USAID and the Dominican Institute for Integral Development Support the Capotillo Youth

USAID and the Dominican Institute for Integral Development Support the Capotillo Youth
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, November 16, 2012

Today, in the Capotilloneighborhood, theMinister Counselor of the Embassy of the United States, Daniel L. Foote,presented the AlertaJoven (Youth Alert) program of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).The program will benefit 25,000 at risk youth in Capotillo. With this initiative, young people will have the opportunity to develop their talents and values, achieve their social reintegration through educational programs and technical training, and become productive people who contribute positively to society.

The “USAID Youth Alert” program is being implemented by ENTRENA, and the Capotillo neighborhood component will be implemented by the Dominican Institute for Integral Development (IDDI for its acronym in Spanish). The Capotillo component includes monitoring during the daytime for the most at risk children and adolescents…

The “USAID Youth Alert” program is being implemented by ENTRENA, and the Capotillo neighborhood component will be implemented by the Dominican Institute for Integral Development (IDDI for its acronym in Spanish). The Capotillo component includes monitoring during the daytime for the most at risk children and adolescents;follow up programs for cases of school dropouts; vocational and support programs for job hunting for teenagers with significant school delays; and counseling programs to address theearly onsetof psychological problems (behavioral problems, child abuse victims, young offenders).

Similarly, this program seeks to reduce levels of violence and delinquency by establishing a network of protection and security, witha sustainable multidisciplinary approach to empower and strengthen youth groups in at risk situations so that they are both the architects and contributorstotheir own progress. The program will have an important impact on the issue of youth at risk and their relationship with crime and violence. Alliances will be formed between the private sector-government-implementing partners to maintain the sustainability of the program.

The program will work closely with ministries and other government agencies seeking to work in line with the private business sector, non-profit organizations working with children and adolescents at risk, industry and business associations in Capotillo, youth groups, local councils, and churches, families, schools and universities.

Minister Counselor Foote toured El Túnel, in Capotillo, togetherwith a delegation consisting of the USAID Director in the Dominican Republic, Alexandria Panehal; the USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, Elizabeth Hogan; other USAID officials; Saschia Seibel from ENTRENA; and David Luther from IDDI. The event was attended by officials from the Dominican government.