RE-ENGAGING OUR YOUTH Presented BySelena Barajas-Ledesma, MSWPupil Services Administrator, City Partnership Program Los Angeles Unified School District

Disconnected Youth:

A NATIONAL PROBLEM

1.2 million students did not graduate from high school in 2011

lost lifetime earnings for that class alone total $154 billion

Estimated 6.7 Million disconnected youth

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DROPOUTSCity of Los Angeles by the Numbers

100,000 Youth between the ages of 16-24 are Out of School & Out of Work (1 in 5)

13,794 Homeless Youth

8,278 Youth in Foster Care

6,950 students from the Class of 2013 dropped out of school

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LAUSD AND CHRONIC ABSENCELos Angeles Unified School District

580,601 19,646

Chronically absent high school students in 2013-2014 school year

LAUSD Enrollment

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IT TAKES A VILLAGESystem Alignment Based on a Common Goal

School District, Community Colleges, Business, Child Welfare, Probation, Mental Health

Workforce Development

FINDING A SOLUTION

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POLICIES & PARTNERSHIPS(Real Skin in the Game)

LA Compact - Policy priority to serve OSY youth

Random assignment evaluation - Workforce Innovation Fund

LA Unified School District Co-Investment to place counselors in each YouthSource Center (PSA Counselors)

2012 launch of WIA dropout recovery system

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THE ROLE OF THE PSA COUNSELOR

Assist with Outreach and recruitment of OSY youth

Educational assessment of each youth - reviews grades, behavior, and school enrollment

Identify and asses barriers to academic achievement.

Identify personal and academic goals

Assess socio-economic needs and provide appropriate referrals

Develop individual academic plan

Communicate and coordinate service plan with WIA Career Coach

Ongoing counseling during participation

OSY BEST PRACTICES(WHAT’S WORKING)

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Construction

Healthcare

CAREER PATHWAYS IN(Implementing a Job Driven System TEGL 3-14)

Automotive Technology

CREATING BRIDGES FROM SECONDARY

TO POST-SECONDARY

EDUCATION

Contextualized Basic Skills Combined with Sector Based Work

Experience

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TRUANCY DIVERSION PROGRAM

Identify root causes

Engage parents & students in an off-campus environment

Educate parents/students on law, options, benefits of school attendance

Educational & psychological assessments

YouthSource Services

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STUDENT RECOVERY DAY

Targets schools with highest dropout and absenteeism rates

Education, Workforce and Human Services - 1,000 volunteers

1,243 dropouts recovered in one day

Annual door-to-door home visits in an effort to provide youth and their families with a myriad of services

SHAREbest practices

CROSS TRAINING

ASSESSthe needs of the population

RE-ASSESSthe training needs of your staff

LEARN each other’s strengths

IDENTIFYexperts within your collaborative

ENGAGEoutside experts

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ACCOMPLISHMENTS

26,448 Young adults used the YouthSource Centers

5,770 Young adults enrolled in the YouthSource System

1,646 High School Dropouts were Re-engaged and Re-enrolled in School

10,514 received an educational assessment

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BOYLE HEIGHTS TECHNOLOGY YOUTH SOURCE CENTER

Programs for youth on probation

On-Site Credit Recovery & GED prep courses

Youth Enrichment programs

Community Referrals as neededTruancy Diversion Program

Youth Training Academy (YTA: Ages 13-19)

WIA/LARCA Programs- Targeting out of work out of school youth (16-24)

STUDENTS

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EXPANSION

Family Source Program• Prevention Model• Goal-Increase family resources

and academic achievement• Serve younger youth

Arrest Diversion Program• Intervention for youth that have

committed• Minor infractions• Alternative to citation/arrest• Eliminate School to Prison Pipeline

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MORE SUPPORT FOR HIGH RISK YOUTH

Camp Returnee/Probation Youth Program

Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund

29YouthSource and

Family Source Centers aimed at serving students

and families throughout the

City of Los Angeles