The Section 8/Housing Choice Voucher Family Self Sufficiency Program offers 25 participants the opportunity to reduce the dependence of low income families on welfare assistance and assist them in becoming employable.

The program provides linkages to educational and employment services and referrals to other services needed by the family to assist them toward their goal of self-sufficiency. In addition, the program offers a financial incentive to participants.

During the term of the contract and as their income from earnings increases, an amount based on the increased earnings is set aside for the participant tin an escrow account. Finally, upon completing the contract which may take up to 5 years, the funds are distributed to the participant.

During the first quarter of 2003, two family Self-Sufficiency Participants fulfilled their contract obligations and received the money that had accumulated in their escrow accounts. Both participants are employed full time and are now paying for their housing costs on their own. As graduates of the FSS program, the participants received $2,884.00 and $7,941.00 in escrow benefits.

Chautauqua County Head Start recently invited families to “Family Affair” events at First Lutheran Church in Jamestown and St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church in Dunkirk.

This opportunity was presented as a cooperative venture of the Chautauqua County Mentoring Partnership. Compeer, a division of STEL, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Center for Family Unity, and Chautauqua Striders, along with Head Start, invited their families to this special day.

Family Services, Jamestown and Dunkirk Public Schools, Everywoman Opportunity Center, and the YWCA donated their expertise and Head Start provided day care.

Both families and staff expressed pleasure at the opportunity to meet and work with those from other community agencies.

The Foundation’s Plant Community Innovation Fund awarded five Cummins domestic entities $10,000 for projects submitted through the Foundation’s Request for Projects application process.

The area of emphasis identified by the Foundation was early childhood development for children up to 5 years old. The focus of the program is to enhance the skills of the father or the significant male in the child’s life with enhanced literacy and parenting skills.