Five local service providers made it a little easier for Hamilton County youth to find jobs this summer. Using federal stimulus money, the contracted agencies provided job training and placement to help prepare hundreds of young people for future endeavors. 

The Southwest Ohio Regional Workforce Investment Board selected the following youth service providers to deliver services to Hamilton County youth during the summer: 

• Jobs for Cincinnati Graduates provided a Summer Career Exploration program where 49 youth received job readiness training for one week, then were placed for seven weeks with an employer that matched their chosen career path.
• Arbor Employment and Training provided youth employment services through the program “Career Works,” which had several steps designed to enable participants to have a full work experience. Two hundred youth attended the May 30 orientation and 130 were at a June 6 orientation.
• Great Oaks used the Individual Academic and Career Plans (IACP) curriculum to show the relevance of academics to 45 youth in its Freshman Challenge program.
• Urban League of Greater Cincinnati provided paid work readiness training to 20 out-of-school youth.
• Easter Seals Work Resource Center provided summer youth employment to 120 low-income youth; the youth participated in an extensive orientation process to prepare them for work.

Hamilton County received the stimulus funds in April. The county was required to spend the money on job training-related services to youth ages 14 to 24. Staffing, administration and overhead costs were kept to a minimum; 70 percent of the money was used for wages or stipends paid directly to youth. Throughout their participation, youth were paid an hourly rate of between $7.35 and $10. 

Hamilton County chose to direct the funds primarily toward:

• Youth who were at risk of dropping out of high school

• Youth who had already dropped out of high school

• Youth who had a criminal record or were involved with the court system

• Youth who are currently in or were in foster care

• Youth preparing to transition from high school to post secondary education

• Youth interested in employment in health care, construction, advanced manufacturing, education or science/technology/engineering/math

Each youth’s activities were different depending on their individual needs. Most youth participated in several activities such as: 

• Work readiness workshops and interview training
• Scholarship and college enrollment paperwork preparation
• Financial literacy training
• Placement in employer-based summer internships
• Training for improved reading, science and math skills
• Career plan development
• Career exploration
• Exposure to “green industry” job opportunities
• Removal of work barriers for recent graduates.