Chapter 5: Implementing The Seven Policy Strategies: Organizational Roles, and Operational Alignment Under the Plan (corresponding to the Operational Planning Elements of the State Plan, and the Operating Systems and Policies required under WIOA Sec. 102 (b)(1)(C) and b(2)(B))

This chapter describes the roles and functions of the state plan partners, including core program partners, in carrying out six of the seven policy strategies of the State Plan detailed in chapter 3. The seven State Plan strategies are as follows:

• sector strategies: aligning workforce and education programs with sector needs; the success of these efforts will depend on the depth of industry engagement.
• career pathways: enabling progressive skills development through education and training programs, using multiple entry and exit points, so that each level of skills development increases the likelihood of success in the labor market; these pathways should be flexibly designed and include, where necessary, remedial programming, so as to allow those with basic skills deficiencies an ability to participate
• regional partnerships: building partnerships between industry leaders, workforce professionals, education and training providers, and economic development leaders to support regional economic growth; the success of these efforts will depend on the depth of industry engagement
• “earn and learn”—using training and education practices that combine applied learning opportunities with compensation; the success of earn and learn programs depends on sustained employer engagement, and where appropriate, the involvement of organized labor, especially as this pertains to the development of partnerships with labor-management apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs
• supportive services: providing ancillary services like childcare, transportation, and counseling to facilitate program completion
• integrated service delivery: braiding resources and services to meet client needs
• creating cross-system data capacity, including diagnostic labor market data to assess where to invest, and performance data to assess the value of investments

Under this plan, these seven strategies will be carried out at both the regional and local level with some of the strategies being primarily regional in orientation, with others primarily being local in orientation. Building on the work of the SlingShot initiatives discussed in chapter 4, regional plans and partnerships will focus on engaging employers and building regional workforce and education “pipelines” that align with regional industry sector needs. As such, the use of sector strategies, the identification of relevant career pathways, and the carrying out of regional organizing efforts will be addressed primarily through WIOA regional plans required under Section 106 of WIOA.

Local partnerships and plans will be focused primarily on providing services to individuals and “feeding” the regional pipeline using AJCCs as an access point or “on ramp” for skills attainment for individuals who need to up-skill, especially those populations with barriers to employment. As a consequence, partnerships to integrate service delivery, braid resources, and provide supportive services will necessarily develop at the local level on the basis of local plans and partnerships and especially through the alignment, integration, and coordination of services under MOUs to operate local One-Stops as part of the AJCC system.

The remaining policy strategies “earn and learn” and “creating cross system data capacity” will be employed at both the local and regional levels, as warranted, depending on the types of regional and local partnerships that form to meet employer and individual worker and student needs. For example, coordination between the subsidized employment programs operated under CalWORKs, with other programs like WIOA Title I Adult and Out of School Youth programs, as well as programs for at-risk youth and WIOA Title II programs pertaining to basic skills remediation, will typically happen at the local level because County Welfare programs are not organized regionally.

The following sections of this chapter discuss and explain how six of the seven policy strategies identified above work together as a comprehensive policy package. For the most part, a description and analysis of the policy strategy regarding cross-system data capacity is left for subsequent chapters dealing with operating systems and policies. The sections that immediately follow describe the following operational elements required of WIOA Unified Plans:

• how core program partners will fund activities to carry out the strategies
• how core program activities will be aligned with other non-core program partners to ensure coordination and non-duplication of effort
• how programs will coordinate and align services for individuals
• how services will be coordinated and aligned for employers
• how educational institutions will be systematically engaged
• how resources will be leveraged to increase educational access
• how the seven strategy policy package improves access to postsecondary education
• how activities will be coordinated with economic development efforts

Regional Plans and “Regional Sector Pathways”: The Pivot of the State Plan

WIOA Section 106 includes the requirement that the Governor both identify and organize Local Boards into regional planning units (RPUs). The purpose of RPUs is to provide for the regional coordination and alignment of workforce development activities by Local Boards working in the same economic region. WIOA envisions that Local Boards organized in RPUs will engage in joint planning, coordinate service delivery, share administrative costs, and enter into regional coordination efforts with economic development agencies operating in the same region. WIOA also directs Local Boards to engage in the joint development and implementation of regional sector initiatives so as to align workforce services and investments with regional industry sector needs.

Under this State Plan, a primary objective and requirement of WIOA regional plans will be to work with local community colleges and community college Regional Consortia and other training and education providers, including the state’s seventy regional Adult Education Block Grant consortia to build “Regional Sector Pathway” programs, career pathway programs that result in the attainment of industry-valued and recognized postsecondary credentials that are both portable and aligned with regional workforce needs.

The State Board, working alongside other state agencies such as CCCCO, CDE, EDD, and GO-Biz, and stakeholders like the CWA, will provide technical assistance to local service and education providers participating in regional partnerships. Under this State Plan, the key regional partners involved with the development and implementation of WIOA regional plans will include the following:

• Industry sector leaders, associations, and business organizations
• Regionally organized Local Boards (RPUs)
• Local economic development agencies
• Regional consortia of community colleges
• Regional consortia of adult basic education providers (including both WIOA Title 2 and other state-funded basic education programs)
• Representatives of K-14 CTE programs funded by either federal Perkins funds or various state-specific CTE funding streams, when relevant county offices of education and other local educational agencies determine that participation will benefit students participating in CTE programs

Additional regional partners may also include ETP; DOR; and County Welfare Agencies. These entities may wish to participate in regional plans and the regional planning process to leverage the employer engagement efforts required and made central to regional planning.

The State Board will encourage and recommend broad and inclusive partnerships through the regional planning guidance it issues in 2016, but will grant considerable flexibility for Local Boards and their partners to determine the nature, scope, and depth of these partnerships based on local and regional needs.

WIOA Regional Planning Units Identified

Consistent with WIOA Section 106, the Governor, through the State Board, has identified fourteen RPUs in California. A detailed analysis of the policy, process, and methodology used to determine RPU boundaries is detailed in Appendix A. In general, boundaries were developed to tie RPUs, as much as possible, to regional labor markets while simultaneously taking into consideration regional designations of other federal and state funded programs (e.g. regional community college consortia). Care was also taken to respect existing Local Boards’ political jurisdictions and extant planning relationships.

WIOA RPUs include the following:

1. Coastal Region (4 boards): Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz

Counties Included (4): Monterey, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo

Major City Populations in Region: Salinas, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz

2. Middle Sierra (1 board): Mother Lode

Counties Included (4): Amador, Calaveras, Mariposa, Tuolumne

Major City Populations in Region: Sonora, Angels Camp

3. Humboldt(1 Board): Humboldt

Counties Included (1): Humboldt

Major City Populations in Region: Eureka

4. North State (1 board): NORTEC

Counties Included (11): Del Norte, Siskiyou, Modoc, Trinity, Shasta, Tehama, Butte, Nevada, Sierra, Plumas, Lassen

Major City Populations in Region: Redding, Chico, Paradise, Oroville, Truckee, Susanville

5. Capitol Region (4 boards): Golden Sierra, North Central Counties, SETA , Yolo

Counties Included (9): Alpine, Sacramento, Yolo, Sutter, Colusa, Glenn, Yuba, Placer, El Dorado

Major City Populations in Region: Sacramento, Elk Grove, Roseville, Yuba City, Davis

6. East Bay (4 boards): Contra Costa County, Alameda, Richmond, Oakland

Counties Included (2): Contra Costa, Alameda

Major City Populations in Region: Oakland, Fremont, Concord, Berkeley, Richmond, Antioch

7. North Bay (3 boards): Sonoma, Solano, Workforce Alliance of the North Bay

Counties Included (6): Marin, Napa, Lake, Sonoma, Solano, and Mendocino

Major City Populations in Region: Santa Rosa, Vallejo, Fairfield, San Rafael, Napa, Ukiah

8. Bay-Peninsula (5 boards): San Francisco, NOVA, San Mateo, San Jose, San Benito

Counties Included (4): San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Benito

Major City Populations in Region: San Jose, San Francisco, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Daly City, San Mateo, Palo Alto

9. San Joaquin Valley and Associated Counties (8 Boards): Fresno, Kern-Inyo-Mono, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare

Counties Included (10): Fresno, Kern, Inyo, Mono, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare

Major City Populations in Region: Fresno, Bakersfield, Stockton, Modesto, Visalia, Clovis, Merced

