Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors and members of the Workforce Investment Board announced the Youth Corps as the new year-round program for out-of-school youth, on Wednesday, July 15.The program will offer training and job opportunities for at least 125 at-risk youth, while providing community service for the County. For every dollar invested in the corps, the community receives $1.60 worth of tangible work.
In Santa Barbara, Supervisors Salud Carbajal and Janet Wolf handed over an oversized $1.1 million check to Fran Forman, executive director of the Community Action Commission. Supervisor Joe Centeno in Santa Maria, handed over another big check to Carolyn Contreras of the CAC making it known that this new program will benefit youth throughout the County.
“It prepares these kids for longer-term jobs in the building and construction trades,” Ray McDonald, executive director of the WIB said. He added that a large percentage of workers in those industries are expected to retire in the next decade.
The funding comes from the Workforce Investment Act, not the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus funds). The $1.1 million will fund the program for two years which starts October 1.
“I grew up in a very challenging environment not too far from here called La Colonia in Oxnard,” Supervisor Carbajal said, adding that employment opportunities helped him during those tough times.
Those eligible for the Youth Corps will be between 14 and 21 years old and must be facing some sort of barrier such as economic disadvantages to qualify. For more information, contact Victoria Sanchez, public information specialist at the Workforce Investment Board at 681-4431.
The Youth Corps announcement and kick-off was featured on the front page of the Daily Sound, in the Santa Barbara News-P
ress, Santa Maria Times and Lompoc Record. It was also online at Noozhawk.com, Edhat.com and Msnbc.com. The story could be seen on news stations KSBY, KCOY and KEYT and heard on the KJEE morning show.
