ORANGE COUNTY CHILDREN'S THERAPEUTIC ARTS CENTER (4) - 2014

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2014-15 Orange County Children's Therapeutic Arts Center Youth Workforce Investment Act Proposal 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. IV. Employment A. Specify how your agency will help youth attain employment - OCCTAC program services support the High Growth Training Initiative as identified by the United States Department of Labor. Within the 14 -high growth industries identified, our participants will obtain job training related to the Information and Technology, the Health related Industries, and the fields of Education and the Arts. The participants will receive several services/resources to help with the attainment of employment. To begin, all youth will be placed to work at OCCTAC, or one of our partner agencies, and will have the opportunity to engage upon a field of interest (customer service, education, music technology, and the arts). These placements will help youth gain skills crucial to any work environment. To monitor progress, participants will be evaluated monthly by their work experience supervisor and areas of strengths and weaknesses will be addressed. This information will allow the youth and case manager to establish areas that need improvement and therefore guide job skills training sessions. With this said, participants will be meeting with the case manager at least once a month for training and employment guidance. During these one-on-one meetings, the youth will be working on professional resumes, cover letters, job search, and job applications. Moreover, they will have the opportunity to prepare for job interviews and conduct cold calls to employers within the community. By the 3rd QT of the program year, the Case Manager and youth will be meeting more frequently to ensure that job applications are submitted on a regular basis and that youth are following through with scheduled interviews. These meetings will give youth an opportunity to enhance those employment skills they continue to struggle with while allowing the Case Manager to monitor progress of employment goals. B. What types of services/workshops/resources will be provided to help youth attain employment? — WIA Participants at OCCTAC will be asked to attend job skills series workshops that will cover all necessary basics on employment readiness, such as, as resume writing, cover letters and interviewing skills. Participants will then meet with the case manager for review of finalization of items. Before ending the program, participants will have completed an employment portfolio to present to employers, including all materials created for employment purposes. C. Specify the names of the employers that your agency has partnerships/agreements with who will hire youth. - OCCTAC has partnerships with various businesses in Santa Ana, as well as non-profit organizations that are always looking to hire youth. Another important partnership is MECCA. MECCA (Multi -Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies) is a consortium of non-profit social service agencies and health centers. OCCTAC has been part of this new and exciting coalition for the past three years! OCCTAC provides WIA participants internship opportunities with MECCA and this gives WIA youth the opportunity to be hired by MECCA. This coalition has several important County I';XIIIBIT A