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STANDARD 4: YOUTH STRATEGIES <br />Introduction and Overview <br />The State Standards for Youth Strategies require that the WIB: <br />• Partner with K -12 education and others on strategies that reduce high school dropout <br />rates and encourage dropout recovery <br />• Partner in developing and executing strategies to re- engage disconnected youth <br />• Partner with employers, educators, and others to help youth understand career <br />pathway options <br />• Encourage youth to focus on attainment of postsecondary degrees and other <br />credentials important to priority industry sector employers in the local /regional labor <br />market. <br />The key strategies for youth are easy to state, but difficult to accomplish: encourage as many <br />as possible to stay in school and as appropriate to use that experience to prepare for work life; <br />provide options for re- engaging those who have left school or become disconnected from it <br />and /or from work in some way; extend the career pathways for youth to include post- <br />secondary and private certifications necessary to attain and retain meaningful work. <br />Many of the educational and career pathway opportunities available to the population over 18 <br />are equally available to those under 18. In order to avoid duplication and repetition, this <br />section will simply assume that fact. However, youth, especially those who are disconnected <br />from the educational system or are potentially heading for disconnection, also have special <br />economic and social needs that Santa Ana has recognized and strive to meet in a more effective <br />way. <br />The City has an active Youth Council which reports to the WIB and rests upon a network of <br />collaborating institutions for meeting the special needs of its youth population. This Standard <br />will detail those needs then review existing programs and indicate how they will expand and <br />improve to better serve the youth population. <br />Environment/Circumstances/Need/Gaps Affecting Santa Ana's Youth <br />Santa Ana youth seeking employment face several daunting circumstances.z They <br />• Represent a disproportionately large percentage of the population; <br />• Have an exceptionally high rate of drop outs, and therefore often need significant pre - <br />preparation for apprenticeship and other vocational programs plus other forms of social <br />and economic support; and <br />Z In addition to the other sources utilized above, this section draws its data from the U.S. Department of Education <br />National Center for Educational Statistics (2013) [NCES), California Department of Finance (2013) [DOF), and <br />California Department of Education Demographics Unit (2013) [EDU]. <br />44 <br />19F -52 <br />