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Recreation Center, including the Youth Health Ambassadors, history, civics, green living scholarship, fitness <br />and Teen Library clubs as well as arts, literature, video production and graphic arts workshops and tutoring in <br />math and reading. Half of our part time staff are involved exclusively in assisting with these projects, and are <br />experienced and committed to the growth and development of the young people they work with (refer to <br />attachment #13 for list of teen programs). <br />The majority of teens hired through our grant programs have begun their contact with the library through <br />the volunteer program (see attachment #25). Our volunteers are mentored by staff and older teens and transition <br />age young adults (18-24), and encouraged to develop personal and academic goals and an understanding of the <br />importance of their work to themselves and others. <br />The library has also been unusually effective in working with probation youth volunteers. Annually, <br />forty to fifty probation youth complete their community service at the library. Ten to fifteen of those continue <br />volunteering at the library when their community service responsibilities are concluded. <br />In all of our youth-centered programs, two guiding principles have been primary: The Circle of <br />Mentoring concept and its logical successor, the Seeds to Trees concept. The first emphasizes the value to both <br />mentor and mentee of a close and lasting supportive relationship, and the second the value of providing long- <br />term mentoring, teaching and financial support for developing youth. These principles are the basis of our <br />success with WIA youth in our 2011-2012 program. All full-time employees at the library are involved in <br />mentoring the students we employ under WIA. In addition, the library has been able to supplement this <br />personal support with organizational support in the form of educational and personal counseling, transportation <br />to classes, and paid internships at the library. <br />The library again plans to supplement staff experience with required attendance at appropriate <br />InfoPeople and IMLS webinars and/or workshops on STEM, digital technology and youth development. These <br />courses cover a variety of topics such as personnel management, grant writing, and budgeting. Among the <br />conferences attended by staff this year is an IMLS conference on Technology in Libraries that focused on <br />propagation of STEM content through library materials and programs. The library has also cultivated extensive <br />interactions/partnerships with area agencies which are, or should be, working with youth, including the Orange <br />County Probation Department, the Foster Youth Collaborative, Latino Health Access, Santa Ana Building <br />Healthy Community Initiative, Santa Ana Community College, and local historical associations and museums. <br />The trained staff devoted to this project has included one full-time city employee who served as Lead <br />Case Manager and whose sole responsibility has been to implement and monitor the program. Beatriz Preciado <br />has extensive experience working with young people and substantial organizational skills, and has been <br />instrumental in the success of our current 2011-2012 WIA program. In addition, our Young Adult Librarian has <br />devoted nearly half of her work time to guiding and overseeing the program. The librarian in charge of CTV-3 <br />programming for the city has been responsible for effective cooperation with Ranch Santiago Community <br />College District's Corporate Training Institute, with the result that class schedules and locations, content and <br />student monitoring were implemented and problems solved promptly. She also has had oversight of the work <br />experience of the youth participants, coordinating filming, editing, and web content design through the efforts <br />of her staff. Additional staff has roles as tutor and project mentors (refer to attachment #1 lfor a list of SAPL <br />Project staff). <br />The efforts of these staff members have produced notable successes, especially with WIA-mandated <br />goals. The program achieved full enrollment very early in the cycle, and has only lost one enrollee due to <br />relocation. All participants completed the first phase of the training successfully, and were awarded certificates <br />from Rancho Santiago Community College District testifying to their mastery of digital media preproduction <br />skills. Our out-of-school participants are working to complete high school requirements under staff supervision, <br />and one has already been awarded a GED. In pursuit of WIA employment development goals, participants have <br />been able to take part in the RSCCD Young Entrepreneurs Program, which exposes youth to mechanisms and <br />methods of increasing the marketability of their products and skills. <br />The program is organized and running efficiently. Staff is skilled in providing the mentoring, support <br />and monitoring required by the grant. Participants receive a well-balanced digital media training curriculum <br />taught by qualified instructors, and receive RSCCD certificates at its conclusion. They experience the <br />workplace and its requirements while working for the library and are paid an hourly wage. They are supported <br />by staff and outside resources in pursuit of educational goals and needed personal counseling. The youth are <br />Exhibit A <br />25B-32