Services & Programs

Encouraging youth leadership is a central goal of the WDC. The WDC funds and provides technical assistance to a wide range of youth programs, from county-wide initiatives serving hundreds of secondary school students and high school dropouts to more focused demonstration projects that test new strategies for serving youth with special needs.

The WDC Youth Council, an independent body from the WDC Board, helps to provide strategic direction for our youth programs. Our Youth Council is composed of business people, educators from K-12 schools and colleges, and representatives from youth programs such as Job Corps, as well as several WDC board members who also serve as members of the Youth Council. The Youth Council’s purpose is to educate and advise the board on shaping a youth development system that can serve youth’s education and vocational needs, and ready the next generation of workers in Seattle-King County.

Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Programs

WIA youth programs operate year-round and serve low-income youth ages 14-21 who face significant barriers to educational achievement and employment. WIA programs for in-school youth provide such services as academic tutoring, paid summer work experience, leadership and community service projects, and school-year internships. Programs for out-of-school youth emphasize high school diploma or GED completion as well as occupational skills training and job search and retention.

The WDC's partner service providers for WIA youth programs are:

• The Seattle Youth Employment Program supports youth to successfully graduate from high school while providing them with the skills they need to find and maintain employment. The program targets Seattle youth ages 14-21 who have little or no work experience, may be struggling in school or have other barriers to success.
• The King County Work Training Program offers a wide variety of services for youth through two main programs, Stay in School and YouthSource. YouthSource, located at WorkSource Renton, is a comprehensive center meeting multiple needs in one place. More than a dozen community agencies are on site at YouthSource.

New Centers for Youth Offenders!

Thanks to a new WDC grant from the Department of Labor, two youth centers in our community are working directly with the court system to provide case management, education support and work experience to court-involved and at-risk young people.

YouthCare's Orion Center in downtown Seattle and the Multi-Service Center in Federal Way have joined YouthSource as full-service youth center that connect to the court system to get young offenders (16 to 24) back on track with school and skills.

Building Bridges to Health Care Careers

Since 2003, the WDC has led a series of partnerships with hospitals, colleges, and public schools that start at-risk students, especially bilingual youth of color, on career paths in health care. These programs link young people directly to health-care certificate programs at local community/technical colleges and to work-based learning opportunities in hospitals. Youth take prerequisite and training courses while still in high school, work at hospitals during the summer to gain experience, and earn an LPN or even higher certificate within a year of graduation.

The newest WDC partnership to address health careers for youth includes the Washington State Hospital Association, the City of Seattle, several local community colleges, and faculty/staff of Seattle public high schools. The 40 students earn high-school and college credits for basic and CNA (certified nursing assistant) coursework, and are taking the CNA exam as a gateway to a wide range of health care professions.