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County workforce office highlights $400,000 GIVE youth program serving 70 TANF-eligible youth
Summary
Tompkins County workforce staff said a recently awarded GIVE grant and county support helped serve 70 TANF-eligible youth across 31 work sites, paying $16/hour and offering mentorship, counseling and financial workshops; staff said the program brings both income and training to participants and local businesses.
Chris, director of Tompkins County Workforce Development, told the committee the department’s youth employment work combines placement with intensive supports and has been expanded through grant funding.
"So it's getting them that experience they need...Youth are paid $16 an hour," Chris said, describing a program that reached 70 youth at 31 job sites and was supported by about $400,000 in grant funding. He said the model includes one-on-one counseling, employer check-ins and financial education so the pay translates into durable gains.
Committee members asked how participants qualify. Chris said participants must be TANF-eligible and ages 14–20 and generally live in identified GIVE program areas. He added the office found flexibility this second year to include certain edge cases where students attend school in one municipality and live in another.
The presentation also included student outreach: Serena, a Cornell ILR student who interned with the workforce office this summer, described early-stage listening sessions for a college graduate retention pilot aimed at connecting recent alumni with local employers. "This whole project is trying to convince more college students to stay here, work here, and just enjoy Ithaca," Serena said.
County leaders praised the workforce office's leverage of funding and the program’s role in supporting local businesses. The committee recorded the report; no formal action was required.
