David Brand
Gothamist
October 21, 2024

A $300 million initiative that combined job training with anti-violence campaigns was shut down earlier this year because New York City officials say they don’t know how many people participated or found work thanks to the program. …

… But gauging the program’s overall effectiveness is not possible, according to City Hall. DYCD commissioned a $260,000 assessment by researchers from John Jay College. The report authors praised the wages, skills training and social benefits for participants. But the report determined city agencies and BlocPower never set measurements to determine if the program was working — or what success actually meant.

“I was a big fan of this initiative, and it’s just a shame that it wasn’t done in a way that would be sustainable,” said Jeffrey Butts, director of the Research and Evaluation Center at John Jay College, and a coauthor of the report.

Butts said the program was oversold as a way to reduce violent crime by putting low-income New Yorkers on career tracks after just a few months of training.

“They could have said, ‘Let’s see if delivering these intensive services and supports will result in meaningful, measurable changes in someone’s readiness for employment,’” Butts said. “Just do that. Just focus on one aspect of the program instead of trying to do everything at the same time.” …

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