10e. Order 2021-05, 2021 Opportunity Youth Initiative
(revised) 1 2 ORDER NO. 2021-05 3 4 AN ORDER OF THE PORT OF SEATTLE COMMISSION 5 6 To direct the Executive Director to allocate up to $2.0 million from the COVID-19 Emergency 7 Fund to support the Port of Seattle's 2021 Opportunity Youth Initiative and to exempt all related 8 contracts from the requirements of Chapter 53.19 RCW. 9 10 PROPOSED 11 MAY 11, 2021 12 13 INTRODUCTION 14 15 The mission of the Port of Seattle is to promote economic opportunities and quality of life in the 16 region by advancing trade, travel, commerce, and job creation in an equitable, accountable and 17 environmentally responsible manner. The Port's stewardship of aviation and marine operations, 18 infrastructure, and environmental assets is essential to Washington State's economy and quality of 19 life and is critical to the Port's ability to fulfill its mission. 20 21 The Port is well-positioned to stimulate economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by 22 providing short-term workforce development opportunities through accelerated investment in the 23 preservation, maintenance, and enhancement of Port assets programs, and Port-related economic 24 activity. Examples include habitat restoration and clean -up projects that support Port 25 developments, environmental enhancements, improvements to near-port communities' quality of 26 life, expansion of public art, training, and collaboration with regional partners to promote 27 responsible travel through Port facilities. 28 29 This Order seeks for related programming to be implemented to support the Port's 2021 30 Opportunity Youth Initiative from approximately between the months of June 2021 through 31 December 2021, pending final negotiations. 32 33 34 TEXT OF THE ORDER 35 36 The Commission directs the Executive Director to execute workforce development contracts for 37 Partner in Employment, Seattle Goodwill, Seattle Parks Foundation, and Urban League of 38 Metropolitan Seattle for up to a total of up to $2,000,000. 39 40 The Commission exercises its authority under RCW 53.19.020(5) to determine that a competitive 41 solicitation process is not appropriate or cost-effective to address the emergency nature of the 42 youth facing the highest unemployment rates in King County, among other indicators in King 43 County. Consist ent with the direction by Commissioners during the May 26, 2020, Commission 44 meeting, the workforce development contracts will best benefit areas with the highest rate of youth 45 unemployment, including for Black/Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) youth, and youth in 46 South Seattle and South King County; create connections with Port industries; enhance the breadth Order 2021-05 2021 Opportunity Youth Initiative Funding Page 1 of 5 47 of industries/opportunities; promote career trajectory for students, connecting to another program; 48 work with organizations that have a strong track record and can deliver solid results; and deliver 49 more experience and economic benefit to students, achieved through lower overhead. 50 51 The Commission has determined that a competitive process with these four nonprofit organizations 52 is not appropriate or cost-effective because: 53 54 1. The Port continues to operate under the State's Healthy Washington Roadmap to 55 Recovery Plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with on-going uncertainty. T he 56 Port's own road to recovery has had many program and financial adjustments impacting 57 program delivery. 58 59 2. The organizations have the ability to promptly provide youth opportunities during the 60 summer months in 2021 in support of workforce development and economic recovery 61 while the State is under the Roadmap to Recovery phases. Economic recovery continues 62 to be an urgent need since COVID-19 impacts youth internship opportunities, particularly 63 for our BIPOC youth community. 64 65 3. The organizations are operating during the COVID-19 shutdown and are utilizing social 66 distancing practices, as required in the State's Roadmap to Recovery plan. 67 4. The organizations have pre-established, successful workforce development programs 68 supporting youth opportunities serving South King County youth in Port-related industries 69 allowing for a more reasonable program launch and flexibility should the State change the 70 Roadmap to Recovery requirements during the program timeframe. 71 72 STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF THE ORDER 73 74 While workers in nearly every sector of Washington's economy have been adversely affected by 75 the COVID-19 pandemic, the loss of employment opportunities for low-skilled workers between 76 16-24 years of age is the most substantial. According to the Washington State Employment 77 Security Department in 2020, the highest number of claims per capita were workers with a high 78 school equivalent education or less between the ages of 18-24, living in south Seattle or the south 79 King County area, and workers of color. 80 81 The pandemic continues to cause significant hardships on people in these demographics. They 82 were laid-off at higher rates, had fewer employment opportunities, and had fewer career-training 83 opportunities. For example, opportunities in leisure and hospitalitysectors in which young 84 people often find employmentrepresented 42 percent of all job losses in the state. Similarly, the 85 unemployment rate in King County for February 2021 (5.3%) was more the double the rate for the 86 same month in 2020 (2.5%). 87 88 2020 Opportunity Youth Initiative Results 89 OYI successfully provided internships, valuable income, and job-training for 196 people within 90 the targeted demographics in 2020. 91 Order 2021-05 2021 Opportunity Youth Initiative Funding Page 2 of 5 92 Demographics 93 Interns in OYI programs in 2020 were of the following demographics: 94 95 78% were between the ages of 16-19 96 97 22% were between the ages of 20-23 98 99 93% identified as BIPOC 100 101 32% identified as female 102 103 Program Costs 104 A total of $1,338,087 program expenditures (89% of the $1.5 million budgeted) funded 196 paid 105 internships at a rate of $15 per hour, plus wraparound services, program management, and 106 materials. Had the program been extended an additional one to two months, the Port's program 107 partners could have expended the full budgeted amount while producing more and/or longer 108 internships. 109 110 Educational Benefits 111 The program received high marks from its internship-participants: 112 113 90% reported learning new skills to help them be successful in finding a job. 114 115 81% said they gained an understanding of their future career and/or educational goals and 116 how to reach them. 117 118 87% said they felt more knowledgeable about job opportunities in the industries. 