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Executive
summary
Project "Restore" is a program targeted annually on a maximum
of seventy-five (75), 18-35 year old, non-custodial fathers who reside
within the boundaries of the federally designated Enterprise Community
(EC), and who are incarcerated for non-payment of child support. Project
"Restore" is a 120-day on-the-job training, parenting and life
skills program. Through this program, men are attempting to change the
kinds of lifestyles that led to their incarceration. In addition to working
35 hours a week in the construction trades, these men are heavily involved
in learning to be responsible parents and to become productive members
of their community.
Project "Restore" is physically and emotionally located in
the EC. The EC has a population of 22,544 of which more than 80% are African
American. According to the 2000 Census data, the poverty rate for individuals
living in the Enterprise Community was more than 45% -three and a half
times the national rate. Twenty percent of all households in these neighborhoods
received public assistance, and females headed 2/3 of all families with
children less than 18 with no husband living at home. Less than 50% of
the young people in the EC graduate from high school. Crime, and drug
abuse are common. The unemployment rate is 13% in a city with a current
unemployment rate of less than 4%. More than 50% of young African-American
males in the EC have been involved with the criminal justice system.
Project "Restore" focuses on job training in the construction
trades, substance abuse counseling, help with transitional housing, parenting
skills, peer support groups, and as many other services as possible to
aid men in feeling comfortable and competent in their fathering role.
Those participants who successfully complete the 120-day program and show
aptitude and interest are then placed in apprenticeship programs for 4-6
months. In these apprenticeship programs the participants begin to specialize
in a particular construction trade such as electrician, plumber, carpenter,
or painter etc.
All of the participants join Project "Restore" while they are
incarcerated. All participants have a court order releasing them from
the detention center each morning and returning them each evening. The
participants also have orders releasing them from detention on Saturdays
to attend on-the-job training classes. All of their wages (stipends) while
they are in the detention center minus money for canteen & food (lunches/dinners)
is sent to the court to pay their current child support and to lower their
arrearages. This is the only program of its kind in South Carolina.
One of the unique aspects of Project "Restore" is the formation
of a partnership consisting of the lead executives from the various agencies
involved in the lives of the men. This includes the Administrative Judge
of the Ninth Circuit Family Court, the Director of Case Management at
the Department of Social Services (DSS), a prosecuting attorney from the
Child Protective Services component of DSS, the Administrator of the Charleston
County Detention Center, the Assistant Sheriff and the Director of Project
"Restore". This partnership meets monthly, first Tuesday, to
keep current on the progress of the project and to solve any problems
that might have arisen during the month. Each of the partners are also
available to each other during the month if issues arise that cannot wait
for the monthly meeting. The partnership has made it possible to successfully
manage a program of this complexity. The family court system has demonstrated
its support for Project "Restore" by agreeing to release from
detention the men who have completed the 120-day program to the satisfaction
of Project "Restore" staff regardless of the amount of time
remaining on their sentences. The same court order mandates their continued
participation in the evening and Saturday classes until the end of their
normal date of release.
A for profit participant-owned construction company (Peithos) has been
formed that will eventually be managed and is currently staffed by the
graduates. The construction company is currently demolishing and/or renovating
houses for the City of Charleston and the P.A.S.T.O.R.S., Inc. organization.
Through the P.A.S.T.O.R.S., Inc. organization, the City has supplied an
opportunity for Project "Restore" participants and Peithos to
work in various disciplines on 60 houses. Because Project "Restore"
is a training facility, it is able to take advantage of "sole sourcing"
and does not need to participate in the City's or the Federal (HUD) bidding
process for new housing construction and renovation using government dollars.
The formation of the construction company and the job skills component
of Project "Restore" had been supported by two grants. Project
"Restore" received funding from the Department of Labor's Welfare
to Work (WtW) Program. This grant funded a wage ($7.00 an hour) for the
men while they are participating in this 16-week program. It also paid
a portion of staff costs, rent, supplies, and most of the construction
training costs. Project Restore" was also funded through a Job Opportunities
for Low Income Individuals (JOLI) grant from the Department of Health
and Human Services. The purpose of this grant was to create jobs in low-income
areas. The construction company (Peithos Construction Company) was formed
through funding from this grant. During their initial 120 days of training,
all of the participants in Project "Restore" were employed by
this construction company. The President of Peithos Construction Company
is also the construction-training supervisor for Project "Restore".
At the end of the 120-day training period, the construction supervisor
hired the men to work for Peithos Construction Company, placed them with
another company or arranged for them to receive additional training through
our "On the Job Training program". The funding for this program
comes through a grant from the South Carolina Center Fathers & Family.
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