Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) announced that the Sacramento Regional Conservation Corps (SRCC) has been awarded a Department of Labor competitive grant of $542,502 to support their YouthBuild program. This is in addition to the $1 million in federal funding SRCC received in June 2009 for their YouthBuild program; a three year grant that ends in 2012.

“YouthBuild helps young people in Sacramento gain both the academic and work skills they need to succeed,” said Congresswoman Matsui. “By providing valuable job training skills and a modest stipend, the Sacramento Regional Conservation Corps is literally helping our youth build a better life, brick by brick, project by project.”

YouthBuild is a job training program that provides unemployed and undereducated young adults with the opportunity to complete a GED or a High School Diploma while learning job skills in the field of construction. YouthBuild participants alternate between a week of general education academics and a week of building affordable housing in their community for first time low-income home owners. Students are trained on facility maintenance, plumbing, electrical and more, and are required to work toward their GED and perform over 48 hours of community service. Sacramento’s YouthBuild has already served over 65 students in their building maintenance program.

Dwight Washabaugh, Executive Director of the Sacramento Regional Conservation Corps, said, “The Sacramento Regional Conservation Corps (SRCC) is proud to have been selected for a Department of Labor 2011 Youthbuild grant. This grant will enable the SRCC to provide job training in the construction and building maintenance field to some two dozen young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 years of age who have dropped out of high school. The job training will be coupled with academic education at the SRCC’s campus of the John Muir Charter High School, which will provide each participant the opportunity to complete their high school diploma requirements.”

This grant is part of $75,848,000 in additional funding from the Department of Labor for YouthBuild programs to provide education and training to young people across the United States. The Labor Department has administered YouthBuild since 2006, awarding its first grants in 2007. In that time, more than 16,000 young people have participated in programs in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands. YouthBuild participants include individuals who have been in the juvenile justice system, youth aging out of foster care, high school dropouts and others. In addition to receiving academic and occupational skills training, young people develop leadership skills and participate in community service opportunities. The Labor Department held a competition for applications in fall 2010. A first round of awards were announced in March 2011, and an additional 74 grantees were announced today.

To learn more about Sacramento Regional Conservation Corps and for application information, please click here.