By Mary Ann Barton
senior staff writer
in photo at right: Pam McFarland, with the Arlington
County, Va., Artist Services, Cultural Affairs Division, prepares a costume
for the Opera Theater of Northern Virginia. Arlington County's Cultural
Affairs Division maintains a costume shop with about 500 costumes free to
Arlington arts groups.
Innovative county programs - one dealing with the arts and the other with welfare-to-work - have won Arlington County, Va. and Riverside County, Calif. prestigious national recognition, that comes with a monetary prize of $100,000 for each winner.
The counties were among the 10 winners of a 1996 Innovations in American Government Award announced earlier this month by the Ford Foundation and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Arlington County's Arts Incubator gives a leg up to fledgling arts organizations. Riverside County's welfare-to-work initiative, Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN), has found jobs for more than 50,000 people since 1987.
"We are honored to have our program recognized with this prestigious award from the Ford Foundation," said Dennis Boyle, Riverside County Department of Social Services.
Arlington County Park Director Alice Foster says the program has cast public service and county officials in a whole new light - as "stewards of the human spirit," she said.
"For 10 years, the Innovations Awards have honored government at its best," said Susan Berresford, president of the Ford Foundation. "These examples of effective government have produced extraordinary results for Americans. They are helping to restore faith in government's ability to solve tough problems."
The counties must use part of their $100,000 award from the Ford Foundation to develop a blueprint of their programs for other local governments.
There were 1,550 applicants for this year's awards. Winning programs exhibit "solutions that save taxpayers' money, streamline services, help underserved populations, find novel uses for new technologies or overcome bureaucratic gridlock."
In addition to the traditional way of helping the arts - handing out grants - Arlington County has turned to courting the arts in the same way many counties court economic development. This year the county handed out $98,000 in grants, but found rent-free space for groups at a savings to the artists of about $400,000.
The county's Arts Incubator Program was started in 1990 by the Arlington County Division of Cultural Affairs, after county officials noted escalating costs, funding cutbacks and diminishing public support for the arts.
From 1990 to 1995, annual arts events increased from about 220 events to 1,317, about six times over. Audiences have increased from 100,000 to 300,000 (nearly twice the county's population). The number of arts organizations has more than doubled to 25. The arts, as an industry, has grown from $1 million to $5 million.
Here are three ways the program was able to help the arts not only survive, but flourish:
GAIN serves more than 11,000 people each year who receive Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC). For less than $1,400 per participant, the program helps place 7,000 of those 11,000 in jobs - any kind of job, including entry-level.
Getting people into jobs as fast as possible is apparently one of the keys to the program's success. GAIN's employment counselors are expected to find jobs for 15 people each month. They offer incentives to employers, such as offering free recruiting and screening services. They also invite employers to meet with GAIN participants at informal gatherings.
It's also important to the program for GAIN employees to become involved in the local chambers of commerce and job fair in order to strengthen ties to the business community.
The county estimates that about 15 percent of the people who participate in the program earn enough money to get off welfare; 42 percent earn enough to reduce their benefits.
The program costs $10.9 million each year and reduces welfare by about $15 million.