Thursday, February 02, 2012

SYEP Kick Off Event Goes Smoothly

Gerren Price, Associate Director of Youth Programs at DOES Gets Interviewed By Fox 5


Its been a full week since the 2012 Summer Youth Employment Program application went live and not surprisingly program slots for youth that don't have the word "waitlist" next to them are dwindling. DCAYA was at DOES' "Midnight Madness" event last Friday and we have to say things looked to be going swimmingly. Many youth were using the computer stations set up in the community room to apply to the program and hundreds of youth got a jump on their certifications by providing their documents the very same day the application opened.We are so pleased about the progress DOES' Office of Youth Programs has made in the last few years with creating a manageable and worthwhile program for young people and we could not be happier that the Midnight Madness event was a success, but during moments like these its important to remember that SYEP should be about so much more than small triumphs like the success of a kickoff event.


For years, DCAYA has been providing DOES and the community writ large with recommendations on how SYEP can be improved and in the next couple of weeks DCAYA will be publishing our "2011 Summer Youth Employment Program Report Card" which will outline some areas of SYEP that host sites, youth participants and the advocacy community found to be needing improvement during last year's program. Be sure to watch out for the launch of the 2011 Report Card and if you are interested in tracking the yearly progress of SYEP you can check out the "2010 Summer Youth Employment Program Report Card" on our website.


In the meantime, DON'T FORGET that SYEP isn't just about "signing up" and getting a spot anymore. Youth participants MUST APPLY and GET CERTIFIED for the program before March 17th to assure they do not lose their spot and the program fills up quickly so make sure if you know a youth that is interested in participating that they have read the Youth Information Packet provided by DOES!



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