“I am proud of Tennessee's reputation for good government, and I want and expect us to be a model for other states in how we handle Recovery Act money sensibly – turning square corners, and with every nook and cranny of what we do and what we spend well-lighted and visible to the public.”
– Governor Phil Bredesen
• 1. Set high goals for enrollment and expenditures
• 2. Successful execution of outreach
• 3. Served target population
• 4. Strong collaboration with state agencies and
businesses in placement
• 5. Achieved high rate of full-time employment of youth in private sector
Why is Tennessee Best Practice for Summer Youth?
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Speed economic recovery ▪ Create and save jobs ▪ Provide needed services to Tennesseans
• To invest ARRA funds immediately into the lives of Tennessee Youth to improve and enhance the career opportunities and the local, state and national economies– Commissioner Neeley and Susan Cowden, Administrator of
Workforce Development, allocated 100% of the $25,099,116 million ARRA youth funds to the local areas to be able to have the most efficient positive effect on the economy
– By infiltrating Tennessee’s economy with 100% ARRA funds through the 13 local areas, workforce leadership ensured that the economy would receive immediate impact and that each area across Tennessee would have one sole provider of Summer Youth services
VISION:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Speed economic recovery ▪ Create and save jobs ▪ Provide needed services to Tennesseans
• To have the greatest impact by expending 100% of ARRA funds in Summer 2009
• Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development set goal of enrolling 12,000 youth workers
• To reach all eligible target groups with specific efforts to low-income, Foster Care Youth and Veterans and spouses of Veterans
• To assist higher portion of youth in high unemployment county
GOALS:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Speed economic recovery ▪ Create and save jobs ▪ Provide needed services to Tennesseans
• Outreach the program to eligible youth through collaborative partnerships
Foster Care Commissioner James Neeley, Tennessee Department of Labor and
Workforce Development and Commissioner Viola Miller, Tennessee Department of Children’s Services penned a joint letter distributed to 1,000 youth between the ages of 16-18 in foster care custody informing them of their eligibility to participate in the Summer Youth Program
OUTREACH:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Speed economic recovery ▪ Create and save jobs ▪ Provide needed services to Tennesseans
Veteran’s Preference
TDLWD contacted all veteran’s representatives throughout the career center one-stop system and instructed each to send out a letter to all veteran’s and their spouses registered with the job service database informing them of their eligibility to participate in the Summer Youth program
Of the veteran’s who applied, several were placed in managerial roles
OUTREACH:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Speed economic recovery ▪ Create and save jobs ▪ Provide needed services to Tennesseans
211
Partnership with United Way 211 service to reach those negatively effected by economy seeking services
211 information hotline provides program and contact information to those seeking social services
211 directed those eligible for Summer Youth employment into One-stop Career Center system
Provided over 10,000 referrals
OUTREACH:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Speed economic recovery ▪ Create and save jobs ▪ Provide needed services to Tennesseans
IMPACT:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Speed economic recovery ▪ Create and save jobs ▪ Provide needed services to Tennesseans
Total Participants Total Worksites % of Private Sector worksites
Foster care Participants
Veterans/Spouses of Veterans
Participants Hired
12,636 3,136 30% 400 47 452
• Over 35,000 applications state wide
IMPACT:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Speed economic recovery ▪ Create and save jobs ▪ Provide needed services to Tennesseans
Public Worksites
Partnered with Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to offer work opportunities at state parks
Partnered with Tennessee Department of Safety to offer jobs in administrative offices and drivers license offices throughout the state
Private Partnerships
First Bank- placed participants in 23 banks across West, TN to work as bank tellers, loan officers and in the Corporate Human Resource Department
Operation Smile- provided job shadowing opportunities in dentistry filled as well as employed 20 summer youth who have physical or mental disabilities
IMPACT:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Speed economic recovery ▪ Create and save jobs ▪ Provide needed services to Tennesseans
Therapeutic Gardening Project- Tennessee Children’s Home of Spring Hill is working on a special “green” project. Employed 25 foster care youth to work on organic gardening and maintenance projects. Youth completed a Master Gardening Workshop presented by the UT Extension Service. Produce was harvested and sold at local Farmers Market
Columbia and Lewis County Housing Authorities- eligible youth ages 22-24 attended a training program sponsored by Honeywell International which taught information and skills necessary to gain certification as a Quality Energy Auditor. Upon completion, employees conducted home energy audits.
IMPACT:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Speed economic recovery ▪ Create and save jobs ▪ Provide needed services to Tennesseans
Tennessee Exemplary Practices
• Leadership Academy
• Algebra Camp
• The Food Initiative Program
• Summer Reading programs
IMPACT:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Speed economic recovery ▪ Create and save jobs ▪ Provide needed services to Tennesseans
• TDLWD focused on achieving immediate impact in Tennessee’s hardest hit counties- Perry County has been the hardest hit county in Tennessee,
fluctuating between 20-25% unemployment. This counties’ economy has experienced true depression era status
• TDLWD allocated 100% of Youth ARRA funds to the local areas as well as transferring 1.25 million statewide ARRA funds to the Summer Youth Program
• These funds were utilized to employee otherwise income ineligible youth within the 5% allowed
IMPACT:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Speed economic recovery ▪ Create and save jobs ▪ Provide needed services to Tennesseans
• In Perry County, many families had experienced layoffs to all household incomes. Using these individuals previous incomes would have left several youth ineligible
• Using the statewide funds allowed the local areas to employee these youth under the 5% 664.220 (h). Face serious barriers to employment as identified by the Local Board
IMPACT:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Speed economic recovery ▪ Create and save jobs ▪ Provide needed services to Tennesseans
IMPACT:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Speed economic recovery ▪ Create and save jobs ▪ Provide needed services to Tennesseans
• Hi-lites from Tennessee’s ARRA Summer Youth ProgramExceeded goal of 12,000 youth enrolled14% of participants who participated in program
were offered employment1/5 of the regions 8 states summer youth
population came from TennesseeSuccessfully implemented immediate update to
TDLWD data tracking system (ecmats) to track summer youth
EXECUTION:
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009Speed economic recovery ▪ Create and save jobs ▪ Provide needed services to Tennesseans