Working with the county's probation department, law enforcement officials in Boyle Heights will implement a juvenile re-entry effort. They will first identify youths who are about to be released from detention facilities and pair each youth and his family with case managers in preparation for re-entry into the community. Youths will be connected to a myriad of resources through Youth Opportunity Movement including educational support services, vocational training, employment services, tattoo removal, substance abuse treatment and counseling.The effort will also include a prevention/intervention effort through a partnership with CLEAR, (Community Law Enforcement and Recovery). The goal is to implement strategies to decrease new gang membership in the community, while focusing on re-entry efforts.

Since its inception 15 years ago, the Cleveland Housing Network (CHN), whose mission is to develop affordable housing for Cleveland's neighborhoods, has helped to demystify the buying process, provide information on how to maintain manageable mortgage payments, and direct a "lease-purchase" program that allows low-income renters to pay towards owning an affordable home. Presently, the program, in partnership with Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority and over 23 community development corporations, plans to build, renovate, and sell even more homes to Ohio families making no more than 80% of the state's median income. The network has already built or renovated 1,300 houses since 1989.


The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Internal Revenue Service have partnered to improve the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. VITA, originally designed to help low-income families receive free tax return preparation and information on important tax benefits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit [EITC] and the child tax credit, will now be operational at many major HUD community facilities. Studies indicate that millions of families are eligible for these benefits but are often unaware of their existence and fail to claim them. Officials estimate that this new initiative will help many receive the maximum EITC of $4,300, a substantial sum for those families targeted.

A new outreach program called College Guides will enable new graduates of The University of Virginia to help students in local underprivileged high schools understand the college application process including financial aid. John Casteen III, President of The University of Virginia, expresses his hope that this outreach program "will ensure that qualified students around the state have the opportunity to obtain a college degree."

Government environmental inspectors often fail to catch polluters in the act because they inspect a property at the wrong time. Massachusetts is attempting to get around this problem by adopting a new policy of examining a property at the time when violations are most likely to occur: during rainfall. The state hopes that undertaking enforcement actions during storms will increase the likelihood of catching polluters.

Digital PhishNet is a new consortium of law enforcement agencies, financial services firms, ISPs and IT vendors that seeks to curb e-mail data theft (called phishing). By sending electronic messages from established organizations (particularly banks), such scams attempt to have recipients disclose credit card numbers, addresses and other vital information. This initiative focuses on enforcement activities. Specifically, it will provide law enforcement agencies with critical information and technical back-up needed to track and shut down phishers. It will also investigate legal methods of technology use to close down sites used for attacks.

Health officials from Ohio's Montgomery County want to bring HIV-screening centers to the people. The county's new mobile health van is traveling to low-income minority neighborhoods to provide free tests in the hopes of overcoming the obstacles of inconvenience and expense that prevent many people from being tested. The van also offers screening tests for diabetes, prostate cancer, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. The CDC estimates that Dayton's African-American women, one prime target group of the campaign, are almost 20 times more likely to be infected with HIV than their white counterparts. African-Americans, while representing only 13% of the nationwide population, account for 48% of all reported AIDS cases.


The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has selected the Lehigh County Conference of Churches to administer "Homeless Support Services," a new program that links housing services, job training, treatment referrals, and nutrition counseling for chronically homeless disabled people. Officials estimate that the program's approach to resource integration will help individuals transition smoothly across the spectrum of social services. Homeless people account for only 10% of the disabled population nationally, but use 50% of the assistance funding.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced new steps in measuring and improving errors in Medicare payments made through contractors. Through extensive data usage and monitoring of contractor-specific errors, the CMS is planning reform initiatives that aim to bring the net national error rate to 4 percent (from 9.3 percent in fiscal 2004) over the next four years. These initiatives include corrective action plans that will educate providers about the importance of error-free medical records, targeting of specific high-error zones, and development of "The Medicare Learning Network", a portal for healthcare providers that provides information about Medicare program changes.


Three years after adopting its new philosophy of "triple bottom line", the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry unveiled its first sustainable exhibit called "Innovation Station". Triple bottom line incorporates social and environmental (apart from profit) considerations into all business decisions and informs "purchasing patterns and institutional planning." Innovation Station, built largely from recyclable aluminum and other sustainable materials, embodies this principle. Its frame can be used and reused several times for displays.

Partners Telemedicine, a new Boston-area healthcare program, bridges the digital divide by connecting participating doctors in local area hospitals with doctors and patients in remote areas of Cambodia. Telemedicine provides many ways to educate Cambodians about healthcare. For example, through advances in technology such as solar-powered computers and wireless internet systems, the program allows Boston area doctors the opportunity to view the medical information of Cambodian patients and offer effective feedback about treatment plans.


XCel Energy, the utility company servicing parts of Colorado, recently negotiated with several local environmental organizations to provide pollution reducing programs in order to construct a coal-fired billion dollar plant near the Pueblo area. Local environmentalists initially preferred that XCel utilize renewable energy for the new plant, but agreed to XCel's environmentally-friendly and distinctly comprehensive agreement which includes such programs as cutting amounts of sulfur dioxide emitted from a local plant.

Pioneer Middle School, located in Western New York, is currently implementing a new computer-based technology system called SmartBoard, which is designed to help legally blind students in class. The large white board acts as a desktop computer monitor, but also converts written material to electronic form. Once on the desktop, legally blind students can view, print and convert text. This new technology system allows vision impaired students to keep up with the class by eliminating the need for a reading aide.

This is the final Innovators Insights newsletter for 2004. The next newsletter is scheduled for January 18, 2005.

Each year, the Innovations in American Government Awards Program offers $100,000 grants to five creative and effective government initiatives. To learn more about the Innovations Awards, please visit our website at www.innovationsawards.harvard.edu