CED Committee
April 8, 2025
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Ashleigh Kanat
City Administrator Director Economic and
Workforce Development
Department
SUBJECT: Summer Youth Employment
Contracts
DATE: March 25, 2025
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Authorizing The City Administrator To (1) Apply For, Accept, And Appropriate Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars ($75,000) In Grants And Contributions And To Accept And Appropriate Additional Funds That May Become Available For The Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) And Services Of The Oakland Workforce Development Board For Fiscal Year 2025-26 Without Returning To The City Council; And (2) Negotiate and Execute Grant Agreements For The 2025 SYEP Between The City of Oakland And The Following Nonprofit Organizations: (A) Youth Employment Partnership In The Estimated Amount Of One Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($125,000); (B) Lao Family In The Estimated Amount of One Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($125,000); And (C) Trybe, Inc. In The Estimated Amount Of Twelve Thousand Five Hundred Seventy-Two Dollars ($12,572).
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The recommended resolution would allocate the City of Oakland (City) Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) funding to the following nonprofit organizations: (1) Lao Family Community Development, Inc. in the estimated amount of $125,000, (2) Youth Employment Partnership in the estimated amount of $125,000, and (3) Trybe, Inc in the estimated amount of $12,572, consistent with the funding recommendations approved by the Oakland Workforce Development Board (OWDB).
This year (Calendar Year 2025) will be the last year of the SYEP four-year procurement cycle for program years 2022-2025. Thanks to the work of the contract providers named in the title, over the past three years, the program has exceeded its goals. To date, nine hundred eighty- eight (988) youth have been placed in summer jobs to-date totaling 98,800 work experience hours, with each youth placement earning an average of $1,600 during their work experience.
SYEP 2025 is expected to meet the goal of 205 youth served. Therefore, by the end of the four- Jestin Johnson (Mar 27, 2025 19:28 PDT)
Mar 27, 2025
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Summer Youth Employment Contracts
Date: March 25, 2025 Page 2
CED Committee
April 8, 2025
year cycle, the program will have served seventy-nine percent (79%) more youth than originally planned.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The City, along with partners from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, has had a longstanding commitment to providing summer jobs and other work-based learning opportunities for Oakland youth for more than four decades. The cornerstone of this effort focuses on investing in Oakland’s SYEP, which provides funds to subsidize paid jobs and work experience opportunities sponsored through local nonprofit organizations and with the support of the local business community. The level of direct investment to this program varies from year to year, and the funding to support it has historically come from a mix of public, private, and philanthropic sources.
The SYEP prioritizes services for youth from historically disadvantaged communities, including Black, Latinx, Native American, and Pacific Islander opportunity youth, not connected to the traditional school system. Services focus on youth who are not working, have little to no work experience, are aged 16-21, and reside in East Oakland, Fruitvale, and West Oakland. The SYEP provides Oakland youth with opportunities to earn money, gain meaningful work experience and improve their job-readiness skills. The City contracts with local youth-serving organizations do the following:
• Recruit and enroll youth in the program
• Provide youth with high-quality job-readiness training and career exploration • Identify organizations to serve as work sites for youth • Act as the employer-of-record/fiscal sponsor for youth whose wages are subsidized through the program
Partnership with Oakland Fund for Children and Youth
Since 2019, the Oakland Fund for Children and Youth (OFCY) and the Oakland Workforce Development Board (OWDB) have partnered to coordinate and align the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) model. This partnership enhances opportunities to engage, support, and provide technical assistance to contracted youth service providers while aligning reporting requirements. Together, OFCY and OWDB co-fund nonprofit service providers through a joint Request for Proposals (RFP) process to deliver summer programming.
These programs include job readiness training, 100 hours of paid (minimum wage) work experience, and financial literacy support. Over the years, the joint effort has provided hundreds of Oakland youth with their first job experience, opportunities to explore careers, and access to hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages directly supporting local youth.
In 2022, the City partnered with OFCY on the current 2022-2025 RFP cycle through the Career Access and Employment for Youth In-School: Summer Jobs – Transition to Adulthood funding strategy. Summer 2025 will mark the final year of this RFP cycle for the three organizations to operate SYEP.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Summer Youth Employment Contracts
Date: March 25, 2025 Page 3
CED Committee
April 8, 2025
As part of the City’s Fiscal Year 2025-2027 biennial budget, the OWDB was granted Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300,000) annually from Measure HH (the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax) to support the SYEP. Staff recommends allocating $262,572 from Measure HH, as recommended by the OWDB, to the organizations listed in Table 1. The remaining $37,428 will be distributed equitably to service providers based on current capacity and program needs.
