ORANGE COUNTY CHILDREN'S THERAPEUTIC ARTS CENTER 1

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OC Children's Therapeutic Arts Center 2013-14 Program Narrative needs. This support provides OCCTAC with the ability to serve more at -risk populations including youth who are in the foster care system who are often credit deficient and may have special needs. Lastly, OCCTAC will continue to conduct community outreach and special community events throughout the year to promote our programs and inform youth in the community about this wonderful WIA program. Some of these community events include the following: Expos, Health Fairs, Summer Family Festivals, etc. These events aid in the promotion of our services and recruitment of youth. These events are staffed by employees and volunteers at OCCTAC, as well as youth! WIA participants are also encouraged to participate in these events as a way to gain leadership skills, work experience, and practice with public speaking. C. Will your agency provide paid work experience? If so, please describe and include the Paid Work Experience Policy with this proposal. Yes, OCCTAC will provide paid work experience to WIA participants. Please see attachments for the Paid Work Experience Policy. Stipend Period: Four Stipend Periods - First 80 hours ofparticipation Most youth are able to complete their first 80 hours of participation in about 2 months. During the first two months of participation, all youth will be required to attend regularly for about 10-20 hours a week. For their consistent participation, youth will receive a $150.00 stipend after they complete the first 20 hours. Youth will receive three more stipends, each of $150.00, upon completion of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th set of 20 hours, for a total of 80 hours. The stipend hours will be completed through difference venues: Case Management meetings, workshops, Educational counseling services, work experience placement, job skills training, weekly tutoring, etc. Hourly Rate: Once Youth completes the Four Stipend Periods Immediately after the completion of the first 80 hours of participation, those youth that have shown consistency will be encouraged to work between 15-25 hours per week until theirjob training period is completed. These youth will be paid $8.00 per hour. D. How will your agency address the barriers that the youth face? As mentioned previously, OCCTAC will address the barriers that youth face in the following ways. Every youth will be assigned a case manager whose goal will be to provide mentorship meanwhile aiding with the attainment of employment goals, such as writing a resume and preparing for an interview, etc. To solve any academic barriers, the youth will also be assigned to a career & educational counselor who will provide direction and coaching on any academic aspect, such as scholarship writing and enrollment into an institution of interest. In addition, OCCTA's environment is very supportive and provides additional support services to engage youth and maintain a high level of involvement in our programs. WIA youth are supported emotionally throughout the entire year at OCCTAC, and are provided with a positive and welcoming environment that also encourages youth to partake on various leadership roles within the various programs and activities at our agency. These additional activities provide youth with an opportunity to gain self-confidence, self-esteem and leadership skills, and also experience a safe haven at our center. Our goal is to empower youth and provide a life changing opportunity through this WIA program. E. What is the length of your program? How much time will a youth need to be in the program to get the full benefits? The length of the program is one year. In order for participants to get the full benefit of our program and each component offered, WIA participants are required to commit to at least 6 months of training and work experience. It is understood that many WIA participants have demanding circumstances in their lives, which, often dictate their ability to maintain their established training and work schedule. However, the OCCTAC staff is committed in supporting WIA participants' efforts towards achieving their educational and career goals. The frequency of program activities is shown below in Table 2. Please see below the frequency and type of program activities that vary daily, weekly and monthly. rVU1n17 A -I