Youth Program Design Components. Advancing Youth Development

Transcription

1 Youth Program Design Components It is the desire of the Merced County that the fund recipient design a program around the framework of a youth development model, such as Search Institutes Developmental Assets Model; Cooperative Extensions Targeting Life Skills or the Workforce Preparation Model. Therefore, the will review each request for funds on the tenets of the above components and the following youth development concepts. The Emerging Consensus: Youth Development Advancing Youth Development Recent youth program research and emerging best practices suggest that youth services and supports that are grounded in a developmental approach not only help young people avoid self-destructive behavior but can also enable them to acquire the academic and work-readiness skills and personal attributes sought by employers. The research recommends the implementation of comprehensive youth development initiatives that provide young people with access to engaging learning environments, leadership development opportunities, personal challenges, nurturing mentors, sustained supports, consistent structure, and incentives that promote achievement. Through these types of services and supports, young people develop resiliency and self-efficacy; gain teamwork, problem solving, and communication skills; and build personal and professional networks and support systems. Once equipped with these skills, attributes, and tools, as well as recognition of the importance of lifelong learning, young people are better prepared to navigate an increasingly challenging labor market, build a career, and achieve progressively higher earnings. Dorothy Stoneman, founder and president of Youth Build USA, recently outlined essential elements of successful employment training programs. Stoneman s essential elements reflect the emerging consensus that youth employment training programs, like programs targeting early teens, should fully embrace the principles of youth development. She suggests those successful programs for unemployed and under-educated young people should include: opportunities to perform meaningful work in a well-supervised context that enables trainees to learn marketable skills and good work habits while producing something of value, preferably something visible and important to the community; warm ongoing relationships with caring adults who serve as teachers, trainers, counselors, and mentors, committed to assisting each trainee achieve his or her potential and gain the skills available through the program; systematic and extensive attention to improving basic education skills including reading, math, writing, analytical, computer, and communication skills, toward the attainment of a high school diploma to prepare for college; development of a positive peer group with a set of positive values and a philosophy of life that can compete with the negative values encountered on the streets; careful linkages with the private sector and trade unions providing employment opportunities, and follow-up with both trainees and employers for an extended period after job placement, with counseling and job development support available; involvement in significant decision making regarding the policies followed within the program itself, building the leadership skills of negotiation and problem solving among the trainees through a hands-on process and simultaneously improving both the accuracy of the policies and the students commitment to them; opportunities to play a public leadership role influencing policy affecting the community; and participation in some form of direct human service that improves the quality of life in the community and builds an ethic of service among the trainees. Attachment 1

2 Operations Request for Funding Flow Chart Request for Funding From Received Funding Request Form Completed (Application for Assistance) Request For Funding Received by Youth Council Operations Request Forwarded To PITD Staff Request Researched For Eligibility (Eligibility Checklist) Letter of Receipt to Requestor Eligible Request Sent to Operations as Action Item (With Staffing & Budget Review) Eligible, But Requires More Information Request Returned for More Info Upon Receipt Not Received. No Further Action Not Eligible Request Returned Operations Approves Disapproves Staff Prepares Agenda Action Disapproves Approves Sends to WIB Staff Reviews for All Necessary Documentation Including Budget, Statement of Work and Contracts WIB Disapproves Staff Prepares and Forwards Board of Supervisor s Agenda Item WIB Approves BOS Approves BOS Disapproves Operations / PITD Monitoring/ Follow-up Begins

3 Merced County /Operations Application for Assistance 1. Type of Application: 2. Date Submitted: 3. Contact Person: 4. Address: New Renewal 5. Contact Phone Number/FAX Number 7. Applicant Information Legal Name of Organization: 6. Address: Community/Locale Serviced: Name of Applicant: Mailing Address: Physical Address: Organization Phone Number: FAX Number: 8. Ages of Youth to be Served: 9. Number of Youth to be Served: 10. Type of Service: (Check all that apply) Explain Briefly: Year-round Program Employment Services 11. Name of Project: Education Sevices Leadership Services 12. Describe the Project: Include which of the service strategies (I.e Employment Goals; Appropriate Achievement Objectives; Appropriate Services) you will employ. Refer to the Youth Program Design Components when addressing all programs to be delivered as checked on the attached checklist. (Use an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper for additional comments. Attach any additional supporting material.) 13. Project Start Date: 14. Project End Date: 15. Requested Funding (Attached Itemized Budget): 16. Amount of Administrative Costs Associated: 17. To the best of my knowledge and belief, all data in this application/proposal are true and correct. The document has been signed by the governing entity of the organization requesting this funding. 17a. Typed Name of Requestor: 17b. Title 17c. Signature 17d. Date Signed Date Received: Date Reviewed by : 1. Date Returned for More Information: Eligible Ineligible 2. Approved Chair Signature: Date: Disapproved

4 A. Academic Level B. Skill Level (basic & occupational) C. Service Needs Merced County Operations Funding Request Checklist Authorized Uses of Funds for Youth Activities Objective Assessment of: Yes No A. Employment Goals Development of Service Strategies That Identify: Yes No B. Appropriate Achievement Objectives C. Appropriate Services Tutoring Delivery of Programs Which Include: Yes No Study skills training Instruction leading to completion of secondary school Dropout prevention Alternative secondary school services Summer employment directly linked to academic & occupational learning Paid & unpaid work experience including internships & job shadowing Occupational skill training Leadership development opportunities Supportive Services Adult mentoring for the period of participation Follow-up services for not less than 12 months after the completion of participation Comprehensive guidance & counseling Information & referrals Prohibitions No Yes Develop or implement education curricula for school system Federal control of education Construction or purchase of facilities or buildings (with exceptions for ADA or JTPA transferred property) Nonduplication (funds used in accordance with the requirement of the WIA) Noninterference and non replacement of regular academic requirements Displacement of any currently employed employee Impair labor contracts without written concurrence of the labor organization and employer Employed if other employees are on layoff or terminated due to workforce reduction Relocation Economic Development

5 A. Employment Goals Merced County Funds Request Authorized Uses of Funds for Youth Activities Development of Service Strategies That Identify: (Check only those that apply to your specific program) B. Appropriate Achievement Objectives C. Appropriate Services Tutoring Study skills training Delivery of Programs Which Include: (Check only the items that your program will deliver) Instruction leading to completion of secondary school Dropout prevention Alternative secondary school services Summer employment directly linked to academic & occupational learning Paid & unpaid work experience including internships & job shadowing Occupational skill training Leadership development opportunities Supportive Services Adult mentoring for the period of participation Follow-up services for not less than 12 months after the completion of participation Comprehensive guidance & counseling Information & referrals Fund Prohibitions You may not utilize funds for the following: Develop or implement education curricula for school system Federal control of education Construction or purchase of facilities or buildings (with exceptions for ADA or JTPA transferred property) Nonduplication (funds used in accordance with the requirement of the WIA) Noninterference and non replacement of regular academic requirements Displacement of any currently employed employee Impair labor contracts without written concurrence of the labor organization and employer Employed if other employees are on layoff or terminated due to workforce reduction Relocation Economic Development