He was referring to the Job Assistance Legislation, C.B. 117796, which passed out of the Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology Committee last week, and upon which I voted “yes” today.

This bill has been years in the making.  It seemed like most people who have engaged in the drafting have  supported the ultimate objectives, but the “how” is what caused revision after revision.  It has morphed and changed and been tweaked in hopes that consensus could be reached.

Here’s why I support the amended version that was before us today: because I want to reduce recidivism, save taxpayer dollars, make our community safer, and support people who want to be productive members of our community.  I believe this legislation will help businesses in the long run, not hurt them.

According to a recent King County’s Offender Reentry Plan, over one hundred individuals return to our community from jails every day.  Without a significant change in circumstances, these individuals can face alienation, poverty, unemployment, homelessness or unstable housing, mental illness and/or chemical dependency – many of the same problems that contributed to their entering the jail system in the first place.

When a person is convicted of a crime and has paid the debt by serving jail time, the reality is that the stigma of prison often haunts him for years –if not decades or a lifetime.  The situation is worse for young men of color who are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system.

In my experience, most able people want to work and to feel productive.  And we, as a community, want people to meet their potential and feel self-worth. To help former felons become productive members of our community, they must receive skills-training while  in jail, and upon release to receive support from the government to make housing, employment, and needed services available.  This isn’t a new approach that Seattle is considering alone.  Felon re-entry programs are being created nation-wide.

King County’s Re-entry Plan, which I support and am working on with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, has six identified goals that will make re-entry to the community possible.  These goals are

1. Improve the housing status of individuals leaving jail.

2.  Improve rates of self-sufficient employment for individuals leaving jail.

3.  Provide access to effective mental health, chemical dependency, and primary care treatment services for inmates before and after their release from jail

4.  Sustain offenders’ access to government assistance programs. Improve case management systems.

5.  Increase reentering offenders’ connections to family and community.

6.  Improve offender access to basic resources and services in the community after release.

As this report (link) notes, successful re-entry “requires that the released individual obtain stable housing and employment; receives services for and works toward mental health and/or chemical dependency recovery; and chooses not to engage in criminal behavior.”

The Job Assistance Legislation is designed to address Goal #2 above: to help those who want to become law-abiding, hard-working, tax-paying citizens to obtain self-sufficient employment.  We in our community should WANT the formerly-incarcerated person to succeed, to lead a crime-free life.  Here’s where employers come in.

The Job Assistance Legislation allows employers to make a rational hiring decision based on all information about qualified employees.  Timing of asking questions about past criminal records is key.

With more employers relying on criminal background checks or some form of credit check to initially screen candidates, many would-be  workers never get an interview.

The  “Ban the Box” approach means not asking a question about criminal histories until an applicant is granted an interview or made a conditional  job offer. This gives an applicant with a criminal record an opportunity to meet an employer face-to-face and explain why he/she would be a good employee.  This is how the City of Seattle operates. This is the process used when hiring my staff. And this is the process I think is fair.

Without the personal interview, some feel there’s little chance of employment.  This legislation levels the playing field and gives people that chance. And who can argue against giving someone a chance?

As this legislation has been written and amended, I have worked with both members of the business community and those who advocate on behalf of released felons to find an acceptable middle ground.  I want businesses to be part of the solution: we need them to be part of the solution, and that is why I have worked to address their worries about this legislation.  Admittedly I was unable to get the attorney’s fees amendment I wanted, but we did make progress and I intend to follow up and examine how fines and fees are assessed by our Hearing Examiners on similar matters.

We have made changes to reassure private employers they are not in this alone.  Far from it. To be effective, a re-entry program must be embraced by the community and coordinated with jails, courts, law enforcement, social services, stakeholders, public defenders, tenant advocacy groups – everyone interested.  We all must agree to work with those who have been released from jail and WANT to work.  This re-entry program, of which the Job Assistance Legislation is just one component, will provide the framework for success.

If we expect to keep our city strong and growing, we must make a renewed commitment to try something new – to give the formerly incarcerated a second chance – and successfully reintegrate them back into society. This is a city for all, and opportunities should be available to everyone.

I am pleased to be part of this effort, and give kudos to Councilmember Bruce Harrell for initiating the legislation, and thanks to my colleagues and those in our community who have brought the legislation this far.

