Initiatives
Evaluations
Community Base Evaluation, Analysis and Research Initiatives
• Tampa Housing Authority Belmont Heights & Oaks at Riverview Hope VI Evaluations: The Tampa Housing Authority contracted JWPC to assess baseline community economic data regarding the area in and around Belmont Heights Estates & the Oaks at Riverview Communities. The evaluation included a pre and post survey to assess resident attitudes and social and market needs. Data was also collected that described the workforce that resides in these developments. An architectural analysis was also conducted to describe the changes in the aesthetics and their impact on sense of community for the residents.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): JWPC was contracted to evaluate a
financial literacy program implemented by the Tampa Bay LISC office. JWPC evaluated
the impact of the program on the 600 participants who took the LISC training in multiple
communities in Tampa Bay. LISC used the findings to design future training in financial
literacy initiatives.
• Hillsborough County WEED & SEED Program Palm River Community: The US Department
of Justice awarded two WEED & SEED Grants to Hillsborough County to implement a systematic
and coordinated approach to "weed" out crime and "seed" supportive services that can
make a positive impact in the Palm River community . JWPC was contracted by the county
to analyze the crime data to determine the impact of the "weed" initiative and to
evaluate the implementation and impact of the "seed" programming elements. These programs
were analyzed to determine programmatic coordination and to see which elements appeared
to be effective and which ones seemed ineffective. Community participation and input
was a key component in JWPC involvement in this evaluation.
• University Area CDC Anti-Crime Program: The University Area CDC Anti-Crime program
was a multi-year research/evaluation initiative that brought together various inter-disciplinary
expertise of the university to work on a data driven community based process. This
7 year community project implemented by the JWPC/USF faculty team and students included
the following components: A Quality of Life Survey and Program Replication Handbook;
a baseline report on the social, economic and demographic conditions of the area;
a housing condition analysis and a crime perception survey; a community indicator
database and the mapping using (GIS) technology of the social-economic, crime and
housing data of the University Area Community. The outcomes achieved during this on-going
project revealed the importance of using a data–driven approach to community problem–solving
by analyzing existing information for best practices and strategies that fit with
the needs and assets identified by the residents of the University Area neighborhood.
Additional Evaluation Initiatives:
- CDC of Tampa Prisoner Re-Entry Evaluation for a US Dept. of Health & Human Services funded community program.
- A partnership with the University of Florida Shimbers Center for Affordable Housing to develop the Hillsborough County US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 5 year Consolidated Plan. The Hillsborough County 5 year US HUD Consolidated Plan was a joint contracted initiative of JWPC and UF Shimbers Center for Affordable Housing. The contract provided the county the blueprint for its required 5 year consolidated plan for U.S HUD.
- Hillsborough County Affordable Housing Study was another joint project with the UF Shimbers Center for Affordable Housing. The JWPC worked with UF Shimbers on developing the Affordable Housing Study for Hillsborough County as well as staffing the Affordable Housing Task Force.