Best Practices
Juliet Walls
Utilization of Community Resources

An organization must have policies and procedures to run effectively and serve its mission to the community. Training employees and volunteers on policies and procedures is important to keeping the integrity and competency of an organization. How an organization manages the logistics and how the community perceives them is a huge factor in the success and effectiveness of an organization. One of the community organizations that will partner with the new group is Hearts to Nourish Hope. This non-profit organization is extremely vigilant about their process of employment for at-risk youth. All students ages 14-18 must go through a stringent application process including an interview. Once in a position whether it is at the organization itself or community partners, students must fill out daily journals and self-reports on work and the procedures. Hearts to Nourish Hope has a great tracking system for how youth are doing in their jobs with employers’ daily evaluations. Though this is tedious, it allows for the organization to continually check on youth in a holistic manner. Because the summer employment is funded through a federal grant, youth are paid which in turn helps them manage their money and have real world experience. The county’s population has over 80% African American and an article titled “Culturally Competent Collaboration: School Counselor Collaboration with African American Families and Communities” (2010) sheds light on the African American community and the need for family, school, and community partnerships. Because of the deep history of African Americans in the United States, relevant behavior can even be seen in this day and age (Moore-Davis & Day Vines, 2010). With most of the youth a part of Hearts to Nourish primarily African American, this article is relevant to engaging youth and the community. The new organization’s aim is to encourage and help increase the desire for African Americans to engage in post secondary education. The new organization will also find beneficial the best practices followed by the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) organization. The pure fact that this organization already partners with the juvenile court system shows a specific and dignified way to follow procedures and protocols. The first is the initial training those CASA supervisors and volunteers must go through before being sworn in by the court. There is a 30-hour training course and court observations that must be completed. The training includes the history and background of the organization and child abuse, cultural diversity, reporting and gathering information, and other pertinent information on what type of situations one may face with this job or volunteering opportunity. Time is of essence when dealing with children especially in the foster care system. There is a fifteen-month maximum that is wanted on each case and then rights of parents are terminated unless the him/her can show undeniable reasons why rights should not be terminated. Because of this, time management is important to making sure that the organization is effective for all parties involved. Turning in reports, working the specified amount of time on each case is also important and one of the best practices of this organization. The nature of the work of CASA supervisors and volunteers is very sensitive and certain eyes-only information. Maintaining a sense of ethics is important in this group, as would be the new organization. CASA has an ethics policy, but it takes “internal controls must be present to achieve an ethical organizational culture” (Strickland & Vaughn, 2008, p. 233). This article “The Hierarchy of Ethical Values in Nonprofit Organizations” looks at the five levels of ethics for nonprofit organizations that follows Maslow’s theory and five levels. Ultimately satisfying one’s needs is the motivation for one to engage in something, helping youth to reach something otherwise unattainable is important and should be in the motivation and part of the goals of the new organization. CASA deals with the courts, so naturally records are very important. The keeping of records and the way things are recorded make for a great tracking component to the new organization. By partnering with this organization, direct contact and impact can be done with these groups of kids, which would be considered at-risk. A very similar organization that can have direct impact on youth and the possibility of engaging in post secondary education with the collaboration and use of best practices is House of Dawn. The House of Dawn houses teen mothers with no other place to go and teaches life skills so that they can become productive citizens. Living in a group home has many stringent rules that these mothers must follow and complete parenting classes which include budgeting, how to parent a child, and among others work-force skill building. Collaboration with this organization will also ensure clientele that needs one on one help and tracking for post secondary education. Fundraising is another best practice that this organization holds. The leaders that support the organization and promote this non-profit create a sustainable way to maintain the home and help reach the goal of this group. 4-H is an organization that has been around for over 100 years. The direct partnership with the public school system and ability to reach youth ages 9-19 shows how its best practices of organization, logic modeling, and reputation ensure this organizations crucial partnership with the new organization. This organization’s best practices include the hands on experience that youth are able to participate in and the leadership opportunities available to this organization. Because the age groups are broken down, there are plenty of opportunities to lead mini groups within 4-H. Many older youth want to employ in post-secondary education, but sometimes does not know what steps to take. 4-H partners with Hearts to Nourish Hope that in itself allows for the new organization to have a large pool to work with. The variety of programs within 4-H also is a best practice which allows for a unique experience and possible new career paths that the sponsor of 4-H, The University of Georgia, can offer. Since there is a partnership with the school systems, an article titled “Elements for Successful Collaboration Between K-8 School, Community Agency, and University Partners: The Lead Peace Partnership” (2010) shows that there is a need for successful partnerships in school settings to increase positive academic achievement. Authors note that “One standard for quality service learning practice is partnerships that are collaborative, mutually beneficial, and address community needs” (Bosma et al., p. 502). This is true with 4-H as is works with changing policies and partnering with the school. With the existence of this collaboration, the new organization can use 4-H as a resource to involve more youth and help with record keeping for post secondary education. Utilizing best practices from other organizations and/or partnering with them is very beneficial for new non-profits. Not reinventing the wheel is important to quickly and efficiently building a reputation and fulfilling the mission of the organization.

References
Bosma, L., Sieving, R., Ericson, A., Russ, P., Cavender, L., & Bonine, M. (2010). Elements for Successful Collaboration Between K-8 School, Community Agency, and University Partners: The Lead Peace Partnership. Journal of School Health, 80(10), 501-507. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2010.00534.x.
Moore-Thomas, C., & Day-Vines, N. (2010). Culturally Competent Collaboration: School Counselor Collaboration with African American Families and Communities. Professional School Counseling, 14(1), 53-63. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.
Strickland, R., & Vaughan, S. (2008). The Hierarchy of Ethical Values in Nonprofit Organizations. Public Integrity, 10(3), 233-251. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.