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Orange County Youth Commission <br />Santa Ana, California <br />1. Population we serve: <br />We serve the neediest youth from the community. Their families are low-income and all <br />are in need of academic support and positive experiences. We have two different target <br />populations that we serve. The First, are defined as junior and high school students, who <br />are "In-School Youth" between the ages of 16 and 20. These teens are or were <br />considered "at-risk" of academic failure, gang involvement, criminal/deviant behavior <br />and/or substance abuse. The majority of these youth come to us deficient in basic <br />academic skills; e.g., reading, writing, math, and grammar. All require individual <br />counseling and/or mentoring services to accomplish educational goals. Many have past <br />gang involvement. Others have been suspended or expelled from school at one time or <br />another and some are involved in alternative school settings like the Community Day <br />School which refers students to us. A number of youth are members of families on <br />welfare. Several are youth in the foster-care system and others are on parole. The <br />majority are at-risk for school failure and dropping-out. We will serve 10 youths that are <br />considered "In-School Youths" The second population of youths that we serve may still <br />be in school but the age group is older and is more interested in getting a job. We call this <br />group that we serve our "Young Adults". This group will also need tutoring and help <br />with the basic reading and writing skills. We will focus on helping the Young Adults to <br />understand their options in the world that we live in today whether that would mean for <br />them to return to school, or get into a technical school, or find a job. We will serve 10 <br />Young Adults; Ages 18 to 23. <br />We have had one young man that has been attending the Santa Ana Boxing Club for over <br />2 years now. When his parents moved to Garden Grove Anthony Serrano, our Boxing <br />Coach found this young man a closer gym so he could keep up his boxing skills. We <br />were very sad to loose this young man because he has been a model to other youth. He is <br />a straight A student and is an excellent boxer despite his living situation being poor and <br />in need of support. He lives with several family members and his space in the apartment <br />is a closet. This is where he keeps his belongings and sleeps. Less than a month had <br />passed by when the father of this youth brought not only his son back to the Santa Ana <br />Boxing Club but also brought his cousin. The father told Anthony that his son had been <br />acting out in school and had started to be disrespectful and he knew that Anthony would <br />not let him get away with this type of attitude at the Santa Ana Boxing Club. This just <br />shows how much the youth respect and admire Anthony Serrano and enjoy the discipline <br />that they receive at the Santa Ana Boxing Club. <br />2. Number of youth served: <br />The number of youth that attend the boxing club fluctuates from 60 to over 100 with an <br />average of 60 to 70 each day. However, we project that we will case-manage and serve <br />20 youth in this WIA program. They all live within inner city limit of Santa Ana, <br />California, designated as a high crime area. Those youth who will participate under this <br />grant are legal U.S. residents who reside in Santa Ana, California and are members of <br />low-income families. They all presently attend the Orange County Youth Commission's <br />(OCYC) Santa Ana Boxing Club an after-school program that integrates academic <br />tutoring, mentoring and other supportive activities with athletic skill development and <br />2 <br />EXHIBIT A