Metis Works with Philadelphia's Congreso to Strengthen Education, Employment, and Health Services to the Latino Community

Congreso de Latinos Unidos is the largest organization serving Latinos in Pennsylvania and one of the largest of its kind nationwide, located in Eastern North Philadelphia.  Nationally recognized for its programs addressing children and youth, employment, health, and neighborhoods, Congreso is particularly focused on addressing high drop-out rates, low adult levels of education, and language and health barriers that cause high unemployment in the Latino community.

With a grant from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, Congreso engaged the Philadelphia office of Metis Associates in a research, technical assistance, and planning project to help it strengthen its programs and its client focus.  One of Congreso’s goals is to identify and replicate successful, evidence-based programs that have yielded positive outcomes among similar populations around the country.  Following a series of interviews with key staff seeking to understand Congreso’s current programs, Metis has begun to research successful programs from which Congreso can learn.

In the first phase of the project, Metis staff are mining databases holding government, university, and nonprofit research to identify those projects that might be replicated.  In the second phase of the project, Metis will assess Congreso’s own internal evaluation system and help it devise improvements to better evaluate the outcomes of its own programs.

"This is a very exciting project for Metis Associates because Congreso does very good work serving families in the community and is very well respected for what it does," says Manuel Gutierrez, Metis vice president and chief operating officer.  "Our work is to help them get focused on their mission and to plan strategically."

For more information about how Metis can assist your organization with research, strategic planning and capacity building, please contact Manuel Gutierrez, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.