Our Team

Our community-based Youth Career Program helps young people learn to make positive decisions. Our individualized approach to career exploration and work experience assists with personal development and success in life. The National Youth Employment Coalition has nationally recognized our program with a PEPNet Award.

We Provide An Alternative to removing youth from their families and communities.

We Work Directly with families, Juvenile Officers, employers, schools and other community members to help participants secure jobs with a future.

We Prepare Young People before beginning work by teaching them how to engage in constructive social behavior that helps them develop positive identities as workers and community members.

·         Youth Served

·         Referral Procedure

·         Program Outcomes and Components

Any youth at-risk in their community. We serve any male or female between the ages of 13 and 21 years old.

The appropriate funding agency notifies us of a referral. This process should include providing information regarding the youth/family background, history and education. We pride ourselves on having no waiting lists and strive to schedule an intake within twenty-four hours of referral receipt.

Work is the major component of our program and we use a job as a modality for changing behaviors in youth. We help youth become assets in their communities. Our Career Resource Specialists (CRS) support youth both on and off the job. We focus on an individualized, strength-based, client-centered approach to service delivery. The CRS meets with youth in both one-on-one and group settings in the community. Each youth helps develop their own Youth Development Plan with the help of the CRS. Each youth in our Community-based Youth Career Program is expected to achieve our 12 outcomes. When a youth achieves these outcomes they “graduate” from our program. Many youth have not been taught how to have goals and how to achieve them and this is the benefit of our outcome-based structure.

Outcomes:

1. Participate in our Career Planning process

2. Develop a job goal

3. Learn how to fill-out effective job applications

4. Complete a resume

5. Be evaluated following mock/actual interviews

6. Go on company tours

7. Complete Job Development Questionnaires

8. Obtain a job (If youth is 14 years old or younger they will obtain a volunteer or paid position that requires regular attendance for an extended period of time)

9. Establish at least one positive adult relationship at work

10. Understand and achieve own Work-Based Learning Goals (see list below)

11. Show academic improvement

12. Participate in weekly face-to-face family visits

Work-Based Learning Goals (See Outcome 10 above)

The goals in our work-based learning plans are consistent with nationally recognized criteria. They are:

1. Communication and literacy

2. Organizing and analyzing information

3. Problem solving

4. Using technology

5. Completing entire activities

6. Acting professionally

7. Interacting with others

8. Understanding all aspects of industry

9. Taking responsibility for Career and Life Choices.