Welcome to Workforce 3 One U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Webinar Date: July 7, 2015 Presented by: Division of Youth Services – YouthBuild U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration

2# Enter your location in the Chat window – lower left of screen

3# Mark W. Smith Workforce Analyst United States Department of Labor

Review TEGL and 11-09, and TEN as a basis for designing and implementing strong recruitment and mental toughness components. Help programs effectively plan and implement recruitment and mental toughness components. Learn best practices from two different program models. #4

5# TEGL (including Change 1 and 2) – Expanded Participant Eligibility for the YouthBuild Program TEGL Mental Toughness TEN – YouthBuild Participant Documentation

Original: To clarify the definition of “school dropout” as it pertains to YouthBuild program participants under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Change 1: To provide a revision and clarification to policy guidance previously issued to states and national YouthBuild program grantees concerning the Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA) definition of “school dropout” as it pertains to YouthBuild program participants under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) #6

Change 2: To clarify policy guidance previously issued to states and national YouthBuild program grantees concerning the Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA) definition of “sequential service strategy” as it pertains to YouthBuild program participants under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of Specifically, this change TEGL clarifies eligibility requirements and how these requirements apply to the sequential service strategy. #7

To provide clarification on allowable costs associated with Mental Toughness/Orientation activities under the YouthBuild Program #8

To provide information to all U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) funded YouthBuild programs about required documentation for participant eligibility and for validating performance outcomes #9

Nicole Simmons DOL YouthBuild Technical Assistance Coach 10#

How well does your executive leadership, program staff, alumni and partners work together to recruit youth into your program? We have full involvement, work well together and can teach others how we do it We have involvement, but need to improve how we work together Not everyone is involved, we need to work figure how to engage everyone We struggle in this area and need to call #

12# Recruitment is a systematic process by which programs attract youth, parents/caretakers, partners and wider community to engage and participate in your program. Recruitment should begin three to four months prior to the start of mental toughness orientation.

Beginning with the mindset that everyone on your team (executive leadership, program staff, alumni, partners etc.) is responsible for the success of the program Skills building - Preparing staff to be recruiters – training, scenarios, obstacles “Future focused” planning versus “hurry and get them in the door” planning #13

K= Keep the core message of your YouthBuild brand clear and aligned with program values, and speak it in unity E= Easy application process for youth to apply and partners to refer potential applicants Y= Yes, provide opportunities for positive engagement early – add value to and for the young people immediately S= Stick with the process and make adjustments quickly #14

What areas of your mental toughness training need improvement? Incorporating YouthBuild Program components Teambuilding Activities/Physical ExerciseInvolvement of alumni, staff and partnersUse of evaluations and closing ceremonyWe are mental toughness masters 15#

16# Mental Toughness orientation is a comprehensive, interactive engagement process to introduce young people to your YouthBuild program. It involves staff, alumni, partners, community members and youth. Duration of a successful mental toughness program lasts between 1-3 weeks.

Understand the strengths and weakness of your staff and program capacity – build on the strengths and support weaknesses Experiential learning for both staff and young people – bring staff through your own mental toughness Mindset – mental toughness is preparing your young people for active and post programming, not just daily programming #17

Determine ahead of time the attitudes and standards staff will hold and demonstrate with youth – be accountable Incorporate the same level of engagement, intensity, and involvement for each mental toughness training Communicate clearly that mental toughness is not a guarantee into the program--each youth must also meet requirements in the selection process and final interviews Involvement of staff, executive leadership partners, alumni, community leaders #18

Start with the end in mind – future focused Have a clear message and standards that everyone adheres to – program culture Involvement of executive leadership, program staff, alumni and partners are critical to success #19

Antonio McKoy, Program Director City of Winston Salem Winston-Salem, NC 20#

What did we want to do? –Include our partners in our recruitment process How did we do it? –We solicited input from partners regarding recruitment methods and available resources that can be useful during recruitment process #21

What did we want to do? –You have to go to where the youth are in order to recruit them How did we do it? –We held information/recruitment sessions at neighborhood recreation centers –We educated local community leaders about your program #22

What did we want to do? –We created an easily accessible application process for potential participants How did we do it? –We provided application assistance at neighborhood recreation centers –We worked with recreation center directors so that they can assist with online application completion #23

Rachel Gillis Program Manager Project YouthBuild – Gainesville, FL 24# Keira Simmonds Leadership and Mentor Coordinator Project YouthBuild – Gainesville, FL

25# Be Intentional Not just another program requirement Make sure your decisions on timing, length make sense Communicate program expectations and outcomes clearly for YOUR benefit as well as for YOUR STUDENTS’ benefit

Start OUR Program Culture Debunk the myths All hands on deck – staff involvement at all levels Alumni presence – including graduates with purpose and intention Core Values #26

Establish Rigor Interview for Staff AND Prospective Students Assign homework to participants Give a YouthBuild Policy Exam Celebrate Success #27

28# Are you actively engaging partners in the recruitment process? How are you getting them involved? How do you manage your recruitment cycles? (i.e. open enrollment, cohort based, split cohorts) How do you involve your staff, youth, partners in mental toughness? What are the most effective ways you engage youth in recruiting? What specific mental toughness activities have been successful? How do you evaluate youth during mental toughness? What has been the greatest challenge with recruitment? How have you addressed it? What challenges have you experienced with mental toughness?

#29 1.Involve partners and solicit input about strategy 2.Educate the community 3.Go where the youth are 4.Be intentional with establishing your program culture 5.Establish rigor 6.Celebrate successes

Michelle Lee-Jones Workforce Analyst U.S. Department of Labor Nicole Simmons DOL YouthBuild Coach Simmons Consulting Group 30# Antonio McKoy Program Manager City of Winston Salem, Winston-Salem, NC

Keira Simmonds Leadership and Mentor Coordinator Project Youthbuild, Gainesville, FL Rachel Gillis Program Manager Project Youthbuild, Gainesville, FL 31#

32# Look out for an from featuring past archived webinars and resources related to finding and keeping great staff, engaging employers, and other great topics!