Cuyahoga County committee moves $6.48 million youth employment contract with Youth Opportunities Unlimited to full council

Cuyahoga County's committee advanced a $6,475,025 contract with Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU) that would consolidate Comprehensive Case Management and Employment Program (CCMEP) services under a single lead provider.

Marcos Cortez, presenting for the county Department of Health and Human Services, summarized the proposal: “This is a new contract with Youth Opportunities Unlimited for the comprehensive case management and employment program or as we like to call it, CCMEP.” He told the committee the goal is “improving the education and employment outcomes for youth and young adults.”

The contract would be a joint arrangement with the Cuyahoga County Workforce Development Board, doing business as Greater Cleveland Works, and would replace multiple smaller contracts with one lead contractor that subcontracts to partners. Cortez said the lead-provider structure came from the RFP, which “called for just one provider to do not just the employment stuff, but ... coordinating all of the services under CCMEP.”

Paul Bounds, deputy administrator for Cuyahoga Job and Family Services, outlined program components required under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). “By statute, we owe … 14 elements to be made available,” Bounds said, listing examples such as work experience (paid or unpaid), mentoring, education remediation and occupational skills training. He said CCMEP serves people ages 14 to 24 and that the county operates a separate summer youth employment program; the contract before the committee covers year-round services.

Bounds described how providers will recruit and enroll participants, noting a unified outreach strategy that includes social media, school and community events, and Greater Cleveland Works’ one-stop location on Carnegie Avenue. He said individual providers will develop individualized plans for each enrollees and that federal performance reporting includes employment retention, measurable skills gains and average wages.

Committee members asked about procurement and funding. Staff said the county used an alternative procurement process to rely on Greater Cleveland Works’ competitive RFP rather than rerunning a full separate procurement. Funding for the contract would include both WIOA and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) sources; staff said invoicing and budget lines for each funding stream would remain separate even as the contract consolidates administration under YOU.

The committee discussed timing: staff noted an effective date of July 1 but that administrative delays had pushed review, and members debated whether to suspend rules. A committee member moved to advance the resolution to the full council for second reading with a recommendation of approval; another member seconded the motion and the committee voted verbally in favor.

The motion to move Resolution 20250242 out of committee passed by voice vote and will be read a second time at the next full council meeting with a recommendation of approval. The committee did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript.

Why it matters: consolidating CCMEP services under one lead contractor changes how the county will manage payments, invoicing and provider coordination for youth workforce and education services financed by both federal WIOA and county TANF funds. The contract also sets how the county will track federally required performance outcomes for participants.

What’s next: The resolution will appear for second reading at the full council meeting; if approved, YOU will operate CCMEP year-round under the joint contract and will subcontract with named partners (as listed in the RFP) to deliver the 14 WIOA elements.