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HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-97-0607J-97-604 9/1/97 97- 607 RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION, APPROVING IN PRINCIPLE, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A YOUTH CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM TO BE ADMINISTERED BY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, NEIGHBORHOODS JOBS DIVISION, WITH FUNDS THEREFOR, IN THE AMOUNT OF $230,000, BEING AVAILABLE FROM PROCEEDS OF THE ST. HUGH OAKS CONDOMINIUM PROJECT. WHEREAS, the City of Miami is the largest City in Dade County and was declared the fourth poorest city in the United States in the 1990 Census Report; and WHEREAS, The new Work and Gain Economic Self-sufficiency (WAGES) legislation is impacting the City of Miami; and WHEREAS, the Administration has determined a need to establish a Youth Construction Program to address the impact of the WAGES Legislation on the City of Miami; and WHEREAS, the Youth Construction Program will benefit City residents between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty-five (25) who are being heavily impacted by the new welfare reform legislation/State of Florida: Work and Gain Economic Self-sufficiency (WAGES) Act (Chapter 96-175, Laws of Florida); and Wy COI&MON NZETi c Or SEP 0 9 1997 resolution No. 97- 60'7 • WHEREAS, approximately seventy (70) City residents will be recruited from the Community Development Block Grant Target Areas to participate in this program, and WHEREAS, the Neighborhood Jobs Program will work in cooperation with Dade County Public Schools to enroll the clients into remediation classes for basic educational skills and construction and building maintenance trades; and WHEREAS, the Neighborhood Jobs Program will provide the necessary case management, counseling and supportive services, and will assist with job placement; and WHEREAS, funds, in the amount of $230,000, are available for the Program from the St. Hugh Oaks Condominium Project proceeds; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: Section 1. The recitals and findings contained in the Preamble to this Resolution are hereby adopted by reference thereto and incorporated herein as if fully set forth in this Section. Section 2. The establishment of a Youth Construction Program, to be administered by Community Development, Neighborhoods Jobs Division, with funds therefor, in the amount of $230,000, being available from proceeds of the St. Hugh Oaks Condominium Project, is hereby approved in principle. Section 3. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED this 9th day of September , 1997. AT S WALTER k- EMAN, CITY CLERK l JOE CAROLIO. MAYOR 07= 607 2 DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT REVIEW AND APPROVAL: ELBERAL. WATERS, INTERIM DIRECTOR DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE REVIEW: L ES REYE , C TROLLER OFFICE OF BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS REVI DIPAK M. PARE , DIRECTOR PREPARED AND APPROVED BY: L A KELLY-KE SON ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS: 97- 607 CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA 0 INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM TO : Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission FROM Odwarq 7ez City Manager RECOMMENDATION: DATE : SEP - ,r �' FILE SUBJECT Authorizing in Principle the Establishment of a Youth REFERENCES: Construction Program ENCLOSURES: The Administration recommends that the City Commission approve in principle, the transfer of $230,000 from the St. Hugh Oaks Condominium Project to the Neighborhood Jobs Program for the purpose of establishing a Youth Construction Program. This Youth Construction program will be a program for City residents between the ages of 18 and 25 who are being heavily impacted by the new welfare reform legislation (State of Florida: Work and Gain Economic Self -Sufficiency (WAGES) Act (Chapter 96-175, Laws of Florida), which is the replacement legislation for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) BACKGROUND: The City of Miami is the largest City in Dade County and was declared the fourth poorest City in the United States in the 1990 Census Report. The new WAGES legislation, is impacting the City of Miami in a dramatic fashion. As a result of the legislation, reports developed through the State Department of Children and Families indicate that 25% of the caseload of welfare recipients in the State of Florida is in the Dade/Monroe Region and 25% of that Regional total, is in the City of Miami. The reports further indicate that we have over 36,791 adults and children living on welfare in the City and 85% (31,272) live in the City's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) entitlement communities. As the 1990 Census data indicated, an average of 61% of those CDBG target community households were headed by single females and over 64% of those households lived in poverty. The City of Miami's poverty rate was 31.2% as compared to the national poverty rate of 13.5% and the Dade County rate of 17.9%. The State Department of Children and Families reported 10,276 of the 36,791 welfare recipients are adults and are the individuals who must be in the workforce before October 1, 1998. Almost 60% are single female heads of household with most living in poverty and having a limited basic education. Educational attainment is low in the CDBG target communities, with rates as high as 40% without high school diploma in some communities. 07- 607 1 9 The Honorable Mayor and Members of the Commission Page 2 These low educational achievements substantially limit an individual's earning ability, and so, the challenge to bring these individuals into the workforce and provide them with employment that guarantees their economic self-sufficiency before this deadline is significant. You may be aware that the Dade/Monroe WAGES Coalition is in the process of establishing programs to address the employment needs of the population. The City of Miami, through the Neighborhood Jobs Program, is a participant in those efforts. During Commission discussions you have acknowledged that the WAGES Coalition funding is limited and that it must be allocated throughout the Region, and you have expressed your concern that the City must find other resources and other methods to bring it's most needy residents into gainful and meaningful employment. The Youth Construction Project is an idea that represents a modest step in the right direction to begin to provide opportunity for city residents to gain occupational skills and ultimate employment in higher that minimum wage jobs. Since 60% of the current welfare recipients are single female heads of household we will be considering their involvement in non-traditional occupations in the building/construction trades. The $230,000 requested for this project will provide opportunity for 70 City residents, to be recruited from the CDBG target communities, to participate in this program. Neighborhood Jobs Program will work in cooperation with the Dade County Public Schools to enroll the clients into remediation classes for basic educational skills as well as classroom training in the construction and building maintenance trades. Since the majority of the clients will have limited or no work experience, the City will arrange paid work experience in City Departments and on City projects where they will be able to apply their classroom training skills. When the clients have reach a proficiency level to qualify for full-time employment, they will be placed with private employers on a subsidized salary basis for a specified period of time. At the completion of this training the clients will be assisted in finding permanent un-subsidized employment in the building/construction trades. The Neighborhood Jobs Program staff will provide the necessary case management, counseling, and supportive services and will assist with job placement. The staff will, additionally, work with the construction and building maintenance trade unions to assure that the graduates of the program qualify for an apprenticeship in their respective unions. 2 97- 607 The Honorable Mayor and Members of the Commission Page 3 The City of Miami's First Source Hiring Ordinance, as approved by the City Commission on July 24, 1986, requires that every employment opportunity first be given to City residents who are unemployed or underemployed. More specifically, all jobs created as a result of contracts for facilities, services, and/or receipt of grants or loans are subject to first being filled by clients in the City of Miami's training and employment programs, and/or thereafter by other residents of the City. A significant number of low-income housing projects in the City are funded through CDBG funds and loans through Miami Capital. Our records show that the Ordinance has proven to be an avenue for the employment of hundreds of City of Miami resident with these and other projects. One of the concerns in meeting the needs of our economically disadvantaged residents has been that many of them have not had sufficient skills to take advantage of the opportunities offered under the First Source Hiring Ordinance. The Youth Construction Project will address those concerns directly by providing the training and experience that will assure the prospective employer that the graduates are fully qualified to fill the positions available. The projected success of this initial project can set a precedent for an expanded program that will continue to address the needs of some of the City's most economically disadvantaged. Therefore, the Administration respectfully requests your support of the transfer of the $230,000 to begin this proj ect. 97- 607 3