Stimulus plan means jobs for 600 youths
More than 600 young people in the Richmond area will go to work this summer because of a big boost in funding from the federal stimulus program.
The newly formed Capital Region Workforce Partnership is channeling about $1.1 million of stimulus money into youth summer work programs, beginning today in Hanover County.
The money represents about 80 percent of the $1.4 million that the stimulus program will provide for youth work programs in the region, and it more than doubles the federal funding normally available for year-round programs for youth job training.
Most of the money spent this summer will go to young people ages 14 to 24 as incentive payments for work and training at job sites in Richmond and seven regional counties.
President Barack Obama said last week that he wants the stimulus money to create 125,000 youth jobs this summer, and the local ones will count toward that.
"It's designed to move money into the hands of young people," said L. Robert Bolling, executive director of William Byrd Community House.
The Byrd House is administering the program for 170 young people in Richmond, as well as more than 130 who already participate in year-round job-training programs under the federal Workforce Investment Act.
Today, the first youths will go to work at parks and recreation facilities in Hanover, where they already have received two days of training for jobs that will pay $7 an hour for 25 to 40 hours a week, depending on their age.
By the beginning of July, hundreds of youths will be working at hospitals, nonprofit organizations, social-services agencies, state and local government operations, and YMCAs around the region.
"It's a wonderful opportunity," said Linda Botts, president and chief executive officer of Ashlin Management Group Inc., a Maryland-based company that is administering the program in Charles City, Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent and Powhatan counties.
It's also a big opportunity for the regional Workforce Partnership, formed last fall to combine work-force training programs in the city and surrounding region for the first time. The partnership just named a 48-member community advisory board, as well as a policy group of elected officials led by Richmond City Councilwoman Ellen F. Robertson.
"One of the challenges here is gearing up to put the money in place and bring the jobs in the short time we have," Robertson said Friday.
Obama made clear last week that he wants the stimulus money moving quickly to boost the economy this summer, with 10 initiatives aimed at creating more than 600,000 jobs in a little more than three months. The programs range from work at national parks and military bases to cleaning up hazardous waste sites and hiring teachers.
The money is a godsend for youth programs in the Richmond area, where just $225,000 was available from the Workforce Investment Act last year for year-round initiatives in the seven counties, and about $676,000 in Richmond, where the concentration of economically disadvantaged youths is much higher.
This year, the region is getting about $1.1 million from the Workforce Investment Act for its normal year-round programs, which include tutoring, occupational-skills training, and paid and unpaid work experience.
"First of all, there hasn't been a whole lot of money, period," said George T. Drumwright Jr., deputy county manager in Henrico. The Workforce Partnership is based in the county, which acts as its fiscal agent.
But the stimulus funding has come on a fast track for a short burst of investment. The government is requiring that 80 percent of the money be spent to create youth jobs this summer.
The partnership has been preparing since Congress adopted the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act in February. It used emergency procurement procedures to contract with Ashlin and the Byrd House, which already were administering the work-force training programs in the counties and city, respectively.
"If we don't get the money out quickly," said Rosalyn Key-Tiller, director of the partnership, "we would never get the program off the ground before kids go back to school."
Contact Michael Martz at (804) 649-6964 or
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Reader Reactions
Metoo: I totally agree, the adults that are whining are those who sit at home and look for jobs that they can’t have and would rather continue to collect unemployment or get assistance from the government instead of actually working at McDonald’s or any job they can get. A job is job and if it puts food on the table then take it. Local, state and federal governments are always hiring and other industries but people just want to whine. My 14 yr. made it a personal goal to look and get a job and she did and not one from this stimulus program. She was willing to do any job as long as she could get paid and save for her own things and not burden me with things she wants because I give her what she needs. The economy hasn’t always been good and people forget the bad times and only think its always supposed to be good. Get off your soap boxes and stop blaming everyone around you. Look at yourselves in the mirror, you’re probably the ones that went out and bought homes you couldn’t afford, driving cars that the payments are more than rent on an apt. and spending on plastic like you don’t have to pay it back just to keep up appearances and for what so your house can go into foreclosure and your car can be repoed? How is that being a “responsible” adult? Lots of 14 year olds have more sense and have a better work ethic than any adults I’ve met and that’s the sad state of this economy. If these kids came and robbed you then you’d blame the government for not keeping them off the streets and “creating” jobs for them. Conspiracy by whom?
Of the 1.4 million ,probably $200K at most goes to the kids and the 1.2 million goes to the administrators in a corrupt pay to play system,cronyism. The head of the Ashlin Group has had this job only since Obama was elected…Coincidence….maybe…but not likely
If said jobs are so coveted by “in need of work” adult, why haven’t they applied for them? The YMCA and local government are ALWAYS hiring. These kids will be working at camp counselors, summer group works, cleaning/light maintenance stuff… not brain surgery. 365 days a year you could log onto any of their ‘job opportunities’ pages and find plenty of work. You can do the same at McDonalds, local non-profits, janitorial services, lawn care services, child care venues, etc… Most of the ‘big wigs’ in such desperate need of work feel they are above it. Any port in a storm folks. You’re looking for work, take what’s out there when it’s out there, otherwise you’ll lose it to a 14 year old with a better work ethic who will spend it all at the mall (stimulate that economy! Save Abercrombie!)
