation; delivery of BLES and Social Crime Prevention (SCP) training; management of the Family Matters program and survey field work/enumeration skills. • CFYR developed and/or updated twenty-one (21) administrative and diagnostic tools to support rehabilitation and reintegration of youth in conflict with the law in Guyana, of which five (5) have 11 been approved and adopted at time of reporting.5F • Ten Community Safety Plans (CSP) developed in Saint Lucia (five) and Guyana (five). Saint Lucia Community Enhancement Committees (CECs)12 have executed community-led initiatives that address priority issues identified in these safety plans, engaging community members – including youth - to be part of implementing solutions to address youth violence in their communities. Some of these include the Soufriere and Vieux Fort Job Readiness Training, an Orange Bag