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orange County Conservation Corps <br />Santa Ana Workforce Investment Board - The Youth Service Provider Network <br />Request for Proposal <br />PY 201012011 <br />Probation, and various Social Services agencies, both public and nonprofit, such as Olive Crest. <br />Therefore any staff member attending a meeting with other agencies or provider networks (i.e. <br />Corrections, Probation, Social Services Agency) in other parts of the county will be recruiting for <br />all Orange County Conservation Corps programs, including Santa Ana WIA. It is not <br />uncommon to get a referral from someone who attended an event or meeting outside of Santa <br />Ana but passes the information on to family/friends/co-workers that live in Santa Ana. <br />B. Main Purpose of Program <br />1. Indicate what the program will accomplish and how it fits in with WIA goals <br />The Orange County Conservation Corps' Organizational Purpose is to empower youth and <br />young adults to become self-sufficient members of their community. The Corps accomplishes <br />this by offering various programs that provide opportunities for educational, professional, and <br />personal development that will provide the necessary skills to develop and maintain a positive <br />work ethic and provide a lasting foundation to enable youth to enter the workforce and be <br />successful, productive, members of society. <br />The Orange County Conservation Corps' approach to employability teaches teamwork, <br />cooperation, and a positive work ethic by utilizing work projects that are beneficial to the <br />community and the environment. The approach also creates an atmosphere where <br />Corpsmembers have the chance to develop on an educational, professional, and personal level. <br />This long term, holistic approach to working with youth, assists them in overcoming the multiple <br />barriers that most at-risk youth have in their lives. Without a holistic approach, youth may <br />complete a short term training course, earn a valuable certificate to get a job, but not be able to <br />maintain that job due to their inability to deal with personal issues that cause them to have poor <br />attendance and/or not be productive in the workplace. While short term training programs and <br />workshops have a place in youth and workforce development, a more long term, holistic <br />approach is needed by many, and especially the neediest, youth to ensure that they have the <br />time and support to overcome the multiple barriers they face to becoming lifelong learners, <br />trainable, employable, and self-sufficient members of society. <br />The Orange County Conservation Corps will enroll into this program the neediest at-risk youth <br />as designated by the Santa Ana Youth Council, those who need to learn how to work and go to <br />school. For various reasons these youth have not been able to stay in school and/or maintain <br />employment; and the Corps might offer them their first opportunity for their first job. The Corps <br />is not a short term, quick fix; instead it is a six to twelve month comprehensive program with <br />various components and strategies designed to guide and support youth into being employable, <br />trainable, self-sufficient adults. The program's support services and paid work experience help <br />will help the youth to stabilize their lives and help them deal with the many issues they face on a <br />daily basis so they can first maintain their employment and education program. Once the youth <br />become stable and are able to maintain employment and education, they can then focus on <br />furthering their education, improving their work skills, and seeking better employment post- <br />corps. <br />With this philosophy, the Orange County Conservation Corps' program will accomplish the <br />following: <br />page 7 of 23 <br />EXHIBIT A