With shades of Depression-era work relief programs, Santa Barbara County is establishing a hands-on vocational training program for young adults based on public works and community improvement.
Thanks to a $1.1 million grant from the Workforce Investment Act, the countywide Youth Corps program will provide education, counseling, and job training for at least 125 kids aged 14 to 21.
The program’s establishment stems from the county Board of Supervisors and Workforce Investment Board’s desire to find a way to keep kids out of gangs.
“I think this is a wonderful program to give our youth the opportunity to grow and succeed in any kind of employment,” said District 1 Supervisor Salud Carbajal.
Carbajal, who worked for more than a year to bring the program to the county, said the corps presented the best model for helping both at-risk young adults and the economy.
“Our youth employment programs have never been structured to be as successful as they could be,” he said. “We’re facing unprecedented times, and we need programs like this to provide employment, skill building, and support.”
The program begins Oct. 1 and is modeled on the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal program implemented from 1933 to 1942 to combat unemployment. The Youth Corps model may be new to this county, but it’s already found success in the City Corps groups of Ventura and Oxnard. Nationwide, the corps annually enrolls more than 26,000 men and women in 42 states.
Work Investment Board member and chair of the county’s Youth Council, Gabriel Morales, said the Youth Corps will be tailor-made for Santa Barbara County. Participants will be expected to learn fire prevention and help restore areas affected by the Jesusita Fire. In Santa Maria, the corps will likely be heavily involved with the city’s Recreation and Parks Department.
“The key in developing this is going to be the leadership, staffing, and different city and county entities that will work with us,” Morales said.
According to Morales, also director of the Center for Employment Training in Santa Maria for seven years, involvement in the
corps will raise self-esteem and confidence and provide a support system to keep kids out of jails and off the streets.
“When you’re working with youth that come from at-risk or economically disadvantaged backgrounds, that first-line staff is critical in guiding them and helping them deal with their issues and making sure that they accomplish the tasks that they set out to do,” Morales said.
By working as a team, he explained, corps members get real-world experience that school sometimes can’t provide.
“Being in a classroom or just being talked to as a group sometimes just drives kids nuts. They need to be active,” Morales said. “When you bring in hands-on vocational training or construction programs, the trades, it gives them reason to understand the purposes of math, reading, leadership, and character development.”
The Community Action Commission, a nonprofit group based in Santa Barbara, will oversee implementing the year-round program, which will be open to low income and “out of school” kids—including dropouts or high school graduates who don’t plan on attending college, and those in independent study environments or foster homes.
In addition to job skills training, participants will learn “green” building techniques and provide other services, such as trimming trees, landscaping, trash collection, and basic carpentry.
According to Work Investment Board spokeswoman Victoria Sanchez, the corps will cooperate with Allan Hancock College and Santa Barbara City College on training and with local construction companies on job placement.
“The goal of this program is to train these youth who aren’t in school and don’t have that knowledge to better educate themselves,” Sanchez said. “This is going to give them the training and hopefully set them up with a permanent job.”
The Youth Corps represents an investment in the future. Sanchez said that studies show that for every dollar put into the program, the youth will provide $1.60 worth of work.
“We’re just really excited about this program. It’s unlike any other that we’ve implemented,” Sanchez said. “This is benefiting the youth and the community because the community is going to be benefiting from their work. We’re going to be sending them out to restore fire areas and parks. This is going to be a very beneficial project.”
Since most participants will come from low-income backgrounds, Sanchez said program directors hope to provide stipends during training. While many qualification requirements are still being finalized, she’s already taking information from possible candidates.
Morales said he hopes community and county entities fully embrace the program’s potential.
“There’s going to be a lot of work that needs to be done,” Morales said. “We’re banking a lot on what this project can do for our local youth.”
Contact Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas atjthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 23-30, 2009.