This project has been over ten years in the making. And though the idea of creating a new park might sound simple, this project has been anything but.

Almost a decade ago, Seattle Parks and Recreation, in cooperation with King County, purchased several acres of Smith Cove from the U.S. Navy.  We improved the drainage, shoo’d away the Canada Geese, and created an area ripe for mod-soccer.  This acquisition was really the beginning of a dream, a dream of a park along the waterfront.

Several years later, that neighborhood park acquisition became an important piece of a complicated puzzle. Both the Port of Seattle and Seattle Parks and Recreation owned property at Smith Cove and King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division had a need, mandated by the Federal Government, to control their combined sewer overflows (CSOs) into Elliott Bay. The County proposed to construct a million gallon underground holding tank to protect the water quality of Puget Sound during serious storm events.  They needed to purchase property near Puget Sound to do this.

Envisioning an opportunity, the community advocated for the Port’s “West Yard” to become park land.  Although our Parks Department did not have money budgeted to make the purchase, by partnering with the County, a plan was hatched where the CSO needs would be accommodated underground and a park built on top. 

 Community and political support prompted conversations to begin. The negotiations ebbed and flowed, sometimes they stalled but they never ended.  With the help of King County Councilmember Larry Phillips, then-Port Commissioner Gael Tarleton, and our dedicated Parks team, an agreement was reached.

And that’s what today’s celebration is for. Today is a lesson about patience and perseverance. It is about cooperation and collaboration. Smith Cove perfectly illustrates how government can and should leverage our combined resources to serve the public interest. Our work together will create tremendous community and environmental benefits. It’s truly a win-win and I am honored to be part of it.

See the meeting agenda here, or watch the video of the meeting here.

Councilmember Godden and I voted to move the following to Full Council for May 20^th:

• C.F. 312996, which appoints Michael Shiosaki as a member to the Arboretum and Botanical Garden Committee.
• RES. 31454, which is a resolution to create the Parks and Recreation Legacy Citizens Advisory Committee to ensure citizen participation in the development of a potential ballot measure to benefit Seattle parks.
• C.B. 117777, which authorizes the Superintendent of Parks and Recreation to enter into an agreement with the Seattle Audubon Society to operate and manage the Administrative Building in Carkeek Park.

 DPR is conducting a series of meetings soliciting feedback on the Parks Legacy Plan. The meetings allow community members to connect with each other and discuss how they want parks funds to be used in the future. A part of these discussions is whether DPR should pursue a ballot measure to secure funding in the future. See meeting schedule here.

The Parks and Recreation Legacy Citizen’s Advisory Committee, also known as the CAC, is another key piece in DPR’s plan to engage the public in the Legacy Plan. The Parks and Recreation Legacy CAC will represent the citizens of Seattle in the development of a potential measure. CAC members will help determine the scope of the ballot measure, advising DPR on whether it focuses on operations, maintenance, development, or acquisition.

The members of the Parks and Recreation Legacy CAC are Barbara Wright, Charlie Zaragoza, Thatcher Bailey, Steve Daschle, Juli Farris, Bill Farmer, Thomas Goldstein, Jessie Israel, Diana Kincaid, Michael Maddux, Brice Maryman, Yalonda Gill Masundire, Mustapha Match, David Namura, and Erika Neurenberg.

The Full Council adopted the resolution to create the Parks and Recreation Legacy CAC yesterday, and I hope to see the CAC hard at work throughout the summer and fall.

PaN also heard from DPR on whether to permit the Seattle Audubon Society to operate and manage the Administrative Building in Carkeek Park. DPR presented a persuasive argument that the Audubon Society is uniquely positioned to educate both children and adults about wildlife in the city and that Carkeek Park is well suited to act as the classroom for these lessons.

Carkeek Park has the flora, fauna, facilities, and passionate supporters that the Seattle Audubon Society needs and the Audubon Society has the expertise to offer public benefit to the wide variety of citizens that visit Seattle parks. It sounded like a great match to me and the legislation passed Full Council.

PAN also has the great fortune to hear an update on the Neighborhood Matching Fund (NMF) program, operated by the Department of Neighborhoods (DON). NMF offers three levels of matching gifts to qualifying citizen inspired and generated projects. Please see here for the full schedule of when Seattleites can apply for these funds.

