The Rising Star Career Readiness Program:
This is an education and career readiness program that facilitates self-sufficiency for our moms and their families. The Rising Star program is unique in that it fills a service gap. Most employment programs focus on teaching job skills. But, as studies by Home for the Homeless and the Institute for Children and Poverty have shown, the homeless and near-homeless clients New Moms serve need to become “job-ready” before they can benefit from job training. New Moms’ career program starts with crucial pre-training components, including life skills counseling and assessments of vocational interests and aptitudes, and then moves to job skills, career placement, and job retention.
When our moms come into the program, most are operating at a fourth grade level of education. We provide an intensive range of services that include:
- Individualized career and aptitude assessments: Participants complete a “Discovery Process” that includes individualized aptitude and interest assessments. These assessments include the Adult Basic Education Exam (TABE), which determines at what grade level a participant is functioning, as well as Career Direct personality and interest assessments. The results are used to formulate a detailed education/career plan that is a personal “step ladder” approach to ensuring that each participant builds a record of success in creating forward momentum on her efforts to achieve self-sufficiency.
- Weekly classes focusing on education re-entry, career readiness, and personal development: New Moms offers classes daily on life skills topics (parenting education, nutrition planning, budgeting, and other practical living skills) as well as career-oriented topics (career planning, educational options, job shadowing, interviewing techniques, resume preparation, etc.) Once a week, there is a career outing to a job site where the clients have the opportunity to learn more about their options and the skill sets/preparation needed to achieve success.
- Tutoring/open computer lab: Study Hall times are available in a computer lab where participants can learn how to use computers, take computerized practice GED tests, conduct education and career research on the Internet, write a resume, and learn interviewing techniques during one-on-one time with New Moms’ staff and volunteers.
- Finishing Academy: The week-long Academy is held three times annually for clients who are ready to begin employment. This is an intensive effort to instill in participants work values and a clear understanding of basic job expectations held by employers that can lead to long-term career success. At the conclusion of Finishing Academy, participants are slotted into paid internships designed by Rising Star staff as mentoring opportunities in the career field the participant is pursuing. Internships are four months in duration, include paid child care, and meet welfare reform work activity requirements.
In 2005, Rising Star served 58 moms with 24 completing the Finishing Academy and securing a paid work internship with a phenomenal job retention rate of 65%! In addition, 32 moms were enrolled in or graduated from school, a GED program, or vocational training.
