* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Welch
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
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Informational Hearing - YouthWorks 2011
FOR the purpose of inviting the Director of the Mayor's Office of Employment Development to report to the City Council on the practices and polices of YouthWorks 2011; to detail the residential demographics of the youth served; to provide an analysis of the return rate of youth who have participated in past years; and to describe the sustainability of the relationships with businesses or agencies that have contributed funds or positions to the program in previous years.
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Recitals
YouthWorks 2011 will operate from June 27 - August 5 to provide Baltimore City youths and young adults, ages 14- 21, the opportunity to "develop the essential work skills that today's employees require, and many will discover their true career interests during the summer of 2011. YouthWorks provides well-prepared, multi-skilled, and dependable high school and college students who are eager to work. While the program benefits youth by allowing them to explore careers and better understand the value of education, it also enriches businesses by giving them access to a talented and energetic labor pool of motivated workers".
At the March 21, 2011 kick off of Youth Violence Prevention Week, in urging Baltimore residents to "Stand Up and Speak Out" against violence, the Mayor noted that in 2010 the City had a 25% reduction in juvenile homicides and a 40% reduction in juvenile shootings. This progress is attributed to stronger collaboration between agencies, supportive services provided to at risk youth to prevent them from becoming perpetrators or victims of violence, and opportunities for youth such as summer employment through the YouthWorks program.
A study released in October 2010, by the College of Social Sciences and Humanities at Northeastern University, analyzed the impact of summer employment on more than 400 14-24 year-olds in three high violence Boston neighborhoods. The study's author, who advocates for treating social ills, such as youth violence with prevention and intervention as opposed to funneling offenders through the criminal justice system, found that summer jobs boost self-esteem and promote leadership skills in at-risk youth.
The Northeastern University study incorporated focus groups and administered surveys to hundreds of young adults in the summer employment program to find out what they learned, how the experience will shape their future behavior, and to measure both direct and indirect criminogenic risk factors. The findings showed that summer programs that focus on youth development and provide intensive mentoring teach youth how to make good decisions, improve communications skills, and prepare them for future educational and professional opportunities.
In Baltimore City, it has long been recognized that youth must be presented with the opportunity to make a constructive choice - between a job and nonproductive idleness; boredom driven petty crime; or money-driven criminal activity. Summer jobs programs in Baltimore City date back to at least 1982, when the "Blue Chip-In" program presented businesses the opportunity to provide summer jobs for student workers and funded a variety of jobs at non-profits that had lost federal funding.
Almost 30 years since embarking on a summer employment program for Baltimore City's youth, it is useful to examine whether current programs continue to address the goal of providing our youth a constructive choice to the increasingly seductive siren's call of drug-driven and gang-related anti-social behavior.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That the Director of the Mayor's Office of Employment Development is invited to report to the City Council on the practices and polices of YouthWorks 2011; to detail the residential demographics of the youth served; to provide an analysis of the return rate of youth who have participated in past years; and to describe the sustainability of the relationships with businesses or agencies that have contributed funds or positions to the program in previous years.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the Director of the Mayor's Office of Employment Development, and the Mayor's Legislative Liaison to the City Council.
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