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EQUITY Feature Article
In the early 1990s the Office of Justice Programs launched Weed and Seed as a strategy to prevent, control and reduce violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity in targeted high-crime neighborhoods. The strategy is to “weed out” crime through enforcement and community policing while “seeding” sites with human services that lead to neighborhood revitalization. Today there are more than 270 sites across the country, ranging in size from several city blocks to 15 square miles, with populations ranging from 3,000 to 50,000.
At the local level, Weed and Seed sites are generally co-chaired by municipal authorities, such as a city mayor and the United States Attorney for that district. Steering committees typically include local, state and federal law enforcement officials plus a wide variety of community development organizations dedicated to neighborhood revitalization. Many sites emphasize asset-building programs and often form partnerships with financial institutions that may support the program with small grants or become more directly involved by providing financial education or affordable mortgage loans to residents of the community. Most Weed and Seed sites partner with multiple financial institutions, including both banks and credit unions.
Visit any Weed and Seed site around the country and before long you will hear a familiar refrain: Weed and Seed is not a project or a program – it’s a strategy.
“Weed and Seed is driven by the power of local partnerships,” said Dennis E. Greenhouse, Director for the Community Capacity Development Office (CCDO), which oversees the weed & Seed inishitive. “Public, private and non-profit groups do great work to improve their communities – but all too often they work alone or in a small group with similar interests.”
The Weed and Seed strategy tries to harness the energy of these different groups for a larger common goal. For example, the job of a police department to control crime may seem quite different from that of a non-profit community action agency that works to boost employment and business activity. But to Weed and Seed, they both share a common goal of security – the physical security of streets and households, the financial security that comes from economic opportunities, and the community security that develops among neighbors in vibrant and successful communities.
“Many local Weed and Seed partners are surprised to find out that their very different approaches are actually pointed towards a common goal,” said Director Greenhouse. “Together they can share their comparative strengths and achieve much more in partnership than they might have independently.”
Weed and Seed builds on the principles of collaboration, coordination, community participation and leveraging of resources. The strategy focuses on strengthening the pillars of safe and sustainable communities, including both law enforcement and community policing, as well as neighborhood restoration, revitalization and economic development.
Weed and Seed sites typically include concentrations of low-income and low-wealth households. As a result, many sites have increased their focus on asset-building programs to develop a solid economic foundation for stronger and more stable neighborhoods. CCDO has supported these efforts by taking the Weed and Seed strategy to the national level, joining together with other federal agencies committed to asset development. In 2004, CCDO partnered with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to make their MoneySmart financial literacy training program available to all sites. By 2007, every Weed and Seed site had received the MoneySmart curriculum and more than 100 sites had received training to teach MoneySmart in their communities.
In 2005, CCDO partnered with the Internal Revenue Service to launch Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs in Weed and Seed sites across the country. VITA sites help eligible low-income individuals and families to file their taxes, claim refunds and – most important of all - claim both the child tax credit, (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC), which can increase a household’s annual net income by up to $6,400. During the last tax season, more than 100 Weed and Seed VITA sites prepared more than 24,000 tax returns, generating over $35 million in assets for their communities from EITC in refunds and avoided fees.
Also in 2005, CCDO launched a new partnership with the Federal Assets for Independence (AFI) program, part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Community Services. This partnership is using Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) to promote homeownership and help stabilize Weed and Seed neighborhoods. CCDO selected the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (the Federation) to provide technical assistance to develop ten pilot homeownership IDA programs in rural and urban sites across the country.
Nearly one out of every four households in America is “asset poor,” with net worth that is close to zero or negative. Asset poverty strains resources and relationships within families and communities; individuals who are asset poor have no margin for error and no room for emergencies.
Weed and Seed sites know first hand how poverty contributes to unstable communities, which is why so many have launched aggressive asset-building programs. More recently, a number of sites have focused on homeownership as the key to building financially secure families and economically stable communities. For this reason, the Weed and Seed IDA Demonstration sites are opening matched savings accounts for the sole purpose of purchasing a home within the Weed and Seed sites themselves.
By 2007, homeownership IDA programs had been established in ten Weed and Seed sites: Atlanta, Georgia; Brownsville, Texas; Gastonia, North Carolina; Great Falls, Montana; Louisville, Kentucky; Nogales, Arizona; Ogden, Utah; Pine Bluff, Arkansas; Racine, Wisconsin; and Yuma, Arizona. More than $1.2 million in federal and non-federal matching funds had been raised by these sites to establish more than 260 IDA accounts, which could generate more than $22 million worth of first home purchases in these Weed and Seed sites over the next five years.
For CCDO, this is just the beginning.
“No matter how much we’ve done, we know there is so much more we can do,” said Director Greenhouse. “We believe in the power of partnerships- we’ve seen the results. But we also know there are so many more communities that could benefit from the Weed and Seed strategy.”
And the Department of Justice is waiting to hear from them.
See this month's EQUITY “Program of the Month” which demonstrates how IDAs can fit into a broader asset-building program for people with disabilities in their local community.
Anyone interested in learning more about Weed and Seed, or applying to have their community recognized as a Weed and Seed site, can get more information online at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ccdo/ws/welcome.html
More information about the Federation’s IDA Technical Assistance and other programs is available online at http://www.natfed.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1158
Other useful resources include
Weed and Seed Data Center: www.weedandseed.info/
National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions: www.cdcu.coop
Assets for Independence: www.acf.hhs.gov/assetbuilding/
Terry Ratigan coordinates the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions CU Breakthrough Consulting Services, including the Weed & Seed Individual Development Account Demonstration Project.
