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CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
City of Anaheim
HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT
DATE: JUNE 9, 2026
FROM: HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: RATIFY SUBMISSION OF GRANT APPLICATION FOR JAMES
IRVINE FOUNDATION BETTER CAREERS GRANT AND
ACCEPT GRANT AWARD
ATTACHMENT (Y/N): YES ITEM # 16
GOVERNMENT CODE § 84308 APPLIES: NO
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council, by Motion, ratify the submission of the Better Careers Grant application to The James Irvine Foundation; increase the Housing and Community Development Department’s FY 2025/26 budget by $1,000,000; and authorize the Director of Housing and Community Development, or her designee, to execute all agreements and other documents necessary to implement and administer the grant activities on behalf of the City.
DISCUSSION:
The James Irvine Foundation is a California-based philanthropic non-profit organization. Its goal is to empower low-income workers to advance economically. In 2024, the Foundation awarded the City of Anaheim $520,000 under its Better Careers grant fund in response to an application from the Anaheim Housing and Community Development Department Workforce Development Division (WDD) proposing to engage with employers to promote job quality, generate new workforce-related partnerships with community-based organizations, and strengthen staff capacity to deliver services. The grant remains active, and the City continues to make meaningful progress toward the proposed outcomes and performance goals. Foundation representatives have expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved to date.
In March 2026, the Foundation invited WDD to submit an additional Better Careers grant proposal (Attachment 1). In evaluating how new funding opportunities could strengthen service delivery and improve long-term customer outcomes, staff identified a significant gap in post-training support for participants enrolled in Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)-funded programs, particularly individuals completing occupational skills training.
Under current WIOA requirements, post-training follow-up services are generally limited to four periodic contacts with participants over a 12-month period following Contract for the Implementation of a Better Careers Grant between James Irvine Foundation and City of Anaheim June 9, 2026
employment placement, primarily to satisfy federal tracking and reporting requirements. During these follow-up contacts, program graduates have often shared challenges and barriers that could derail their progress toward long-term employment stability, including transportation limitations, childcare issues, financial strain, digital access needs, and other personal or family-related hardships. While staff may attempt to provide informal guidance or referrals, the current follow-up structure is largely compliance-based and does not include a robust network of coordinated partnerships or supportive service resources designed to stabilize and sustain employment outcomes.
As a result, participants who successfully complete training and secure employment may still face barriers that jeopardize long-term job retention and economic mobility.
The proposed grant provides a unique opportunity to move beyond minimum compliance-based follow-up and establish a more intentional, worker-centered support model focused on helping individuals successfully transition into and remain in the workforce.
To address these gaps, the initiative would include the design and implementation of a standardized post-training survey and exit interview protocol to identify worker follow-up needs, assess training quality and relevance, and evaluate overall customer experience. These insights will support continuous program improvement and provide a clearer understanding of the worker transition process.
The initiative would also establish a referral network to coordinate warm handoffs to community-based organizations capable of addressing the unique wraparound needs of individual workers, including transportation, childcare, legal services, mental health supports, and digital access. By strengthening these partnerships, WDD aims to create a more scalable and responsive model for delivering extended supportive services that may lead to more enduring and sustained employment outcomes.
In addition, the grant would build staff capacity to provide more relationship-based and responsive services by introducing a high-touch follow-up process at program completion and again at 30 and 60 days post-completion. This approach would help ensure staff remain engaged with participants and able to realign services as worker needs evolve during the transition into employment.
Expected outcomes of the initiative include improving the overall experience and stability of participants transitioning from training into employment through a more coordinated and supportive post-training model. The program aims to achieve an 80% customer satisfaction rate (16 out of 20 trainees) related to the quality of services received and the transition from training to employment. In addition, the initiative seeks to identify and implement at least two new service delivery practices, including enhanced coordination strategies with community-based organizations, to strengthen supportive services available during this critical transition period. Participant feedback gathered through post-training surveys, follow-up contacts, and exit interviews will also be analyzed and shared with partner training providers to help inform program Contract for the Implementation of a Better Careers Grant between James Irvine Foundation and City of Anaheim June 9, 2026
improvements, address recurring barriers identified by graduates, and enhance the overall worker experience across the training-to-employment pathway.
The agreement (Attachment 2) between The James Irvine Foundation and the City of Anaheim awards the City $1,000,000 to achieve the above goals and objectives over a 24-month period beginning from the date of execution.
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
The Housing and Community Development Department’s Workforce Development Division Grant Funds FY 2025/26 budget will be increased by $1,000,000.
Respectfully submitted,
Grace Ruiz-Stepter
Director of Housing and Community Development
Attachments:
1. James Irvine Grant Application
2. The James Irvine Foundation Grant Agreement