Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
National League of Cities
Congressional City Conference
Pathways to Employment for Disadvantaged Youth
March 13, 2012
District of Columbia
Vincent C. Gray, Mayor
Department of Employment Services
Lisa María Mallory, Director
Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
The mission of DOES is…
“We put people to work”
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Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
The mission of Office of Youth Programs is…
…to prepare and connect District youth to the
workforce.
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Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
District of Columbia Youth Demographics
– The District has approximately 601,723 residents
and is part of the seventh-largest metropolitan area
in the country
– 85,000 16-24 year-olds in DC
– 27,829 16-24 year-olds in poverty
– 21, 894 16-24 year-olds in poverty are AfricanAmerican
– Approximately 9,000 are out-of-school and out-ofwork
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Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s
Personal Youth Engagement Activities
• Holds Youth Town Hall Meetings in all 8 Wards
• Has a Youth Budget
• Conducts a budget briefing for youth only
• Conducts site visits to employers and partners
participating in youth programs with the District of
Columbia
• Created One City Summer Fun, a year-round
working group that engages his entire Cabinet
(www.onecitysummer.dc.gov)
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Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s Vision for
Year-Round Programs
• Mayor Gray wants to strengthen the Year-Round Programs to
equip youth with the necessary skills to transition into the
next phase of their personal growth:
– Enroll more youth
– Work to boost gains in outcomes, including Literacy and Numeracy,
through academic services tailored to fit specific educational levels
– Offer youth opportunities to obtain basic and vocational skills training
– Provide youth with leadership development, life skills, and career
awareness coaching
– Expand partnerships to secure subsidized work experience
opportunities for youth
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Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
DOES’ Year-Round Approach to Youth Engagement
Current programs include:
• Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP)
 In 2011, 14,000 District youth between the ages of 14-21 were provided
with subsidized summer job experiences.
• Year-Round In-School/Out-of-School Youth Employment Programs
 WIA-funded programs with 430 open slots.
• Mayor’s Youth Leadership Institute (MYLI)
 A year-round youth development program that promotes youth
leadership, civic engagement, and empowerment for 300 youth.
• One City High School Internship Program (OCHSIP)
 A year-round internship program for District high school students (11th
and 12th grade), currently serving 125 youth.
 Youth gain work experience in federal and local government offices
throughout the city.
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Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
Evaluation of Year Round Programs
Youth Outcome Measures established by Department of Labor:
• Placement in Employment or Further Education/Training
 Evaluates whether participants are engaged in employment
(including the military) or enrolled in post-secondary education
and/or advanced occupational skills training within the first
quarter after the exit quarter.
• Attainment of a Degree or Certificate
 Evaluates whether participants have attained a diploma, GED, or
certificate, by the end of the third quarter after the exit quarter.
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Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
Evaluation of Year Round Programs (cont.)
Youth Outcome Measures established by Department of Labor:
• Literacy and Numeracy Gains (Out-of-School Program Only)
 Evaluates whether participants have gained one or more
educational functioning levels (EFLs) within one (1) year of
program participation, based on pre- and post-tests using the
same approved assessment instrument.
• Retention
 Evaluates whether participants who attained placement in an
employment/education outcome measure are engaged in
employment (including the military), post-secondary education,
or advanced/ occupational skills training, during the third quarter
after the exit quarter.
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Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
Summer Youth Employment Program 2012
• Plans to serve up to 14,000 youth between the
ages of 14-21.
– $11.6M Budget for FY12
• District has been leveraging President Obama’s
Summer Jobs+ Initiative to peak interest from
private employers and federal government
involvement in providing summer jobs to youth.
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Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
Summer Youth Employment Program
Strategies Implemented in 2011 That Worked Well
• Youth are required to apply for the program (not just sign up)
• Youth are required to complete several steps to ultimately land their
summer job:
– Bring documents to prove eligibility (certification)
– Post a resume
– Attend an orientation
– Attend a job fair to meet with employers
– Interview with prospective employers
• Employers are provided with multiple opportunities to engage with
youth:
– Ability to access an electronic database to identify youth for their
worksites
– Ability to interview youth in person at SYEP Job Fair and by phone
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Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
Summer Youth Employment Program
Strategies Implemented in 2011 That Worked Well (cont.)
• Youth stay connected via the SYEP Youth Portal (an online tool) which
allows youth to:
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See their application status
View messages from OYP
Update their contact information
View informational videos
Access a Resume Builder Tool
View an electronic database of all employers in the program
Manage and track their total hours worked
• Financial literacy programming is provided to all youth
• SYEP Twitter Page has nearly 1,000 followers including youth
participants, youth service providers, schools, and other partner
stakeholders that provides program updates in real-time.
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Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
Summer Youth Employment Program
New Strategies To Be Implemented in 2012
• Development of Curriculum Guide – In response to employer
feedback, we will provide a guide that includes important youth
workforce development goals and activities to help youth achieve
them.
• Truancy Prevention – Will partner with the Office of the State
Superintendent of Education (OSSE) and DC Public Schools (DCPS)
to identify and support youth who are chronically absent from
school.
• Performance Evaluation – All youth will receive a performance
evaluation that will be completed with their employer. This will
become a part of their record and will provide valuable information
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to track progress from year to year.
Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
Emerging Strategies For Disconnected Youth
• Pathways for Young Adults Program (PYAP)
– Partnership with the University of the District of Columbia
Community College (UDC-CC) to provide youth ages 16-24
with work readiness, training, and work experience.
– Funding includes a combination of local youth and adult
training dollars and exists to serve up to 300 youth in pilot
year.
• Cradle-to-Career Partnership
– Developing a P-20 (“birth to career”) Council inclusive of city
agencies, business, philanthropy, and CBOs to strengthen
education and workforce outcomes.
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Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
New Youth Initiative Under Consideration
• Youth Connection Center
– Strategy to develop walk-in opportunities for youth
to receive information about DOES opportunities
and to be connected to additional opportunities
(akin to a youth-focused One-Stop Career Center)
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Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
What the District of Columbia Government, as a
whole, Is Doing For Disconnected Youth
• Reforming juvenile justice system
• Providing more career and technical education,
alternative education, and dropout prevention (DCPS)
• Developing an Interagency initiative by Truancy
Taskforce (extension of SYEP effort for Year-Round
Program)
• Eliminating funding and programming silos (all Youth
Programs)
• Establishing joint performance measures (all Youth
Programs)
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Department of Employment Services
Washington, DC’s lead workforce development and labor agency
Websites
Department of Employment Services
www.onecityonehire.org
www.onecitysummer.dc.gov
www.summerjobs.dc.gov
One City One Hire Twitter: @OneDOES_OneCity
Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) Twitter: @OneCitySYEP
Department of Labor
www.DOL.gov
www.youthgo.gov
www.grants.gov
Department of the Interior
www.thecorpsnetwork.org
www.DOI.gov
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