I’d rather see the govt give out some money to places of business to hire some 14 year olds with a good work ethic than hand it out to them in the form of a welfare check when they are 34 and can’t be bothered to do anything (disclaimer: I know not everyone receiving TANF is lazy, etc, my statement was for the purpose of example only)
Working long volunteer hours could keep kids off the street. But if you really think you need to pay them to keep them off the street, tell it like it is. You are taking other people’s money to do it.
dee65: Here’s a idea for keeping teens busy in the summer: they can do what we all did growing up and babysit, mow the lawn, lifeguard, work at a fast food restaurant…the list goes on. All Obama’s stimulus is doing is making it appear new jobs are being created while teaching an entire new generation how to get a handout.
Did anyone see the “Today Show” this morning? They did an excellent piece on stimulus waste. One town got thousands to help get the homeless off the streets - problem is they no not have a homeless population. One city got money to repair guardrails in front of a dangerous lake - except the lake is gone. One city got millions to build a new bridge behind an existing bridge in order to relieve traffic congestion - except there is very little traffic on the existing bridge.
In every city and state stimulus money is being diverted from infrastructure repairs and other legitimate needs in favor of pork projects that can be started immediately and have a quick turnaround so it will appear the stimulus is working to create jobs. What a waste!
Next on the list is the destruction of our helath care system. Once that is in a shambles and our country is sick and bankrupt, we’ll be so disenfranchised and distracted that we’ll be ripe for a terrorist attack.
God help the USA.
I worked in a youth employment program when my father was in the military and we were stationed overseas. They actually didn’t pay us the current minimum wage (funny how the government doesn’t have to follow it’s own rules huh?). It was one of the only realistic job opportunities we had as teens on base in a foreign country. It was a good way to learn responsibility and to earn a little spending money to boot.
Of course, while these kids will get some spending money and put it into the economy.. it hardly is going to have the same impact as helping a head of household become gainfully employed so that they can keep a roof over their family’s head and food in their bellies. Hopefully, it will teach the youth a little bit about the working world. I would hope that any youth who wanted to participate would be eligable for the program though.. not just minority youth.
RTD printed head line 6-16-2009!
Speed to Iranian vote tally raises suspicions. Humm!
Should read;
SPEED TO SPEND, SPEND, SPEND in America should raises SUSPICIONS. Humm!
And in other GREAT news today; Moms RUSHING back to school,,,”””GETTING THOUSANDS OF FREE CASH FROM the STIMULUS BILL, TOO!
How about that, now people think it’s FREE money?
I’m headed out right now so I can go volunteer and plant some of those FREE MONEY trees! And work for FREE too! It’s a GREAT day in America, the land of the FREE!
Removed this morning???
Interesting READ, Government and business???????????
“In Atlas Shrugged, Rand tells the story of the U.S. economy crumbling under the weight of crushing government interventions and regulations. Meanwhile, blaming greed and the free market, Washington responds with more controls that only deepen the crisis. Sound familiar?“[27]
—Yaron Brook, “Is Rand Relevant?“
The Wall Street Journal, March 15, 2009
Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States
Please have your children read more, STIMULUS for the MIND!!!!
Everyone seems to have an opinion on why temp jobs shouldn’t go to teens and yet I don’t see anyone giving any good ideas as to how to keep them busy for the summer and having them spend money that will stimulate the economy.
To Ramgirl read the sentence it doesn’t say that Hanover is giving the jobs to inner city kids it says that Capital Region Workforce is running the program and it will start with Hanover (kids in that county). I’d rather see 600 kids off the streets on temp jobs than hanging out and getting into trouble.
As for those adults whining about not having a job, obviously you are not willing to take just any job because I see plenty of jobs out there but people think its below them to work in fast food or sales or even janitorial (God forbid you should have to clean a toilet). Teens need to work and there are jobs that they can’t do or qualify for that adults can do now if they qualify is another story.Stop bashing the program because if there wasn’t one then you’d be whining about that. WHINE WHINE WHINE but no real solutions are being discussed. And before someone has a smart reply yes I’ve cleaned TOILETS when I had to to keep food on my kids table.
Temporary jobs for teens, just like much of $787 Billion, do little to stimulate the economy. Jobs are gone in few months. And many being government jobs, create nothing for the economy but a paycheck. And what productivity do you expect from most 14 year olds. Most of time will be in training them. Work in hospitals, non-profits, etc. - They will probably be doing work that others already employed in these places should be doing. OK, this could provide teens job training for the future, but then lets call it a jobs program as it is, not a stimulus.
Since when is giving away borrowed (either from taxes or borrowed from the Chinese) money not welfare?
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