ORANGE COUNTY CONSERVATION CORPS (4) -2010

Home Browse Search

Orange County Conservation Corps Santa Ana Workforce Investment Board - The Youth Service Provider Network Request for Proposal PY 2010/2011 Funding for these work projects are provided through the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery Division of Recycling, National Emergency Grants, as well as individual and corporate contributions, contracts with the Orange County, Anaheim and Santa Ana WIBs, and social enterprise projects such as the Irvine Recycling Center. The Orange County Conservation Corps serves as the employer of record and has years of experience handling the payroll for the Corpsmembers. Paid work experience is a major component of Orange County Conservation Corps; and the funding agencies require accurate accounting for all expenditures as well as documentation of skill achievement. On-the-job training allows the Corpsmembers to earn an income and at the same time they are trained in new work skills, develop a work ethic, learn responsibility and demonstrate leadership skills. The educational component provided by the Corps is made possible through an affiliation with the John Muir Charter School, which is chartered and administered California, Superintendent of Schools. This affiliation allows the Orange County Conservation Corps to generate monies through Average Daily Attendance (ADA) from the State of California, Department of Education. Also, through this affiliation, Corpsmembers are provided with the opportunity to earning a high school diploma or a GED as well as receiving instruction targeted toward passing the California High School Exit Exam. Lastly, in order to transition into future employment and explore further career opportunities, the Corp provides Corpsmembers with career transition and exploration via their Corps-2-Career instruction. Once a participant joins the Corps, they are also required to enroll in the Orange County Conservation educational program component. The intent of the educational component is to not only encourage the Corpsmembers to further their formal education but to also help them link their OJT training to the academics required for the job. Corpsmembers who do not have a high school diploma or a GED can earn high school credits to meet the requirements necessary to earn a degree. Those Corpsmembers who do have their high school diploma at the time of enrollment into the program are required to enroll in some form of post-secondary education, such as: community college, Regional Occupation Programs (ROP), or local trade schools for advanced training. If they earn their high school diploma and/or earn a GED after enrollment into the Corp, they are also required to further their education via additional training. The Orange County Conservation Corps primarily enrolls, trains, and employs the hardest-to- reach and neediest segment of our youth population. These are the 18-25 year old out-of- school youth who are primarily high school dropouts, the youth who are or have been homeless and/or runaways, the youth in foster care, the youth who are court involved, and the youth who have had incarcerated parents. They are the youth that fit the description of "at-greater-risk" as defined by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. However, the Orange County Conservation Corps is not a court mandated program. Youth come to the Orange County Conservation Corps of their own free-will because they need to work and want to earn their high school diploma. Almost all are low-income, basic skills deficient, and have multiple barriers to employment and to furthering their education, such as is exemplified by the most recent demographics of youth served by the Corps displayed below: 142 young adults enrolled in the PY 2008-2009 page 2 of 23 EXHIBIT A