CA Workforce Investment Boards Scramble to Find/Create Positions for Low-Income, At-Risk Youth
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that as part of the stimulus bill passed in February, Congress included $1.2 billion for youth employment, primarily a summer jobs program for disadvantaged 14- to 24-year-olds. The federal money is being dispensed to state employment commissions. California’s share, $158 million, is being distributed by the Employment Development Department through 49 regional Workforce Investment Boards. Most counties and some large cities have their own boards. With little infrastructure in place and summer just around the corner, the boards are scrambling to find or create positions for low-income, at-risk youth. Most boards are hiring public or nonprofit agencies to run summer job programs in their communities. These agencies, in turn, try to place youth in public-sector, nonprofit or private-sector jobs. Regardless of the position, the federal stimulus money pays the wages, payroll taxes and other costs associated with the program.
Last week, the Alameda County board awarded contracts to 5 agencies that will find jobs, help train and monitor 684 youths. The youths will earn minimum wage – $8 per hour – for about 200 hours over the summer, bringing their total pretax wages to $1,600. All told, the Alameda County board, which received $2.1 million in federal funds, expects to spend about $1.2 million on youth wages and payroll taxes. An additional $800,000 will be divided among the 5 agencies running the program. The remaining money will be used to assist program operators. Other boards expect to spend a similar proportion on wages versus other program costs. Program costs run high because the agencies need to screen applicants, provide transportation to and from work sites, supply safety equipment when needed and offer “educational components.”
The purpose of the program is not just to provide extra income to poor families, but to “help economically challenged kids get ready in various ways to enter the job market,” says Earl Johnson, interim director of the Oakland Workforce Investment Board. To be eligible, applicants must be age 14 to 24, have a right to work in the United States and be “low-income” according to federal poverty guidelines, which vary by family size. A family of 4 must earn less than roughly $27,000 a year. They also must be at least one of the following: deficient in basic literary skills; a school dropout; homeless, a runaway or foster child; pregnant or a parent; an offender; or have certain physical or learning disabilities.
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