10. Southern Border (2 Boards): San Diego, Imperial

Counties Included (2): San Diego, Imperial

Major City Populations in Region: San Diego, Chula Vista, Oceanside, Escondido, Carlsbad, El Cajon

11. Los Angeles Basin (7 Boards): Los Angeles City, Los Angeles County, Foothill, Southeast Los Angeles County, South Bay, Verdugo, Pacific Gateway

Counties Included (1): Los Angeles

Major City Populations in Region: Los Angeles, Long Beach, Santa Clarita, Glendale, Lancaster, Palmdale, Pomona, Torrance, Pasadena, El Monte, Downey, Inglewood, West Covina, Norwalk, Burbank, Carson, Compton, Santa Monica

12. Orange (3 Boards): Santa Ana, Orange, Anaheim

Counties Included (1): Orange

Major City Populations in Region: Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, Huntington Beach, Garden Grove, Orange, Fullerton, Costa Mesa, Mission Viejo

13. Inland Empire (2 Boards): Riverside, San Bernardino County

Counties Included (2): Riverside, San Bernardino

Major City Populations in Region: Riverside, San Bernardino, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Corona, Victorville, Murrieta, Temecula, Rialto

14. Ventura (1 Board)

Counties Included (1): Ventura

Major City Populations in Region: Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, San Buenaventura

The Roles and Functions of Core Partners Including Specific Activities That Will Be Undertaken to Implement “Regional Sector Pathways”

The State Board (Title I)

The State Board will develop regional planning guidance for, and provide technical assistance to, Local Boards on how to partner with industry, community colleges, and other training providers so as to effectively implement sector strategies, utilize career pathways, and partner at the regional level. This guidance will outline best practices and model partnerships using data-driven, evidence-based research, especially research directly relevant to successful sector partnership and career pathway programs. This work will build on existing regional partnership efforts launched and funded under the state’s SlingShot initiative detailed in chapter 4.

The State Board will also review regional plans to ensure compliance with state guidance and WIOA requirements for regional plans, and will share regional plan content with state partners, including information pertaining to prioritized sectors and career pathways identified in the course of the regional planning process. The sharing of this information will facilitate, as appropriate, engagement with regional efforts by other State Plan partners such as DOR ETP, and CalWORKs.

Local Boards (Title I) working together regionally will work alongside CTE faculty and Deans from the community colleges, representatives from the CCCCO’s WEDD program, representatives from K-12 CTE programs, state-funded Adult Education Block Grant consortia, and federally funded Title II providers to convene and engage employers, especially the representatives of leading and emergent industry sectors to do the following:

• assess industry workforce needs
• determine whether existing training and education programs in the region are producing what industry needs
• identify existing career pathway programs that meet leading and emergent industry sector needs
• recommend any necessary adjustments to facilitate the development and validation of career pathway programs to meet industry needs
• broker regional partnerships to move students and workers through relevant pathway programs that result in the attainment of industry recognized degrees or credentials, including individuals with barriers to employment

Local Boards may play the role of convener, broker, and matchmaker in regional efforts, bringing together the regional partners, but need not do so where other regional workforce and education champions step forward to play this role.

EDD’s Workforce Services Branch (Titles I and III)

Central Office staff and regional advisors will also support regional planning efforts and the implementation of “Regional Sector Pathways” by providing administrative support, including the use of compliance-based guidance, financial oversight, and when appropriate, grant support to Local Boards engaged in regional organizing efforts. Additionally, EDD’s Field Staff (Title I & III) will continue to provide labor exchange services, including access to and use of its CalJOBS^SM virtual labor market to students and workers who finish “Regional Sector Pathways” programs and who then need to access job services through the AJCC system

SBE, CDE, and CCCCO (Title II and State-Funded Adult Education Programs)

These programswill work jointly with the State Board to facilitate articulation of regionally organized Adult Education Block Grant programs, and programs funded under WIOA Title II, with “Regional Sector Pathways” efforts so as to help those with basic skills deficiencies achieve sufficient skills to access and participate in “Regional Sector Pathways” programs.