In addition, OFCY will separately recommend $300,000 in funding for SYEP to the OFCY Planning and Oversight Committee and City Council in May. This brings the total combined recommended funding to $562,572 in support of 2025 SYEP programs and services.
Table 1: OWDB Funding Recommendations & OFCY Funding for Summer 2025 Agency Name OWDB
Recommended
Measure HH (1030)
Funding Amount
OFCY
Funding Amount
Total
Program
Amount
Youth to
be Served
Lao Family
Community
Development, Inc.
$125,000 $125,000 $250,000 85
Trybe, Inc. $12,572 $50,000 $62,572 20
Youth Employment
Partnership, Inc.
$125,000 $125,000 $250,000 100
TOTAL $262,572 $300,000 $562,572 205
Funding is budgeted in Measure HH (SSBDT) Fund (1030), Workforce Development Organization (85311), Various Accounts, Measure HH Healthy Kids Program Project (1003817), Workforce Development Program (SC03).
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The SYEP is a key program for the City that offers youth employment opportunities by bringing together multiple resources from public, private, and community-based organizations. As such, the recommended resolution will meet the Citywide priorities of housing, economic, and cultural security.
The OWDB evaluated the distribution of funds through a social, racial, and economic equity lens, guided by the Oakland Equity Indicators Report and the OWDB Racial Equity Analysis.
After careful review, the OWDB determined that all three organizations presented strong, well- developed program models. See OWDB meeting package here. Each organization demonstrated the capacity to serve as the employer of record for youth participants, proposed costs per participant are within an acceptable range, and each organization has established employer connections to provide meaningful work experience opportunities.
The staff is recommending funding of $262,572 to the organizations listed in Table 1. As mentioned above, OFCY will separately recommend funding of $300,000 to the OFCY Planning and Oversight Committee and City Council in May, for a total combined funding amount of $562,572 to support 2025 SYEP program and services. The funding amounts are consistent Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Summer Youth Employment Contracts
Date: March 25, 2025 Page 4
CED Committee
April 8, 2025
with the amounts set forth in the original SYEP service provider proposals for the current RFP cycle, ending this year.
Any additional funding received, and not yet allocated by the OWDB for 2025 SYEP, as described in Table 2 below, will be distributed to these organizations in a manner consistent with the SYEP goals and service providers’ organizational capacity after further discussion with the providers and analysis by staff.
Table 2: FY 2025 Funds Available for SYEP
Revenue Sources OFCY OWDB TOTAL
Private Fundraising (anticipated) $75,000 $75,000
Measure HH
Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax
$300,000 $300,000
OFCY Funds $300,000 $300,000
TOTAL $300,000 $375,000 $675,000
Loss of General Fund Support
For the 2025 program year, the SYEP faces financial constraints due to the loss of General Fund support for the program. In previous years, General Fund allocations helped sustain and enhance program operations, covering administrative costs, employer partnerships, and additional youth placements beyond those funded through existing grants.
Without this support, the program must rely more heavily on external funding sources, such as private grants and philanthropic contributions. The Workforce Development Division of the Economic and Workforce Development Department is actively seeking alternative funding streams and collaborating with local employers to increase direct employer-sponsored placements, reducing reliance on City-subsidized wages.
The lack of General Fund limits program expansion opportunities. The City Council's continued advocacy for long-term workforce development investments is crucial to maintaining and growing the SYEP to ensure equitable access for all Oakland youth.
FISCAL IMPACT
The 2025 OWDB SYEP is being supported by the following funding sources:
• Measure HH: As part of the City’s biennial budget, the OWDB was granted $300,000 annually from Measure HH (sugar-sweetened beverage tax). The goal of this investment is to help connect young people’s summer work experiences to support the primary mission and vision of these funds. Funding is budgeted in Measure HH (SSBDT) Fund (1030), Workforce Development Organization (85311), Various Accounts, Measure HH Healthy Kids Program Project (1003817), Workforce Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Summer Youth Employment Contracts
Date: March 25, 2025 Page 5
CED Committee
April 8, 2025
Development Program (SC03).
The staff is recommending funding of $262,572 to the organizations listed in Table 1.
Any additional funding received, and not yet allocated by the OWDB for 2025 SYEP, will be distributed to these organizations in a manner consistent with the SYEP goals and service providers’ organizational capacity after further discussion with the providers and analysis by staff. The funding amounts are consistent with the amounts set forth in the original SYEP service provider proposals for the current RFP cycle, ending this year.
