C.A.R.E.—Changing Attitudes, Refocusing Effort

Clint Bryant

A new program of opportunity for youths in the CSRA was unveiled Feb.11 by athletics director Clint Bryant at a meeting in Atlanta of the Augusta commissioners and the district’s legislative delegation. The pilot program joins organized labor, technical colleges, the judicial system, and other youth programs into a new project known as C.A.R.E.—Changing Attitudes, Refocusing Effort.

The organized labor apprentice program provides opportunities for up to 300 participants to attend a technical college for vocational training, while earning $13.75 plus medical benefits while they complete their technical education.

"It's a win-win situation," says Mr. Bryant. "This apprenticeship not only provides the opportunity for an education, it offers a career path as well as provides organized labor with a pool of qualified, skilled workers."

The three-year pilot program will also include support services to assist participants in their studies as well as in obtaining a career following the conclusion of the program. Participants will learn skills in such areas as job interviewing, test-taking, and developing good study habits as well as receive career counseling.

“Not only will there be an increase in the number of graduates with employable skills, there will be an economic benefit,” says Bryant, “as these workers earn higher paying jobs and reinvest the money into the community. There should also be a corresponding decrease in community violence committed by young people as well as a reduction in the recidivism rate,” he adds.

The program also includes an outcomes assessment so its success can be measured.

The new project met with support from members of the Augusta Richmond County Commission and Richmond County legislative delegation. Later in the day, Bryant repeated his presentation to a group gathered at the state Attorney General’s office, which included representatives of the attorney general’s staff, prison officials, and others involved in crime prevention and law enforcement. The project that partners labor unions with educational institutions and community-based organizations has significant promise, says a representative of the Attorney General’s office who sees it as a skills/vocational career model that might be extended to the state and nation. 

“In recent years, more societal attention has been focused on the need for a college education, leaving many youths who do not intend to pursue college without a career plan for the future,” says Bryant. “With the elimination of many vocational programs at high schools, young people don’t know of the options; they find that crime pays much better than minimum wage jobs. That’s why we have the problem we do in Augusta and elsewhere,” he says.

Bryant, in the past year, has focused much attention on the condition of youth violence in the CSRA, drawing attention to the increase in gang activity and the failings of society to provide adequate programs to counter the attraction of gangs.

“Youth programs for high school youths do a great job, but after that, many of these young adults are literally on their own,” Bryant says. "This new focus on vocational and technical training will create a new work force and a new Augusta.

When participants complete the three-year apprenticeship program, they can earn a significant salary in a vocational field. The program is initially set to begin in the fall, although Bryant says it may be January before it gets underway. "Everyone is anxious to see it move forward," he says, but "we only want to do so when we have all the resources in place. We are working with the high schools, vocational schools, youth programs, and technical colleges as well as law enforcement to obtain the participants. Judges can see the potential; they can refer them to this program so they don't have to see them in their courts again.”

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March 2008
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