Project: YOUTH PRACTITIONER INSTITUTE  

Sponsor: U.S. Department of Labor
Status: In process
IPS Staff: Marion Pines, Irene Hechler, Micheal Ford and Darnell Adams

Purpose and Approach
In 1999, the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Employment Development received a $44 million grant over five years from the U.S. Department of Labor to create a Youth Opportunity Program in the city’s Empowerment Zones. The Youth Opportunity Grants were awarded to several communities nationwide to increase significantly the resources available for serving youth growing up in high-poverty urban and rural areas.

The IPS Sar Levitan Center, in partnership with Baltimore City Community College, created the Youth Practitioner Institute (YPI) in 2000 to provide quality staff development opportunities for the newly hired youth practitioners working in the Youth Opportunity Centers (YOC). The YPI combines staff training and development in a classroom setting with on-the-job training and awards initial skills certification for Youth Practitioners.

Results
Since its inception, the YPI has evolved to include ongoing, system-wide, site-based and job-specific development for all YOC staff. In its final year, YPI is focused on training for staff in areas that will enhance the sustainability of the initiative. This training program has been a model used across the country for training front-line practitioners.

Publications
For more information and a list of publications, visit www.levitan.org.