New summer jobs for low-income youth

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to expand the county’s longstanding summer jobs program for young people, tapping federal stimulus dollars to create new opportunities for youths in a variety of low-income settings.

With the board’s action, county officials in the Departments of Public Social Services and Community and Senior Services will gain access to $11.7 million in new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act monies. That infusion is expected to boost the county’s Summer Youth Employment Program by as many as 15,000 new jobs.

The expansion—proposed in a motion by Supervisors Don Knabe and Zev Yaroslavsky—will target foster youth in low-income households, young adults aging out of the foster-care system, teens in CalWORKS households, teens on food stamps and emancipated foster youth aged 18-24 who are living in qualifying low-income households.

The summer jobs program is administered through the county’s Workforce Investment Boards, which are funded by the federal government. Information on WIB youth programs can be found here. And click here for a tentative list of ARRA summer youth employers in Los Angeles County.

4/6/2010