A&E is a training and employment program that includes five provider organizations offering seven programs covering education and sector-specific work training. The program aims to provide participants with the skills and credentials to secure a job or pursue higher education.

As a CUNY-wide initiative, CUNY Black Male Initiative’s mission is to increase, encourage, and support the inclusion and educational success of students from groups severely underrepresented in higher education, particularly African, African American/Black, Caribbean, and Latino/Hispanic males. CUNY BMI’s vision is to create model programs throughout the University that are intended to provide additional layers of academic and social support for students from populations severely underrepresented in higher education.

The CUNY Fatherhood Academy is a program designed to promote responsible parenting and economic stability for unemployed and underemployed fathers ages 18-30, through education, employment, and personal development. The program offers two tracks: HSE Prep and College Prep.

To learn more about CUNY Fatherhood Academy, visit the CUNY website.

CUNY Fatherhood Academy Evaluation Reports

• The CUNY Fatherhood Academy - 2014
• The CUNY Fatherhood Academy: Findings at a Glance - 2014

DYCD Mentoring is a group mentoring program that engages middle and high school youth who reside in NYCHA communities and surrounding areas. DYCD Mentoring supports youth as they progress through key life and educational transitions. Originally known as the “Cornerstone Mentoring program,” the model aimed to enhance existing services of Cornerstone community centers in New York City Housing Authority developments by connecting volunteer mentors to groups of three to four youth for weekly group mentoring.

Cornerstone Mentoring Evaluation Reports

• Cornerstone Mentoring: Findings at a Glance - 2018
• NYC Opportunity Response to PSA Evaluations of Cornerstone Mentoring - 2018
• Evaluation of the YMI Cornerstone Mentoring Program: Role in Supporting Engagement in School and Learning - 2018
• Evaluation of the YMI Cornerstone Mentoring Program: Strengthening the Mentoring Program - 2018
• Evaluation of the DYCD YMI Cornerstone Mentoring Program - 2014

To connect to a Cornerstone Mentoring program provider, visit the Department of Youth & Community Development (DYCD).

Jobs-Plus is an evidence-based program designed for public housing residents. The Jobs-Plus model has three components: (1) Employment-related services, (2) Strategies for promoting work within the community (“community support for work”), (3) Financial services and incentives to reward work (“make work pay”).

NYC Opportunity launched the first City-funded Jobs-Plus site in East Harlem with its agency partners in 2009. With support from the federal Social Innovation Fund, NYC Opportunity established a second site in the South Bronx and a site in San Antonio, TX. Research on these sites helped inform the federal Jobs-Plus Initiative created by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2014. Since 2009 Jobs-Plus in NYC has grown to 10 sites serving 27 NYCHA developments, largely with the support of city funding through the Young Men’s Initiative.

Jobs-Plus Evaluation Reports

• MDRC Jobs-Plus Infographic - 2016
• The Second Generation of Jobs-Plus Programs: Implementation Lessons from San Antonio and the Bronx - 2015
• The Second Generation of Jobs-Plus Programs: Executive Summary - 2015
• The Second Generation of Jobs-Plus Programs: Findings at a Glance - 2015
• MDRC Policy Brief: Sustained Earnings Gains for Residents in Public Housing Jobs- Program - 2010

For more information visit the website of NYCHA.

For more information on Jobs-Plus research visit the website of MDRC.

Bard Prison Initiative provides tutoring services at Crossroads Juvenile Center, and Children’s Village provides tutoring services at Horizon’s Juvenile Center. Tutoring is offered in person. Each tutoring session lasts an hour, and the tutors work with a set number of students each month. Both vendors collaborate with Passages Academy administrators, social workers, and the Division of Youth and Family Justice's case management team to plan transition for the students in anticipation of students' next steps based on their adjudication status.

An early childhood literacy tutoring and school staff development program that employs an evidence-based curriculum. This program builds schools’ capacity to deliver tutoring services to 1st and 2nd-grade students who struggle with reading. The program provides robust training and ongoing coaching to teachers and school staff to provide one-on-one tutoring that helps students achieve grade-level literacy during the critical early years.

Men Teach provides academic and financial support to participants so they can enter the NYC teaching workforce. Program participants may receive monthly OMNI Cards, free certification exam practice tests, and other financial incentives, as well as access to a dedicated program counselor who will help with advisement and academic supports. Participants also convene for a seminar focused on culturally responsive education.

To learn more about NYC Men Teach, visit the NYC Men Teach webpage.

MBSKYC engages youth ages 16-24, providing opportunities to inform city policies, practices, and DYCD initiatives that impact communities across NYC and the state. The council explores policy issues at both the citywide and local levels, developing a comprehensive civic work plan with community projects, engagement activities, and advocacy efforts.

NeON Works provides youth and young adults with the opportunity to acquire the knowledge, skills, and experience that prepare them for success in the workplace. Participants can access both online and in-person programming. NeON Works is one of the programs offered at NeON sites. The program seeks to create supportive, youth-centered learning environments by implementing a ‘one-size-fits-all' model that prepares young adults for work and cultivates participants’ agency in determining their futures.

Offers photography workshops both in-person and online. Participants receive professional photography training in classes designed to introduce them to the elements and history of photography, as well as a range of technical skills and the art of visual storytelling.

In the pilot-building stage of this program. NYC Men Heal is designed to build a representative behavioral health workforce by recruiting, training and supporting Men of Color. Through scholarships, professional development, and targeted service support, the program strengthens New York City’s provider pipeline while improving access to culturally responsive care for young men and boys of color (YMBOC). By increasing representation and retention, the initiative advances both workforce equity and community mental health outcomes.

PHCE is a paid 10-week internship where participants learn about the public health field and future career options. It was created to address the underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minority groups in healthcare and public health sectors.

Legal providers “Community Service Society” and “Youth Represent” assist clients by pulling their rap sheets, investigating potential errors, and working with the courts and other system stakeholders to make the necessary corrections for individuals, both on probation as well as community residents citywide to educate them on why this is an important issue that impacts their life trajectories; how to speak to prospective employers and others about their criminal histories (or lack thereof), and to clean errors –as identified- on their rap sheets.

The Student Success Centers Program is a multi-agency partnership between NYCPS, the Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity, and the Young Men’s Initiative to develop the next generation of conscious, compassionate, and competent social justice leaders. By harnessing the natural strengths and abilities of young people in our schools, we can build learning communities that value human connections and center students' lived experiences to develop edifying, culturally responsive college-going school cultures that prepare students to enter, persist, and succeed on a postsecondary path of their choice.