The value of summer jobs and internships is proven. A Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) study shows statistically significant connection between a Y.O.U. summer job and better school attendance, higher high school graduation rates and less involvement with the justice system.

Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U.) is a 40-year-old nonprofit that was co-founded by the Mayor of Cleveland. We help teens and young adults in Cuyahoga County get onto a path of economic self-sufficiency. Y.O.U. is a proven steward and facilitator of what is truly the community’s summer jobs program. We collaborate with over 100 community-based organizations, neighborhood non-profits, faith-based institutions, and schools including Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD), St. Martin DePorres and Cleveland Central Catholic. We come to you as a solutions-based partner to address one of Covid-19’s enduring challenges – unemployed and disengaged youth who are NOT on a path to economic self-sufficiency.

We recommend the City of Cleveland make a $6 million investment of ARPA funds over three years to expand and enhance the Y.O.U.’s community summer job and internship program which is directly tied the CMSD’s new Planning and Career Exploration (PACE) initiative. There are several elements of this investment that are unique and meet the criteria of one-time expenses to create a direct improvement in the lives of residents impacted by Covid-19.

A.     Re-engage youth, particularly youth of color, to get back to workforce with an eye toward a career leading to a sustaining wage. Covid-19 has led to two scenarios. Youth getting employed in a robust job market, securing jobs that ultimately will not get them out of poverty OR youth completely disengaging from the workforce. Youth of color were one of the constituencies hardest hit by Covid-19. To help them get back on track, we need to reach them and provide jobs and internships tied to career exploration support so that youth will create a plan and leverage their job into a network that can help guide them post-high school into employment that leads to economic self-sufficiency.  

B.     Leverage significant private sector dollars to sustain the program over time. With initiatives like the Workforce Connect sector partnerships targeting IT, Health Care and Manufacturing and the recent nationwide talent crisis, the time is now to reach out to private sector employers. We will seek a two to one match from the private sector for every dollar invested by the City of Cleveland. The private sector can provide funding by either allocating existing job opportunities to high school youth, creating new opportunities, or donating funds to support the initiative. Private sector investment will also contribute to sustaining the initiative after 2024.

C.     Support recent school district innovations tied to career preparation.  Eric Gordon and CMSD have led the way nationally with the creation of the highly innovative PACE initiative which is designed to complement the Say Yes to Education efforts and create a district-wide program to ensure all 6th – 12th graders are engaging in robust career exploration. A primary goal of the project is to ensure youth who do not choose to attend college are afforded opportunities to secure a job, apprenticeship, or micro credential upon graduation. A key element of CMSD PACE is summer internships and opportunities to connect youth to careers that provide life-sustaining wages. Expanding Y.O.U. summer capacity will ensure we can meet the pending demand from CMSD.

In normal years the summer jobs program is popular, effective and under-funded relative to demand. As we look forward to 2022 and beyond, we know that a robust summer jobs program will have a very high return on investment. By connecting even more directly with school district and employer initiatives, we can ensure this solution will help get thousands of youth back on track by 2024.

A $6,000,000 investment ($2,000,000 annually) with anticipated leverage of $3,000,000 ($1,000,000 annually) will allow us to serve an additional 1,500 youth per year in 2022, 2023 and 2024. The target population will be high school aged youth with particular focus on 11th and 12th graders. The return on investment will be significant in both actual dollars as well as long-term impact on City of Cleveland youth emerging with a career trajectory and path to economic self-sufficiency.