Six months after Los Angeles County allocated funds to create jobs for the local youth, the investment has yielded over 3,400 jobs. The motion, introduced by Supervisors Don Knabe and Zev Yaroslavsky during the County’s budget hearings, was unanimously approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors this past summer.
On June 18, 2007, the Board approved an allocation of $6.5 million to fund the Youth Jobs Program, and directed the Department of Community and Senior Services to use the money to enter into contracts with appropriate Youth Jobs providers throughout the County, including the seven local Workforce Investment Boards. To date 3,436 jobs have been filled Countywide, with 499 jobs in the Fourth District alone.
There is a tremendous need for our youth to be meaningfully engaged in positive activities in our communities, and employment is vital to that experience, said Supervisor Knabe. I am very pleased at the success of this program, but our work is not complete. We will be working very hard to press this point at the State and Federal level that job programs for young people is a priority that all of us will benefit from.