Having effective and well-articulated AEPs is critical to achieving upward mobility for populations with barriers to employment. Per agreement between CDE, CCCCO, and the State Board, the state’s seventy Adult Education Block Grant Consortia, funded under AB 104 (Assembly Budget Committee, Chapter 13, Statutes of 2015) will be required to participate in WIOA regional planning efforts so as to facilitate the alignment of these programs with other regional workforce and education efforts. CDE and CCCCO will work jointly with the State Board to identify and recommend best practices and model partnerships to regional providers and partners to facilitate this alignment.

Additionally, the State Board CDE, CCCCO, DOR, and EDD have agreed to encourage the leveraging of local resources to align education, employment, training, and supportive services so as to provide opportunities for career exploration and guidance, and to support further educational attainment by making opportunities for skills training in in-demand industries and occupations available to youth who wish to enter a career pathway and/or enroll in post-secondary education.

EDD’s Labor Market Information Division (Titles I & III)

EDD-LMID will provide regional labor market data to regionally organized Local Boards to inform efforts to identify and plan with leading and emergent industry sectors in each of the RPUs.

Department of Rehabilitation (Title IV)

DOR will work with the State Board and regionally organized Local Boards to identify opportunities to leverage collaborative employer outreach and engagement efforts that develop in the course of regional planning efforts. Where these opportunities exist, DOR will work with State Plan partners to market employer incentives and strategies for the hiring of individuals with disabilities, including better and more coordinated use of Federal procurement “503” hiring requirements. As part of this effort, DOR will partner with ETP to leverage incumbent worker training contracts to open doors for workers with disabilities as 30 percent of the state’s largest 100 federal contractors have utilized ETP contracts to train their incumbent workforce.

Additionally, based on information developed through the regional planning process and disseminated by the State Board and its local partners, DOR will use information pertaining to Regional Sector Pathway programs to inform its consumers about career pathways programs aligned with regional labor market needs so as to provide for informed consumer choice in the development of Individualized Plans for Employment (IPE).

DOR staff and their partners in the disability services community, to the extent permissible under state and federal laws, will work locally and regionally with Local Board staff as well as training and education providers, including K-12 and community college partners, to increase enrollment opportunities for DOR consumers and referrals to AJCC of individuals with disabilities who are not served by DOR, taking into account the alignment of needs, preferences, and the capacities of the consumers being served. Efforts will need to be made to ensure physical, technological, and programmatic access to Regional Sector Pathway programs for the disabled. This is a shared responsibility of state plan partners.

The Roles and Functions of Non-Core Partners, Including Activities That Will Be Undertaken to Implement the Program Strategy and Coordinate Efforts with Other Partners

Community colleges

Community Colleges will play a significant role in the development and implementation of “Regional Sector Pathways” partnerships by serving as the primary provider of CTE for those seeking to enter the labor force following post-secondary education. California invests approximately $1.7 billion in CTE programs, and more than a quarter of all community college students are enrolled in CTE courses.

Under SB 1402 (T. Lieu, Chapter 361, Statutes 2012), the EWD program operated by the WEDD of the Chancellor’s Office is statutorily mandated to utilize sector strategies framework to incentivize and provide technical assistance to local CTE programs and other community college workforce programs to better align these programs with regional labor market dynamics. This alignment is typically accomplished through the DWM operational framework and a program organizational structure which brings local CTE faculty, WEDD staff, and EWD funded programs together to ensure that CTE curricula are informed by labor market data and regular ongoing engagement with industry sector leaders.

Under this State Plan, regionally organized Local Boards will be required to engage local community college programs and community college Regional Consortia operating under the DWM framework to identify which course offerings and career pathway programs are meeting the regional labor market needs of leading and emerging industry sectors. Local Boards will then provide this information to those in need of training and education, particularly those with barriers to employment, and provide the career services necessary to prepare them to successfully participate in and complete relevant community college career pathway programs.

WIOA Title I (State Board and Local Boards) will work to support the success of students enrolled in community college CTE programs prioritized under WIOA regional plans by providing resources to eligible participants to enroll in and complete relevant “Regional Sector Pathway” programs, for example, by providing, as warranted and allowed, supportive services to students enrolled in CTE Regional Sector Pathway programs.

