Saratoga County’s Economic Development Committee on June 4 accepted a roughly $303,000 allocation for the county’s summer youth employment program and heard staff say about 90 applicants are awaiting placement around the county.

The allocation is about $5,000 more than last year, the staff member said. The county-run program pays participant wages from the grant and asks municipalities and businesses that host youth workers to provide mentoring and workplace training.

“Right now we have about 90 applicants,” the staff member said. “So we're looking to place 90 kids, all around the county in different municipalities, different worksites … and all of their wages are paid for through this grant.”

Program details discussed at the meeting:
- Allocation: about $303,000 for PY25 (approximately $5,000 increase from prior year).
- Applicants: roughly 90 youth currently seeking placements.
- Ages served: starts at 14 and goes up to 20.
- Worksite limits: New York State youth labor rules limit certain tasks for younger workers (example: cannot use ladders or some powered equipment), which restricts the types of placements available.
- Deadlines: the transcript indicates the youth application deadline had already passed; there is no deadline for worksites and the office may recruit hosts up to the start date.

Committee members asked staff to circulate the informational sheet about the program to municipal partners; staff indicated the deadline for youth applicants had already passed but that worksites can still be recruited up to the start of placements. The committee moved to accept the funding allocation and the motion carried.