Job Readiness Training Program for Immigrant/Refugee Youth and Families

The Seattle Human Services Department funds community-based organizations to provide job readiness and self-sufficiency training to English Language Learner (ELL) youth and their families. The program model was developed in response to community input voiced during Youth and Families Initiative public engagement efforts and HSD’s community engagement focus groups.

The program utilizes a family-based approach to job readiness training by integrating support services for the parents and by coordinating with school-based services to help immigrant and refugee ELL youth overcome multiple barriers to school success, obtaining livable wage jobs and becoming self-sufficient. The program’s goal is to provide youth and family education and support services that are critical in helping both ELL youth and their parents gain an understanding of the American and Seattle public school system for youth to be engaged in school, and gain the knowledge and skills for job readiness, career pathways and exploration, postsecondary education and training, financial aid and financial self-sufficiency. By including services for parents, parents can then begin to develop the skills and information to support, encourage and advocate on behalf of their youth as well as progress toward self-sufficiency.

Participants receive the following services and activities at the various HSD funded community-based organizations during the summer and academic school year:

Youth Services

• Stipend paid job readiness training and group project in summer
• Bilingual/bicultural case management for school engagement and academic support, career and post-secondary education planning
• Visits to college campus, companies for higher education, job and career exploration
• Educational and Cultural activities
• Stipend paid spring work training

Parent/Guardian/Family Services

• Bilingual/bicultural parent education classes
• Bilingual/bicultural case management for school engagement support
• Referral services

Joint Youth and Parent/Family Services

• Family self-sufficiency/post-secondary education planning classes

Participant Eligibility and Applications

The program is restricted to serving a target population of youth and their families that meet the participant eligibility requirements specified below. This target population has a very low high school graduation rate (45.3% on-time graduation) in Seattle Public Schools (SPS) with few options for pathways that lead to livable wage jobs.

To be eligible to participate, participants must meet all of the following criteria:

• English Learners Language (ELL) Immigrant/Refugee youth from families speaking one of the following nine most common languages currently spoken by ELL high school-age youth in Seattle Public Schools:
• Amharic
• Cambodian
• Chinese
• Filipino
• Oromiffa
• Somali
• Spanish
• Tigrinya
• Vietnamese
• ELL youth currently enrolled in a Seattle Public School and receiving ELL services
• ELL youth from low-income families. Low-income families
• ELL youth ages 15-20 years old
• Parents and/or older relatives of youth

Applications are available at the offices of the funded agencies.

2013 Funded Agencies and Programs

• Asian Counseling and Referral Services’ (ACRS) Integrated Youth Job Readiness Training Program
• El Centro de la Raza’s Youth and Family Job Readiness Program
• Horn of Africa Services’ (HOAS) Youth and Family Job Readiness Program in partnership with Metrocenter YMCA
• Refugee Women’s Alliance (ReWA) Youth Work Pathway Program
• Vietnamese Friendship Association (VFA) Job Readiness for Vietnamese ELL Youth & Families Program

Information

For more information about this program and other Seattle Human Services Department-funded youth programs, call 206-386-1017 or e-mail youthservices@seattle.gov.

Seattle Human Services Department
Street address: 700 5th Avenue, Suite 5800, Seattle, WA 98104
Mailing address: PO Box 34215, Seattle, WA 98124-4215

Phone: 206-386-1001
Fax: 206-233-5119
TTY/TTD: 206-233-2778

Accommodations for people with disabilities provided upon request.