The State Board will issue regional planning guidance that details best practices and model partnerships between the workforce system and the community college system, recommending that Local Boards meet their WIOA Section 106 requirements pertaining to coordinated service delivery strategies and shared administrative costs in ways that lay the foundation for a strong partnership with community college CTE programs. This can be done in a variety of ways, including the following:

• by building links between AJCCs and campuses, including but not limited to, pooling resources to place AJCC staff directly on campuses
• by braiding resources to fund job readiness training and provide supportive services for eligible students enrolled in and completing Regional Sector Pathway programs

The ETP will work with regionally organized Local Boards where the sector priorities of RPUs align with the programmatic direction of ETP, identifying opportunities to train incumbent workers in prioritized sectors using, when appropriate, multi-employer contracts to meet the needs of industry.

Training incumbent workers can create opportunities for populations with barriers to employment by opening up entry level and other positions where and when incumbent workers advance into new positions as a result of the training programs funded by ETP.

As noted above, ETP will also partner with DOR to leverage ETP’s incumbent worker training contracts and contacts in the federal contractor community to improve coordination around federal 503 contracting rules.

Under the State Plan, Local Workforce Development Boards will engage providers on the state’s eligible training provider list that provide job-driven programs resulting in industry-recognized and valued credentials as partners in the workforce development system.

GO-Biz and Local Economic Development Agencies

These entitieswill partner in regional planning efforts by providing information to Local Boards about regional economic development initiatives and investment priorities.

Section 106 of WIOA explicitly requires Local Boards to coordinate with regional economic development entities so as to ensure the alignment of regional workforce development and economic development initiatives. To facilitate partnership at the regional level, GO-Biz will work with the State Board to identify the local Economic Development Corporations (EDCs), iHubs, and SBDCs operating in the state’s fourteen RPUs. These entities have unique knowledge about the state’s emerging economic sectors as well as an understanding of how state incentive programs are encouraging the growth of these sectors. Regional workforce development decisions should be made with this unique knowledge in mind. GO-Biz, in conjunction with its local and regional partners (EDCs, iHubs, SBDCs), will provide, as available, emerging market data needed to inform Local Boards of emerging sectors that may not be captured by other data sources.

CDSS, CWDA, and CCCCO-Student Support Services

These entities will work together to move TANF recipients into and through career pathway programs.

During the state planning process, CDSS and the CWDA determined that County Welfare Departments, in most instances, would benefit more from partnering at the local level rather than at the regional level. However, local partnerships with Local Boards will interface with “Regional Sector Pathways” initiatives by ensuring that TANF recipients have access to pathway programs through the AJCCs when County Welfare Directors elect to develop pathways partnerships with Local Boards. Moreover, the Supportive Services Division of the Chancellor’s Office has agreed to partner with CDSS and the State Board, as well as regionally organized Local Boards to help move TANF recipients into and through “Regional Sector Pathway” programs where County Welfare Directors partner with Local Boards to build career pathway partnerships specifically geared towards populations receiving services under TANF.

The nature of career pathways partnerships, partner responsibilities, and the specific manner in which partners will braid resources and coordinate service delivery will be determined locally, and possibly regionally, depending on agreements between human services agencies, Local Boards , community colleges, and any adult education providers who are involved with local agreements pertaining to career pathways.

Partnership agreements in those jurisdictions with coordinated TANF career pathway programs will specify in the MOU for One-Stop services which services are provided by which entities, which partners funds those services, and how service provision is coordinated so as to facilitate seamless entry, exit, and movement along the career pathway. For example, partners will need to specify in MOUs how they will coordinate assessment, the provision of supportive services (payment of childcare, transportation services, and books and equipment costs), barrier-removal services, the payment of tuition/and or training costs, the provision of job readiness training, subsidized employment placement and job placement activities.

The role of the State Board, CDSS, and the CWDA is to provide support for and technical assistance to local, and where appropriate, regional partnerships entered into to facilitate the development of sector based career pathways programs specifically geared toward TANF recipients. State plan partners will help facilitate the initiation and implementation of career pathways programs geared toward TANF recipients by providing information to locals on best practices and model partnerships using both policy research from other states and information learned from the field in California.

