County puts youth employment initiative together

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is kicking off Youth@Work, a regional initiative to hire 25,000 youth across the county.

Specifically, there is an effort underway to connect foster youth to employment services and careers, said county Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger.

The program seeks to help foster youth earn at least 100 hours of paid work by the age of 16 and triple that experience by age 19, and graduate with a high school diploma, according to Barger’s office. By the age of 21, foster youth should also have permanent employment or be connected to post-secondary education.

The county is working with the Alliance for Children’s Rights, the Children’s Law Center, the L.A. Opportunity Youth Collaborative and other partners to develop a coordinated referral process to ensure foster youth from across the region can seamlessly access and stay connected to workforce services.

This summer, the county is also launching a regional partnership with the Alliance for Boys & Girls Clubs, which will involve linking various Boys & Girls Clubs to America’s Job Centers of California.

“A huge priority of this partnership will be connecting foster youth to work experience, internships and leadership development to help them achieve their full potential,” Barger said.

The county is also prioritizing services for foster youth affected by Assembly Bill 12, legislation that extended the eligibility for foster care from age 18 to 21. Efforts center around weekly outreach at Edelman Children’s Court to provide workforce information and enroll the youth into employment services, according to Barger’s office.

Through Youth@Work, participants receive paid work experience at hundreds of worksites throughout the county, and personal enrichment training with access to additional employment and supportive services. Businesses, community organizations, government agencies, workforce development boards, educational entities and other partners will prepare youth for jobs and careers.

The program trains and employs young people between ages 14 to 24 and is only a year old. cduan@signalscv.com

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