[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 120 (Thursday, September 11, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1745-E1748]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               FOXBORO SUMMER PROGRAM DOES FIRST RATE JOB

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARNEY FRANK

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 11, 1997

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, during the congressional 
recess I visited a work site in the town of Foxboro MA where

[[Page E1746]]

the town human services program was employing young people through the 
JTPA program. The material I have included here describes the program. 
This was a chance for young people from the town to get a variety of 
work experiences in both profit and nonprofit entities. I visited an 
elderly center where I was delighted to see the young people and the 
older citizens who were using the center interacting in a very positive 
way. This is an excellent example of a creative use of Federal programs 
in a way that benefits both the direct participants, and other citizens 
who gain from their work. I believe that examples such as this of a 
good use of Federal programs are very instructive and I therefore ask 
that this material be printed here so that others may benefit from the 
experience of this first rate program in Foxboro.

               [From the Foxboro Reporter, July 24, 1997]

       Work it out: Youth program is now offering job experience

                         (By James Loewenstein)

       Several town departments and local agencies are getting 
     some helping hands from Foxboro teenagers this summer.
       The youngsters are waxing fire engines for the fire 
     department, answering phones for Foxboro Human Services, and 
     serving as aides at a day care center at St. Mark's Church. 
     Others are doing gardening at the Doolittle Home or helping 
     clean out storage rooms at the Council on Aging.
       The 20 teenagers who are helping out are learning job 
     skills and collecting a government-funded paycheck under the 
     Foxboro Human Services' newly revamped summer youth program.
       While the program has existed in Foxboro for 11 years, this 
     is the first year that participants have had to work at a job 
     site, according to Valerie McKenney, executive director of 
     both the program and Foxboro Human Services.
       ``The program is radically different from before,'' said 
     Bill Breen, one of the staff members who run the program.
       Students spend 2\1/2\ hours in the morning at their job 
     site, and another 2\1/2\ hours in the afternoon at the Ahern 
     Middle School where they learn math and reading and are 
     coached on ways to improve their job performance, said Breen, 
     who teaches the students job and career skills.
       The students are ``at-risk kids,'' said Breen, who works 
     during the school year as a Spanish teacher in Taunton.
       ``We want them to stay in high school and give them good 
     work habits,'' he said.
       In the past, the students spent more time in class. 
     However, the federal government, which funds the program, 
     required that it be changed, said Breen's wife, Rosanne, who 
     directs the program in Foxboro.
       ``They wanted the kids to do work and see what it's like,'' 
     said Bill Breen.
       Students are still paid for their efforts, earning $131 a 
     week, said Rosanne Breen. Those funds ultimately come from 
     the federal government, said McKenney.
       Now that the program includes a work component, the 
     students ``feel like they are earning their money,'' said 
     Donna Breen.
       The students are in the 8th, 9th, or 10th grades, said Bill 
     Breen, adding that this is typically their first job 
     experience.
       As part of their afternoon session, the students are given 
     coaching on good job habits and social skills on the job, 
     Rosanne Breen said.
       Some students in the program say it keeps them occupied and 
     out of trouble.
       ``If I have nothing to do [during the summer], I always get 
     yelled at,'' said Kevin Thomas, an eighth-grader.
       Students say the program has also taught them good work 
     habits.
       Mike Robitaille, a ninth-grader, said he has learned ``to 
     be respectful to people you're working for.''
       And Lisa Kinney, an eighth-grader, said she has learned the 
     importance of getting to work on time.
       The five-week program is funded by a $10,600 grant under 
     the Job Training Partnership Act, said Bill Breen.
       While the revamped program has been in effect in Foxboro 
     only since July 14, ``It seems to be working out really 
     well,'' said Bill Breen. ``Their employers have been very 
     happy with what's going on,'' he said.
       ``A lot of the jobs are things the staff can't get to 
     during the course of the year,'' he said. And some jobs, such 
     as answering phones, ``frees up staff [in the host 
     departments or agencies] to do other things,'' he said.
       McKenney said she is disappointed that due to the on-the 
     job component there is not enough time to offer as many 
     classes for the students as in the past.
       ``It was an important part of the program,'' she said.
                                                                    ____


