Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
April 3, 2009
Continuum of Care Program
Amount Requested: $1,117,985.24
The Providence Center helps adults, children and adolescents affected by psychiatric illnesses, emotional problems and substance use by providing treatment and supportive services in community members’ homes, schools and neighborhoods. This project addresses specific barriers and helps formerly incarcerated individuals rebuild their lives. By giving the re-entry population the tools they need to rebuild their lives and create positive communities around them, the Continuum of Care program will be instrumental in helping reduce recidivism rates.
Recipient's address: The Providence Center, 528 North Main Street, Providence, RI 02904
April 3, 2009
Digital Forensics Center
Amount Requested: $339,720
Funding for this project will go towards the University of Rhode Island’s Digital Forensics Center (DFC). The DFC is a non-profit organization that is establishing a national reputation for its research, case work, and training in digital forensics to protect the public welfare. Digital Forensics is the science of analyzing evidence that exists in digital form, such as on a suspect’s hard drive, or in network activity. The DFC has established strong working relationships with all local, state and federal law enforcement agencies practicing digital forensics in the state. This program will also help the State of Rhode Island’s ability to fight cyber crime and cyber terrorism through training and community education efforts.
Recipient's address: University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881
April 3, 2009
Enhanced Communications Equipment
Amount Requested: $125,000
This project will supply new communication equipment to the Coventry Police Department while helping to alleviate the tax burden on residents. Federal funds will be matched by the Town of Coventry and will be used to purchase portable radios, mobile radios for police vehicles, and to upgrade the dispatch console. It will directly impact and improve Coventry PD’s ability to respond to the needs of residents and the state of Rhode Island. The ability to communicate is one of the most important tools a public safety official possesses, and seeing it compromised could mean the difference between life and death for a citizen or a first responder.
Recipient's address: Coventry Police Department, 1075 Main Street, Coventry, RI 02816
April 3, 2009
LISC Community Safety Initiative
Amount Requested: $ 500,000
The Local Initiative Support Corporation's Community Safety Initiative (CSI) supports strategic alliances between police, community developers and other stakeholders to reduce crime and spur economic investment in troubled communities across the nation. CSI projects are customized to address crime concerns in cities around the country as diverse as Milwaukee, Providence, Detroit, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. By facilitating action-oriented public-private partnerships, CSI has resulted in the transformation of nuisance properties into quality affordable housing; struggling commercial districts into vibrant business destinations; and parks overrun by drugs and disorder into clean and safe recreational areas. The CSI strategy has been endorsed by police chiefs and leading community developers, who have noted that it results in greater efficiency in deployment of public law enforcement resources. In Providence, the funding is being used to support the police department’s partnerships with two neighborhood organizations, the Olneyville Housing Corporation and Greater Elmwood Neighborhood Services.
Recipient's address: Local Initiative Support Corporation, 501 7th Ave., New York, NY 10018}
April 3, 2009
Nonviolence Streetworkers
Amount Requested: $346,490
The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence’s Streetworkers offer mentoring and on-street access to youths who may be susceptible to gang recruitment. Additionally, the Streetworkers offer holistic after school alternatives, safe space and credible guidance. The Streetworkers are available 24 hours a day and have responded to every shooting in the City of Providence since the program’s inception six years ago. They offer immediate support to victims of violence and their families, providing referrals and information when appropriate. This funding will support the Streetworkers’ efforts in high crime neighborhoods in Providence and in areas where gang activity is prevalent. The Streetworkers will provide comprehensive outreach and support services such as mediation, conflict resolution, violence prevention, nonviolence workshop facilitation, court advocacy, school-based interventions, adult mentoring and crisis intercession. In fiscal year 2006 – 2007 the Streetworkers program provided outreach to over 15,000 youths through individual and group level interventions and training sessions. During the same period, juvenile crime rates in Providence dropped 10 percent overall.
