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' Actions taken to reduce the number of poverty-level families. 91.220(k); 91.320(j) ' Examples of the variety of mechanisms the community has employed to address poverty included the Center for Homeless STAR (Skilled, Trained, Able, and Ready) program which incorporated job readiness, externships,job retention, and job search assistance. Another program that assists poverty-level families is Bridges Out of Poverty. Bridges Out of Poverty is a local program based on a nationally recognized model that serves to educate both the low-income individual and the employer community on how to ' work together to address issues that prevent people in poverty from becoming employed. The Employer Resource Network (ERN) is a collaboration between Michiana Bridges, the City of South Bend, the Community Foundation and five local employers.The group has a shared desire to increase rention in their entry-level workforce while assisting their employees solve non-workplace problems impacting their attendanace and productivity. For an under-resourced employee lacking coping skills, a financial safety net or family support, small problems such as car troubles or lack of child care can escalate into lost work time or a lost job. ERN helps employees find solutions to such problems. A Resource Navigator,trained in rapid problem resolution and with access to a wide range of community resources, is on-site at each employer's workplace for a portion of each week and available ' the rest of hte week by phone and email.This Resource Navigator works directly with employees to address their everyday non-workplace issues, connect to resources, and build stability. While these services are focused on entry-level workers, they are available to all employees. In 2016 there were 245 referrals to the ERN with, 220 being unique employees served.The retention rate was reported at 100%. In 2015,the City of South Bend, in conjunction with the City of Mishawaka, the St.Joseph County Chamber of Commerce, IVY Tech Community College, WorkOne Development, and a number of local businesses launched a new workforce training initiative, "Supporting Manufacturers and Regional ' Talent" (SMART). SMART assists residents in obtaining the necessary skills to participate in a wider range of employment opportunities. Participants are trained through IVY Tech as skilled workers in manufacturing. Smart also merges various local employer advisory boards into one council to provide a unified local effort in job creation. In 2016, the program continued to develop a skilled workforce to meet the needs of local manufacturers. The St.Joseph County community was further committed to implementation of the low income employment provisions at 24 CFR, Part 135 in the use of federal funds covered by Section 3. To that end, the Section 3 clause is incorporated into each contract. All public works construction contracts using such funds included Section 3 language as well. In addition, Section 3 requirements were outlined ' during the pre-construction meeting for those projects. Actions taken to develop institutional structure. 91.220(k); 91.320(j) ' Any targeted a pp roach to a geography meshes the efforts of South Bend City departments, the CDCs and other nonprofits such as Habitat for Humanity to broadly plan and advance the effort. The CDBG, CAPER 23 OMB Control No:2506-0117(exp.07/31/2015)