                                    Foxborough Human Services,

                                                   Foxborough, MA.
       The Foxboro Co., Personnel Department, Mail Room, Cocasset 
     Copy Center, Blueprint Copy Room.
       Kennedy Donovan Kiddie Kare, Inc.
       Foxboro School Department, John J. Ahern Middle School, 
     Vincent M. Igo Elementary School, Foxboro High School.
       Each job site supervisor was asked to fill out a work 
     progress report for each participant that had worked at the 
     site. All were very pleased with the work done by the 
     participants and asked to be included in next year's summer 
     programs.
       This year we stressed the following SCANS: Working on 
     teams, Teaching others, Serving customers, Working well with 
     people, Interpreting and Communicating, Using a Computer to 
     process information, Making good decisions, Allocating Time, 
     Practical application on job site, Integrated learning of 
     arithmetic operations, Reading comprehension using Cloze 
     passages.
       The two person team approach worked well. It gave the 
     participants the security of having a partner who could help 
     them learn the job when they came to the site for the first 
     time. It also was a manageable number of students for the 
     busy job site supervisors to work with. The ``teaching 
     others'' aspect took some stress off of the on site 
     supervisors and helped the participants take on some 
     responsibility of helping their partner learn ``the ropes''. 
     Participants learned many invaluable lessons in serving the 
     customers whether it be the little child in Day Care or the 
     elderly resident at the retirement home. In their journals 
     they shared the lessons they learned. One is that it is not 
     always easy to work well with people. It takes patience and 
     understanding to accomplish this consistently. The journal 
     writing was used as a way for the participants to reflect on 
     their morning's experience and discover what they learned and 
     what advice they would give another participant who would 
     work at the site. Using computers helped those students with 
     communication deficits overcome them to relate their thoughts 
     and ideas without concerns about the tedious writing process. 
     The Career Exploration session provided a platform to explore 
     the world of work and discuss good job skills and habits. For 
     many participants this was their first experience of 
     receiving a substantial paycheck. The managing and budgeting 
     money gave them insight about the need for sensible money 
     management. The Career Opportunities Preference test that was 
     given at the orientation was followed up during the summer 
     program with locating, understanding and interpreting of 
     information and documents regarding careers and jobs. In 
     order to prepare participants for their jobs in the world of 
     work proper interview skills were practiced in simulated 
     interviews. The remedial Math/Reading session kept the 
     participant's skills sharp so that transition from summer 
     break back to school would be smooth and successful.
       There were many positive results from this summer program. 
     Several participants stated they wanted to go back to a job 
     site during the year and volunteer their services. 
     Participants grew in self confidence and self esteem taking 
     pride in the work they had done. This made them feel 
     confident and competent. The group seem to grow together as a 
     result of having experienced success at the same job sites. 
     Members could see their strengths and other's strengths 
     working in various jobs. As the summer progressed 
     participants became not only aware of intergenerational 
     differences but also their similarities. They came to 
     genuinely care about the people they served. Finally there 
     was created a bond of service to the community in which the 
     participants learned about how they can help make their town 
     a little better place and the community learned that young 
     people even at this early age can contribute in positive ways 
     by helping the community.
       Janet Pineault did her customary excellent job with 
     recruitment. We came to realize that the 14-15 year old age 
     group was perfect for what we were trying to teach on the job 
     site and in the classroom.
       Our liaison Steve Rizzo did a superb job in supporting the 
     program, its participants, and the director in many and 
     various ways that helped make this a very successful summer. 
     He was able to make himself so available that the 
     participants came to think of him as a part of the Foxboro 
     Summer Youth Program.
       It has been a very busy summer, one in which all worked 
     hard and felt a real sense of accomplishment. The low 
     absentee rate attested to the participants' enthusiasm for 
     the program. The sense that this was a job seemed more 
     apparent to all and it is hoped that this experience will be 
     of value when these participants enter the world of work. It 
     was a great pleasure to continue to serve the youth of 
     Foxborough and we look forward to working with Metro once 
     again next year.
           Best Regards,
                                                 Rosanne M. Breen,
                                                 Program Director.

     
                                                                    ____
  The following are excerpts from the journals of 12 participants in 
the program.


                            July 14-18, 1997

       I am working at the Council on Aging building. I moved 
     heavy boxes. Mary is a lady that works at the Council on 
     Aging building. She is very nice. I also put hard plastic 
     cups away. Before and after I work I write down the time on a 
     daily time card that I come in and when I leave. There was a 
     tin of tasty cookies on a table. I moved a heavy copier that 
     was on wheels. I did some tiresome but easy sorting of 
     papers. After I did that I taped paper and stuff together. I 
     took a few breaks so I didn't get too tired. All the people 
     there are nice to me. I moved boxes of light wicker baskets. 
     I like working

[[Page E1747]]

     there!! It's fun. I like working because now I can make a 
     difference.


