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TMO Standing for Families Agenda |
English Version English (PDF) SPANISH VERSION Spanish (PDF) |
EDUCATION (YOUTH AND ADULTS)
TMO Supports:
- Partnerships between schools, parents, and community institutions for improved communication, collective decision making and enrichment of students.
- Magnet programs and equal distribution of funds and resources to promote high quality education district wide.
- Improved adult education programs including GED and ESL to foster economic development and integration of immigrant families.
TMO views school as vital community resources. We oppose unilateral decisions to close schools and/or eliminate programs. TMO will continue to promote education reform at the state level and advocate for improved funding and equitable distribution of funds for Houston area schools.
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
TMO Supports: efforts by the Houston Police Department to communicate better with other law enforcement agencies to reduce response times for 911 calls; implementation of community policing efforts that build relationships with residents and target criminal suspects.
58 Law Enforcement Agencies operate in the Greater Houston area but their efforts are not well coordinated. Nearly 60 percent of the City General Fund is dedicated to public safety with nearly $700 million going to the police department. Better coordination and cooperation between agencies would help reduce our persistently high crime rates.
PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE
NEIGHBORHOOD ISSUES
TMO Supports: more resources for neighborhood infrastructure including paved streets, sidewalks, speed tables, improved drainage, street signs and other safety measures that will improve the quality of life in Houston's neighborhoods. Currently, city street improvements have wait times of up to 10 years forcing neighborhoods and families wait and suffer an unnecessary burden of neglected public infrastructure and unsafe living conditions.
TMO Supports: increasing city cleanup efforts of abandoned buildings and police protection from illegal dumping. Thousands of Houston homes are abandoned and left to deteriorate, making them vulnurable to criminal activity including vagrancy, drug use, and prostitution. Later demolishment of these homes results in vacant lots which further erode property values and become targets for illegal dumping which makes some streets nearly uninhabitable.
FAIR TREATMENT OF IMMIGRANTS
TMO Supports: comprehensive immigration reform on the national level. We oppose using local law enforcement employees, sheriffs, deputies, or police officers to do the work of the Federal Immigration officials or to participate in workplace raids. Local participation takes away necessary resources from primary law enforcement requirements and jeopardizes trust and cooperation of immigrants with police and local law support. We oppose the use of profiling or road blocks to identify undocumented persons.
TMO Supports: a limited relationship between local law enforcement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The 287(g) program must be scaled back and limited to cooperation to target only the most serious criminal suspects and organizations.
CITY PROGRAMS
TMO Supports: increases in funding for city parks, after school programs, and expanded hours for libraries, parks and neighborhood centers. City spending on vital human and cultural services makes up less that 9% of general fund expenditures in the 2009 and 2010 Budgets. The programs offer learning opportunities and resources for participants which is an important vehicle for fosteing economic development by teaching youth and young adults needed skills for the workplace of tomorrow.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
TMO is asking the City of Houston to contribute $1 million over the next 3 years to Capital IDEA Houston. This job training project would provide access to long-term training to low-income, unemployed, and under-employed adults. Through training coupled with necessary remediation and support services, this project will prepare workers for high skill, high wage jobs with benefits that are in demad in this area. It will allow families to become self-sufficient contributing to the development of the local economy. This program will be initiated as a satellite of Capital IDEA, Austin, one of our successful initiatives of our sister organizations Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) in Texas.
These projects graduate 90% of participants and place them in jobs with starting wages averaging $18/hour. It is estimated that for every $1 invested there is a $5 return over time.