L.A. Compact Connection | July 2019

It's summer but our work for education doesn't stop.

FEATURE STORY

Ensuring a successful future for foster youth

On July 9, 250 youth-serving practitioners and system leaders came together at the California Endowment to deepen their knowledge about innovative programs and best-practices that support foster youth success in higher education and the workforce. Hosted by the Opportunity Youth Collaborative (OYC), the Fostering Connections to Transition-Age Youth Self-Sufficiency Summit focused on strengthening connections among college campus foster youth support programs, workforce providers, juvenile probation, K-12 districts, community based agencies and L.A. County's child welfare system.

OUR IMPACT

EDI expansion continues in Los Angeles County

UNITE-LA staff interviewed eight Early Development Index (EDI) implementing communities across the nation to learn how they have used the EDI data to move the needle on early childhood policies and systems change. Some school districts opened up new early learning sites based on the percentage of vulnerable children in a specific region. Having a consistent measure of kindergarten readiness leads to a shared understanding of what it means for a child to be ready for school. Read more!

L.A. College Promise first cohort graduation

On May 29, the L.A. College Promise celebrated its inaugural class of graduates. Hosted at Cal State L.A., the ceremony brought together over 500 family and community members to celebrate 150 graduating students. The program included keynote remarks by Mayor Eric Garcetti, who launched the program in 2016. Since the Promise launched, the full-time college enrollment rates of LAUSD graduates has increased 56 percent. Read more!

CSUN Connections & L.A. Compact participate in reverse transfer conversation

California Competes hosted a “Higher Ed Chat” on CSUN Connections, a reverse transfer initiative to support adults in the L.A. area who have faced barriers to completing their degree. Juana Hernandez, Senior Manager of Postsecondary Initiatives at UNITE-LA, participated in the chat, saying, “It’s important for the business community to understand how their needs can be served by candidates with associate degrees and why programs like CSUN Connections are so critical to helping employers find skilled talent.” Read more!

Increased FAFSA completion rates among foster youth

One of the largest barriers to postsecondary education completion is access to financial aid. Despite being eligible, only 50 percent of foster youth receive a Pell Grant and 9 percent receive a Cal Grant. Through a partnership with the OYC Foster Youth College Advancement Project, including LACOE, LAUSD, DCFS and others, L.A. County attained a 61 percent FAFSA completion rate this year for its foster youth who were high school seniors, far surpassing last year’s completion rate of 33 percent and our goal of 60 percent. Read more!

Check out what’s happening across all of the L.A. Compact workgroups!

OUR PARTNERS

Summer job programs kickoff for youth facing job barriers

Summer jobs are right around the corner for Los Angeles youth who are facing barriers to employment. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti launched his 2019 Hire LA’s Youth program on July 2, an opportunity that has led many youth to jobs in the private, public and non-profit sectors. Los Angeles County also launched its summer program, Youth@Work, with a goal of hiring 25,000 youth. This year’s program has a special focus on serving justice-involved youth through a partnership with the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce.

Adult education partnership for career pathway programs

Our partners at DACE and EWDD are supporting job seekers in launching successful careers and building a seamless talent pipeline for employers. In 2016-17, the Los Angeles Unified School District Division of Adult and Career Education (LAUSD DACE) and the City of Los Angeles Economic and Workforce Development Department (EWDD) launched a partnership to co-locate Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Navigators at 10 DACE Schools and 12 City of L.A. WorkSource Centers, helping clients enroll in and complete career pathway programs at DACE schools. During the last school year, they referred over 6,000 clients. Read more!

OUR CORNER

Welcome, Adam Gottlieb!

We are excited to have Adam Gottlieb join the L.A. Compact team as our new Higher Education Manager! In this role, Adam will support the L.A. Compact Institutions of Higher Education Collaborative in implementing several large-scale projects. Before joining our team, Adam worked as a consultant with the Education Growth Group, where he helped K-12 and higher education clients with research and evaluation, strategic planning and policy analysis. Read more about Adam!

NEWS & RESOURCES

Learners Today, Leaders Tomorrow 2019 Summit [First 5 OC & First 5 LA]

Welcoming the new CEO of Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation [CDE Foundation]

Debra Colman appointed as Director of the Office for the Advancement of Early Care and Education [LA County]

Leading a Backbone Organization for Collective Impact [Collective Impact Forum]

Mayor Garcetti Announces Program to Provide Free Dash Bus Passes to Students [City of LA]

UC admits largest and most diverse class ever of Californian freshmen [LA Times]

The L.A. Compact is convened primarily by UNITE-LA, an education affiliate of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. Select workgroups are convened by other partner agencies.