It was an impressive day and I look forward to our next PaN Committee, which is scheduled for June 6^th at 9:30 am.

Last Saturday the park was officially opened. Despite the chill, hundreds of neighbors and kids with skateboards gathered in one of the city’s newest parks. Prizes were awarded for best tricks, and new skateboards were given to a special few newcomers. Time was set aside for five year-olds, for twelve year-olds, for teens. I appreciated that an organization called Skate Like a Girl was there to encourage girls to join the fun.

Video: Mat McBride talks about the volunteer effort that made it all happen.

After a five-year volunteer-powered effort, the Roxhill Park was renovated through a partnership between neighbors, the Parks Department, Department of Neighborhoods and a number of local businesses.  Roxhill now has a new skatepark, a fabulous new play area equipped with a castle, and plenty of play spaces with great plantings and an adjoining experiential wetlands (motto: “For Peat’s sake).   You can see some great pictures of happy neighbors crawling, swinging, and running through, over and around the  castle structure;  watch a video of the ribbon cutting on the West Seattle Blog.  It’ll make you smile.

The neighbor power and commuity spirit at the the Roxhill Park opening at SW Barton and 29th SW last weekend were irresistible.   I delighted in meeting the leaders of the Roxhill pack.

The project was conceived and led by an outstanding steering committee of local woman and men who came from diverse backgrounds; single moms, some unemployed, some with no children and some with more-then-full time jobs. Every one of them gave as much as they could to ensure that the under-served community of Westwood/Roxhill and the Delridge corridor would be a part of building a one-of-a-kind park.

With Mat and Whitney McBride at Roxhill Castle Park

Each of the steering committee members spent significant hours on evenings and weekends canvassing the West Seattle business districts, as well as White Center. The enthusiasm and participation of the new businesses in the Roxhill area who wholeheartedly agreed to send food, employees, and in one case the owners, to come help build this park, continually bolstered their spirits.  Food and even a hotel room for the out of town contractor were donated by locals.  A few dedicated grandmothers brought fresh baked cookies through the drizzle.

Led by Mat and Whitney McBride — as well as their eight year old son Gabe — they worked with the Parks Department and Department of Neighborhoods to leverage resources.

The Parks Department contracted with Leather and Associates.  That company builds play equipment, yes, but they are known nation-wide for building community.  Their m.o. is to rely on volunteers from the community; it keeps costs down and community enthusiasm up.

Whitney applied for a $20,000 Small and Simple Project Fund grant and she was awarded enough to buy all the specialized tools needed by the hundreds of volunteers to build the play area.

The West Seattle Tool library opened up their stock for five rainy days last November when the community came together to build the play area.  That’s the deal with Leathers Associates. Working with the Parks Department and the neighborhood, the vision is created. Parks pays the contractor, then the Leather Association experts come with all the plans and materials;  the community comes together at the appointed date, and the project is built.  November in Seattle?  No problem for these volunteers.

When construction was completed, Whitney and neighbors donated all the tools back to the West Seattle Tool Library.  Imagine the possibilities for YOUR neighborhood!  All the tools to build a park are available for you to borrow.

“Time and time again that those who had the least gave the most. Inspiring doesn’t even begin to cover the wealth of emotions we went through during those five days in November. The mud, cold and the rain did little to discourage the amazing energy that permeated the site,” steering committee member Whitney McBride told me.

Just a few noble volunteers reached an entire community;  and with the help of more volunteers, the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces levy, a grant from Department of Neighborhoods,  the excellent support of DPR staffers Kelly Davidson and Shwu-Jen Hwang, and the regular presence of the mobile West Seattle Tool Library a park fit for royalty has been built. Well done, Roxhill!

I support the use of micro-housing as an option for affordable housing for individuals who want to live close to where they work, or close to transit opportunities. With rents that can range from $500 to 900 a month, I think they are good alternatives for individuals who need a first apartment and can’t afford their own studio or one-bedroom, or for those who desire a smaller footprint.

Forty-eight micro-housing projects have been built since 2006, for a total of 2,100 micro units. Thirty of these are on Capitol Hill or in the University District. Capitol Hill residents, particularly, have voiced objections to the micro-housing trend, citing concerns about parking, density, and neighborhood character.