                            July 21-August 5

       I've started working at the Igo school moving boxes to 
     different floors. I got a little tired. The best thing to do 
     when you get tired is to take it easy don't rush to get 
     things done. Work may be fun one day and dull the next but if 
     you work the time will pass more quickly. I rummaged through 
     boxes looking for books and other school supplies. Then I 
     went in the elevator to get empty boxes to throw away on 
     different floors. I can't wait to work again. I'm learning so 
     much. Some times it's easy but not boring. Now I know how 
     much work goes into cleaning schools. I used a vacuum to 
     clean the rugs in the class room. By the time I got to the 
     last class the vacuum broke down so I had to find a better 
     one. If you're not sure what to do next or how to do 
     something you should ask someone.


                             August 6, 1997

       I work at a food stand this week and next. I moved big 
     watermelons and left them on a table. Then I took bags of 
     corn and propped them against the same table. One lady came 
     over and said she wanted to buy some corn so I put some corn 
     in a bag for her. You have to be careful not to hurt yourself 
     when you move some thing. Then I picked cucumbers. It is 
     easy. When picking cucumbers make sure they're ready to be 
     picked.


                             July 30, 1997

       Today at the Human Services Valerie told me to sort out 
     forms and then copy numbers from the forms onto a piece of 
     paper. During the job I found a couple mistakes. That was 
     cool. I answered phones and they all said I was really 
     professional how I did it and that I am a natural and that I 
     would be a really good secretary. One person called and asked 
     for Lorraine Garland. Because I worked with her last week I 
     knew that she worked at the Council on Aging when I looked up 
     in the rolodex the phone number there and asked Barbara and 
     Valerie and they were both very impressed that was probably 
     the best part of the day for me. It got a little busy in 
     there today but I could handle it. Today I liked the job. It 
     wasn't bad at all.


                             July 31, 1997

       Today at the Human Services I started by stamping booklets. 
     When I finished that I copied License numbers and Social 
     Security numbers onto a piece of paper. It was--well what can 
     I say--OK. When I was finished Valerie had no more projects 
     for me to do. So she suggested for me to read the Foxboro 
     Reporter in between calls.


                             July 25, 1997

       Today I worked at the other side of Foxboro Human Services. 
     I helped crystal put papers into folders and label them. It 
     was a slow and boring day for me. Also today the day care 
     side of Foxboro Human Services was not open. They had the day 
     off so there was not much to do today. It was easy. We also 
     had a break for 15 minutes. Over all the two weeks I've been 
     here I enjoyed this experience because I liked the people I 
     worked with and the job that I did. One part I didn't like 
     doing was answering the phones because they hardly ever rang. 
     I learned that when I look for a job that I should get one 
     that involves working with people because I like working with 
     people and not things. If you are working on the day care 
     side of the Foxboro Human Services you should act polite to 
     the seniors and they will appreciate you. If you are on the 
     opposite side then do all your work and don't make any messes 
     and ask your supervisor if they have any jobs's for you to do 
     and also be polite to everyone there.


                             July 25, 1997

       Today I walked to the Day Care. The children had popcorn 
     for snack and I poured the children some juice. I work with 
     the little children. They played while other children did a 
     craft. The craft was to write how old they were. Then they 
     colored in the parts of the flower and glued the piece to the 
     yellow paper. After that when the children left the room I 
     started to clean the tables. Then I went to the movie room 
     and watched Bambi. One child had to go to the bathroom, but I 
     know he was wearing a diaper because he had bottom overalls 
     and I was right. I learned a lot this week in this Day Care. 
     How they get the toys for the children to play with? The toy 
     are donations or raised money. If I could give advice to 
     someone who would take my place I would tell them the 
     children's names and what they would be basically doing at 
     work.


                             July 15, 1997

       The first day we cleaned rooms on the first floor. It 
     wasn't that tiring. When the day started we had to stack 
     containers of water in the shower. That took just about a 
     little more than thirty minutes. The rest of the day we 
     cleaned the building. After that the day was over. It was a 
     very quick and good first day.


                             July 16, 1997

       Today wasn't as fast as the first day. We had to clean the 
     entire 2nd floor. The job took the whole day. Finally at 
     about 10:30 we took our break. Our break lasted fifteen 
     minutes. This day was without doubt a long day.


                             July 17, 1997

       Today was the most exciting day so far. We had a move a 
     room downstairs to an empty room on the third floor. We were 
     able to use the elevators again. It was fun to move all the 
     furniture, because I got to ride the cart that carries the 
     furniture up. It went by fast for me. I left early today 
     (11:15) to go to the hospital for an appointment.


