TALLER SAN JOSE (3) - 2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Upon program completion, all 20 WIA participants will transition to a tlU'ee-month, 32-hour per week paid externship with OCCC and their industry partners to gain on-the-job experience. Youth will earn minimum wage during their exte1'11ship, which will include a mix of job- shadowing and hands-on experience fabricating and staging installation materials. One industry paliner on this project is Sun Energy,' Inc., a Mission-Viejo-based company focused on commercial solar energy. During this externship, all WIA-enrolled youth will meet weekly with their respective case managers, either at Taller San Jose or at OCCC. Taller San Jose's program in green construction will also provide supPOli services to help students address many of the factors that prevent them from successfully transitioning into the workforce. Young people in Santa Ana, who have not completed high school, who have no defined job skills, and who have criminal records face a number of significant obstacles to self- sufficiency. TSJ's Case Managers help students address these barriers to employment through regular mentoring and life skills sessions. Upon arrival in the program, all 10 Taller San Jose- elU'olled WIA students will be matched to a case manager who conducts an initial assessment and develops goals with the student to help them show up every day, on time, and to increase their likelihood of remaining enrolled in the program. Case Managers will challenge students to complete the following seven goals: Obtain a high school diploma; Open and use a bank account; Learn basic computer skills; Secure a job with a living wage; Remain crime free and drug free for one year; Register to vote; and, Obtain a valid drivel" s license. Case Managers refer students experiencing more serious issues to our on-site counselor who is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker or connects them to appropriate community resources. Staff provides monthly childcare vouchers and bus passes to help alleviate students) childcare and transp01iation needs. Case Managers also offer a weekly life skills program that focuses on relationship building and healthy relationships and based on FuturoNow's Within My Reach@ curriculum. Within My Reach is a relationship skills and decision-making program aimed at helping individuals achieve their goals in relationships, family and marriage. The curriculum is especially tailored for those with economic hardships and focuses on two fundamental premises. The first is that virtually all people have aspirations for relationships that are happy, healthy, and stabl~and that these aspirations are most often expressed" in tenus of a desire for success in marriage. The second premise is that the decisions one makes in romantic relationships will affect the possibility of success in every other aspect of life-especially in child rearing and employment. The program teaches that success in life on virtually every dimension depends on success, or at the very least, the absence of high danger or derailment of personal goals due to problems in personal relationships. . Taller San Jose's Employment and Alumni Services provides 24-months of comprehensive follow-up services to graduates including links to employment and ongoing coaching that includes resume building, interviewing skills and confidence building that helps students remain employed and focused on career progression. All follow-up services include intensive support for the first 90 days after placement. As graduates acclimate to the workplace, meetings with staff mentors occur on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. Alumni Incentives ($10 gift cards) are given for proof of employment at 30 and 90 days after placement. The career center is open until 7PM every Wednesday to ensure that alumni have adequate access to this resource. Taller produces a qual1erly alumni and student newsletter, Standing Taller, which has a circulation of roughly 500 individuals. The publication highlights student success stories, inspirational EXHIBIT A 5 JpDfllmd hy Ih, S;Jlm Df S,. jDJ/ph ofOrft1/gl