Currently, DPD is working on modifications to the land use code that would require more micro-housing projects to go through design review, define micro-unit buildings, and possibly create a new threshold for design review based on the size/square footage of the building, rather than the unit count. (This would ensure that micro-unit buildings be treated like apartment buildings of the same square footage.)

Creating a consistent unit count and applying design review consistent with an apartment building of similar size will provide a formal space for micro-unit buildings in the code and ensure that they are treated comparably to a similar apartment building.

I would like to see more structure and definition in place to make micro-housing work for Seattle neighborhoods, however. I want to focus on ways we can support housing options, rather than thwart them. Here are some of the things I’d like to see discussed and resolved to regulate their size, bulk, scale, location, and impact on the neighborhood:

1. ALL micro-housing units should be subject to design review and appropriate SEPA threshold review.
2. We must address the impact of micro-housing projects on residential parking. Creating a Restricted Parking Zone (with limited number of parking passes for the building) in the neighborhood would align with our current strategies, but I wonder too if more creative solutions might be on the horizon, as our city continues to work with transportation options. For example, perhaps it would be possible to require building participation in a program such as Car2Go, or other to-be-determined transportation alternatives.
3. Storage and pick up of trash, recycling, and garbage must be adequately addressed up during design conversations.
   I think we should consider appropriate neighborhood zones where micro-housing can be built. At a recent public hearing, once council central staffer suggested, and I agree, that additional conversations about low rise zone designations and how many units can go into them, are needed. (Perhaps a restricted number or height restriction would be appropriate).

I look forward to seeing the regulatory legislation that DPD plans to put forward later this year.

Note that another public hearing will occur at 6 p.m. May 6 on Capitol Hill. We haven’t nailed down a location yet, but if you keep an eye on the Planning, Land Use, and Urban Sustainability committee agenda page, you’ll see it announced.

See the meeting agenda here, or watch the video of the meeting here.

The two bills we looked at were:

• C.B. 117758 (PDF Version), which increases appropriations for Bell Street Park, and
• C.B. 117761 (PDF Version), which lifts a budget proviso  imposed on the Department of Parks and Recreation’s Recreation Facilities and Programs Budget Control Level in 2013 for structured teen programming.

Bell Street Park, currently under construction! Photo: Sally J. Clark

I’m excited about the prospects of structured teen programming. Not only did our committee vote to lift the proviso on $180,000 for the program, on April 17, the Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology Committee voted to provide an additional $210,000 of funding for this same program.

As proposed by DPR, the available funding would be sufficient to serve 150 teens in 2013 and 110 teens in 2014. The additional $210,000 funding will bring these totals to 200 teens in both 2013 and 2014.

I’m grateful to DPR for beings so open to developing a clear and transparent approach to tracking the program’s performance, which made this easy to support.

Also in committee we were briefed on the upcoming King County Parks Levy, DPR’s plans for Westlake Park’s planters, parking at Magnuson Park, and the latest news from Department of Neighborhoods.

From the later I particularly want to note that the People’s Academy for Community Engagement (PACE) is accepting applications for the sessions starting in September 2013 now through May 8.

The sessions take place at Seattle University, and focus on how community leaders can work with Neighborhood District Councils and government structure and processes. During the 9-month program, 26 participants learn hands-on strategies for community organizing, community building, neighborhood planning, leadership, and outreach.

To learn more or apply, see the PACE website.

We’ve gone through our ups and downs for sure.  Yet I see slow progress being made in our ability to acknowledge that mental health is something we can and must talk about.

I am learning from leaders in this field including Amnon Schoenfeld from King County Mental Health and Bill Hobson from Downtown Seattle Emergency Service Center to open up about this topic.  An excellent role model for me is former King County Executive Randy Revelle who is leading a statewide stakeholder group at the request of Speaker Frank Chopp.  Mr. Revelle talks about his personal experience in “Stigma to Hope“.  All these professionals acknowledge that we reduce the stigma once we start talking about our personal experiences.

