TALLER SAN JOSE (5) - 2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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and, 70% of students who complete their program goals move on to full -time employment beyond minimum wage or to community college. Taller San Jose attributes its success at reaching and retaining Santa Ana's undereducated and unskilled youth to a holistic, relational approach to education and training. The philosophy of the program calls for high interaction between staff and participants. Staff members focus on making warm and supportive contacts with each participant from the first phone contact /walk -in, through orientation sessions and throughout the first critical weeks of the student's participation. Taller San Jose employs twenty -five staff who work with youth on a daily basis to provide support services, instruction, training, and mentoring. To ensure that the program enrolls 75 percent of WIA youth by December 31, 2012, Taller San Jose has adjusted its class schedule, which will enable students to begin their coursework in July. C. Priority Services Taller San Jose will recruit and enroll 20 out -of- school youth over the course of the next year. Ten percent of recruited youth are either: 1) Emancipated Youth: Taller San Jose is a Guardian Scholar School of Orangewood Children's Home. Each year between 8 and 15 students are referred to Taller San Jose from Orangewood; 2) Probation Youth: Taller actively recruits at PAC meetings and about 60 percent of its male students are on probation or parole; or, 3) Youth with disabilities. By focusing on traditionally high - growth industries and emphasizing living -wage employment with health benefits, Taller San Jose gives students the skills needed to enter today's workforce and move out of poverty so that they can support themselves and their families. All WIA graduates will receive certification from one of the following entities: Certiport (Microsoft), American Heart Association (Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers), or the U.S. Department of Labor /Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Taller San Jose's workforce training programs simulate the workforce and strive to assist young adults to become economically self - sufficient through intensive training that leads to living -wage employment. Whenever possible, Taller San Jose partners with local businesses to offer on -the- job training. For example, all students who successfully complete training in the Medical Careers Academy must complete a four -week externship at a local doctor's office or clinic. Additionally, in January 2011, Taller San Jose developed two, ongoing 16 -week, paid internships with St. Joseph Health System's Revenue Cycle Services. Each intern is matched to a staff mentor, who offers guidance and coaching related to their professional and educational development. To date, eight Taller San Jose students have cycled through this program and two have been hired as full - time employees at the end of their internship. The program has been so successful that the St. Joseph Health System marketing department has launched its own internship, which offers one - year of employment to a Taller San Jose graduate and pays $12 per hour. In the coming year, Taller San Jose is hoping to replicate these programs with other businesses. C. Program Timeline Taller San Jose's approach to workforce development follows a five -step self - sufficiency framework (A Guide to Progress and Success or GPS, see attached) that includes highly- focused job training, intensive case management, comprehensive support services, job placement and 24 months of job- retention support and follow -up. Taller San Jose recruits out -of- school and unemployed young adults (18 -28) through the following avenues: Exhibit A 5