That the City Council:
A.  Approve and authorize the City Manager to execute the Sixth Amendment to the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) Agreement for Youth Program Services with the County of Orange, increasing the City's Ready S.E.T. OC program funding by $260,000 for a maximum funding of $2,440,915 for fiscal year 2023-2024; and,

B.  Authorize the appropriation of the additional funding to the Employment & Training Division 2023-2024 adopted budget.

The City operates and provides the overall programming and supervision of the Orange County "Ready S.E.T. OC" Program (Program) funded through the Orange County Workforce Development Board's Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The Program's contract goal is to enroll 600 new youth and young adults into the Program and provide quality services that includes career exploration and guidance, continued support for educational attainment, and opportunities to develop and hone skills within in-demand industries and occupations, all culminating with employment along a career pathway or enrollment in post-secondary education.

The City has operated a grant funded program offering employment and training services for youth in Orange County for nearly 50 years, and in the past this focus has been mainly on youth in the north Orange County area with operations based in La Habra. However, in July of 2023, the County required the City to close the La Habra offices and transfer all services to the newly opened Orange County Workforce Solutions facility in the City of Brea. This facility also houses the County-funded adult employment program and provides state-of-the-art offices with increased space to allow for services such as virtual reality career exploration, resume development and job search computer access, small and large group training, and more. In addition, the Workforce Solutions facility staff provide the Ready S.E.T. OC Program with computers with IT support, email addresses, copy services, security, custodial and facility maintenance, and more. The City was required to pay a lease payment to the County for the use of this facility and the new location's rental rate of $18,000 per month increased the overhead cost of the City's grant program by approximately $150,000 per year.

In addition, the City has been successful in enrolling youth during this Program Year and has increased the number of participants who are interested in Individual Training programs such as training for Certified Nursing Assistants, welding apprentices, and other fields, which has increasing Program costs by over $100,000 to reimburse the training and equipment costs for these programs.

This Program is funded through a grant from the County of Orange, in the amount of $2,180,915, for fiscal year 2023-2024. Due to the increased program costs described in this report, staff has requested additional funding from the County to operate the Program. If approved by Council, the additional request of $260,000 in funding will increase the annual grant amount to $2,440,915. As a part of Amendment #6, the County has agreed to increase the funding available by $260,000 and has also reduced the contract goal of 600 newly enrolled youth to 560 for this fiscal year.

If approved by the City Council, the City will receive an additional $260,000 to operate the Ready S.E.T. OC program up to a maximum reimbursable amount of $2,440,915 in funding.  There will be no impact on the General Fund.