The pandemic disrupted life for all of us and had a particularly deleterious impact on youth employment and education. More than 156,000 (more than 1 in 8) 16-24 year olds were out of work and out of school in 2020, according to new data from the American Community Survey (ACS). Prior to 2020, the number of 16-24 year olds disconnected from jobs and education in L.A. County had been steadily declining, but the pandemic robbed young people of critical, early workforce and educational opportunities, disproportionately impacting Black and Latinx communities, especially 20-24 year olds. The most disturbing impact is for 20-24 year old Black men, 42 percent of whom were neither in school nor working, followed by Latinx young men and Black young women. You can view the full breakdown of the data by race/ethnicity, gender and age in our Charting Progress Dashboard.

In September, the L.A. Compact's postsecondary transitions work was featured at two different conferences dedicated to K-12 and higher education policy and practice – the 2022 National College Attainment Network (NCAN) conference in Atlanta, GA, and Ed Trust-West's Education Equity Forum in Los Angeles. They highlighted a collaborative effort between LAUSD's Office of Intervention and Support (housed within the Division of Instruction), and Compact partners – CSUN and LACCD – to strengthen district-wide student completion of financial aid applications and postsecondary planning. This effort, which began in October 2021 in response to an LAUSD School Board resolution, has led to an implementation plan with student-informed recommendations to help the district to augment their postsecondary readiness strategies. Additional partners include government agencies, direct student service providing non-profits, and students, parents, and alumni of LAUSD.

UNITE-LA officially welcomed Alysia Bell as its President effective Sept. 1. Bell succeeds David Rattray, President & CEO of UNITE-LA for the past 24 years, who announced his retirement in March. Before becoming President, Bell served as Executive Vice President for UNITE-LA.

On Aug. 5, the Los Angeles Digital Equity Action League (LA DEAL) held a summit to advance L.A. County's broadband plans, and identify opportunities to build new relationships across local agencies and between local agencies and state agencies focused on closing the digital divide. The event took place, in partnership with L.A. Unified School District, L.A. County Office of Education (LACOE), L.A. County Internal Services Department and L.A. City Bureau of Street Lights at Christopher Dena Elementary School in Boyle Heights.

In late 2021, UNITE-LA and systems leaders from across L.A. County began to prepare for a state grant opportunity that would launch regional K-16 collaboratives across the state. Various leaders and representatives from the County's five CSUs, 21 community colleges, 80 school districts, UCLA, and employers worked collaboratively with UNITE-LA to design a regional collaborative that prioritizes postsecondary access, degree attainment, and career opportunities for historically marginalized students in health care and computing and engineering. In July, the state awarded $18.13 million to the L.A. collaborative to conduct this work over four years.

The L.A. Compact Charting Progress Dashboard has revealed the impact of the pandemic on student enrollment in the L.A. Community College District. The data speak to a larger trend of both declining enrollment rates in community colleges and declining transfer rates into the CSU system since 2019. Many CSUs and CCC's are working towards developing solutions for the long-term effects of the pandemic.

Compact partner California State University, Dominguez Hills, with UNITE-LA support, is leading the way in transforming the transfer culture on campus and among feeder community colleges in the area. With funding from L.A.'s Postsecondary Funders Collaborative, CSUDH is developing a transfer hub to support students and providing emergency funding to ensure matriculation.

This month, the Los Angeles County Department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services (WDACS) shared with all [email protected] providers that they have approved an increase in the fiscal amount (slot allocation cost) dedicated per youth who participate in the workforce program from $2,650 to $3,873 for FY 2022-2023. This decision ensures more funding allocated for youth wages, supportive services, case management costs and more.

For a second year in a row, L.A. Unified was awarded a $44 million grant from the state’s Community Schools Partnership Program to sustain and expand the district’s Community Schools Initiative for another five years. Expanding the Community School model has been a key priority of the L.A. Compact since 2018. A program of the California Department of Education, the Community Schools Partnership has provided funding to more than 70 local education agencies across the state since 2021 to support schools’ efforts to partner with community agencies and local government to align community resources to improve student outcomes.

Compact signing institution UCLA has produced hundreds of thousands of alumni who have become Nobel laureates; leaders of state, business, and education; community change-makers; and, of course, UNITE-LA staff. Each year, UCLA honors a select few of these alumni who go above and beyond to serve our community. This year, UCLA awarded two L.A. Compact signers, Dr. Debra Duardo and Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, for their careers supporting L.A. County residents.