Evelyn K. Davis Center for

Working Families“Bringing the pieces together to support successful employee development resulting in family-sustaining wages.”

The VisionA workforce initiative establishing a dedicated center focused on helping people achieve employment by building skills through on-the-job training programs supported by comprehensive assessment and building skills

Evelyn K. DavisCommunity Leader and Activist

1921-2001

Coalition of the Willing/People

• Like a Phoenix the momentum for this project raised from the ashes of CIETC

• Barry Griswell, CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines lead the charge

Coalition of the Willing/People cont.

Annie E. Casey Foundation

United Way of Central Iowa

Greater Des Moines Partnership

City of Des Moines

Neighborhood Associations

Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines

Des Moines Area Community College

Des Moines Public School System

Community Based Organizations

Coalition of the Willing• Meeting monthly since October, 2010• Listening and paying attention to everyone’s needs• Nearly 200 hundred meetings and conference calls• Six different subcommittees• Over a hundred people with input• Over 4400 volunteer hours in the planning and

implementation

Program• Responses from the community stated there was a need for a

grocery store in the area and education/workforce center• We had a $1.5m commitment from City of Des Moines,

$600,000 from Community Foundation, $1.5m renovation from DMACC

• United Way of Central Iowa allowed us to utilize the ETO software. This has allowed us to slowly integrate the data into one software collection system

Program• Aligned with nationally recognized Center for

Working Families Model• Designed with Community and CBO input• Full access to and bundling of supports

including:– Support Services– Education and Training– Employment Opportunity

Program

• We wanted workforce, education and training being the focus points of entry into this model.

• We have started to incorporate Financial literacy to complete the bundling of services offered to our customers

Partnerships• United Way of Central Iowa increasing

commitment• Central Iowa Works provided some of the

intangibles• CBO’s had a choice to be onsite or external• With the multiple subcommittee's we worked out

problems along the way

Partnerships• Goodwill Industries of

Central Iowa• Iowans for Social and

Economic Development• Urban Dreams• Creative Visions• United Way of Central Iowa• Neighborhood Associations

• Iowa Legal Aid• Drake Adult Literacy• Spectrum Resources• Primary Health Care• DMACC• Optimae Lifeservices• Proteus,Inc

List continues to grow!

Community and Workforce Partnerships

EducationBasic Skills LiteracyCollege ConnectionGateway to CollegeYouth BuildAdult Basic EducationPost-Secondary Education

EmploymentJob DevelopmentPlacement SupportCentral Iowa Works Workforce Training AcademyProject IowaCorporate Engagement

Support ServicesAccess to Public BenefitsFinancial Literacy and Asset BuildingIncome and Work SupportsTuition AssistanceVita Services

Anticipated Outcomes• Assist those with barriers to employment• Increase completion of education • More families achieving self sufficiency and stable

finances• Increased skill level for the workforce• Greater collaboration amongst CBO’s and agencies,

Corporations, Community College• Earn and Learn Program

People• We need staff with multi-skill capability• We have hired staff who were already trained

in either workforce or financial literacy• The college has leveraged more of its

departments to help serve the Center and establish the model within the college

People• We are still merging cultures and integrating

services• We have multiple groups working together for

the first time in a truly collaborative effort, so there has been a learning curve

• We have been breaking down the silo mentality

• We provide services all under the umbrella of the Evelyn K. Davis Center for Working Families

OUTCOMES

• We had nearly 5,000 people come to the Center in it’s first year of operation

• We impacted 988 people overall with our workforce efforts through placements, training, and navigation

• We helped over 1,000 people improve their overall education

• Generated over 1,500 referrals to our partners for support services

Contact Information• For more information contact:

– Marvin DeJear– Director– (515) 697-7700 – mdejear@evelynkdaviscenter.org