A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

THE WHITE HOUSE  Office of the Press Secretary ________________________________________________________________________  For Immediate Release                                      July 29, 1998 

President Clinton and Vice President Gore: Supporting Summer Jobs A Critical Investment in the Future of our Young People

Republicans Have Voted To Eliminate The Summer Jobs Program -- Denying Up to 530,000 Young People Job Opportunities. President Clinton proposes to invest $871 million in the Summer Jobs program, maintaining its current funding level, to provide job and training opportunities for up to 530,000 disadvantaged young people. The House Republican Labor-HHS appropriations bill entirely wipes out this successful program. The House budget also eliminates the $250 million Youth Opportunities program designed to move disadvantaged out-of-school youth into the workforce and cuts the School-to-Work program.

The Summer Jobs Program Works. Last year, only one out of four African-American youth and one out of three Hispanic youth were employed. Youth training investments not only provide jobs, but they reinforce core values like work, opportunity, and responsibility. The Summer Jobs program provides an estimated 25 percent of the summer jobs held by African-American 14-15 year olds, and at least 16 percent held by Hispanic 14-15 year olds.

Without this Program, the Unemployment Rate for Minority Teenagers Would Be Much Higher. In fact, a 1995 report by Westat, a leading consulting firm, concluded that more than three out of four young people enrolled in the program would have been jobless without it, especially 14-15 year olds.

How The Summer Jobs Program Works:

• This program provides summer jobs and academic training opportunities for economically disadvantaged youth ages 14-21 during the summer. These jobs often include clerical positions, building maintenance, custodial, and repair positions, positions in recreation, camps, and playgrounds, landscaping and conservation positions, classroom aide positions, and positions in day care centers, libraries, and museums.

• The program exposes these young people to the world of work, teaches them responsibility, and helps build skills. It also attempts to help young people link what they learn during school to what they learn at the work site.

• State and local governments, together with the private sector, have primary responsibility for the development, management, and administration of the Summer Jobs Program. The Governors have approval authority over program planning and monitoring, while local service delivery areas assess the youth's needs and arrange for work sites and work-based learning experiences.

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