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 Teaching
Project "Rescue"/PCSmart
The goal of this project is to provide the support and stability that
will make it possible for homeless and runaway youth and those who are
at risk for these conditions to live, learn and work productively in the
community. The objectives are to provide:
a. Safe, secure housing for 5-8 female youth
b. Individualized educational opportunities
c. Individualized vocational opportunities
d. Physical and mental health services
e. Case management and other supportive services
f. Family reunification when feasible
National statistics indicate that there are 1.3 million runaway and homeless
youth living on the streets of this country. It is further estimated that
each day in this country approximately 1,234 children run away from home.
A review of the literature on the issue of homelessness in this country,
notes that the fastest growing sub-group of the homeless population is
that of families with children. It is estimated that within this country
some 100,000 children are homeless each night. Literature and experiences
indicated that for these children the risk is greater for the development
of severe health problems, nutritional problems, educational disruption,
school dropout, and emotional stress.
Statistics for the State of South Carolina indicate that as of June 1998,
there were some 8,148 children residing in out of home placements. In
1999, out of home placements for youth in these three counties to be served
by Restoration House were:
.......................Charleston .........Berkeley ...........Dorchester
Foster Care ..............365 ...............102 ...............37
Relatives ................2,408 ............1,083 .............619
Non-relatives .............946 ...............395 ............320
Institutions .................167 .................24 ..............21
TOTALS ...............3, 886 ............1,604 ...........997
These data are important because all sources of data support the primary
finding that people with a foster care history are over-represented in
the homeless population. Research does not indicate that foster care,
itself, causes homelessness. Rather foster care seems to be one element
in a complex web of familial, social, and institutional failures that
affect some children. There is also strong indication that unofficial
placement with relatives and friends often supplements official placements
and lead to a series of multiple placements which can be very disruptive
to a child's development and put them at risk for future homelessness.
These unofficial placements also result in a serious undercounting of
out of home placements.
Children in South Carolina are increasingly experiencing various psychological,
social, and health risk factors. In 1999, South Carolina ranked 43rd in
the United States by the Annie E. Casey Foundation on those factors that
indicate risk in the condition/status of its children. The state continues
to experience high rates of low birth weight infants, infant mortality,
teen births, juvenile violent crime arrests, high school dropouts, poverty,
etc. The city/county of Charleston and its surrounding communities closely
mirror the state as it relates to those risk factors and conditions impacting
families and children.
For example, Charleston County led the U.S. Census Bureau's South Carolina
list in its number of poor children and families. It is estimated that
over 31% of all children/youth in the county live below poverty levels.
Additionally, the community continues to rank at the bottom of the states
in rates of low birth weight infants, teen births, emotional problems,
school performance, and delinquency among it's children/youth. Current
conditions of the community are the following: 33% of its youth drop out
of school prior to graduation. This figure rises to more than 50% in the
inner city.
Nearly 11% of it's youth are referred to family court because of delinquent/criminal
behavior; approximately 9.6% of all juvenile referrals represent status
offense cases, inclusive of runaways, truancy, etc., and teen births represent
13.6% of all children born in the county. Dorchester and Berkeley Counties,
the other two counties that make up the service area for Restoration House
are mixed suburban/rural and mirror many of the problems of Charleston
County. The recently released Kids Count 2000 lists the at-risk statistics
by county and then ranks each county as if it were a state. The following
table shows how Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester Counties would rank
on these indicators if they were states:
............................................Charleston ..........Dorchester
..........Berkeley
% of single-parent families .........51 ......................4 .......................4
Low birth weight babies ............49 ....................38 .....................38
Infant mortality ..........................51 ...................38
......................26
Death of children age 1 to 14 ....33 ....................44 ......................25
Death of children age 15-19 ......21 ....................46 ......................43
Birth by teens age 15-17 ...........37 ...................33 ......................42
Idle teens 16-19 .......................26 ...................40 .......................20
Children in poverty ...................51 ...................30 .......................37
"Rescue"
& Enhancement
Summer Leadership School/DayCamp
Mission Statement:
To bridge academic & social failures of those at-risk children with
a plan for future success.
To act with character, integrity and equity, as a 6-week summer "academic
& social bridge" between the elementary school experience through
the middle school experience (3rd - 8th grade) and the beginning of the
rest of their academic life in a demanding society.
Purpose:
The Summer Leadership School/DayCamp (the "Camp") will augment
the existing school system and its approach to prevent as well as educate
the potential drop-out and expulsion population; (2) will reduce the incidences
of violence in elementary and middle school-age young people; and (3)
will provide training (educational & interpersonal skills) that will
enhance the marketability of a community, that at the present time exceeds
the state's negative unemployment and incarceration rate.
Goals:
Goal 1: To provide a safe educational environment and (activities) for
children ages 8-14 years of age, thereby reducing the opportunities for
seventy-five (75) economically and socially deprived youth in the 7.3
square mile Enterprise Community to become involved in delinquent and
or violent activities.
Goal 2: To ameliorate anti-social behaviors in seventy-five (75) children
below the age of fifteen (15), (between the ages of five (5) and ten (10)
and those ages eleven (11) through fourteen (14) of the Enterprise Community
target population, which contribute negatively to disproportionate numbers
of minority over -representation and progressively severe disciplinary
actions, and replace these with positive behavior.
Goal 3: To measurably improve seventy (75) target participants attitudes
towards education.
Objectives:
Objective 1: To coordinate anti-violence activities among seventy (75)
at-risk young within the 7.3 square mile Enterprise Community's, Eastside
neighborhood, within program year 2003-2004.
Objective 2: To reduce the number of juveniles among the seventy-five
(75) enrolled in the Summer Leadership School/DayCamp project committing
delinquent acts or status offenses during the 2003-2004 program year by
65%.
Objective 3: To improve the performance of 65% of the eligible or sixty-five
(65) Title I participants' standardized test scores by a minimum of fifty
(50) points. (example: To improve the performance of 40% of the bottom
1/3 percent or 25 children from Wilmot Fraser Elementary School and other
participating Enterprise Renewal Community elementary school children
between the ages of nine and fourteen years during the 2003-2004 program
year.
Objective 4: To insure that the availability of five (5) new scholarships
to in-state & out-of-state preparatory schools are made available
for a minimum of five (5) at-risk children between the ages of twelve
(12) and fourteen (14) years who satisfactorily complete the curriculum/course
development within 2003-2004.
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