119 120 Demand for OYI Services is Increasing 121 Four well-established nonprofits in King County produced OYI internships in 2020Seattle 122 Goodwill, Seattle Parks Foundation, Partner in Employment, and the Urban League of 123 Metropolitan Seattle. Leaders from each of these nonprofits stated to Port staff that they're eager 124 to provide comparable programming in 2021 and most of them have had requests from students 125 and parents inquiring about 2021 opportunities. 126 127 Similarly, Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales reached out to Port Commissioners and 128 staff, asking if the City could contribute to a 2021 iteration of the program, probably using portions 129 of the City's allocation of the American Rescue Plan Act. 130 131 Program Implementation 132 Facilitated by community-based providers who specialize in employment readiness, cultural 133 enrichment, mentorship, educational opportunities, and career readiness training in the focus areas 134 of the Port of Seattleaviation, maritime, green careers, and constructionthe program offers 135 participants an opportunity to explore career interests and develop work-readiness skills through 136 learning experiences designed to strengthen civic and leadership abilities. 137 Order 2021-05 2021 Opportunity Youth Initiative Funding Page 3 of 5 138 OYI has specific programmatic elements that must be met by each organization in furtherance of 139 its workforce development program: 140 141 Best benefit areas with the highest rate of youth unemployment for youth of color and 142 youth in communities most impacted by COVID-19. (Data provided by Seattle-King 143 County Public Health and the Workforce Development Council); 144 145 Connection with Port-related industriesaviation, maritime, green careers, and 146 construction; 147 148 Career trajectory for students as part of a workforce development program in accordance 149 with RCW 53.08.245 and the Port's Workforce Development Resolution and Policy 150 Directive; 151 152 Working with organizations that have established and effective youth internship programs, 153 and; 154 155 A requirement of financial compensation for interns at a minimum rate of $15/hour. 156 157 Projects must provide youth with opportunities to participate in economic activities like 158 occupational job training, placement, advancement, retention, pre-apprenticeship training, or 159 occupational education programs associated with the Port's tenants, customers, and local economic 160 development related to the Port's tenants or Port-related economic activities. 161 162 Project staff must have at least five years demonstrated experience in education, mentorship, 163 leadership development, and empowerment of "opportunity youth," which is defined as young 164 people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are neither enrolled in school nor participating in the 165 labor market. 166 167 Project staff must have demonstrated cultural competency and possess a strong understanding of 168 operationalizing racial equity. Project facilitators must evaluate outcomes with quantitative 169 information including: number of trainees, recruited, placed in jobs, and retained; the types of jobs 170 and range of compensation; the number and types of businesses that are served; and any other 171 tangible benefits realized by the Port, workers, businesses, or the public. 172 173 In 2020, the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion created a working group with Port 174 employees from various departments with expertise in youth employment. A similar working 175 group will collaborate to oversee the 2021 iteration of the program, as identified below: 176 177 Partner in Employment: This organization has strong ties with communities in South King 178 County, workforce development, and expertise in youth employment. It is uniquely 179 equipped and positioned to create solid career paths for incarcerated youth, youth at risk of 180 entering the juvenile justice system, immigrant populations, and low-income youth within 181 the South King County area. 182 Order 2021-05 2021 Opportunity Youth Initiative Funding Page 4 of 5 183 Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle: This organization will develop, own and operate 184 housing for the benefit of low-income, homeless and formerly homeless people in 185 Washington State. This summer both programs will employ youth to help build tiny 186 cottages for the homeless. These programs are a bridge to link people of color to 187 apprenticeships or pre-apprentice construction training programs. 188 189 Seattle Goodwill: This organization has a long history (almost 100 years) of understanding 190 how to execute student-centered cultural competency within King County. Seattle 191 Goodwill has three dynamic programs: Youth Maritime Program; Youth Aerospace 192 Program and Youth at Work which center on professional development designed to help 193 youth identify their strengths and set goals. Goodwill's partnerships with various 194 established organizations helps this program to fast track connecting students with career 195 opportunities within Port-related industries. 196 197 Seattle Parks Foundation: This organization will be the cluster lead and fiscal sponsor for 198 five grass roots organizations in the Duwamish Valley. This funding structure helps smaller 199 community-based organizations lead by people of color navigate the governmental 200 process. These programs will create internships within maritime, aerospace, and 201 environmental industries. 202 203 The competition waivers are justified on the basis that they will help the Port expeditiously meet 204 the extremely high need for summer 2021 internships for youth, in particular, the emergency nature 205 of the continuing skyrocketing BIPOC youth unemployment and secure the limited number of 206 programs that can meet the specific Port requirements. The Port is continuing its partnership with 207 organizations that could handle a ramp-up of activities during the pandemic and identified those 208 groups that could meet our legal, financial, programmatic and emergent issues. Identifying projects 209 and programs that can advance the Port's mission, including the creation of short-term internships 210 emphasizing this age group, will continue to provide material benefit to the Port as it looks to 211 maintain, preserve, and enhance the assets and programs of statewide significance necessary to 212 continue Washington State's economic recovery in 2021. 213 214 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ATTACHED 215 May 11, 2021 Presentation on 2020 Opportunity Youth Initiative Results and 2021 Proposal Order 2021-05 2021 Opportunity Youth Initiative Funding Page 5 of 5
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