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At their regular council meeting on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, the Terrebonne Parish Council heard a presentation from Mr. Frank Kidd and Dr. Raymond Delaney with the Louisiana Council of Resources regarding the M.J. Foster Promise Program.
The M.J. Foster Promise Program provides financial assistance to eligible, 21+ Louisiana residents who enroll in a qualified program at a two-year public college or university, or an accredited proprietary school licensed by the Board of Regents to pursue an associate degree or a shorter-term postsecondary education credential required for certain high-demand, high-wage occupations aligned with Louisiana’s workforce priorities, such as industry sectors including construction, healthcare, and information technology.
“Initially we started out as an organization who worked with justice-involved persons with special needs, who are impacted by the criminal justice system,” explained Dr. Delaney. “But because of COVID-19, we decided to stretch our services to reach those who are low to moderate income and who specifically were impacted by COVID-19. When we started in New Orleans, we realized we had people who were coming from Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes looking for services– so I went to our partners and told them what was happening in the City of Houma and what was needed there. As a result, we were able to expand our services from just the Greater New Orleans area to Houma as well.”
Dr. Delaney went on to briefly explain other programs that the Louisiana Council of Resources has provided to those in need across the state of Louisiana, including rental assistance, financial literacy training, disaster relief assistance, housing expansion, and more. The Louisiana Council of Resources also implements several systems of program coordination, including orientation of services, individualized plans, data collection, processes, assessments, written procedures, record retention, and backup/ recover for program success, so the significance of these programs can be recorded and shared with those in leadership.
“We are proud to say that our recidivism rate for those justice-impacted persons we have worked with is excellent,” said Dr. Delaney. “What sets us apart is we took an approach where we got the community involved and even reached hard-to-reach people across Louisiana. That is where the success comes from, when the community supports the initiative.”
The Louisiana Council of Resources is looking to expand their M.J. Foster Promise Program, particularly within the Houma community, with positive responses from Terrebonne Parish Council members. If you are interested in learning more about the M.J. Foster Promise Program, or applying for the program, please click here.
To watch Dr. Raymond Delaney’s full presentation, please click here.
