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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 />• Completed numerous work projects to improve and restore several Santa Ana parks <br />portions of Santiago Creek, and the Santa Ana Zoo; <br />• Repaired more than 20 low-income homes/apartments in Santa Ana. <br />B. Experience <br />1. Briefly outline all youth programs that your agency has operated during the last 2 <br />years. Include discussion of past performance as related to W/A performance goals. <br />Organizations with no experience in providing WIA services should explain unique <br />advantages or value associated with their proposal. <br />While the Orange County Conservation Corps has previously added program components like <br />construction training & work experience, and programs like Youthbuild, the Orange County <br />Conservation Corps has operated the same award-winning youth program for the last 17 years <br />based on state and national models for conservation and youth service corps. Over the years, <br />the Corps has developed and improved on this basic model to provide a comprehensive, <br />structured program that provides a wide array of work experiences and services that meets the <br />needs of local Orange County youth. The program model stresses the importance of education, <br />occupational skills that lead to employment, leadership development, and post-program follow- <br />up. <br />2. What kind of experience do you have in incorporating parents, youth and employers <br />into your programs? <br />Since most Orange County Conservation Corps Corpsmembers are adults and many are <br />estranged from their parents for various reasons, the Corps does not have much experience <br />with incorporating parents into our program. Unfortunately, most parents of Orange County <br />Conservation Corps Corpsmembers either do not have the time or the desire to be involved with <br />the program. Nonetheless, Corpsmember success at the Corps often reunites the <br />Corpsmembers with their parent(s) as Corpsmembers become more responsible, stable, and <br />self-sufficient adults. The Orange County Conservation Corps does schedule events throughout <br />the year to involve family members, be it their parents, their wives/girlfriends, <br />husbands/boyfriends, and/or children to promote a sense of family and community into our <br />program. <br />The Orange County Conservation Corps has nearly 17 years of experience running the Corps' <br />program which, from the onset, has been designed to incorporate youth. Services have been <br />available and provided to youth since 1993, and as mentioned above, include paid, on-the-job <br />training, education through our on-site charter school, and case management services to <br />address the various and sundry barriers to successful employment and education. <br />The Orange County Conservation Corps has a long history of incorporating employers into the <br />Corps' program. Through on-going networking efforts, a dedicated Transition ("Corps-2- <br />Career') Specialist maintains relationships with employers to assist with post-Corps placement <br />of Corpsmembers in stable employment. Additionally, the Corps holds job fairs as needed to <br />place Corpsmembers who have completed the program, as well as inspire the Corpsmembers <br />still enrolled in the Orange County Conservation Corps John Muir Charter School. This includes <br />page 20 of 23 <br />EXHIBIT A