at-risk youth

The US Labor Department's program YouthBuild is designed to provide assistance to at risk youth who are behind in skill level with alternatives to education in efforts to ensure they finish high school.

"The primary target populations for YouthBuild are adjudicated youth, youth aging out of foster care, out-of-school youth, and other at-risk populations. "

According to a release from the Labor Department 183 groups dedicated to YouthBuild services throughout the country received $114 million.

"This amount is an initial increment for two years of grant operations. A remaining increment may be awarded pending the availability of additional funding. Among today's awardees, 62 are current Department of Labor YouthBuild grantees, and 121 are new to the department."

One such program in Columbia, Missouri schools students for half of the day, and the rest of the day shows them how to build homes that then help disadvantaged families. A new program in Phoenix will fund the first ever green building project done by youth. The Phoenix students will build two Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified houses in older neighborhoods.

"President Obama and I are delighted to be able to increase funding for this promising program, which does so much for youth and their communities," said Secretary Solis. "The YouthBuild program not only assists young people in obtaining education and skills, but also gives them a sense of accomplishment and empowers them as they give back to their communities."

The release also says that $47 million of the total program budget came from the stimulus package passed by Congress earlier this year. With all the no votes for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 one would think it was filled with useless and meaningless projects - clearly this is yet another real world example of the lives impacted by this year's Congress.

It appears that Schwarzenegger and Obama see eye-to-eye on what should be done to reignite the economy. The California Governor, who publicly supported the stimulus package even when other Republican Governors did not, takes a page out of Obama's campaign promises to deliver a program that focuses on 'green' and youth.

President Obama and I share similar priorities right now when it comes to helping the economy rebound and creating a greener California and America,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “In California we will utilize federal economic stimulus funds and public-private partnerships to help stimulate our economy while initiating actions to improve our environment. Green jobs are exactly what our economy and environment need right now – and the California Green Corps targets that need while helping at-risk young adults realize a brighter future.

The program, a 20-month pilot, is aimed at 16 to 24 year old at-risk youth. In addition to providing technical job training in the eco-industry, the program also includes a stipend, an educational requirement and community service. And since it's a public-private partnership, half of the $20 million will come from the private sector and the other half from the federal stimulus money (the private sector money is not guaranteed, however). All the details are not hammered out, but the Governor's choice of a community college as a venue for the press launch of California Green Corps means that he understands that community colleges are equipped to get local residents trained for a new economy.

A few more details. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Karen Baker will be in charge of the program. GreenBiz.com reports that the California Green Corps will be based on some of the principles of the Oakland Green Job Corps.

Some highlights from the Governor's office:

• At least 1,000 at-risk youths will be placed in green jobs through the 20-month Green Corps pilot program - building up both underserved communities and our green workforce.
• There will be at least 10 regional Green Corps, and at least one in each of state's nine economic regions, that should begin serving youth by this Summer. In order to participate, regional organizations must partner to apply for a grant from the state. A Green Corps Advisory Committee will select the winning models.
• To help ensure the success of the Green Corps, it will be housed within CaliforniaVolunteers. This agency is in a unique position to work across state agencies, regional non-profits, foundations and businesses as well as to leverage federal economic stimulus monies - because this is what CaliforniaVolunteers does every day.