At the local level, Weed and Seed sites are generally co-chaired by municipal authorities, such as a city mayor and the United States Attorney for that district. Steering committees typically include local, state and federal law enforcement officials plus a wide variety of community development organizations dedicated to neighborhood revitalization. Many sites emphasize asset-building programs and often form partnerships with financial institutions that may support the program with small grants or become more directly involved by providing financial education or affordable mortgage loans to residents of the community. Most Weed and Seed sites partner with multiple financial institutions, including both banks and credit unions.
Good Partners Make Good Neighbors
Visit any Weed and Seed site around the country and before long you will hear a familiar refrain: Weed and Seed is not a project or a program – it’s a strategy.
“Weed and Seed is driven by the power of local partnerships,” said Dennis E. Greenhouse, Director for the Community Capacity Development Office (CCDO), which oversees the weed & Seed inishitive. “Public, private and non-profit groups do great work to improve their communities – but all too often they work alone or in a small group with similar interests.”
The Weed and Seed strategy tries to harness the energy of these different groups for a larger common goal. For example, the job of a police department to control crime may seem quite different from that of a non-profit community action agency that works to boost employment and business activity. But to Weed and Seed, they both share a common goal of security – the physical security of streets and households, the financial security that comes from economic opportunities, and the community security that develops among neighbors in vibrant and successful communities.
“Many local Weed and Seed partners are surprised to find out that their very different approaches are actually pointed towards a common goal,” said Director Greenhouse. “Together they can share their comparative strengths and achieve much more in partnership than they might have independently.”
Weed and Seed builds on the principles of collaboration, coordination, community participation and leveraging of resources. The strategy focuses on strengthening the pillars of safe and sustainable communities, including both law enforcement and community policing, as well as neighborhood restoration, revitalization and economic development.
The Asset Building Seed
Weed and Seed sites typically include concentrations of low-income and low-wealth households. As a result, many sites have increased their focus on asset-building programs to develop a solid economic foundation for stronger and more stable neighborhoods. CCDO has supported these efforts by taking the Weed and Seed strategy to the national level, joining together with other federal agencies committed to asset development. In 2004, CCDO partnered with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to make their MoneySmart financial literacy training program available to all sites. By 2007, every Weed and Seed site had received the MoneySmart curriculum and more than 100 sites had received training to teach MoneySmart in their communities.
In 2005, CCDO partnered with the Internal Revenue Service to launch Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs in Weed and Seed sites across the country. VITA sites help eligible low-income individuals and families to file their taxes, claim refunds and – most important of all - claim both the child tax credit, (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC), which can increase a household’s annual net income by up to $6,400. During the last tax season, more than 100 Weed and Seed VITA sites prepared more than 24,000 tax returns, generating over $35 million in assets for their communities from EITC in refunds and avoided fees.
Also in 2005, CCDO launched a new partnership with the Federal Assets for Independence (AFI) program, part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Community Services. This partnership is using Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) to promote homeownership and help stabilize Weed and Seed neighborhoods. CCDO selected the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (the Federation) to provide technical assistance to develop ten pilot homeownership IDA programs in rural and urban sites across the country.
What’s the Big IDA?
Nearly one out of every four households in America is “asset poor,” with net worth that is close to zero or negative. Asset poverty strains resources and relationships within families and communities; individuals who are asset poor have no margin for error and no room for emergencies.
Weed and Seed sites know first hand how poverty contributes to unstable communities, which is why so many have launched aggressive asset-building programs. More recently, a number of sites have focused on homeownership as the key to building financially secure families and economically stable communities. For this reason, the Weed and Seed IDA Demonstration sites are opening matched savings accounts for the sole purpose of purchasing a home within the Weed and Seed sites themselves.
By 2007, homeownership IDA programs had been established in ten Weed and Seed sites: Atlanta, Georgia; Brownsville, Texas; Gastonia, North Carolina; Great Falls, Montana; Louisville, Kentucky; Nogales, Arizona; Ogden, Utah; Pine Bluff, Arkansas; Racine, Wisconsin; and Yuma, Arizona. More than $1.2 million in federal and non-federal matching funds had been raised by these sites to establish more than 260 IDA accounts, which could generate more than $22 million worth of first home purchases in these Weed and Seed sites over the next five years.
For CCDO, this is just the beginning.
“No matter how much we’ve done, we know there is so much more we can do,” said Director Greenhouse. “We believe in the power of partnerships- we’ve seen the results. But we also know there are so many more communities that could benefit from the Weed and Seed strategy.”
And the Department of Justice is waiting to hear from them.
See this month's EQUITY “Program of the Month” which demonstrates how IDAs can fit into a broader asset-building program for people with disabilities in their local community.
Anyone interested in learning more about Weed and Seed, or applying to have their community recognized as a Weed and Seed site, can get more information online at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ccdo/ws/welcome.html
More information about the Federation’s IDA Technical Assistance and other programs is available online at http://www.natfed.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1158
Other useful resources include
Weed and Seed Data Center: www.weedandseed.info/
National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions: www.cdcu.coop
Assets for Independence: www.acf.hhs.gov/assetbuilding/
Terry Ratigan coordinates the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions CU Breakthrough Consulting Services, including the Weed & Seed Individual Development Account Demonstration Project.