$4.8 Million Will Fund Summer Jobs for 3,000 Youths

Nearly 3,000 disadvantaged youths in Orange County will be placed in summer jobs this year under federally funded programs administered by three Private Industry Councils--but the $4.8 million in funding is about $100,000 less than was available last year.

The funds, administered through the federal Job Training Partnership Act, will be used to pay for minimum-wage summer jobs for low-income high school and college students, officials said.

Although down 2% from last year’s funding--when the Los Angeles riots prompted President Bush to boost Summer Youth Program funds in urban areas--the grants are up 72% from 1991, when the three councils received a total of $2.8 million.

The programs provide summer jobs in government offices and at nonprofit agencies such as the Orange County Red Cross and United Way. Funds are also used to finance continuing education programs for eligible youths.

“We want to make sure that participants have educational enrichment as well as employment,” said Patti Nunn, executive director of the Santa Ana Private Industry Council. The two other councils operating the county’s Summer Youth Programs are the Orange County Private Industry Council and the Anaheim Private Industry Council.

The councils, which determine how to spend the federal job program funds, are quasi-governmental agencies made up of educators, business executives and government officials.

Jobs involve work in city halls, county government offices, the Orange County Transportation Authority, UCI Medical Center in Orange and various parks and recreation departments.

The programs also link up with local high schools to provide summer education. In Santa Ana, for instance, participants will be required to attend 90 hours of remedial English and math in exchange for being placed in 20-hour-a-week jobs.

For 1993, the Orange County Private Industry Council received $3.3 million, up from $2.3 million the year before and $1.4 million in 1991.

As 1992 recipients of special urban funding in the wake of the Los Angeles riots, the Anaheim and Santa Ana private industry councils saw losses in income for 1993. While the Anaheim council received $1.2 million last year, it got just $736,000 this year. But that compares to a $500,000 grant for 1991.

Santa Ana reported an $800,000 grant this year, down from $1.4 million in 1992. It received about $650,000 in 1991.