Innovation
Western Maryland Youth Connect to Careers
“When we looked at the big picture, we decided we were going to be very aggressive in trying to serve as many kids as we could because of the very high unemployment in our area.” That was Peter Thomas’s strategy for the Western Maryland Consortium’s summer youth employment program. Thomas, the Consortium’s executive director, welcomed an infusion of $661,553 in American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funds – especially since his service delivery area includes Hagerstown, the city with Maryland’s highest unemployment rate (11.1% in August).
“The ARRA money gave us a chance to help kids who really needed the help, while also giving the local economy a shot in the arm,” Thomas said. With a grand total of 406 summer youth employees, Western Maryland ran its largest summer program of the past decade. Of the 279 ARRA-funded young workers, 42% were out-of-school youth. The Consortium also found summer placements for 65 in-school enrollees from the regular Workforce Investment Act program, and 62 young people funded through TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families).
Consortium staff based their hiring and placement decisions on each young person’s situation and whether a worksite fit the individual’s interest and availability of transportation. Most jobs were individual placements, in clerical, maintenance, or landscaping and horticulture positions.
“We decided we would continue to support any out-of-school youth beyond the summer, if our support would enable that individual to return to school, take GED classes at the Consortium, enter a community college for training, or obtain an unsubsidized job at the summer worksite by the end of the year,” Thomas explained.
One young lady, an 18-year-old dropout with a new baby, had earned her GED in the spring of 2009 through classes at the Consortium. Because she wanted to go into nursing, a Consortium case manager located a summer job for her at the American Red Cross. With scholarship assistance, she enrolled in the Certified Nursing Assistance/Geriatric Nursing Assistance program at Hagerstown Community College and began her studies in August. The Consortium helped her purchase the required uniforms, shoes, stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, and watch. She continues to work at the American Red Cross in the evenings and is earning good grades in her nursing classes.
The highlight of the summer? “Young people who had no plans and were drifting came into the program and got engaged,” Thomas reflected. “By working with our case managers, they realized they should do something more than move from one entry-level job to another. Now, they recognize the value of obtaining credentials.” As a result of the program, four summer youth decided to pursue their GED and nine made a decision to enroll in community college in fields such as nursing, culinary arts, and criminal justice.
Contact:
Peter Thomas
Executive Director
Western Maryland Consortium
(301-791-3076 ext. 124)
pthomas@westernmarylandconsortium.org
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