Innovation
Baltimore County Youth Spend Summer by the Bay
Sailboats and powerboats are not the usual summer job settings, but that's exactly where the Baltimore County Workforce Investment Agency placed 33 of its summer youth employees.
Chesapeake Bay Memories Charities, the youths' employer, is a volunteer-run nonprofit educational organization in Eastern Baltimore County that organizes volunteers to help preserve the Bay, with a focus on preservation through education, using a core program involves watershed-focused educational, leadership and community outreach activities afloat and ashore.
Summer workers as young as 14 years old were engaged in tasks such as taking soil and water samples, testing the Bay waters for salinity, and documenting the presence of various types of bacteria. In total, they mastered 15 environmental stations, learning skills such as CPR and safe boating training. CBMC also taught them leadership and presentation skills, so they could teach younger children "everything you want to know about oysters, fish, sediment control, how to handle a fishing rod, and how to detox your home," according to CBMC's volunteer executive director, Penny Soteria. The 14- to 18-year-old workers shared their new knowledge with younger peers at Police Athletic League centers during July; in August, the PALS center students came to CBMC, where the summer youth employees taught boating safety and fishing on the water.
For many of the young workers, the summer job was their first experience with boats – ranging from small sailboats to a 14-foot Boston whaler and other powerboats – and they gained hands-on experience with everything from dredging for oysters to wearing life jackets. They also learned about the Nellie L. Byrd, an old skipjack that CBMC is repairing and upgrading. Once "Nellie" is restored, she will be redeployed as a floating classroom and the centerpiece of CBMC's Maryland Maritime Treasures Museum.
"They really did an outstanding job," Soteria said, but "one of the biggest barriers we had was that they didn't believe they could do it. We were so surprised by how nervous they were about learning CPR and first aid and safe boating and environmental education. By the end of the summer, though, they really believed in themselves. During their exit interviews, they were surprised and proud that they had attained the skills. We really wanted them to continue with us over the school year (and a lot of them wanted to do that) but we don't have the funding. We hope to welcome them back in July 2010."
"All of the kids came from challenging backgrounds," Soteria reflected. Although several were fired (for habitual profanity, safety violations such as persistent text messaging during work hours, or disrespect of peers and supervisors), "the ones who stuck it out really grew from the experience."
Several factors contributed to CBMC's success as a summer youth employment site. Accustomed to hosting young volunteers and delivering an engaging hands-on curriculum, CBMC understood from the outset how to supervise young workers. The organization uses an extensive youth development framework to ensure that youth gain as much as they give. In addition, CBMC upped their initial job order from 15 to 33 when the Workforce Investment Agency offered to provide transportation for the youth, thus solving one of the most common challenges summer youth employment programs face.
The Baltimore County WIA's business services staff developed 227 different worksites for summer youth in addition to CBMC. They found a willing partner in County Executive Jim Smith, who encouraged County agencies to participate; as a result, departments such as fire, police, economic development, health, social services, and the WIA itself welcomed young workers to more than 47 worksites related to County agencies.
With 600 in-school and out-of-school participants, Baltimore County's 2009 summer youth employment program dwarfed last year's, which involved only 138 youth. The program was funded primarily with ARRA funds, augmented by $17,000 from the State. WIA director Barry Williams is "hoping this will open the door to a summer program beyond ARRA. The need is great, and the kids need the experience. When kids are gainfully employed, it makes everything in their lives much better."
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