ETA News Release: [August 4, 2005]
Contact Name: Stephanie Cathcart/David James
Phone Number: 202-693-4676
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao Announces $1 Million Grant
to Assist At-Risk Asian Youth
WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced a grant of just over $1 million to the Korean Churches for Community Development (KCCD) to offer skills training for at-risk Asian youth. Shinae Chun, the first Asian Pacific American Director of the Women's Bureau, joined the Secretary for the announcement.
"Our goal is to focus these young peoples' energy on building successful lives and careers," said Chao. "By working together with Korean faith and community based organizations to provide education, job training and placement services, we are focused on helping young people get on a productive path that will benefit them, their families and their communities."
Partnering with local Korean-American faith and community-based organizations, One-Stop Career Centers and local employers, KCCD will provide education, job training, and job placement services in Los Angeles. KCCD will also conduct educational campaigns for Korean and other Asian-American parents and families and develop collaborations with employers, including CVS/Pharmacy, to provide career pathways and on-the-job opportunities for at-risk youth and adolescents.
"As a Korean-American, I know there are many young people who can be helped by the outreach this grant makes possible," said Chun. "There is positive potential in every young person - helping them realize and exercise that potential can change their lives."
While national statistics show juvenile arrests have declined over the last 20 years, Asian American youth are the only group to show an increase during that same period. The project being conducted by KCCD will reach approximately 1,200 at-risk youth.
"Young Korean-Americans have unique employment and cultural barriers in part because many of their parents have limited English skills," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco. "Projects like the one being funded today can provide hope and attainable goals that offer alternatives to gang involvement and violence."
KCCD is a non-profit, faith-based organization established in 2001 that offers programs and partnerships designed to help members of the Korean-American community reach their full potential.
For more information on the Department of Labor's employment and training programs, please visit www.doleta.gov.
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