The Summer Success program of 2009 was funded by recovery funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. WorkSource received $2.3 million in funds to provide work experiences for young adults between the ages of 14-24 who met the United States Department of Labor eligibility requirements.

WorkSource partnered with a variety of business, government and nonprofit organizations, and provided more than 50 program sites to over 1,400 young adults. Most youth received both education and hands-on work experiences in a variety of fields throughout the six-county region.

Each county in our region hosted at least one project, resulting in the following youth participation numbers:

• Baker County: 70
• Clay County: 60
• Duval County: 853
• Nassau County: 50
• Putnam: 192
• St. Johns County: 245

The total cost per participant was $1,642.85. The youth dedicated 20 hours per week and most earned a weekly stipend of $145.00, approximately minimum wage, or $7.25 an hour. In addition to assisting the youth population, the ARRA funding also allowed for 17 substitute teachers to be hired as site supervisors. The site supervisors served as mentors to the youth, by assisting them in the timesheet process, general safety rules at worksites, relaying important information about their schedule and supervising their daily assigned tasks.

To learn more about current youth opportunities, please visit www.worksourcefl.com or contact 904-356-JOBS.