The Youth Council
Youth Council members
The Youth Council is a subcommittee of the Board
and is responsible for the oversight of Workforce Investment
Act Youth services in the region. The Youth Council is an all
volunteer subcommittee and currently has over fifty members
that represent both public and private organizations that provide
services to young people in our region.
The duties of the Youth Council include:
- Developing the portions of the local plan relating
to eligible youth, as determined by the chairperson of the local
Board.
- Recommending to the local Board eligible providers
of youth activities to be considered for grants or contracts
on a competitive basis.
- Conducting oversight with respect to eligible
providers of youth activities.
- Coordinating youth activities that are authorized
by the Act.
- Other duties determined to be appropriate by
the chairperson of the local Board.
In addition to these mandated requirements of the
Workforce Investment Act our local Board through the Youth Council
has several grants that provide the following:
- Department of Education School to Career
Connecting Activities - 900 students annually participate
in internships in local businesses connected to academics
and workplace skills through the Massachusetts Work-based
Learning Plan.
- Construction Career Days - 200
students annually attend this event at the Hopkinton Training
Center to learn about the wide variety of occupations in the
construction industry.
- Community Service Learning Youth Council
Grant
- Sponsors a junior youth council that annually surveys youth
needs in the region and develops and issues a request for
proposals from other youth groups to address those needs.
These funds provide youth groups with the resources to develop
community service learning activities or events that address
local youth needs identified by youth. The Junior Youth Council
has provided $33,000 in mini grants from 2005 - 2009.
- Summer Employment - In 2009
the Youth Council and Employment Links Inc. are working with local cities and
towns, school districts, Mount Wachusett Community College, local businesses
and youth service providers to offer over 400 youth a summer work and learning
opportunity. This new initiative to provide subsidized summer employment to eligible
youth is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
- Pathways to Success by 21 (P21)
- The Board and Youth Council have received three rounds of
funding from Commonwealth Corporation to develop and implement a strategic plan
for vulnerable youth in our region.
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