Ohio Conference receives grant to prepare 
for work with disadvantaged youth

Youth Compassion Initiative

The Ohio Conference of the United Church of Christ is working with the National Youth Advocate Program and the West Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church in a collaborative program called “The Youth Compassion Initiative,” or YCI. 

The YCI received a three-year grant from the government to assist our organizations in building our capacity to work with disadvantaged youth, specifically youth involved with violence, gang activity or abuse/neglect.

The following article will explain the four elements of the YCI program and then lay out the “next steps” in the program. There will be more information coming as the program gets underway, but this provides a general introduction to what we will be involved with over the next three years.

I would encourage you as you read this article to consider how you and your congregations may be involved in this important program and how you can use the services and opportunities that are provided through this program to develop your abilities to work with disadvantaged youth.

A Capacity Building Grant

The grant we have received from the government is for the next three years. It is to be used to build the capacity of the United Church of Christ, the National Youth Advocate Program and the United Methodist Church to work more effectively with disadvantaged youth. 

The grant is a “capacity building grant,” which means that an organization cannot use funds to pay for “direct services.” 

For instance, we cannot use the funds from the grant to pay for an after-school tutor for youth. The funds are to be used for the development of the organization’s infrastructure, leadership, and other items needed to better position them to effectively work with disadvantaged youth.

Four Elements of the YCI Program

There are four elements to the YCI program.

1) Training.  Monthly courses will be conducted throughout the next three years that will focus on the capacity-building needs of local congregations. 

    Trainings will include subjects like:

• conducting community needs assessments in order to understand the needs of particular areas

• effective program development

• volunteer recruitment and management

• grant writing

• building collaborations with community partners

• effective marketing

• courses in child abuse/neglect prevention

• mediation and conflict resolution

• leadership

If you have suggestions on needed trainings please provide those to the Conference office.

2) Technical Assistance and Training Specialists (TATS).  Each year 3-4 people will be selected to complete an extensive training course on how to assess, develop, manage and fund effective programs for disadvantaged youth. The idea behind the TATS program is that we will have “internal consultants” who can help churches and groups as they develop programs for youth. 

3) Technical Assistance. (i.e. consultation) Funds are available to bring in highly specialized experts to consult on a variety of subjects which might include: fundraising techniques, space usage specialists, staff development, etc.  

4) Technology.  This grant will allow the YCI to spend approximately $70,000 to develop technological apparatus needed to utilize web-based learning methods, store trainings and resources online in order to provide wider distribution and access, and additional tasks we would be unable to perform without these resources.

The next three years will provide opportunities and experiences which will greatly benefit our Conference, Associations and local churches. You will receive more information in the next few months. 

I invite you to contact me with any questions, comments or suggestions as we move forward with this exciting program.

Phil Hart

Ohio Conference Interim Minister
800-282-0740
philh@ocucc.org