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Extracted from Consolidated Report

This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.

Los Angeles County Grand Jury • 2009-2010

Youth Employment Programs Funded but Not Fully Utilized

62 pages
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Findings 8 findings

F1 Page 41
1.1 The seven Youth Councils in the geographic region of Los Angeles County do not work together to promote youth employment programs. Although the Workforce Investment Act does not require collaboration among the Youth Councils, increased coordination of youth employment programs would better leverage resources. Youth Councils with minimal business representation could benefit from resources provided by business members of other Youth Councils, including assistance in recruiting business members and links to private employers who could provide jobs to youth. Increased coordination would also help local Workforce Investment Areas publicize existing programs and recruit youth to programs who otherwise may not be reached.
F2 Page 50
1 The Department of Human Resources’ Student Worker and Career Development Intern Programs are underutilized with only 65 percent of budgeted positions filled in FY 2007- 08. The program is not mandatory for County departments and only two of the County’s ten largest departments participated in the Career Development Intern Program for foster youth in FY 2007-08.
F3 Page 58
1 Only one-fourth of foster and probation youth are served by youth employment programs earmarked for these populations. While the number of eligible youth far exceeds the number of actual youth participants, existing youth employment programs are underutilized. In FY 2007-08, the County of Los Angeles under spent available funds by $1.5 million, representing an estimated 500 youth employment opportunities. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the seven Workforce Investment Areas in the geographic region of Los Angeles County will receive millions of dollars14 in federal stimulus funds to pay for work experience programs for low-income and at-risk youth. The County of Los Angeles and City of Los Angeles will receive the largest share of these funds. The County of Los Angeles, as well as other local governments in the geographic region of Los Angeles County, will need to increase recruitment efforts for youth employment programs to ensure effective use of the federal stimulus funds. Foster and youth participation in youth employment programs funded by the Workforce Investment Act has declined. Foster and probation youth made up only 17 percent of County of Los Angeles Workforce Investment Act participants in FY 2007-08 compared to 21 percent of participants in FY 2005-06. Less than one-half of the Hire LA’s Youth employment program slots set aside for foster and probation youth are filled by Independent Living Program youth each year, although the Independent Living Program has primary responsibility for youth transitioning from foster and County care to living in the community, including providing job readiness and work opportunities. The actual allocation has not yet been determined. 50 2008-2009 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury Report
F4 Page 63
1 The County of Los Angeles does not have a first source hiring program, missing an opportunity to increase the number of jobs available to low-income and at-risk youth and young adults. The City of Los Angeles, City of Long Beach, and Los Angeles World Airports have established first source hiring programs requiring publicly-funded contractors and employers to provide job opportunities to local residents, thus increasing the availability of jobs available to low income adults and youth. As of February 19, 2009, local governments receiving Proposition A funds had spent $54.6 million on employment for at-risk youth, exceeding required spending of $44.2 million by $10.4 million. According to the County of Los Angeles Auditor-Controller, (a) the City of Lancaster received $1.6 million Proposition A funds in FY 2003-04 and (b) the City of Downey received $436,861 in FY 2004-05. However, as of February 2009 (a) the City of Lancaster had spent only $1,564 to meet its youth employment goals, and (b) the City of Downey had spent no funds to meet its youth employment goals. 2008-2009 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury Report 55
F5 Page 54
The Residential Treatment Services Bureau oversees the CALGrip Project. This is an 18-month demonstration project at Camps Afflerbaugh and Paige in the 12 The Probation Department has 18 camps at 9 locations throughout the County, providing custody and rehabilitation to juveniles convicted of crimes and sentenced to incarceration. Also, the Probation department operates a residential treatment center, the Dorothy Kirby Center, in conjunction with the Department of Mental Health. 46 2008-2009 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury Report eastern part of Los Angeles County. The demonstration project provides two programs: (1) a training and job placement program for gang affiliated and at-risk youth ages 17 to 18 years serving sentences in Camps Afflerbaugh and Paige, and (2) a work experience program for gang affiliated youth ages 18 to 24 residing in San Gabriel Valley. Both programs provide job readiness training, life and basic skills training, support for earning industry-recognized “diversified occupations” credentials, and preparation to begin unsubsidized employment or advanced training. These programs are provided through an agreement between the Probation Department and LA Works, a Workforce Investment Act one-stop provider.
F6 Page 54
The Residential Treatment Services Bureau oversees the “Project Youth Embrace” two-year demonstration project at Camp Miller in collaboration with the Public Defender and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Division of Juvenile Justice. The program provides comprehensive re-entry services to juvenile offenders returning to the community from custody or out-of- home placement, including housing, mental health and substance abuse, education, health, and vocational services. As part of this project, a community provider, Homeboy Industries, offers job training and employment assistance. Job developers work with local employers to find available jobs and work one-on- one with probation youth to develop resumes and interviewing skills and to match youth with jobs. Youth are often placed into jobs in small businesses operated by Homeboy Industries, such as bakery, silkscreen, café, landscaping, maintenance, and other businesses.
F7 Page 55
