Saturday, August 30, 2008

DCAYA Responds with Recommendations to Improve SYEP

The DC Alliance of Youth Advocates, a citywide coalition of 95 youth serving organizations, has worked to address issues of program quality and administrative implementation of the District’s Summer Youth Employment System since early 2007. The following initial recommendations were composed by DCAYA members, using the Youth Action Research Group report “DC SYEP Evaluation Report, 2007” as a source for additional information and ideas. The following recommendations are a response to the problems with the 2008 DC Summer Youth Employment Program.
Read the complete recommendations here.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Monday, August 18, 2008

August 19th Community Meeting on SYEP

Community Speaks Out About the Plight of Summer Youth Employment Program
Citywide coalition offers recommendations to improve the issue-plagued system.

Washington, DC – Providing approximately 11,000 of the more than 20,000 job placements for the District’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), community based organizations have a significant stake in the success of the program. The DC Alliance of Youth Advocates, a citywide coalition of more than 95 youth-engaged organizations, has called for a community meeting on the troubled SYEP on August 19 at 4pm in the Eaton Room of All Soul’s Church at 1500 Harvard Street, NW. Providers, parents, and youth will share their experiences with and concerns and recommendations for the SYEP. In addition to the community, representatives from the Department of Employment Services, the Office of Contracting and Procurement, and the City Council are expected to attend...

Read the whole press release here.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Washington Post: D.C. Jobs Agency Director Resigns

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty forced the resignation yesterday of a top aide in charge of the city's troubled summer youth jobs program, saying the administration accepts "full responsibility" for the widespread problems that led to a $31 million cost overrun.

Summer Spencer, who was hired last year to be director of the Department of Employment Services, will leave her post at the close of the jobs program early next month, Fenty said...

Read the full article here

SYEP Report Available

You can view the document, Findings of an an Internal Investigation Regarding the District's 2008 Summer Youth Program here.