Recipient's address: The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, 9 Central Street, Providence, RI 02907
April 3, 2009
RINET-MUNI Project
Amount Requested: $1.625 million
The Rhode Island Network for Educational Technology (RINET) provides broadband connectivity, Internet access and related services to the K-12 and library communities throughout Rhode Island. RINET also manages the RINET-MUNI network for a consortium including the RI Department of Health, the RI Secretary of State and the RI Emergency Management Agency to connect all municipalities in Rhode Island with RI State government and the Internet. This funding will help RINET-MUNI provide the State of Rhode Island with a regional high-speed network that can support integrated voice, data and video applications facilitating interoperability between all State and municipal networks and first responders at police, fire, rescue, hospitals, medical schools, crime labs, public works garages, school nurse units and potential evacuation centers. The network infrastructure must be upgraded and enhanced to allow the integrated voice, data and video services required by state-of-the-art EMA methodologies. Recipient's address: Rhode Island Network for Educational Technology, 646 Camp Avenue, North Kingstown, RI 02852
April 3, 2009
Save the Bay
Amount Requested: $ 1 million Save the Bay is participating in the Northeast Coastal Monitoring Collaborative, a private non-profit group that is working to provide a larger scale assessment of the northeast coastal waters. The data and analysis produced by the Collaborative will have great utility for many coastal managers by identifying nonpoint pollution sources, highlighting areas of focus for environmental action/restoration, and mapping the littoral zone (coast, intertidal, embayments) as impacted by sea level rise. Communities throughout New England, especially in Rhode Island, are centered around coastal lands and water and will be greatly impacted by the effects of climate change, especially by any significant rise in sea level. All scientific findings and information related to the Northeast Coastal Monitoring Collaborative will be available to the public as well as interested researchers and organizations. Recipient's address: 100 Save the Bay Drive, Providence, Rhode Island 02905
April 3, 2009
School to Work Program
Amount Requested: $645,835
This project coordinates the Whitmarsh House, Ocean Tides School and the American Sail Training Association to provide a cooperative education and vocational training program. In the School to Work Program, teachers help students to develop the skills and understanding needed to take the initiative for real projects and tasks; clarify their values about engaging in community life; and make new contacts and networks in the broader community. This program will directly benefit at-risk youth in Providence and Narragansett, by helping them develop important leadership skills and work experience, giving them a greater opportunity to seek meaningful employment in the future. Recipient's address: Ocean Tides School, 635 Ocean Road, Narragansett, RI 02882
April 3, 2009
Shot Spotter
Amount Requested: $1.5 million
This project will allow the Providence Police Department to purchase the Shot Spotter Gunshot Location System for use in high crime areas of Providence. The system alerts law enforcement when firearms are used in specific neighborhoods, allowing for faster response times and better forensic collection during and after a crime. Agencies currently using ShotSpotter systems have seen gunfire-related violent crime rates fall by at least 30 percent. ShotSpotter has also led to countless arrests, decreasing police response time, increasing officer safety, pinpointing key forensic evidence, and saving numerous lives. Areas to be targeted for ShotSpotter implementation are District 2 – Elmwood and South Providence; District 4 - Federal Hill and West End; District 5 – Olneyville, Hartford, and Silver Lake; and District 7 – Wanskuck, Charles, and Smith Hill. Recipient's address: Providence Police Department, 325 Washington Street, Providence, RI 02903
April 3, 2009
Support for Infrastructure and Mentoring Programs
Amount Requested: $400,000
This program will help increase the number of low-income, at-risk youth matched with a mentor by providing grants to local mentoring programs. Funding will specifically go towards increasing mentor training quality, providing FBI background checks for mentors, increasing marketing and outreach, and developing a secure e-mentoring system. All programs receiving subgrants will be required to adhere to the nationally accepted “Elements of Effective Practice” in mentoring and develop a solid plan for sustainability in collaboration with the RIMP. Mentoring services have been shown to reduce juvenile delinquency and crime, improve school attendance and graduation rates, and lower risk of youth involvement in such behaviors as drug, alcohol and tobacco use. Recipient's address: Rhode Island Mentoring Partnership, 3296 Post Road, Warwick, Rhode Island 02886
April 3, 2009
The JASON Project
Amount Requested: $ 1 million The JASON Project, founded in 1989 by URI’s Dr. Robert Ballard, develops and distributes science curriculum to middle school students and professional development to teachers, using cutting-edge research and scientists/role models, bringing them into America’s classrooms to address the urgent need for greater scientific literacy. JASON curriculum is provided free online to students everywhere, connecting students throughout the world. The JASON Project, a nonprofit subsidiary of National Geographic Society, and the Ocean Exploration Trust, will continue their successful education partnership with National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with this funding request. This appropriation is required to fund year three of the five-year Environmental Literacy Grant awarded by NOAA in 2007 under a nationwide competitive grant. I requested this funding with several other colleagues from around the country because of its local importance to Rhode Island, in addition to its national significance. Recipient's address: 44983 Knoll Square, Suite 150, Ashburn, Virginia 20147
April 3, 2009
University of Rhode Island - Coastal Institute
Amount Requested: $ 1 million This funding will be used for continuation of the Bay Window Monitoring Program which assesses the water quality, ecology, fish and fisheries of the Narragansett Bay. This program uses a combination of traditional and high technology approaches to measure its productivity, fish, plankton, benthos, water quality, and nutrient inputs and fluxes. The Bay Window Monitoring Program is designed to keep a finger on the pulse of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island’s most valuable economic and environmental resource, to determine its ongoing health and help guide its management and planning into the future. It is a partnership among federal and state agencies, academia, and the scientific community. Recipient's address: South Ferry Road, Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882
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