TITLE
Recommendation to request the Climate Action Committee of the City Council to take up a proposal to create a $5 million Long Beach Youth Climate Corps program and provide recommendations to the Council.
DISCUSSION
Earlier this year, the Big City Mayor’s coalition made it a priority to secure funding for youth workforce development with a focus on climate. After numerous meetings with the Governor’s Office and other State officials, the State agreed to create this funding stream.
As part of the State’s 2021 budget, $150 million is now available to support a youth workforce jobs program in California’s 13 largest cities. The State’s goal is to increase youth employment, develop youth interest in and experience towards a career in public service, and strengthen city capacity to address key areas of education, climate, and food insecurity.
Funding for this program will be allocated to each major California city depending on population; Long Beach is expected to receive $6.3 million. These State dollars give our city an opportunity to support local youth, engage in workforce development and instill a focus on climate change and adaption in future Long Beach jobs. This is also an opportunity to expand upon the work we do with the Conservation Corps of Long Beach.
Organizations that do job training programs across the country are beginning to shift their programs to systemically include considerations to the environment. This is critical because we need workers who are trained to support climate change adaptation work. Long Beach has the potential to lead in this effort and leverage State dollars to do so.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
[Timing Considerations]
FISCAL IMPACT
This recommendation requests the City Manager to create a $5 million Long Beach Youth Climate Corps program. This program will be funded by the $6.3 million in new revenue identified by the State, resulting in no additional General Fund cost. Details on the program and administrative cost a...
Click here for full text