San Diego Youth Development Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT Ian Gordon, Director San Diego Youth Development Office 619.228.2922 Iangordon@workforce.org

SAN DIEGO SELECTED TO RECEIVE OPPORTUNITY YOUTH INCENTIVE FUND

San Diego Youth Development Office will Launch an Initiative to Support Youth Disconnected from Education, Training and Employment SAN DIEGO, CA, (July 15, 2013) The San Diego Youth Development Office (YDO) has received funding to bring youth back into education, training and employment. San Diego was one of only 21 communities in the nation to receive Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund (OYIF) from the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions. The funds are intended to help Americans ages 16-24 who are disconnected from education, training and employment. Nationally, the OYIF will support cross-sector collaboration to bring 6.7 million young Americans back into education and the workforce. In San Diego, the initial OYIF has already been leveraged, bringing just over $200,000 dollars to our region, thanks to matching funds from the California Endowment and the San Diego Workforce Partnership. The San Diego YDO will engage the city and county government agencies, local nonprofits, philanthropy, and the business community to ultimately improve education, training and employment outcomes for Opportunity Youth. Partners include: City of San Diego Office of the Mayor, San Diego County Board of Supervisors, City of San Diego Council District Offices, City of San Diego Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention, San Diego County Child Welfare and Probation Departments, San Diego Workforce Partnership, San Diego Unified School District, San Diego Community College District, San Diego Organizing Project, San Diego Youth Development Office, The California Endowment, and Harder+Company Community Research.

3910 University Avenue Suite 400 San Diego, CA 92105 (619) 228-2900 TDD (619) 228-2983 Fax: (619) 228-2901 www.workforce.org

This unprecedented collaboration sets the stage for increased public and private investments to fill the gaps in the education and employment pathways, thereby improving the lives of Opportunity Youth in San Diego, said Ian Gordon, Director of the San Diego Youth Development Office. During the first year of the program, the collaborative will share and collect data to identify eligible youth in San Diego, their location, and the policies, resources, and services that exist to support them. Once the data is gathered and analyzed, the collaborative will identify resources and create a comprehensive plan to connect youth to new and existing services. This comprehensive plan will set the stage for the implementation phase of the initiative in 2014 intended to reconnect youth to education, training and family sustaining jobs in local industry sectors. Im excited to see groups in our City come together to help our young people! Its our responsibility to encourage and help those who will follow in our footsteps. This is a great foundation for good work ahead! said Mayor Bob Filner. "These funds will help the city and county governments and our partners design a comprehensive plan to help our at-risk youth and connect them to jobs and the services they need, said Supervisor Greg Cox, who is Chairman of the Board of Supervisors and Chairman of the San Diego Workforce Partnership Policy Board. The Aspen Institutes Forum for Community Solutions and Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund builds on the work and recommendations of the White House Council for Community Solutions. AspenCommunitySolutions.org San Diego Workforce Partnership funds job training programs that enable eligible adults to develop the skills and knowledge needed for emerging career opportunities within such fields as green jobs, healthcare, and clean technology. www.workforce.org/ San Diego Youth Development Office (YDO) is devoted to making youth a priority in San Diego by targeting and leveraging resources - in government, philanthropic, business and community organizations - to support what ALL youth need to thrive. YDO is funded by The California Endowment and housed at the San Diego Workforce Partnership. https://sites.google.com/site/sdyouthdevelopmentoffice/

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3910 University Avenue Suite 400 San Diego, CA 92105 (619) 228-2900 TDD (619) 228-2983 Fax: (619) 228-2901 www.workforce.org