SANTA ANA WORK CENTER (3) - 2012

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The concept of the "Daisy Wheel" service delivery was adopted in 2002 by the Santa Ana Youth Council to provide an "All Youth One System", where resources would be leveraged from a network of Youth Service Providers now known as the Youth Service Provider Network (YSPN). The concept allowed youth regardless of eligibility to receive services from the various Service Providers and the Santa Ana W/O/R/K Center (SAWC). The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) requires that ten program elements be delivered in a developmental approach to allow youth to receive resources that will help them overcome barriers to education and employment. The WIA ten elements require a collaborative, coordinated and sequenced approach to assisting youth served with WIA funds. The YSPN was formulated with this principle in mind so that no one Service Provider would have to provide all ten elements, allow more youth to be served by the Service Providers through other non-WIA funding streams, and to streamline services provided to youth. The YSPN consists of Service Providers that collectively offer the ten WIA program elements in a creative and interactive manner. The concept allows the Service Provider to focus on what service they specialize in and do best. This, however, is not possible without the role of the Service Navigator. The role of the Service Navigator is critical to promote broad-based coordination and cooperation among all youth Service Providers and to provide the technical assistance needed to make the network a success. Funded through the Santa Ana Workforce Investment Board (WIB) and acting as the Youth Service Navigator, the City of Santa Ana W/O/R/K Center (SAWC) assumes the primary responsibility of determining youth eligibility, providing technical assistance, reviewing JTA/MIS forms for completion and accuracy, training new providers, sharing best practice in case management, providing Labor Market Information, overseeing the placement, exit, and follow-up services for youth, as well as being an active member on the Youth Council Board. In addition, the SAWC will collaborate with Roadtrip Nation to implement the Roadtrip Nation Experience Program, which was created to empower youth to map their interests to future career pathways in life. As the Service Navigator, the SAWC will work cooperatively with all Service Providers from the initial outreach, recruitment and intake process to the successful completion, exiting, and follow-up of all WIA youth enrolled in the YSPN. As the Service Navigator, the SAWC brings to the YSPN over 30 years of extensive experience administering a variety of Federal and State funded programs. Staff is well versed in both programmatic and fiscal requirements. As an on-going effort, the SAWC has made it a priority to keep staff updated and trained on all State and Federal workforce legislation pertinent to various targeted programs. Since the inception of the YSPN, the SAWC has been instrumental in helping the Network meet the required performance measures through consistent oversight and guidance in intake, eligibility, case management, exit, and follow-up. Moreover, through its partnership with local businesses and organizations, the SAWC has a comprehensive realm of services and resource available to the YSPN and the youth they enroll. The SAWC will maintain communication with the youth Service Providers during the term of the contract by coordinating monthly meetings with all Service Providers for program, legislation, MIS/JTA paper work updates, and to address any questions or concerns they may have. Individual meetings with Service Providers will also be arranged to assist and address individual issues or questions. The SAWC will assist with the marketing, recruitment, outreach, and placement efforts of the YSPN. Ultimately the SAWC's 6