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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: 202-219-6871
Labor Secretary Robert B. Reich announced today that the
Clinton Administration will be able to spend $625 million to provide summer
jobs for nearly half a million disadvantaged young people.
Reich said his department will make the funds available
immediately now that Congressional leaders have agreed to allow the summer jobs
program to go forward.
Funding for the program was up in the air during recent
budget negotiations between Congress and the Administration. While there is
still no final appropriation, Congress now agrees with the Administration to
fund the program at 75 percent of last year's level.
"Summer jobs help young people develop a sense of
responsibility, self-reliance and accomplishment," said President Clinton.
"This critical program will enable our nation's young people to accrue job
skills that will help them become the workforce of tomorrow."
Reich said, "I am pleased that the Congress is now working
with the President to make sure more young people have the chance to develop
responsibility, punctuality and team work and reap the rewards of a job well
done."
The summer jobs program provides public-sector jobs for
low-income youth between the ages of 14 and 21 who live in communities with
high unemployment. Many youth in the summer program have never worked before,
and many have parents who are not working. Participants in the program learn
the work ethic, as well as specific job-related skills. Many also have the
opportunity to improve their basic reading and math skills.
Summer jobs include clerical positions, maintenance work,
park and recreation activities, hospital employment, aiding the elderly and
tutoring and assisting at day-care centers. Participants can earn between
$1,100 and $1,400 for the summer.
Independent evaluations of the summer jobs program found
that it is well run, the work projects are worthwhile and the youth respond to
the discipline and hard work. Of particular importance is the connection young
people make between education and employment and the value of learning
job-related skills to improve their chances of economic success.Funds being
allocated now will allow cities, suburban and rural communities to enter into
financial agreements with schools and teachers, enlist work sites and jobs,
identify supervisors and begin recruiting young people.
Reich said that states and cities usually know funding
levels well in advance of the summer and can plan accordingly. "Communities
will now have to work double time to maintain the quality and effectiveness of
their programs and provide well-supervised jobs to as many disadvantaged youth
as possible."
In addition to the public-sector program, the department is
again asking employers in the private sector to create summer jobs.
A study conducted last summer for the department by the
research firm Westat showed that there are already more than two eligible youth
for every public-sector summer job created by the government.
"Because our summer job funding is reduced this year it is
even more critical that farsighted business leaders create private-sector
summer jobs as an investment in the future of their own companies, communities
and the young people of this nation."
The summer jobs program operates under the Job Training
Partnership Act, administered by the Labor Department's Employment and Training
Administration.
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Editors Note: Attached is a table containing state allocations
and estimated participant levels for the 1996 Summer Youth
Employment Program.
U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
Program Year 1996 JTPA Title II-B
Summer Youth Employment Program
Estimated
State Allotment Participants
Alabama 9,857,587 8,516
Alaska 1,862,376 1,609
Arizona 10,171,890 8,787
Arkansas 4,973,770 4,297
California 111,142,107 96,013
Colorado 5,176,743 4,472
Connecticut 5,260,201 4,544
Delaware 1,531,483 1,323
District of Columbia 2,436,956 2,105
Florida 28,383,999 24,520
Georgia 11,802,667 10,196
Hawaii 2,511,541 2,170
Idaho 2,214,436 1,913
Illinois 23,724,985 20,495
Indiana 9,626,754 8,316
Iowa 2,709,487 2,341
Kansas 3,268,850 2,824
Kentucky 8,544,638 7,381
Louisiana 15,392,734 13,297
Maine 2,950,274 2,549
Maryland 7,860,479 6,790
Massachusetts 12,311,129 10,635
Michigan 21,022,933 18,161
Minnesota 5,815,208 5,024
Mississippi 7,813,708 6,750
Missouri 9,012,872 7,786
Montana 1,757,002 1,518
Nebraska 1,531,483 1,323
Nevada 3,299,925 2,851
New Hampshire 1,980,458 1,711
New Jersey 18,392,570 15,889
New Mexico 4,259,825 3,680
New York 43,821,211 37,856
North Carolina 9,790,206 8,457
North Dakota 1,531,483 1,323
Ohio 21,197,515 18,312
Oklahoma 6,219,712 5,373
Oregon 6,307,196 5,449
Pennsylvania 26,945,217 23,277
Puerto Rico 26,662,471 23,033
Rhode Island 2,366,227 2,044
South Carolina 8,201,895 7,085
South Dakota 1,531,483 1,323
Tennessee 8,928,611 7,713
Texas 49,950,863 43,151
Utah 1,937,279 1,674
Vermont 1,531,483 1,323
Virginia 10,106,114 8,730
Washington 12,306,771 10,631
West Virginia 6,283,449 5,428
Wisconsin 6,841,560 5,910
Wyoming 1,531,483 1,323
American Samoa 47,446 41
Guam 578,663 500
Marshall Islands 17,053 15
Micronesia 40,411 35
Northern Marianas 22,195 19
Palau 6,692 6
Virgin Islands 328,109 283
Native Americans 11,366,132 9,400
Total $625,000,000 539,500
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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