• Other Funds: The OWDB anticipates securing $75,000 in private grant funds to support a summer employment program for Oakland youth ages 16-21. Most of these funds will go toward paying for the costs of subsidized jobs, with a portion going to the City’s nonprofit partner who is serving as the applicant agency. There are also other fundraising efforts underway that could add to this total. Should additional private funds be secured or not materialize for programming, the provider funding amount will be adjusted accordingly. Funding would be accepted and appropriated in Miscellaneous Trust Fund (7999), Workforce Development Org (85311), Various Accounts, Mayor Summer Youth Project (1000500), Workforce Development Program (SC03).
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
Organizations being recommended for these SYEP funding contracts have detailed and robust outreach and engagement strategies for connecting youth to the program as well as recruiting businesses and organizations to serve as worksites. The organizations provided recruitment and retention strategies and have a demonstrated record of success in focusing on priority youth populations: OWDB prioritizes services for African American/Black, Latinx, Native American, and Pacific Islander youth (ages 16–21) residing in East Oakland, Fruitvale, and West Oakland, with an emphasis on serving opportunity youth (i.e., not employed or in school).
This action was previously presented for discussion and approval to the OWDB at the February 6, 2025 Board Meeting.
COORDINATION
Workforce Development Division staff and the OWDB worked closely with OFCY to develop and design the program model. Additionally, staff also worked closely with the City Attorney’s Office for counsel and advice on matters such as proper noticing, board process, and conflicts of interest and with the Department of Workplace and Employment Standards, which will support contracts and contract amendments. This report and resolution were reviewed by the City Attorney’s Office and the Budget Bureau.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: Oakland’s Workforce Development system provides Oakland youth with summer paid work experience and career exploration opportunities.
Environmental: Several SYEP participants were placed in businesses within the environmental/sustainability industries.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Summer Youth Employment Contracts
Date: March 25, 2025 Page 6
CED Committee
April 8, 2025
Race & Equity: Oakland’s Workforce Development system prioritizes services to historically disadvantaged communities, including African American and Latinx residents and geographic areas of Oakland (East and West), that have the highest numbers of residents who face disproportionately high levels of unemployment. Per the 2020 OWDB Race and Equity Analysis, the Workforce Development division identified critical disparities in employment access in Oakland, specifically in “[t]he communities of East Oakland, Fruitvale, and West Oakland, where a high number of Black and Latinx residents live and are unemployed at higher rates than the general population... including the zip codes 94621, 94603, 94605, 94601,94607.”
Table 2
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Summer Youth Employment Contracts
Date: March 25, 2025 Page 7
CED Committee
April 8, 2025
94577 94601 94602 94603 94605 94606 94607 94608 94609 94610 94611 94612 94618 94619 94621 Grand Total 2 or more races 13 4 1 8 13 2 2 3 1 1 4 2 54
African-Am/Black 63 21 33 58 41 48 24 32 7 5 14 2 22 54 424 Asian 29 11 5 5 57 21 3 1 4 8 7 151
C aucasian 2 2 4 2 10
Hispanic/Latinx 3 42 3 14 10 36 2 4 3 1 9 13 140
Middle Eastern 2 3 1 3 3 1 13
Native American 2 2 1 5
No Data 47 4 9 20 47 17 6 5 8 1 2 4 14 184
Other 2 2 1 5
Pac. Island/Ha. 1 1 2
Grand Total 3 202 48 65 101 201 94 37 46 19 8 20 3 50 91 988 Table 3: Reflects raw data represented in Table 2.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: Summer Youth Employment Contracts
Date: March 25, 2025 Page 8
CED Committee
April 8, 2025
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Authorizing The City Administrator To (1) Apply For, Accept, And Appropriate Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars ($75,000) In Grants And Contributions And To Accept And Appropriate Additional Funds That May Become Available For The Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) And Services Of The Oakland Workforce Development Board For Fiscal Year 2025-26 Without Returning To The City Council; And (2) Negotiate and Execute Grant Agreements For The 2025 SYEP Between The City of Oakland And The Following Nonprofit Organizations: (A) Youth Employment Partnership In The Estimated Amount Of One Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($125,000); (B) Lao Family In The Estimated Amount of One Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($125,000); And (C) Trybe Inc.
In The Estimated Amount Of Twelve Thousand Five Hundred Seventy-Two Dollars ($12,572).
For questions regarding this report, please contact Sofia Navarro, at (510) 238-6474.
Respectfully submitted,
ASHLEIGH KANAT
Director, Economic & Workforce Development
Department
Reviewed by:
Sofia Navarro, Executive Director, OWDB
Economic & Workforce Development
Department
Prepared by:
Honorata Lindsay, Administrative Services
Manager II
Economic & Workforce Development
Department
Sofia Navarro, Acting Director