Leveraging the California Immigrant Serving Organizations and the Refugee Resettlement Program to Better Serve Immigrant and Refugee Populations in Workforce Programs

As noted earlier, one-third of California’s workforce is foreign-born. Numerous state agencies and service providers across the workforce and human services systems have specific expertise in serving immigrant, Limited English Proficient (LEP), and refugee jobseekers. This expertise can be a valuable resource for fellow service providers and other stakeholders in the workforce development system.

Various departments within the Labor Workforce Development Agency, California Health and Human Services Agency, and the California Department of Education contract with immigrant-focused community-based organizations (CBOs) to deliver critical services to the immigrant, LEP, and refugee communities. These programs include employment services, ESL, supportive services, and legal services that directly advance various workforce development goals for immigrants. The CBOs form a loose network of providers and potential workforce partners with experience and expertise in providing culturally and linguistically competent services to the immigrant, LEP, and refugee community, including those that hold foreign degrees.

The California Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP), administered by the Refugee Programs Bureau (RPB) of the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), and delivered through county welfare departments and non-profit Resettlement Agencies provides a particularly robust opportunity for partnership. Counties with high concentrations of refugee arrivals receive federal funding to provide employment services to refugees. County welfare departments typically work with non-profit Resettlement Agencies that specialize in serving newly arrived refugees, to provide employment services with the goal of achieving refugee self-sufficiency and integration. The counties and Resettlement Agencies provide refugees with English language training, job club, vocational assessment, on-the-job training, skills training and post-employment services. Resettlement agencies also encourage partnership with other workforce providers to implement strategies that provide training around financial literacy, coaching, asset building and business development, licensing and other entrepreneurial training. Resettlement agency funds also support services that address barriers to employment such as social adjustment, interpretation and translation, and citizenship and naturalization.

Other entities serving immigrants and English Language Learners in California include grantees of the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP). These organizations have knowledge of the community, cultural and language needs of immigrant jobseekers, and can help the broader workforce system implement programs that best serve these vulnerable populations, including farmworkers and rural communities.

While the before-mentioned partners (Resettlement Agencies and NFJP) have refugee or immigrant specific funding attached that can and should be leveraged, given the overall numbers of refugees and immigrants in California’s workforce, local partnerships that draw on additional state, federal, and community resources should also be created and leveraged. We encourage braiding of resources, and in particular leveraging resources and programs, especially in situations where there are highly restrictive policies that preclude long term employment and career pathway services (e.g. Resettlement Agencies).

These partnerships can benefit partners in the broader workforce system, as the expertise of immigrant-serving entities in providing employment services to vulnerable populations reflects a shared mission -- with fellow workforce providers -- in removing barriers to employment for hard-to-serve populations. For this reason, we encourage local workforce partners to coordinate with refugee and immigrant serving entities via refugee forums in impacted counties. Many of our refugee serving partners have experience in delivering services that are trauma-informed, culturally responsive and linguistically appropriate and we should leverage these lessons and practices. In addition the State Advisory Council on Refugee Assistance and Service through its representatives across the state can help offer more insight and share best practices on how to better serve refugee and immigrant populations.

K-12 CTE Programs and Carl Perkins K-14 Programs

The CDE, in consultation with SBE staff, and CCCCO have agreed to develop policy guidance that will help align and coordinate programming for Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act grants awarded through the K-12 and community college systems. Similarly, CDE will work with the community colleges to bridge high school and college and career programs integrating academic and occupational skill attainment and combining classroom instruction with work-based learning, with WIOA Services funded under Title I, so as to prepare high school students for postsecondary opportunities to enter “Regional Sector Pathway” programs. The nature of partnerships, partner responsibilities, and the specific manner in which partners will braid resources and coordinate service delivery to achieve these objectives will be determined regionally and locally by adult education consortiums, school districts, charter schools (including those operating under Education Code Section 47612.1(a)[1], and community colleges partnering with Local Boards.

[1] California offers a unique mechanism for serving opportunity youth aged 19 and over. Education Code Section 47612.1 allows charter schools which partner with specified job training agencies, including Department of Labor programs, to offer high school diploma programs to youth over 19. These schools are located across the State including the counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara and others. Through these schools, opportunity youth may gain both job skills and fully accredited public school diplomas. Since authorization by the Legislature in 1999, thousands of formerly out of school youth have enrolled in these schools to earn their diplomas.