Youth

The role of regional development organizations in these programs ranges from supporting summer youth employment services to hosting career exploration events to addressing juvenile delinquencies. Program outcomes have been positive and prove to be a community investment for the future.

The Sonoma County Youth Business Week, hosted and funded by the Sonoma County Economic Development Board and local public/private workforce development organizations, teaches young people about the world of employment and entrepreneurship. Teens interact with local business leaders and educators to learn about the challenges of operating a business, training opportunities, education and local employment. The program offers junior college credits and scholarship opportunities. One third of the attending youth are minority.

Partnering with local colleges, the Cumberland Valley Area Development District is working to provide high school seniors with a community leadership learning opportunity and participation in the Teen Leadership and Mentoring Program. Students cultivate an understanding of volunteerism, ethical decision-making, strengthening leadership abilities, career development, time management, business etiquette and goal-setting. Students also network with business, education, ministry, medical and government professionals. Twenty-four post- secondary scholarships have been awarded to teens who completed the program.

Low-income youth participating in the Summer Select Program, offered by Mississippi’s South Delta Planning and Development District, Inc. and the 14-county region’s workforce partners, attend academic and life skills classes four hours a day and work four hours a day for a six-week period. The young people receive problem solving assistance from team leaders for the next ten months via monthly contacts. Youth meet quarterly for team activities, such as mural painting.

The North Central Alliance for Youth is the collaborative effort of the Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments and juvenile crime prevention councils representing six rural counties in north central North Carolina. The alliance addresses local problems related to juvenile delinquency. Funding of $886,512 from the Governor’s Crime Commission and a local match of $295,504 is being used to develop and operate two juvenile structured day programs and emergency shelter care services.

Voices Across the Ages, a program by the Texoma Council of Governments in Texas, jointly improves the reading abilities of incarcerated young men, offers senior volunteer opportunities and gives local children a learning tool for reading. Foster grandparents volunteer to help improve state school male youth reading skills. The young men then record books on tape. The tapes and companion books are sent to the region’s Head Start programs for children to listen and read along.

Sonoma County Economic Development Board, Youth Business Week. Contact: Ben Stone, 401 College Ave., Suite D, Santa Rosa, CA 95401-5148; 707/565-7170; fax 707/565-7231; email bstone@sonoma-county.org;
web www.sonoma-county.org/edb