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City extends and augments First Source services with Westhab to add retention tracking and casework
Summary
The board approved an extension to the First Source/Westhab contract to add a one-year retention services program with a retention specialist and community liaison, monthly check-ins, case management and data tracking to improve job retention for New Rochelle residents.
The Corporation for Local Development voted May 7 to expand services provided by Westhab (Westhab, Inc.) to the city's First Source Referral Center by adding dedicated retention services, tracking and reporting for residents who secure employment through the program.
Westhab officials told the board the new New Rochelle Forward / First Source retention component will add a retention specialist and a community liaison, provide monthly check-ins and one-on-one case management for up to one year after placement, and implement data verification steps (pay stubs, employment letters, third-party checks) to measure outcomes.
Tracy Rent, assistant vice president at Westhab, framed the change as completing the workforce pipeline. "Getting somebody a house is not enough," Rent said, describing Westhab's broader approach linking housing, youth services and employment supports. She and other Westhab staff reported that the organization has placed more than 14,000 people into employment since its founding and that local First Source enrollments rose 13% from 2023 to 2024.
Staff presented data showing New Rochelle-specific placements and program outcomes: Westhab reported an average hourly wage across placements of $20.03 (a 5% increase year-over-year) and average construction-sector wages of $21.50 per hour, up from $19.00. Westhab also reported that 93 participants completed the New Rochelle Forward training series last year and produced 55 placements from that cohort, with an average placement wage of $21.25 per hour for those construction-related placements.
Westhab described the retention work as an early-intervention and employer-relations strategy: retention specialists will contact employers, monitor issues such as scheduling or transportation, triage barriers through referrals (child care, transportation, substance-use services) and, when necessary, reconvert jobseekers to active job search. Staff noted prior program retention rates in other Westhab programs around 73% at 90 days; by comparison a cited state program recorded a 64% 90-day retention.
The contract expansion includes funding for two staff positions, verification services and modest participant milestone recognition (gift cards) to support retention. Westhab said most of the First Source staff are New Rochelle residents and that the organization will pursue local hiring for the new positions.
Board members asked for more granular tracking on employer-side metrics and for clearer breakdowns of why participants did not convert to placements; Westhab said the added retention casework and improved monthly reporting will allow those analyses. The board voted to approve the contract amendment; the motion passed unanimously.
