Thirteen teams of Clinton School students will complete public service projects in partnership with public agencies, community initiatives, academic ventures and nonprofit organizations across Arkansas during the 2012-2013 academic year.
As part of the school’s Master of Public Service degree program, the students will earn academic credit for their work on the projects, which include efforts to fight poverty, improve the lives of veterans, support individuals with disabilities and their families, increase access to legal services, reduce the rate of recidivism and provide health services to underserved populations, among others.
Organizations partnering with the Clinton School on the projects are located throughout Arkansas including two in the Delta region, one in southwest Arkansas, five in Central Arkansas and five statewide projects.
The projects are part of the Clinton School’s Practicum program, the first of three public service projects completed during the two-year master’s program.
Fifty Clinton School students will participate in the projects during their first year while also completing in-class coursework on topics such as communication, decision-making, ethics, leadership and social change.
2012-2013 Clinton School Practicum Projects:
Studying the Earned Income Tax Credit, an Underutilized Anti-Poverty Tool in Arkansas
Partner Organization: Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (http://www.aradvocates.org/)
Team: John Delurey (Winchester, Mass.), Nate Kennedy (Poplar Bluff, Mo.), Kayla Brooks (Memphis, Tenn.), Nicole Maddox (Pine Bluff, Ark.)
– The Clinton School team will conduct interviews in targeted counties to learn why most low-income families are not claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit in Arkansas. The students will complete a report to help agencies address this issue and increase the use of this anti-poverty tool. Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families proposed this project because they work to promote wide-ranging reforms that improve the lives of Arkansas children and their families.
Highlighting Student Voice in Out-of-Schools Programs
Partner Organization: Arkansas Out of School Network (http://www.aosn.org/)
Team: Andre Breaux (Lafayette, La.), Marisa Nelson (Fort Smith, Ark.), Lauren Remedios (Bangalore, India), Neena Viel (Newburgh, N.Y.)
– The Clinton School team will document and highlight the impact and contributions of youth voice and leadership in afterschool and summer programs by gathering testimonials and developing case studies in five targeted Arkansas communities. The Arkansas Out of School Network will use this information to continue working towards creating safe, healthy and enriching experiences for Arkansas youth during out-of-school times.
Identifying Rural Veteran Health Needs
Partner Organization: ARVets (http://arvets.org/)
Team: Katt Slee (Independence, Mo.), Sara Chapman (Bentonville, Ark.), Lindsay Kuehn (Minneapolis, Minn.), Josh Visnaw (Saginaw, Mich.)
– The Clinton School team will conduct a needs assessment of rural veterans in the categories of behavioral and physical health disparities. ARVets is interested in this information so they can enhance the overall quality of life for military personnel, veterans and their families by improving access to resources and strengthening support systems through all phases of the military life cycle.
Evaluating a New Delta Anti-Poverty Initiative
Partner Organization: Delta Circles Initiative
Team: Matt Orr (Texarkana, Texas), Krystle Chipman (San Jose, Calif.), Kent Broughton (Pine Bluff, Ark.), Calandra Davis (Brandon, Miss.)
– The Clinton School team will organize community conversations on poverty in Philips County and evaluate the challenges and victories of the Delta Circles Initiative. The Delta Circles Initiative is a collaborative effort among several community partners including the Mid Delta Community Consortium, a nonprofit focused on demonstrating the strategies and values of community based public health improvement. The Delta Circles initiative engages and supports families as they collaborate with others in the community to end poverty by examining its impact on themselves and their community.
Researching the Sustainability of School Gardens in Rural Arkansas
Partner Organization: Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Delta Garden Study
Team: Ann Owen (Little Rock, Ark.), Christin Williams (Little Rock, Ark.), Charles Fleeman (Oceanside, Calif.), Jenna Rhodes (Grandview, Mo.)
– The Clinton School team will conduct interviews and focus groups with students, teachers and administrators at two Delta Garden Study intervention schools and work on a comprehensive school garden sustainability manual. The Delta Garden Study is a cooperative project between the USDA Agricultural Research Service and Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute to examine the impact of school gardens on childhood obesity risk factors in middle school youth in the Arkansas Delta.
Exploring the Feasibility of a Central Arkansas Federal Re-Entry Court
Partner Organization: Federal Public Defender Office
Team: Chris Morgan (El Dorado, Ark.), Chet Howland (Asheville, N.C.), Angela Bukenya (Kampala, Uganda)
– The Clinton School team will explore the feasibility of a federal re-entry court in Central Arkansas that would provide support to individuals leaving the federal prison system and re-entering the community after serving their sentence. The Federal Public Defender Office represents people who are charged in federal court with committing federal offenses and is invested in breaking the cycle of recidivism.
