The LeadSafe Initiative: FY II

The LeadSafe Initiative, operated out of Central Vermont Community Action Agency, Inc. (CVCAC) in Barre, Vermont through the Micro Business Development Program (MBDP), provides self-employment strategies of micro-business development and expansion for income-qualified individuals with a focus on lead paint safety training and certification. In partnership with the Vermont Housing Conservation Board (VHCB) State Lead Abatement program, the LeadSafe Initiative provides a variety of lead paint safety training, from Essential Maintenance Practices to Lead Abatement Certification.

The initiative offers supplemental and industry specific training in the areas of cleaning, consulting/inspecting, deconstructing, and lead abatement contracting.

The project also offers core business and "soft skills" training, intensive case management, access to capital, linking clients with mentors, securing job contracts, and referring client to other community resources. The overall project goal of LeadSafe is to create 55 jobs for low-income people in Central Vermont, through self-employment, with an average wage of $12.50 in the first year of operation and access to quality health care and childcare.

For more information about this study or to request additional copies of this report, please contact Michele Cranwell Schmidt, Evaluation Coordinator, at mschmidt@uvm.edu, call (802) 656-0256 or visit www.uvm.edu/crs/.

A model food entrepreneur assistance and education program: The Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship.

The Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship (NECFE) is a collaborative effort between Cornell University and the University of Vermont. NECFE uses a multi-institutional and regional collaboration approach, with specific expertise and necessary facilities and resources, to provide technical assistance and education for businesses in the food industry. The overall goals of NECFE are to support and sustain rural businesses and promote sustainable economic development of rural communities.

Through process evaluation techniques, the evaluators of NECFE identified 5 essential components of a model food entrepreneurship assistance and education center, based on NECFE’s experience: (1) multi-institutional and regional collaboration, (2) expertise, (3) facilities and resources, (4) services, and (5) evaluation of the center. These components build on each other and enable NECFE to provide clients with access to current food processing technology, technical information, and education that are directly applicable to a real business.

Through replication of this model, other organizations and academic institutions may establish a regional food entrepreneurship assistance and education center.

Cranwell, M., J. Kolodinsky, C. Donnelly, D.L. Downing, and O. Padilla Zakour. (2005). A model food entrepreneur assistance and education program: The Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship.. Journal of Food Science Education, 4(4): 56-65.