                             July 22, 1997

       Today at the Doolittle home I learned the correct way to 
     file folders of the people that live at the home. I played 
     catch with some people there. I think that the skills that I 
     learned this summer will help me better understand what older 
     people do in a nursing home. It was fun. I wish I could stay 
     there for the rest of the weeks of the program.


                             July 23, 1997

       Today was my last day at the Doolittle Home. We did small 
     chores for an hour but then there was nothing else to do. We 
     watched The Rosie O'Donnell for a half an hour. My advice is 
     to have fun because it is a blast. I wish that I was staying 
     there for the rest of the program. The people I met there 
     helped me and I appreciate it.


                             July 25, 1997

       Today at the produce stand we picked the beans and other 
     veggies for an hour. Then we put out two bags of corn. After 
     we did that we sat for a half hour. Today we learned how to 
     pick plants the right way. It wasn't as bad as yesterday. 
     Yesterday it was 95 degrees out and we were out in the field 
     for the whole time we were there. Mr. Breen came to video 
     tape us. It was very weird having someone tape us. I love the 
     outdoors, so I like my job site now. The difference between 
     this job and the Doolittle is at the Doolittle it was mostly 
     having to help and entertain people. At the produce stand we 
     just pick and put out veggies.


                             July 29, 1997

       They sent me upstairs at the Doolittle and I went to the 
     second floor. I was upstairs where the nurses and residents 
     are. We spent some time talking to the older people. We went 
     to visit the residents when the fire alarm went off and 
     scared some of the people. We told them not to be scared 
     because there were people there working on the wires.


                             July 22, 1997

       Today in Kindergarten Donovan Kiddy Kare I worked with the 
     other group of kids who are in pre-kindergarten. First thing 
     in the morning I prepared their snacks. After I made their 
     snacks I cleaned the tables with bleach. Then I swept the 
     floor. After that we all went outside to play. First I played 
     monster and all the kids wanted to eat me. Then, after I 
     pushed some of the kids on the swings, the kids were happy. 
     They were saying that I was the greatest. Then after being 
     outside for a half of an hour we went inside to watch a 
     movie, but I had to go home so I only got to see half an hour 
     of the movie. I really like this job but I feel bad because 
     this is my last week. I had a real good time, I really liked 
     working with the kids at Kiddie Kare. Who knows it could turn 
     out to be one of my goals. I really enjoyed this job and I 
     had a lot of fun.


                             July 25, 1997

       Today at the Kennedy Kiddy Kare as soon as I got there and 
     all the kids were eating popcorn already. After that Kristen 
     sent the kids to play a game called rainy. Rainy is a day 
     that they all went to the bathroom then they would go up to 
     the calendar to say all the days of the month and to figure 
     out the date and the weather. Today was my last day at the 
     Day Care center, I felt very sad that I had to leave. After 
     the summer is over, I will probably get an application to get 
     a job at the daycare after school. Working at the day care 
     was a good experience for me. I learned a lot of stuff about 
     being a teacher

[[Page E1748]]

     and I also remembered about my childhood. Next week I will 
     start working at the fire department. Let's see if I like it 
     as much as I liked the day care. I consider myself like a 
     person who feels comfortable working with kids. They make me 
     happy even if I am having a bad day. I wouldn't like to work 
     at a fire department, but, then again, I would like to 
     experience what it is like working at a fire department.


                             July 25, 1997

       Today when I arrived at the Fire Dept. I went to the 
     chief's office and went through all his paper work. I threw 
     away what he didn't want and put the rest in order. Mr. Haley 
     was the fireman that told us what jobs to do and also what 
     not to do. Mr. Haley went out on a fire call. One thing that 
     you should always keep in mind is you should always be 
     willing to work even if you don't like it. You can't be shy 
     in this line of work. People always enjoy having you around 
     if you're friendly. You can do stuff on your own and do your 
     very best in every thing you do. The fire station is my 
     favorite job.


                             July 18, 1997

       Today we went back over our work and scraped the glue off 
     the tables on the third floor. While we worked we listened to 
     music and I was entertained by the boys dancing while we all 
     worked. We didn't take many breaks although we were told to 
     slow down many times. We finished early but went over our 
     work. We all worked hard and put our best effort into our 
     job. One thing I think I need to learn is how to keep a slow 
     pace and not work myself too hard.


                             July 25, 1997

       Today it rained so we worked under the tent. We helped 
     unload the van and we helped open the stand. If it is rainy 
     weather when you're working, bring a jacket. I was extremely 
     cold and frozen. It was busy as far as the number of people 
     who came to buy produce. We saw deer and other birds. I was 
     relieved when it rained. I like to work with people but 
     working at the farm stand is something I don't want to do 
     again.