Improving Awareness, Customer Base, Support and Revenue for a Social Enterprise Focused on Employing Adults with Developmental Disabilities
Partner Organization: Group Living (http://www.groupliving.org/)
Team: Nick Provencher (Calais, Maine), Aliyah Sarkar (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia), Cathrine Schwader (Rogers, Ark.), Jacob Perry (Fayetteville, Ark.)
– The Clinton School students will develop marketing strategies to increase awareness, customer base, support and revenue for the Honeycomb Restaurant and Bakery. Located in Arkadelphia, Ark., Group Living. Inc. is committed to providing services to people with developmental disabilities. The Honeycomb Restaurant, one of its components, is a social enterprises that provides job training and employment opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities.
Assessing the Civil Legal Service Needs of Low-Income Arkansans
Partner Organization: Legal Aid of Arkansas
Team: Gregg Potter (Lyndon Station, Wis.), Maggie Hobbs (El Dorado, Ark.), Tyler Pearson (Conway, Ark.)
– The Clinton School team will conduct a civil legal needs assessment of low-income Arkansas communities. This work will help determine where limited resources for free civil legal services should be allocated over the next five years. Legal Aid of Arkansas will use this information to work on providing equal access to justice for low-income individuals and communities and solving the conditions that burden and marginalizes them.
Studying Community Re-Entry Support for Ex-Felons
Partner Organization: Lewis-Burnett Employment Finders, Inc. (http://www.lewisb.org/)
Team: Mara D’Amico (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Ashley Jones (Piedmont, S.C.), Sophia Pinakidou (Thessaloniki, Greece), Kathleen Brophy (Elliott City, Md.)
– The Clinton School team will review programs supporting ex-felons in Central Arkansas. The team’s final report will provide information for agencies to gain a more unified overview of the problems of re-entry. Lewis-Burnett Employment Finders is a non-profit organization helping ex-felons obtain full-time employment.
Increasing Community Awareness and Involvement in Adult Illiteracy
Partner Organization: Literacy Action of Central Arkansas (http://www.literacylittlerock.org/)
Team: Emily Wernsdorfer (York, Pa.), Jessica Boyd (Little Rock, Ark), Sean O’Keefe (Seattle, Wash.), Matt Caston (Jackson, Miss.)
– The Clinton School team will research community attitudes on adult illiteracy. They will also develop an awareness and engagement campaign to increase community involvement in the issue in Central Arkansas. Literacy Action of Central Arkansas will use the materials developed to help empower adults through literacy to improve individual quality of life, promote family literacy and encourage participation in community life.
Exploring Adaptive Reuse Options for the Newport Blue Bridge
Partner Organization: City of Newport
Team: Foster Holcomb (Little Rock, Ark.), Abby Olivier (Hattiesburg, Miss.), James Stephens (St. Louis, Mo.)
– The Clinton School team will explore the possible adaptive reuse options of the Blue Bridge, a bridge over the White River built in 1929 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A partnership between the City of Newport, the Newport Economic Development Commission and a number of other community organizations is working on this project to continue to develop Newport and preserve its heritage.
Improving Access to Information and Training for Individuals with Disabilities and their Families
Partner Organization: University of Arkansas – Partners for Inclusive Communities
Co-Sponsored by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Translational Research Institute
Team: Alex Mitchell (Littleton, Colo.), Allie Rouse (Piggott, Ark.), Katie Powell (Jacksonville, Fla.), Immaculee Kayitare (Kigali, Rwanda)
– The Clinton School team will conduct community meetings across the state to research the accessibility of information and training for individuals and families impacted by disabilities. Partners for Inclusive Communities will use this information to continue its work of supporting individuals with disabilities and families of children with disabilities to fully and meaningfully participate in community life, effect systems change, prevent disabilities and promote healthy lifestyles.
Assessing the Health Needs of Individuals Living in the Little Rock 12th Street Corridor
Partner Organization: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences – College of Pharmacy
Co-Sponsored by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Translational Research Institute
Team: Alex Handfinger (Holland, Pa.), Angela Jimenez-Leon (Bogota, Colombia), Danae Halstead (Middletown, N.Y.), Roger Norman (Benton, Ark.)
– The Clinton School team will conduct a community needs assessment and deliver recommendations for programs to be provided at the UAMS 12th Street Health & Wellness Center. UAMS, through its Translational Research Institute and College of Pharmacy, is working to improve the health of the 12th Street corridor by providing student-led inter-professional healthcare services and education.
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