Alerta Joven Youth Leadership Program

Community Service Alliance (CSA), a nonprofit organization located in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic responds to key development challenges in the community and provides educational opportunities and resources. CSA programs include child and maternal health education, medical outreach, nutrition workshops, life skills workshops, and the Alerta Joven Youth Leadership Program.

The Alerta Joven Youth Leadership Program creates a network of comprehensive services for at-risk youth to contribute to the overall development of children and adolescents in Lechería, a region in the country’s central highlands, northwest of Santo Domingo. The Program aims to improve the educational performance of youth, reintegrate out-of-school youth to the local school systems, and prepare youth for employment opportunities.

Under the guidance of the teachers and CSA, Holly Lavin, graduate student of Social Work, will spend her Spring 2018 semester accomplishing the following objectives:

1. Visit children’s homes to meet with families to understand barriers and to identify strategies to increase the students’ attendance at school.
2. Facilitate English language instruction to expand future employment opportunities.
3. Provide age-appropriate vocational and computer training.
4. Provide individualized instruction to a student with ASD to assist him in improving social skills and address barriers within the student’s learning environment.
5. Meet with students to discuss social, emotional, and academic challenges and collaborate with families and staff members/volunteers to implement culturally appropriate interventions that address those challenges.
6. Assist teachers and other staff members/volunteers with classroom management and lessons.

• Student(s): 
  Holly Lavin (Social Work)
• Faculty Mentor: 
  Laura Lewis (Social Work)
• Country of Travel: 
  Dominican Republic
• Dates of Travel: 
  January-May 2018