Depression runs in my family too.  I wouldn’t talk about it.  Yet I saw first hand the consequences where an adult with depression wouldn’t seek treatment, and I convinced myself  it “wasn’t that bad” or in my truly self-delusional moments it wasn’t happening at all. The results can be tragic, and certainly are isolating.

The King County website on mental health states  “between 28 and 30 percent of the U.S. population has a mental health disorder, substance abuse disorder, or both.  And whereas about nine percent of American adults have depression,  only one-fifth will receive the care they need to treat the condition.”

That’s what I experienced in my own family.  We were among the 80% — the depression wasn’t diagnosed properly or treated, and the consequences ignored.

If you want to know more about symptoms of depression or services that are available in Seattle/King County, check out King County Mental Health Services website.

The collective “we” will make real progress when we fund the programs we need statewide.  Because of extensive state and federal budget cuts to mental illness programs these past years, we have seen many important programs chopped or eliminated; but there’s hope — some of our Washington State legislators recognize the value of Seattle and King County’s community based programs and have offered legislation this year — with the support of the National Alliance on Mental Health — to nudge us in the right direction.

Thanks to our Seattle legislators including Rep. Jamie Pedersen, Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Rep. Eileen Cody , Rep. Ruth Kagi (and other statewide and local legislators including Rep. Tina Orwall (D-33d)),  we’ve seen renewed advocacy for important programs such as the one to help professionals in schools to recognize suicidal tendencies of young people.

Our forebearers would have approved of these programs 50 years ago; now these and other programs must be appropriately funded.

Special thanks to those who bravely bring light to the conversation, talking honestly about their own issues. This approach greatly helps those of us who are confused or fearful to overcome our own feelings of failure or isolation. Here’s an excellent piece written by my friend and minister Tony Robinson who writes from his own perspective in Crosscut this week:  Tony Robinson’s recent Crosscut article here.  

Seattle Parks and Recreation wants public help in planning the future of Seattle’s parks, community centers and other facilities. The department has published a draft plan and would love to get your feedback on it.

Read the Parks Legacy Plan here. You can email feedback to parkslegacy@seattle.gov.

Quoting Acting Superintendent Christopher Williams, “Now it’s time to ask the hard questions: Are we spending resources as effectively as possible? What does the public think of our park system?”

In addition to the online feedback option, Parks has scheduled a series of public meetings in May. They want to encourage everyone who uses parks, community centers, swimming pools or other facilities to come and say what you think.

While some of the meetings focus on certain parks functions, comments on any Parks activity or function are welcome at all of the meetings.

Tuesday, May 7 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.:

GENERAL MEETING
Seattle Parks and Recreation Administration Building
100 Dexter Ave. N

Wednesday, May 8 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.:

SPORTS, RECREATION, AND AQUATICS
Green Lake Community Center
7201 E Green Lake Dr. N

Monday, May 13 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. :

SENIORS, TEENS INCLUDING LGBT, COMMUNITY CENTERS AND ASSOCIATED RECREATION COUNCIL (ARC)
Northgate Community Center
10510 5th Ave. NE

Thursday, May 16 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.:

ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS, OPEN SPACE
AND MAINTENANCE
Jefferson Community Center
3801 Beacon Ave. S

Tuesday, May 21 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.:

GENERAL MEETING
Dakota Place Park Building
4304 SW Dakota St.

Wednesday, May 22 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.:

IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE COMMUNITIES
South Shore K-8 School
4800 S Henderson St.

Thanks in advance for your time and thoughts!

Diana is a returning board member, who has been on the board since May 2009, and serving as Park Board chair since March 2012.

A longtime community volunteer, Diana served as president of Friends of Magnuson Park from 2003-2004, is a member of the Parks and Open Space Advocates (POSA) and currently represents the Park Board on the Central Waterfront Design Committee.

As my colleague on the Parks and Neighborhoods committee Tom Rasmussen remarked at the table, Diana  has provided extraordinary service and we hugely appreciate her.

Most recently in addition to chairing the Park Board, Diana has been very involved in working to try to get the NOAA road opened in Magnuson Park.

Tom Tierney served as the Executive Director of the Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) from 2004 to his retirement in September 2012.

We let him have about one and a half minutes of retirement before snagging him for the Park Board.

Before leading the Housing Authority, Tom was a senior executive at the Port of Seattle and before that, with the City of Seattle.

