The Education Employment Training (EET) program incorporates best practice approaches to reduce risk factors and increase protective factors associated with the school, employment, and use of free time domains by engaging youth in a workforce development program. By addressing these factors which can contribute to delinquent behavior, the EET program seeks to reduce recidivism for moderate and high risk youth.
The program is comprised of a continuum of educational supports, employment development, and community based developmental activities that include: assessment; job readiness/job retention skills training; vocational counseling; linking based workforce development programming, job shadowing, career exploration and meaningful paid work experience. In addition, the program supports school engagement and use of free time. EET is individualized, self-paced, and range of service is from 3-6 months.
EET builds partnerships with the local business community and leadership organizations to offer relevant experiences and internships engaging young offenders with employers as mentors. Another key element of the project is to identify, support and recognize milestones in individual youth development that will impact the identified risk and protective factors.
Participants in EET are assigned to an Education Employment Support Specialist (EES) who assess engagement in school and their readiness for employment. The EES helps the youth develop an individual action plan which includes school engagement, participation in Job Readiness Training (JRT), and connection with a paid internship. The County will pay the youth minimum wage for minimum of 20 hours and up to 150 hours to participate in the internship, in addition to the $50 stipend youth earn after completing Job Readiness Training. The program also provides assistance in preparing for GED or re-engaging with high school.
EET provides opportunities for youth by:
- Helping obtain legal documents such as Social Security Card, Photo ID, etc
- Exploring and identify career and education goals
- Identifying personal values, interests, skills and abilities
- Developing skills for job applications including how to handle criminal history
- Practicing interviewing and organizational skills
- Learning how to be a good employee to retain a job
- Creating a resume and cover letter
- Requiring participation of 20-150 hours of paid work internship
If you are a BUSINESS or AGENCY looking to partner with Cowlitz County Youth Services to be a host site for Interns:
You can review the EET Brochure for Businesses and contact our Education Employment Specialist at 360-577-3100 Ext 8212 or JuvPO@cowlitzwa.gov.
