Partnering with Local Workforce Investment Boards to Grow Your Programs Telephone Workshop

To access audio for this telephone workshop click the play button above

Background
On April 14, 2009 The California Afterschool Network hosted a telephone workshop providing strategies for after school program partnership with local workforce programs. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $1.2 billion to the states for youth activities under the Workforce Investment Act, including 188.6 million dollars for youth employment. Partnering with Workforce investment boards can be a successful to recruit youth to staff after school and summer programs at little cost. Partnership with local workforce investment boards can also be a long-term sustainability strategy for after school and summer programs. This strategy also allows after school programs the possibility to offer older youth meaningful employment and successful career pathways.

Speakers
Dennis Petrie, Deputy Director, Workforce Services Division, Employment Development Department

Sandra McBrayer, Chief Executive Officer of the Children's Initiative

Ron Fairchild, Executive Director, National Center for Summer Learning

Jeff Smink, Director of Policy at National Center for Summer Learning

Rebecca Goldberg, California Workforce Innovation Network (CalWIN) & Co-Director of Career and Workforce Development for the South Bay Center for Community Development

Summary of the call
Telephone Conference Participants heard experts discuss strategies on enhancing staffing in after school and summer programs by partnering with local Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) to access American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. Participants also heard strategies to connect with WIBs to access Workforce Investment Act (WIA) resources to supplement staffing with subsidized youth-employees in after school programs throughout the school year. Presenters also stated that now is a great opportunity to demonstrate to WIBs that partnerships with after school progrtams are beneficial for their work in providing older youth with employment options through the Workforce Investment Act.

Strategies Shared Include:

1. Connect with your local Workforce Investment Board (www.childrennow.org/stimulus2009.). Develop a partnership and sustain this partnership. Opportunities exist to supplement your after school workforce through ARRA and WIA programs. There is a focus in the ARRA dollars on summer programs, but opportunities for partnership will exist well into the future.
2. Apply Directly with your local Workforce Investment Board as a contractor. As a contractor, you are responsible to place youth in employment positions within and outside of your program. To do this you may work with a number of organizations.
3. Leverage staffing resources through partnership with local Workforce Investment Boards and their current contractors. Programs can approach current WIB contractors and let them know they are available for job placement. The LA Scholars model (http://www.calsac.org/projects/workforceDev/?_c=xvrl18fy7jptnr) in Los Angeles is a great example of how afterschool employers got involved as work sites for a summer youth employment program
4. Inform older youth in your after school programs to become part of the youth workforce and participate as a youth-employee in this program. Get your youth participants in the job placement program providing them with work experience and on the job training.
5. Keep Title 1 Funding on your radar. California will receive over 1 Billion Dollars in Title 1 Funding through the ARRA. Academic / Enrichment summer programs are allowable and encouraged with this funding.
6. Keep Innovation Funding (from the Secretary of Education) on your radar. There may be opportunities to access Innovation Funding for summer and after school programming.

Additional Resources
To learn more about Youth Training & Employment in Economic Recovery Act at the Federal Level go to http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/PolicyEconRecovYouthTrainEmploy.cfm

View the California Appropriation and breakdown of the distribution of workforce investment act funds go to http://www.edd.ca.gov/Jobs_and_Training/California_recovery.htm

Access a two-page fact sheet and a list of California Workforce Investment Board contacts, visit http://www.childrennow.org/issues/education/after_school_stimulus_2009.h...

Access Center for Summer Learning Information on partnering with WIB's to grow summer programs
http://www.summerlearning.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=...

View a page outlining some successful workforce partnerships
http://www.calsac.org/projects/workforceDev/?_c=xvrl18fy7jptnr

Community College Career Ladders model to build the after school workforce
http://www.careerladdersproject.org/projects/afterschool.php

To Access the Bay Area Partnership Fact Sheet - The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and Summer Programming: An Opportunity for School Districts and Summer Program Providers - go to http://content.enewslettersonline.com/16887/041528.pdf

To Access the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocations to all of the local CA Workforce Investment Boards, click on the attachment below