He has worked closely with the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) for 30 years, knows large departments and understands the challenges of big bureaucracy.

Tom is looking forward to tackling the funding challenges presented by a growing population using Parks that have a backlog of maintenance needs, and also wanting more and more green space. We’re looking forward to having him in that role.

Bill Keller back on his feet

I’m very glad to say that this morning’s committee meeting started on a positive note: Acting Superintendent of Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) Christopher Williams updated us on the progress of Bill Keller, the Executive Director of the Associated Recreational Council (ARC), who was shot on March 8. Not only is Bill home from the hospital but walking around his neighborhood, up to six blocks at a time. He is also preparing a triumphal mid-April return to work, and we are all eagerly anticipating his comeback and holding him in our thoughts as he continues to heal.

Christopher also noted that we all want to express our huge appreciation to Christine Arcidy, Deputy Director of ARC. She has been holding everything together in his absence.

You can watch the committee meeting here: Christopher told us about his and the rest of the Parks Leadership Team’s response and actions in the 72 hours following the shooting; and a little bit about some of the preliminary lessons they’ve gleaned from the awful event, and how they’re going about learning more. It’s definitely worth a watch, and inspiring to be reminded, again, of what a dedicated community of people makes up our Department of Parks and Recreation.

Community trail projects at Cheasty Greenspace and FOLKpark

We asked Christopher for updates on a couple of community initiated projects: A mountain biking trail at Cheasty Greenspace and a trail connecting the off-leash dog park at Kinnear Park to the Amgen Double Helix Bridge across Elliott. Both proposed projects raise some vexing issues that won’t be resolved overnight.

In the case of Cheasty Greenspace, two groups of constituents have competing aims. A committed and enthused set of bike riders would like to see a mountain bike trail put in the natural area. On the other hand, a committed and enthused group of Parks volunteers has been working for years on restoring the natural area, pulling out blackberries and planting native species, attempting to help restore the city’s imperiled urban canopy. Mountain biking trails notoriously undermine the stability of slopes and hills, and the resulting erosion can create risk of landslides.

Parks, negotiating between these groups, plans to take the issue to the Park Board for consideration. Parks’ recommendation will be to establish best practices, criteria for site selection, and site standards for bike paths before selecting a final location.

In the case of FOLKpark, Christopher expressed appreciation for the community group that’s been so tireless at driving for activation of Kinnear Park. The newly opened off leash dog park appears to be getting a lot of use, and that draws people through other parts of the park.

Having  a trail extend the park to the double helix bridge seems like an obvious great benefit, but unfortunately, it turns out the soil composition and the steepness of the slope in the area makes it prone to landslides. Christopher explained that Parks is doing its best to balance the needs of the community with the requirements of public safety and minimizing future liability to the city. The trail project was not funded by the Opportunity Fund this year, and Christopher is planning to bring the community members involved with FolkPARK together with the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Board so that they can discuss how the decision was made and what appropriate next steps might look like.

Teen Structured Programming Proposal

The bulk of our meeting was devoted to a discussion of DPR’s proposal for Structured Programming for Teens. They developed a response to Green Sheet 107-1-C-2, which Council passed during the 2012 budget process. Mayor McGinn proposed adding more hours to community centers. Though he often referred to teen programs, the additional hours were general and would have just kept the doors open.  Council did not accept that add, and put a proviso on those funds ($176,091), asked DPR to come back with a proposal of how they would use those funds. Today’s presentation was about that proposal.

Here’s a PDF of the presentation that they delivered, and here is the memo from Council Central Staff.

Parks focused on the programs in the Teen Unit, which is a unit in the Recreation Division. This division manages six teen programs that provide a diverse range of services that draw youth from throughout the city: Outdoor Opportunities (O2), Youth Employment and Service Learning (YESL), Teen Life Centers (TLC), Late Night Rec, and Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative (SYVPI).

Parks recommended that the provisoed funds be used to establish a pilot Youth Career Training Program (YCTP) in 2013. The Department will evaluate whether or not to continue the pilot as part of the 2014 budget process.

The pilot program will engage teens aged 14 to 19, in a variety of structured and stipend-based workforce preparedness experiences that incorporate job, life, and leadership-skills training.

