Worcester — At a June commission meeting focused on youth and city partnerships, staff reported several operational updates: Recreation Worcester staff begin training tomorrow, summer camp starts June 30 for six weeks, a paused youth program contract has been signed by the city manager, and a new request for proposals for a community safety initiative has attracted 28 letters of interest.

Recreation and camps
Recreation Worcester announced that staff training starts the day after the meeting and that summer camp opens June 30 and will run for six weeks. Staff said recruitment and hiring are underway for camp roles.

Youth program contracting and RFPs
Commission staff reported that a previously paused program is back on because the city manager signed the contract. Staff said some work remains to finalize transition details.

For a new community safety initiative (referred to in the meeting by its funding streams), staff said they received 28 letters of interest for a new RFP; roughly 15 organizations were invited to submit full proposals based on a scoring of initial submissions. The full proposal deadline is July 25. Staff described a selection process that will include Division of Youth staff, two research partners (Jen and Laurie) and three youth members of a Community Advisory Board (CAB) to review and score proposals and make funding recommendations.

Procurement timeline and staffing
City staff said the state’s procurement timeline aims to complete the process by the end of the fiscal year but cautioned that the state may not meet that target. Meanwhile the YMCA plans to hire internal staff for case management rather than outsource those services; the YMCA will also work on assembling the behavioral-health component of the program. City staff said Danielle will serve as a program coordinator alongside an additional hire for an interim period.

Youth violence-prevention and CAB involvement
Staff reported recent visioning sessions with partners for state grants (named in the meeting as Shannon and SSYI grants) and said notes from those sessions are being compiled and will be circulated. The CAB will be trained on the scoring system in July and will participate in post-RFP review meetings.

School partnerships and counseling supports
Commission members noted there is no consolidated inventory of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) between the city and local schools. Staff said Leah will ask the law department whether the city can compile and track all MOUs with public schools to better understand what the city has agreed to over time and which agreements remain active.

On school-based mental-health supports, participants said each of the district’s high schools is expected to receive a fifth adjustment counselor next year to provide additional social-emotional and clinical support. One school referenced in the meeting (Burnco) is piloting a program that includes an adjustment counselor and a "bridal room" program (quoted from the meeting transcript) for students returning from extended absences or hospital stays; staff described the referral and eligibility process for that program.

Next steps
Staff and commissioners said they will reconvene in the fall to finalize transition plans for contracted services, proceed with the RFP review after the July 25 deadline and provide CAB training on scoring. The procurement timeline remains contingent on state processes. The commission accepted the May meeting minutes at the start of the session.