ORANGE COUNTY CONSERVATION CORPS (2) - 2009

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Orange County Conservation Corps Santa Ana Workforce Investment Board -The Youth Service Provider Network Request for Proposal PY 2009/2010 it their parents, their wives/girlfriends, husbands/boyfriends, and/or children to promote a sense of family and community into our program. The OCCC has over 16 years of experience running the Corps' program which, from the onset, has been designed to incorporate youth. Services have been available and provided to youth since 1993, and as mentioned above, include paid, on-the job training, education through our on-site charter school, and case management services to address the various and sundry barriers to successful employment and education. The OCCC has a long histor~r of incorporating employers into the Corps' program. Through on-going networking efforts, a dedicated Transition ("Corps-2-Career") Specialist maintains relationships with employers to assist with post-Corps placement of corpsmembers in stable employment. Additionally, the OCCC holds job fairs as needed to place corpsmembers who have completed the program, as well as inspire the corpsmembers still enrolled in the OCCC/John Muir Charter School. This includes employers that are considered "felony-friendly", as more than half of our participants are, or have been, on parole and/or probation. Furthermore, local employers and their staff participate on our Board of Directors, providing both feedback from a business perspective, networking opportunities, and valuable contacts with industry. 3. Describe howstaffwil/receive trainina and ongoing staffdevelonment to increase staffcapacit~r and expertise in the field of youth development and employment All OCCC staff are required to attend a minimum of 24 hours of training each year. This includes a variety of topics, including safety, youth development, leadership and technology. Training is provided through both internal sessions and attendance at outsourced seminars and presentations. Outside workshops provide an excellent opportunity for staff (and often corpsmembers) to learn more about best practices in youth development, such as the CWA and Gang Prevention & Intervention conferences. Attending such outside events allows staff to network with other providers, and expands the availability of resources for our participants. Furthermore, our certificated teaching staff receives a 2-day annual "in-service" training through the John Muir Charter School. Staff Development Days are scheduled twice a year, and include team-building and development exercises for the entire staff. Plus, the OCCC maintains an Education Reimbursement benefit for staff that choose to enroll in outside classes that will have a direct benefit towards their position at the OCCC. Upon approval, tuition and book expenses are reimbursed upon successful completion of the class. 4. list oositions dedicated to this proposal The OCCC currently has 33 full-time and 1 part-time staff and needs to employ 70 corpsmembers each day to fulfill current work projects. Several staff will be involved in providing services for this project, some in-kind (Teachers, Transition Specialist, Training Supervisor). Several OCCC staff are former corpsmembers themselves who are valuable role models and mentors to corpsmembers. Following are the staff dedicated to this project with primary responsibility for providing services: • Ralph Jimenez, WIA Program Specialist: AS Public Safety & AA Liberal Arts; Certified Firefighter; 5 years with the OCCC. Page 19 of 21