Recently moved from Northern Virginia to his dad's home in Columbia, 16-year-old Xavier T. Bates found a summer job despite the recession, thanks to some help from the federal government.
Like 27 other Howard County youths, Bates is working 25 hours a week for six weeks, making $8 an hour in federal stimulus money in what officials say is the first summer jobs program of its kind in the county in years. He plans to contribute some of his earnings to his family while also saving for college, he said.
"I don't want to get out of the routine of working during the summer," Bates said. Going to a job three days a week will make readjusting to school for 11th grade that much easier, he said.
Howard got $54,636 in federal funds for the program, which enabled Francine Trout, director of the Howard County Office of Workforce Development in Columbia, to finance jobs with county agencies, nonprofits such as Goodwill and private firms that need summer help but might not be able to afford it. About 10 percent of the money goes to administrative costs, and Trout also hired someone to oversee the young workers. Any money left over can be used later, either in the fall or next summer.
"We're providing an opportunity for these kids to find out what they like and don't like to do," Trout said. The jobs range from helping with county Recreation and Parks summer camps and clean-up crews to office jobs working with computers. Young people ages 16 to 24 whose families have limited incomes or who have particular challenges are eligible under federal rules, though most are teens, