Bowery Mission for the Homeless, the N.Y.C.-Vocational Training Center, the South Forty Corporation, the Nova Ancora Vocational Training and Employment Program and the Lehigh Safety Shoe Co.

The project is described as follows. Nova Ancora would refer pre-screened, drug free, motivated probationers to the N.Y.C.-V.T.C. for acceptance into their alternative high school which provides on-site vocational training combined with academic instruction. If accepted, the probationers/students would be sent to the Bowery Mission for the homeless where they would help renovate two floors of the Bowery Mission, while being instructed and mentored (in the building trades) by skilled instructors/teachers from the Board of Education's N.Y.C.-V.T.C. (for approximately 3 1/2 hours per day). Following the "construction work" part of the day, the probationers/students would receive academic instruction, leading to their High School Diploma (for 1 1/2 hours per day). The students would receive free carfare, lunch and a daily stipend.

Upon completion of the renovation of the Bowery Mission, program graduates would be serviced by the South Forty Corporation, which would provide job placement and career counseling. The Lehigh Safety Shoe Corporation would donate free pairs of safety shoes in order to support the P.E.P. and it's participants. Nova Ancora, in addition to prescreening, drug testing and referring qualified probationers would provide expeditious follow-up and support services for the program's participants and the service providers. Additionally, Nova Ancora would direct and promote a smooth working relationship among the various service providers and oversee a smooth transition between the programmatic stages.

As of the writing of this report (March 1998) probationers are currently successfully participating in the renovation of the Bowery Mission and are receiving academic instruction. All students have received free safety shoes as donated by the Lehigh Safety Shoe Company. Significantly, the probationers have not been rearrested to date.

##### The Restitution Collection Project (R.C.P.)

A new initiative which is managed by Nova Ancora, is the Restitution Collection Project in collaboration with Wildcat Service Corporation. Probationers who have been "promised" a probation sentence with restitution as a "special condition" of probation are referred for pre-screening for subsidized employment, to the Wildcat Service Corporation. If accepted by "Wildcat", probation officers recommend participation in the Restitution Collection Project (R.C.P.) as an additional "special condition", in the pre-sentence investigation report that is submitted to the court at time of the sentencing of the defendant. If the pre-screened, drug free, probationer is sentenced to probation with restitution and cooperative participation in the R.C.P. as "special conditions", the probationer is referred to the Wildcat Service Corporation, via Nova Ancora for subsidized job placement.

The significant aspects of R.C.P. are that an unemployed probationer receives a job and the victim in the case is paid restitution with 10% of the probationer's salary. Essentially, the victim receives $72.00 per month if the probationer, who earns $180.25 per week, gross salary, works the full work week. The probationer also receives one week of life skills/pre-employment training prior to job placement.