YCTP will help increase the number of youth employment opportunities, address the need for workforce development, and support financial independence for youth in 2013. The program also aligns with the Mayor’s Jobs Plan, specifically on the investment in Seattle’s youth and young adults.

How the Program Works

YCTP will use the experiential learning methodology which applies newly attained job training and leadership and life skills (through the training Parks will offer) to real life situations (through the work experience Parks will offer).

The job training and leadership and life skills element will emphasize programming in the areas of pre-employment certification, youth teen advocacy, aquatics and tennis training, urban design and environmental learning, and education and college prep. Some examples would include lifeguard training for youth, first aid training, teaching forest restoration skills, GED courses, and college prep courses. YCTP may also provide technology training and web support training to assist in the design and update of a new Teen Web Portal.

The employment element of the YCTP program will includecommunity center front desk and Late Night support, pre-apprenticeship with Parks shops (carpentry, electrical, metal, paint, and plumbing), grounds maintenance support, truck crews support, ropes course facilitation, tennis and aquatic instruction, and trail restoration support.

YCTP work experiences will share a similar structure to YESL programs, offering 144 total program hours (25% training and 75% application) over six weeks during the summer or twelve weeks during the school year. YCTP participants will need to complete a minimum of 120 program hours to be eligible for the $599 stipend.

Program Goals and Performance  Measures

DPR will evaluate the program’s success by establishing the following goals and performance measures. The performance measures are from the federal Workforce Investment Improvement Act, which provides a set of standard goals for measuring youth employment programs.

Each type of goal that is identified is equally important to the development of the individual, the effectiveness of the program for the individual, and the overall performance of the program.

The program will provide for the following:

• Attainment of basic skills, work readiness or occupational skills. All youth who are determined basic skills deficient must have a basic skill goal.
• Attainment of secondary school diplomas and their recognized equivalents (for example HSED, GED) before exiting the program.
• Placement and retention in post-secondary education, advanced training, military service employment, or qualified apprenticeships.

Parks proposed the following performance measures, which Council Central Staff approved but would also like to see slightly more refined, a process that Parks and Central Staff will work on together over the next couple weeks.

Skill Attainment Rate: measures the attainment of basic, work-readiness or occupational skills while receiving services with pre-and post program tests.

o Total number of basic skill goals + number of work readiness skills + number of occupational skills.

Diploma or Equivalent Attainment Rate: Of those who enter without a diploma or equivalent, measures the number of youth who receive one by the time they leave services. In-school youth that leave services and are still in school are excluded from this measure.

o Number of youth who attained a secondary diploma or equivalent within 6 months after completing the program.

Retention Rate: measures the proportion of youth that are in the following activities 6 months after they leave services:

• Post secondary education
• Advanced training
• Employment
• Military service
• Qualified apprenticeships

In a final interesting twist, after yesterday’s Public Safety, Civil Rights and Technology Committee meeting, it seems that some of the Mayor’s funding for the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative that council placed a proviso on might be re-appropriated  into these structured Parks programs. I’ll keep you up to date on that as I learn more.

Coming soon: Protecting public investment at Westlake Park and Magnuson Little League Fields

We’ve heard constituents expressing concern about a couple of issues, most particularly the fate of the little league fields at Magnuson Park and the damage already showing up early in the season to public property at Westlake Park, particularly the north end planters and the stage.

We asked Christopher to come to our next committee meeting prepared to talk to us about both of these issues. For Magnuson, he will walk us through the maps and bring us up to speed on planned field facilities and how the parking for the new tennis center and changes sought by Children’s Hospital are affecting the park. For Westlake, he will discuss possibilities for protecting the planters, including removing them, planting them with less vulnerable plantings, or looking for ways to redistribute resources so that Park Rangers and police are able to keep watch over the area.

Park Board

Last but not least: We also approved the confirmation of two Park Board members today, which will go on to Full Council on Monday. I’m going to save my introductions of those two lovely individuals until after they’ve been formally confirmed, however, so you can expect to read more about them next week.

Finally, we learned with regret, but happiness for her, that wonderful Megan Heahlke, who has served on the Park Board for the past 18 months, has taken a very demanding job and is resigning from the Board. Megan, thank you for all your great work. We will miss you, and we wish you the very best!