RE-ENGAGING OUR YOUTH Presented By Selena Barajas-Ledesma, MSW Pupil Services Administrator, City Partnership Program Los Angeles Unified School District

Disconnected Youth: A NATIONAL PROBLEM 1.2 million students did not graduate from high school in 2011 lost lifetime earnings for that class alone total $154 billion Estimated 6.7 Million disconnected youth

 DROPOUTS City of Los Angeles by the Numbers 3 100,000 Youth between the ages of are Out of School & Out of Work (1 in 5) 13,794 Homeless Youth 8,278 Youth in Foster Care 6,950 students from the Class of 2013 dropped out of school

 LAUSD AND CHRONIC ABSENCE Los Angeles Unified School District 4 580,601 19,646 Chronically absent high school students in school year LAUSD Enrollment

 IT TAKES A VILLAGE System Alignment Based on a Common Goal 5

FINDING A SOLUTION

 POLICIES & PARTNERSHIPS (Real Skin in the Game) 7 LA Compact - Policy priority to serve OSY youth Random assignment evaluation - Workforce Innovation Fund LA Unified School District Co-Investment to place counselors in each YouthSource Center (PSA Counselors) 2012 launch of WIA dropout recovery system

 THE ROLE OF THE PSA COUNSELOR 8 Assist with Outreach and recruitment of OSY youth     Educational assessment of each youth - reviews grades, behavior, and school enrollment Identify and asses barriers to academic achievement. Identify personal and academic goals Assess socio-economic needs and provide appropriate referrals Develop individual academic plan  Communicate and coordinate service plan with WIA Career Coach  Ongoing counseling during participation

OSY BEST PRACTICES (WHAT’S WORKING)

 Construction Healthcare CAREER PATHWAYS IN (Implementing a Job Driven System TEGL 3-14) 10 Automotive Technology

CREATING BRIDGES FROM SECONDARY TO POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION Contextualized Basic Skills Combined with Sector Based Work Experience

 TRUANCY DIVERSION PROGRAM 13 Identify root causes Engage parents & students in an off-campus environment Educate parents/students on law, options, benefits of school attendance Educational & psychological assessments YouthSource Services

 STUDENT RECOVERY DAY 14 Targets schools with highest dropout and absenteeism rates Education, Workforce and Human Services - 1,000 volunteers 1,243 dropouts recovered in one day Annual door-to-door home visits in an effort to provide youth and their families with a myriad of services

 SHARE best practices CROSS TRAINING ASSESS the needs of the population RE-ASSESS the training needs of your staff LEARN each other’s strengths IDENTIFY experts within your collaborative ENGAGE outside experts

 ACCOMPLISHMENTS 16 26,448 Young adults used the YouthSource Centers 5,770 Young adults enrolled in the YouthSource System 1,646 High School Dropouts were Re-engaged and Re-enrolled in School 10,514 received an educational assessment

 17 BOYLE HEIGHTS TECHNOLOGY YOUTH SOURCE CENTER Programs for youth on probation On-Site Credit Recovery & GED prep courses Youth Enrichment programs Community Referrals as needed Truancy Diversion Program Youth Training Academy (YTA: Ages 13-19) WIA/LARCA Programs- Targeting out of work out of school youth (16-24)

 STUDENTS

 EXPANSION 19 Family Source Program Prevention Model Goal-Increase family resources and academic achievement Serve younger youth Arrest Diversion Program Intervention for youth that have committed Minor infractions Alternative to citation/arrest Eliminate School to Prison Pipeline

 MORE SUPPORT FOR HIGH RISK YOUTH 20 Camp Returnee/Probation Youth Program Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund

29 YouthSource and Family Source Centers aimed at serving students and families throughout the City of Los Angeles