Catfish Blues Culinary Arts Academy

Executive Summary

RISKids.org’s CatFish Blues initiative can enhance young adults (16 -25) resiliency against at-risk factors and the resulting anti social behavior.  

We believe that emphasizing workforce capacity building, providing alternatives to anger, minimizing the effects of rural alienation and loneliness, increasing cultural understanding, instilling pride in ones community, and providing a purpose for being will decreases self destructive behavior and reduce the societal cost for police and other social services.

For young adults who may be struggling to fit into society, CatFish Blues can provide increased life skills literacy, enhanced self-awareness, job skills and pro-social mentor interactions. Catfish Blues is preventative medicine for social ills caused by young adults who need a hand up not a hand out.

Program Description

Goal: To implement a mentored culinary education and conflict resolution resources that will be juxtaposed into our S.E.A.L. Project youth development efforts.  Outcome: Youth who successfully complete the program will be empowered with unique job and life skills that will enable them enter the workforce, continue their education or do both. 

Objective # 1: To contact underprivileged youth (in general) and “truant” youth (in particular) who live within rural “at” or below poverty level communities. Outcome: Through enhanced web presence, media outreach and program interactivity underprivileged "at-risk" youth will be re-branded "at-promise" community contributors.  Funding will enhance our ability to provide social leverage to convince skeptical local school, social services, and comprehensive service agencies to seek out our initiative as a best practice worthy of referrals.

Objective # 2: To connect youth to meaningful culinary education and conflict resolution experiences.  Outcome:  Youth are given numerous practical and financial incentives for improving school attendance and graduation rates. In addition they will learn skills that can be used minimize those factors which hamper their success. 

Objective # 3: To continually encourage youth to grow and mature through CatFish Blues culinary arts (CBCA) and conflict resolution capacity building.  Outcome: Initially 6- 10 young adults with at least a ninth-grade academic capability (candidates are tested) will have opportunity to obtain National Culinary Arts certification through the NRA educational foundation and a minimum of five (5) program youth will gain near-peer leadership experience, confidence, increased knowledge, and greater sense of community through conflict resolution training and involvement with S.E.A.L.

Objective # 4: To provide participants with follow-up support and guidance.  Outcome: Professional development and certification of staff will enable the organization to maximize its pro-social impact, streamline our operations, and move us toward financial independence.

Objective # 5: To quantify social, operational and financial impact.  Outcome: Regular evaluation enhances social, operational and financial sustainability - see evaluation plan.

Evaluation Plan

We will utilize Jacobs and Weiss’ five-tier evaluation model to provide qualitative program evaluation of the description goal and objectives 1 - 5 above (Want to know more?).  Please note: all quantitative outcomes are described within the context of section four above.

Tier 1 performance measure: Youth entering the pilot program are given a confidential personal interview by a 3 member interviewing team. Selected candidates are given an online diagnostic to assess their reading and math skills level, and finally they are asked to complete a survey to obtain baseline data on four categories of youth experiences: (1) fundamental resources, (2) developmental assets, (3) thriving indicators, and (4) risk behaviors.

Tier 2 performance measure: Utilize ProStart educator resources and our internal youth advancement procedures, interest assessments, and forms to document youth, services, staff, and cost data. These resources are found online @ http://prostart.restaurant.org; moreover, conflict resolution skills and accomplishments will be juxtaposed into data collection forms and workbooks found at our online Venturing Leaders Manual.

Tier 3 performance measure: S.E.A.L. has an on-going FaceBook page where youth can post publishable articles, art work, music, video, etc.  After, a training, service project, etc; participant opinions are surveyed to which their reflections are print or video documented. The results and supporting flyers, press releases, etc. are then posted online, sent out as emails, and / or to external listings, such as the ProStart national news page.

Tier 4 performance measure: Weekly, S.E.A.L. program leaders review data posted on the FaceBook page. Quarterly, our board of directors evaluation team meets to consider individual progress from tier 1 analysis, assess group advancement, and refine programmatic objectives and make adjustments.  Reports on results will be filed by October 15, January 15, April 15, and a final report on July 31

Tier 5 performance measure: Every two years, RISKids.org stakeholders engage in program self-examination, to include review of end-of-activity dialogue and reflection sessions; youth produced FaceBook entries of project summaries & activity outcomes; and use of focus groups for strategic planning of programs.

© CatFish Blues is a social entrepreneurship initiative of the 1998 Resource Initiative for Safe Kids (RISKids.org) - RISKids.org is a mission based, local community intermediary organization registered as a Virginia Non-stock corporation.  All programs under the umbrella of RISKids.org an are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and under Code of Virginia § 58.1-609.11.  Additionally, RISKids.org and its programs are listed with Virginia State Office of Consumer Affairs, Dun & Bradstreet, and the Richmond Better Business Bureau.