History of Center of Grace and Truancy Program

Center of Grace began over thirty (30) years ago as a Ministry Program within St. Peter's Sounds of Praise Church in Paterson, NJ. Church volunteers organized this Ministry to address the problems of women incarcerated in the Passaic County Jail and New Jersey State Prisons. They began by visiting the inmates twice a month and served as liasons between the inmates, their families and social service providers.

Center of Grace volunteers also provided the women with care packages containing many of the items that are sold within the prison. They provided support services for the families by soliciting contributions of clothing, food and school supplies from local organizations, church members and the at large community.

Women's Re-Entry Program

As a result of this Ministry, in 2001 Centers of Grace, Director, Ms. Marie Ligon, formally organized the Center of Grace Renewed Life Program as a non-profit organization and obtained the 501(c)(3) tax exempt

status in 2003. Mss. Ligon began to expand the Center of Grace program and services to address the needs of the women who were released from prison, women who were displaced by divorce, abused, or released from rehabilitation programs. Center of Grace also assisted individuals, particularly women who experienced a loss of income either because of unemployment, or discontinuation of local, county of federal benefits. TGhey also provide support services to the families of these women, particularly their children who are greatly impacted by the negative changes in their family status.

Center of Grace Renewed Life Program volunteers mentor the children and actively recruit new mentors from

other City of Paterson faith based and civic/.fraternal organizations.Support services are also provided for

extended family members who have custodial responsibility for the children of incarcerated or absent parents.The critical need is assist with bridging the gap between families and the social and legal service providers and the school system.

Housing has also been a critical for those women/men who are released from prison or rehabilitation programs. The Center of Grace works diligently to assist with these housing needs and has established

an ongoing and positive relationship with various housing providers and rental assistance program providers.

The Center of Grace is in the process of preparing their Strategic Plan to include housing development and/or purchasing houses to meet this critical need for individuals and families.

Paterson, New Jersey

Truancy Prevention Program

The need for a Truancy Prevention Program was determined by the Center of Grace's ongoing interaction with the Paterson School District on behalf of the children of client families and students participating in St.Peter's activities.

A meeting was held with Dr. Joseph Fulmore, Assistant Superintendent of Schools and Mr. Hector Santos, School Student Attendance Director, who both confirmed that School Truancy was indeed a critical issue within the School District.

The School District has agreed to support the involvement of Center of Grace and the Truancy Prevention Program. As a result of a Planning Meeting to discuss student school attendance, these officials decided that the proposed Center of Grace Truancy Prevention Program would be an asset to the District's ongoing school attendance activities.

It was decided that the Truancy Prevention Program would concentrate on the students attending three (3) elementary schools in the 4th Ward. Schools Number 4, 10 and 21 have a high rate of school truancy and tardiness. The District also confirmed that a review of student records indicated that a student's attendance problems began at the Kindergarten level. It was recommended that the Truancy Prevention Program be structured to begin with Kindergarten students who were beginning to exhibit attendance problems. The School District will provide comprehensive support services, technical assistance, a Truant Officer and school Counselor. The Center of Grace will conduct follow-up activities of students and parents who are referred by each school and assist the Truant Officers whenever necessary.

The follow-up activities will include direct contact with the student's family, monitoring the student's attendance, educational progress, providing a mentor and/or after care activities. Center of Grace will identify family needs and issues that impact on the student's behavior and school attendance. Parents will be encouraged to become an active partricipant in their child's education and will be provided with Parenting Skills Training. The School District has agreed to provide parent education courses to help parents understand their responsibility to their child's education and the District's attendance policies.

The New Jersey Office of Faith Based Initiatives (OFBI) and the New Jersey Office of Juvenile Justice have provided the Center of Grace with national model truancy and parenting programs. The Center of Grace chose three (3) models from this group of programs. They are the Parenting Wisely Program, Chronic Truancy Initiativer and Strengthening Families Program. Center of Grace will also work collaboratively with the Paterson Weed and Seed Program, Big Brothers and Big Sisters Program, National Community Service AmeriCorps Program and Passaic County Community College - Community Resources Program.

Marie Ligon - Director

mgodfreyli@aol.com

973-356-220 - Paterson NJ

History of Center of Grace and Truancy Program

Women's Re-Entry Program

Paterson, New Jersey