Center for Urban Research Education and TRAINING

Adult Education: Literacy & Numeracy, Digital Literacy to Employment, preparing adults and youth (aged 18+), enhancing reading, writing, speaking, digital skills to complete high school, continuing education programs, making transition to college, to access opportunities, mentoring, to enter the workforce, vocations/trades/job-training programs. Our education focus is to help participants and their families to access opportunities for Certification programs, culminating with qualifications to enter various vocations. We conduct research/evaluations to help inform our decision-making processes and to inform decisions about growth and developments, helping to understand the needs of individuals, adults, families, children and youth, and the broader community; we identify solutions to the many issues/concerns, and promote education as the key to self-empowerment. Our programs and services address the many educational deficits and gaps in services, in families, and in the community. Also, services and programs help participants see their way out of poverty, improve the quality of their lives, education mobility, adding to economic growth of the city of Hartford. Year-round program is designed for Youth and Young Adults (ages 18-26) for those who leave school prematurely and are experiencing hardships with respect to employment and other aspects of their lives. The programmatic activities also include youth development and leadership training, and includes academic tutoring, mentoring and engages individually/groups in workshops. This program runs from September through June.

Citizenship/Civic Engagement Education are core pieces of CURET's programs/services. CURET prepares legal/permanent resident immigrants to become naturalized citizens of the USA. Classes include less modules on U.S. history and government, rights and responsibilities as citizens; the Naturalization process; orientation to the U. S. culture; civic and U. S. institutions; how to become civically engaged, voting, assemblies with elected officials and policy makers; plus other features. Classes and workshops are convened in 10-weekcivic Education Workshops assist more than 400 participants annually, helping them to become U.S. citizens they register to vote and actually vote in local and national elections., And CURET focuses on Youth Development, Leadership whereby young people are taught the value of civic responsibilities, volunteering, giving back, and other community engagements.

Year-round Academic Tutoring/Mentoring/Enrichment for school-aged children and youth; convening workshops, forum, youth leadership; health and nutrition, financial literacy. CURET is a frontline agency that provides wraparound case management services without which many clients struggle to overcome the challenges/barriers/hurdles they face daily, including responsibilities of families, unemployment, underemployment and self-doubt. Under the weight of these conditions may tend to give up on their education when they face the barriers/challenges that are connected with illiteracy/poor literacy/inferior education. Many are unable to fill out job applications or how o market their skills and talents. Besides, many parents are not involved with their children's school experiences or understand the educational processes. The vast number of clients is in need of wraparound case management services to help them navigate and access services in the community, particularly social service agencies. While we get involved in advocacy, we also help in enhancing their self-efficacy skills and self-advocacy after we show them "the ropes" enabling clients to advocate for themselves/their families. Our wraparound case management services are huge and ongoing, particularly for immigrants who are new arrivals to the city of Hartford and do not understand the systems. We convene workshops/forums/conferences, and we address/assist residents with the unmet needs of the under-represented, hard-to-reach residents. Also, our program provides socio-emotional, psychosocial supports: Children and families in the throes of stressors and conflicts are connected to resources and supports as their personal needs and circumstances dictate. During this time coping with the Covid-19 Pandemic, there is a heightened need for supports as children, youth, young adults, and families are finding enormous challenges in various aspects of their lives. Our program includes credentialed licensed clinical social worker has MSW degree, LCSW, and expertise in case management. The clinical social worker assesses strengths and needs including but not limited to matters such as: socio-emotional challenges, behavioral distresses and makes connections with appropriate community and social service and family-oriented entities; and financial resources. In delivering services, we become aware of the need for socio-cultural-emotional supports; academic weaknesses and gaps--needing remediation and socio-cultural-emotional supports.

Expense associated with CURET's communication strategies. Through these strategies CURET reaches out to the community and recruits participants for CURET's programs and services. CURET has a constant inflow of participants for language arts literacy and digital literacy and math, preparing participants to complete their high school diploma and continued education, to become employable and enter the workforce, changing the trajectory of their lives and that of their families for the better.