UPO Divisions
The United Planning Organization conducts programs and activities that positively impact the lives of Washington, DC residents. The programs, outlined below, help tell the UPO story.
.Community Health Division
The Community Health Division, through partnerships with government and private organizations, provides substance abuse treatment and case management services to vulnerable residents of the District of Columbia that protect, inform and enhance their opportunities for self-sufficiency. Notably, this division runs the Shelter Hotline for DC's homeless population.
Related Programs and Services
.Community Services Division
The UPO Community Services Division coordinates a variety of programs that help individuals and families increase their economic, personal and family assets to enhance and improve self-sufficiency. Asset Development programs focus on education, vocational training, financial management, family support and community development with a focus on adult education.
Courses include: adult basic education/GED, Microsoft Word training, traffic flagger certification, food handlers certification and capital health careers.
Related Programs and Services
Employment and Career Development Division
The UPO Employment and Career Development Division is designed to assist customers in meeting their needs for employment by offering a broad range of services relating to job preparedness, career development and placement. Given these opportunities, customers become equipped to pursue the goal of economic self-sufficiency.
Services
- Individual Employment Plan;
- Internet Job Search Sessions;
- Career Counseling/Mentoring Workshops;
- Pre-vocational training for individuals who have limited work histories.
Related Programs and Services
Green Technology Division
UPO's Green Technology Division provides energy saving measures to customers who have been approved by the DC Department of Energy. The staff currently consists of one crew chief and two Weatherization laborers who are all graduates of UPO's Weatherization Training Center. Current projects are introducing green initiatives to DC citizens, as well as home weatherization services.
For more information, contact Weatherization Operations Program Manager Gordon James at (202) 462-6401 ext. 17.
Related Programs and Services
..Office of Child and Family Development
It's A FACT! UPO was a testing ground for the initial Head Start project in the early 1960s, at the onset of what would ultimately become the community action agency movement.
Today, the United Planning Organization, a major Head Start grantee in the District of Columbia, enrolls children at its early childhood education sites throughout DC in facilities either directly operated by UPO or through UPO funded Head Start delegate agencies. UPO directly operates 19 child care centers and provides funding to four Head Start delegate agencies, two charter school sites, and two slot purchase sites - in essence, UPO touches more than 50 sites citywide!
UPO Head Start is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's Administration for Children Youth and Families, with other day care services receiving funding from the DC Department of Human Services.
Head Start not only provides excellent education for children from lower income families, but also allows parents to train for or work at meaningful and gainful employment. These centers provide services to more than 2,000 children citywide.
UPO is a member of the National Head Start and Region III Head Start Associations.
Related Programs and Services
..Youth Services Division
Youth Services is a UPO division that provides Washington DC youth with opportunities to move toward self-sufficiency; mastery of future; and to become engaged citizens. The Youth Services Division carries out these functions via several unique citywide activities.
- Passport In-School - A drop-out prevention program providing support to youth ages 14 to 19 and their families. The program assists in the exploration of future careers and goals with the ultimate mission of preparing youth for post-secondary education.
- Kids2College - A six-week early college awareness curriculum developed by the Sallie Mae Fund. The interactive curriculum is aimed toward 6th graders and facilitated by college students. The program includes five partner schools and three university partnerships.
- Camp UPO - An annual summer camp developed for DC youngsters ages 5-10. Staffed by energetic and engaging camp counselors, Camp UPO provides young people with academic and cultural enrichment that are exciting, keeping them academically on target for the school year.
- Providing Opportunities with Education Readiness (P.O.W.E.R.) - a collaboration between UPO and American University's School of Education, Teaching, and Health designed to create a middle school-to-college pipeline for youth residing in the Congress Heights neighborhood.
- Annual College Tour - An annual two-day college trip for DC youth in various UPO youth programs exposing them to the variety of post-secondary education opportunities and to sample campus life and the charm and challenges it brings.
- UPO/Joseph A. Beavers Scholarships Program - A UPO scholarship program that annually provides five District of Columbia high school and/or G.E.D. graduates with scholarships worth $10,000 each. The fund is endowed by proceeds received from UPO's annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast held each year in January.
