ORANGE COUNTY CONSERVATION CORPS (3) - 2010

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college or apprenticeship. In fourteen years, Taller San Jose has helped over 4,000 young people in Central Orange County restructure their lives, finish their education and develop marketable job skills. The Orange Cattttty Cottservation Carps {OCCC) serves at-risk young adults tluough employment, training and educational programs that build self sufficiency and benefit the community through consezvation-related projects. OCCC strives to help troubled youth enter the workforce and become successful, productive members of society. The OCCC employs more than 220 youth each year from throughout Orange County to work on projects for local cities, county agencies, and nonprofit organizations. As a transitional work and job training program, the OCCC recruits and employs 18-25 year old marginalized youth and trains them to work on OCCC's projects in habitaf/trailJpark restoration, construction, and recycling. OCCC offers corps members paid work experience and helps them develop a strong work ethic and leadership skills. All carps members must also be enrolled iii an educational program. The OCCC is affiliated with the John Muir Chatter School, which is administered by the Nevada County Supez•intendent of Schools. OCCC corps members who do not have a high school diploma are enrolled in the OCCC/John Muir Charter School to complete then degree and pass the California High School Exi# Exam. Those corps members who already have their high school diploma are required to enroll in a cornrnunity college, Regional Occupation Program {ROP) or local trade scliool. OCCC corps members reflect these characteristics: Average age: 20 years; Education: 81% have not completed high school; Residency: 30% Iive in Santa Ana; Court itavolvettrettt: 65% are or have been court-involved, including on probation/parole; 30% are gang-affiliated; Fatrtily: 26% are parents and 13% are or have been in foster care. The proposed Green Construction Program will target low-income, Santa Ana youth who are between the ages of 18 and 21, with right-to-work documents and who share one or more of the following cliaracter•istics: are deficient in basic skills, have dropped out of school, are homeless or foster youth, are pregnant or patenting a child and/or are current or past offenders. The program will provide WIA elements 1 through 10. Each partner agency will recruit 10 students (20 total) to the Green Construction Program. Taller San Jose will utilize the following recruitment efforts: 1) Community Outreach Coordinator -a staff member actively markets the program to potential students and organizes recruitment efforts at, among other locations, local churches, jails, conununity centers, other youth-sezving nonprofits, etc.; 2) Referrals fi•ottt current Taller San Jose students -about 65% of students are referred by a fiierrd or relative; 3} Referrals fi•otn C0i11)ltunlty par'tner's inchtding: the Orange County Probation Department, the Santa Ana WORK Center, Santa Ana Regional Occupation Center (ROP), Centennial Education Center, La Familia, Youth Provider Network, Daisy Wheel Network, as well as nonprof t institutions, including: Christ Our Redeemer CDC, Jamboree Housing, Orangewood Children's Foundation and Phoenix House; and, 4) Local netivsprint publications such as the free Pemrysaver. OCCC will recruit 10 youth primarily from ifs Corps 2 Career Program-those who have already successfully completed job training and education at the Corps and are working with OCCC staff to transition into the workplace. In exceptional circumstances, and determined an a case-by-case EXH IB1T A jporaorerl Gy tLe Slitert of St. Jotepl~ of Ormige