Project Grant 23A60CP000002

RECIPIENT NAME SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN COMMUNITY ALLIANCE (SEMCA)PROJECT TITLE PATHWAYS TO THE WORKFORCEFUNDING REQUEST 850,000CONGRESSIONAL SPONSOR RASHIDA TLAIB, UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVEREQUESTED PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE 24 MONTHSPROJECT LOCATION WAYNE WESTLAND COMMUNITY SCHOOLSPROJECT PURPOSE AND GOALS TO INCREASE ECONOMIC MOBILITY, YOUTH NEED EXPOSURE TO CAREERS AND JOB SKILLS AS PART OF THEIR EDUCATION. THE WAYNE WESTLAND BUILD YOUR FUTURE PATHWAYS TO THE FUTURE PROPOSED PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO ADDRESS THIS COMMUNITY NEED FOR AN INTEGRATED CAREER READINESS SYSTEM PILOTED IN THE WAYNE WESTLAND COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT ANCHORED IN A UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE DISTRICT, THE CITIES OF WAYNE, WESTLAND, AND INKSTER, AS WELL AS SEMCA AND ETDI, A LOCAL WORKFORCE SERVICE PROVIDER IN THE MICHIGAN WORKS SYSTEM.ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED THIS PROJECT WILL ADDRESS SIGNIFICANT STUDENT RISK FACTORS BY ALLOWING WWCSD TO GIVE STUDENTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMPLETE WORK READINESS CURRICULUM, PARTICIPATE IN WORK BASED LEARNING EXPERIENCES WITH LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES AND PRIVATE EMPLOYERS, AND EXPERIENCE THE CONNECTION TO POST GRANT CONTINUED WORK READINESS OPPORTUNITIES, INCLUDING DRIVERS TRAINING.EXPECTED OUTCOMES (1) INCREASE WORK BASED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR WAYNE WESTLAND COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT (WWCSD) STUDENTS AGES 14 YEARS . (2) INCREASE WORK BASED SKILLS TO SUCCESSFULLY OBTAIN FUTURE EMPLOYMENT. (3) IMPROVE STUDENT OUTCOMES BY TARGETING AT RISK STUDENTS. (4) CREATE A PATHWAY FOR ENTRY LEVEL POSITIONS WITHIN WWCSD AND THE CITIES OF WESTLAND, WAYNE, INKSTER, AND OTHER EMPLOYER PARTNERS.INTENDED BENEFICIARIES ALL PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WILL BE ENROLLED IN WAYNE WESTLAND COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, BE AT LEAST 14 YEARS OF AGE AND MEET THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA FOR BEING AT RISK (1) ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED (QUALIFY FOR FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH, OR ARE HOMELESS OR IN FOSTER CARE OR MIGRANT) (2) ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS (3) CHRONIC ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL (4) VICTIM OF ABUSE OR NEGLECT (5) PREGNANT OR PARENTING (6) FAMILY HISTORY OF SCHOOL FAILURE, SUBSTANCE ABUSE OR INCARCERATION (7) IMMIGRANT IN LAST 3 YEARS (8) NOT PROFICIENT ON MOST RECENT STATE ASSESSMENT AND (9) RISK OF ACADEMIC FAILURE.SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES SEMCA WILL SERVE AS THE GRANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE PROGRAM, WORKING TO ENSURE ALL ELEMENTS OF THE PROJECT ARE COMPLETED AND THAT ALL FISCAL AND PROGRAM ELEMENTS ARE DELIVERED IN COMPLIANCE WITH APPROPRIATE REGULATIONS. SEMCA WILL ALSO SERVE AS THE EMPLOYER OF RECORD FOR THE STUDENT PLACEMENTS, HANDLING PAYROLL AND RELATED TASKS. WAYNE WESTLAND COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL BE A PARTNER AND SUBRECIPIENT, DELIVERING MANY ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAM WITHIN THE LARGER CONTEXT OF THEIR DISTRICT. THIS WILL INCLUDE COORDINATION OF RELATED SERVICES, SUCH AS LUNCH AND TRANSPORTATION, AND RECRUITMENT OF STUDENTS FOR THE PROGRAM. THEY WILL INTEGRATE THIS PROGRAM INTO THE CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT DEPARTMENTS, AS WELL AS OTHER KEY DISTRICT DEPARTMENTS. THE DISTRICT WILL USE PART OF THEIR RESOURCES FROM THIS GRANT TO FUND A WORK BASED COORDINATOR TO SUPPORT THEIR SERVICE DELIVERY. ETDI IS ANOTHER AREA PARTNER WHO WILL HELP DELIVER SERVICES THROUGH A CAREER COACH. THEY WILL SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT AND PREPARATION OF WORKSITES AND WILL SUPPORT DISTRICT STAFF WITH SOFT SKILLS CURRICULUM DELIVERY FOR THE STUDENTS IN THE PROGRAM. THEY WILL ALSO SUPPORT THE WORK BASED EXPERIENCE, VISITING YOUTH ON SITE, COLLECTING TIME SHEETS AND TROUBLESHOOTING. THE 3 MAIN CITIES OF THE DISTRICT HAVE ALL COMMITTED TO HOSTING STUDENTS FOR WORK PLACEMENTS AND SETTING UP MEANINGFUL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN A VARIETY OF DEPARTMENTS. STUDENTS WHO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE THEIR WORK BASED PLACEMENT WILL RECEIVE PRIORITY, WHEN APPROPRIATE AND POSSIBLE, FOR OPEN AVAILABLE RELATED AND ELIGIBLE POSITIONS.