House Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #1425 Summer Youth Employment and Training Program -- Work experience
Requester:	Mason Jackson		Organization:		Executive Director, BETA
Project Title:	Summer Youth Employment and Training Program -- Work experience		Date Submitted:		01/25/2000 4:50:56 PM
District Member:	Ron Greenstein		Service Area:		County
Counties Affected:	Broward
Recipient:	Broward Employment and Training Administration		Contact:		Mason Jackson
	3800 Inverrary Boulevard, Suite 400		Contact Phone:		(954) 765-4545
	Lauderhill 33319
Project Description:
The Broward Employment and Training Administration provides summer employment opportunities to economically disadvantaged youth. The Summer Youth Program offers young people age 14-21 evaulation and assessment, employability skills training workshops, employment counseling and eight weeks of supervised work experience that corresponds to each participant's stated interest. Participants are paid $5.15 for 30 hours of work experience per week for the eight week program, which means they receive approximately $1200. Last year there were 1054 economically disadvantaged participants enrolled in the program. WIA funding for this year only allows 559 enrollments. We are seeking funds to restore the program to its previous level of 1054 or an additional 495 slots.
Services Provided/Benefit to State:
The Summer Youth Employment and Training Program provides participants with an opportunity to develop work discipline and job skills that will help them to succeed later in life. The benefit to the State is that young people will have the opportunity to develop a positive work ethic and job skills at an early age, which may reduce the possibility that they will be public assistance recipients later in life. Also, disadvantaged youth who typically lose half a grade level on standardized tests during the summer have actually improved their grade levels by several months through participation in the work experience program. The benefit to the State is that these youth will not have to spend time in school remediating for the summer loss, so teachers can focus on moving them forward towards their graduation requirements. Since students will not have fallen behind in their academic levels, they may feel more positively about themselves and be encouraged to stay in school. Also, allowing low-income youth, who typically feel that they have been left behind by society, to work in the context of a professional environment may positively impact the process of self-visualization. They will have seen themselves functioning within the context of a professional environment that rewards educational achievement with monetary gain, so their own professional goals may seem more realistic and achievable. These youth may become more motivated to complete school so that they can fulfill their own professional development. An additional benefit from this program would be that youth who would normally be left to their own devices during the summer months are provided with constructive, supervised activities. Youth with little or no money and with time on their hands could conceivably begin to get themselves into trouble. However, the Summer Youth Program would provide these young people with a positive outlet through which they could earn money for clothing, food, recreational activities, ect. Thus some youth may actually be prevented from having contact with the juvenile justice system.
Measurable Outcome Anticipated:
Youth will be able to pass a post-test for basic employment competencies and will achieve a minimum fo 85% on a work maturity evaluation completed by their employer. A cohort of work experience participants will also be chosen to measure post-program academic gains on a standardized test.
Amount requested from the State for this project this year:				$998,000
Total cost of the project:		$4,436,743

Request has been made to fund:			Operations
Is there Local Government or Private match for this request?				No
Was this project previously funded by the State?				No
Is future-year funding likely to be requested?				Unknown
Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request?				No
Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget?				No
Is there a documented need for this project?				Yes
	Documentation:	Study conducted by Westat, Inc.
Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)?				Yes
	Hearing Body:	Broward Workforce Development Board/WAGES Coalition meeting
	Meeting Date:	12/03/1999