The Adult Field Services Bureau administers the Day Reporting Center, which provides services to young adult men, ages 18 years to 24 years with gang involvement. The Day Reporting Center is funded by a three-year, $5 million State grant to provide intensive employment and support services. Youth Employment Programs Targeted to Foster and Probation Youth are Underutilized While the number of low-income youth in Los Angeles County eligible for federal, state, and local youth employment programs far exceeds the availability of these programs, existing programs are underutilized. For example, the County of Los Angeles under spent Workforce Investment Act funds allocated to youth employment program service providers, who operate the one-stop youth centers and provide job readiness, job placement, and other services funded by the Workforce Investment Act, in FY 2007-08. Additionally, the County’s Youth Jobs Program has not been fully utilized since its inception in FY 2005-06. More than 10 percent of the program’s funds have remained unspent at the end of each year. In FY 2007-08, the County of Los Angeles under spent for youth employment programs by $1.5 million, equivalent to an estimated 500 youth jobs, as shown in Table 3.1. 2008-2009 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury Report 47 Table 3.1 County of Los Angeles Unexpended Workforce Investment Act and Youth Jobs Program Funds FY 2007-08 Workforce Investment Act Youth Jobs Services Program Providers Total Budget $6,479,886 $10,082,832 $16,562,718 Expenditures 5,789,529 9,289,919 15,079,448 Surplus/(Deficit) $690,357 $792,913 $1,483,270 Surplus as a Percent of Budget 11% 8% 9% Source: County of Los Angeles Department of Community and Senior Services While unexpended Workforce Investment Act funds can be carried forward into the next year with Workforce Investment Board approval, Youth Jobs Program funds - which are County General Funds - cannot. Funding for the Youth Jobs Program is often allocated late in the year, resulting in delays in recruiting youth to the program. For example, the Board of Supervisors approved funding for FY 2008-09 during the June 24, 2008 meeting for the program to begin on July 1. Whether Youth Jobs Program funding will be available in FY 2009-10 is not yet known. Foster and Probation Youth Participation in Workforce Investment Act Programs While both Workforce Investment Act youth program funding and youth participation has declined from FY 2005-06 through FY 2007-08, foster and probation youth participation has declined at a greater rate. Consequently, foster and probation youth make up a smaller percentage of program participants. From FY 2005-06 through FY 2007-08, for the County of Los Angeles: • Total Workforce Investment Act youth program funding decreased by 1 percent • Total youth participation decreased by 12 percent • Foster and probation youth participation decreased by 32 percent • Foster and probation youth were 21 percent of participants in FY 2005-06 but only 17 percent of participants in FY 2007-08 From FY 2005-06 through FY 2007-08, for the City of Los Angeles: • Total Workforce Investment Act youth program funding decreased by 28 percent • Total youth participation decreased by 41 percent • Foster and probation youth participation decreased by 53 percent • Foster and probation youth were 10 percent of participants in FY 2005-06 but were only 8 percent of participants in FY 2007-08 Probation and Foster Youth Participation in the Youth Jobs Program The Department of Community and Senior Services implemented performance measures in FY 2007-08, requiring each contractor to report to the County on the 48 2008-2009 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury Report number of foster, probation, and CalWorks youth participating in the program. Each contractor is supposed to achieve a minimum of 30 percent foster, probation, and CalWorks youth participation, increasing that number by 5 percent per year. The Department of Community and Senior Services does not have a formal mechanism to track foster and probation youth participation in the Youth Jobs Program. Youth self- report their status and each contractor reports this information to the Department of Community and Senior Services. As shown in Table 3.3, based on self-reporting, approximately one-third of participants in the Youth Jobs Program live in CalWorks families and 7 percent are foster youth. The Department of Community and Senior Services does not track probation youth participation separately. Table 3.3 County of Los Angeles Youth Jobs Program Participation by Foster, Probation, and CalWorks Status FY 2007-2008 Youth in Total CalWorks Participants Families Foster Youth FY 2007-08 3,908 1,274 269 Percent of Total Participants - 33% 7% FY 2008-091 3,332 1,001 242 Percent of Total Participants - 30% 7% 1 As of January 5, 2009 Source: County of Los Angeles Department of Community and Senior Services 1 As of January 5, 2009. The Department of Community and Senior Services only began tracking Youth Jobs Program participation in FY 2007-08 and can not show if foster, probation, and CalWorks participation has increased by 5 percent. FY 2008-09 data is not for a complete year. Also, although the contractors receiving Youth Jobs Program funds are supposed to show that 100 percent of youth are referred to the County’s Department of Human Resources programs - Career Development Intern and the Student Worker Programs - neither the Department of Human Resources nor the Department of Community and Senior Services track this information.13 Foster and Probation Youth Participation in the City of Los Angeles Summer Youth Employment Program The Los Angeles Youth Transition Action Team has set a goal to enroll 250 foster and probation youth in the City of Los Angeles Hire LA’s Youth employment programs each year. The City of Los Angeles reported that 212 foster and probation youth participated in the program during the summer of 2008, or 85 percent of the enrollment goal of 250. In response to a request for information, the Department of Community and Senior Services began polling service providers, and as of April 10, 2009 had polled three providers who had referred all youth participants to the Department of Human Resources programs. 2008-2009 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury Report 49 The Department of Children and Family Services, in conjunction with the Probation Department, are the main departments in Los Angeles County responsible for foster and probation youth. The Independent Living Program (ILP), under the auspices of the Department of Children and Family Services in conjunction with the Probation Department, is responsible for youth transitioning from foster and County care into the community, including assisting with job readiness and employment. However, ILP youth make up less than half of the 250 foster and probation youth targeted for enrollment in Hire LA’s Youth.
F08 Page 50
The program is not mandatory for County departments and only two of the County’s ten largest departments participated in the Career Development Intern Program for foster youth in FY 2007-08.

Recommendations 8