San Joaquin Valley Initiative for Older Youth
Providing post-secondary and development activities for low-income older youth
The San Joaquin Valley is the fastest growing region in California today. Of California’s seven major metropolitan areas with the highest proportion of youth ages 16-24, five are located in the San Joaquin Valley--Visalia, Merced, Fresno, Modesto and Bakersfield. With the lowest graduation rates of any other California region, San Joaquin Valley youth also contend with the highest rates of unemployment in the state--20% of the region’s youth are out of school and out of work compared with San Francisco Bay Area’s 12%. If the Central Valley were a state, it would rank 48th in per capita income. Yet regional solutions for older youth lack adequate attention and funding from foundations. According to a Great Valley Center study, the number of grants going to nonprofit organizations in the Central Valley is 8% of the funding that goes to Bay Area organizations. The Walter S. Johnson seeks to help older youth transitioning into adulthood by investing in local and regional programs that increase educational opportunities and promote youth development.
The San Joaquin Valley Initiative for Older Youth has two goals:
1) to increase the number of low-income San Joaquin Valley residents who participate and graduate from post-secondary programs (vocational, certificate and/or degree bearing); and
2) to increase the number of San Joaquin Valley youth participating in positive youth development activities. To achieve this, the Initiative would focus on three areas: Youth Leaders, Capacity Building and Teaching and Student Support. Elements of strong programs and projects include culturally competent staff and boards reflective of the serving community, evidence-based practices, collaborative work that includes the active participation of community members, private/public partnerships, locally matched funds, and equal attention to vision and operational implementation.
Youth Leaders:
In 2001, the Foundation commissioned a report, “Opportunities for Youth Investment in California’s Great Central Valley,” to identify and assess youth development programs’ readiness for foundation investment. Later, the Foundation funded a handful of Central Valley youth programs. The San Joaquin initiative would extend this work, with updated youth service scans, regional convenings of youth development organizations, and start-up support for regional youth development networks.
Capacity Building:
For years, the Foundation has invested in capacity building activities to support young, developing youth organizations in the Bay Area. Now the Foundation plans similar capacity building strategies for San Joaquin Valley youth development and leadership programs. Based on needs assessments, the Foundation is interested in organizational capacity support as well as meetings between Bay Area organizations and San Joaquin Valley groups to exchange ideas and lessons. By doing so, the Foundation seeks to help San Joaquin Valley youth organizations to provide quality programs, and to prepare these organizations for sustainable private and government support.
Teaching and Student Support:
There are few options for Central Valley youth to seek higher education, and community colleges appear to be the best bet. Fewer than 3% of Central Valley graduates enroll in four-year post-secondary institutions (compared to 7% statewide), but about 35% attend community college, higher than the statewide average of 32%. For Central Valley youth, local community colleges appear to be the most accessible source for higher education. The Foundation is interested in Teaching and Student Support work that include parent engagement programs, innovative student and staff support services, data alignment structure and implementation, and faculty and community organizing.
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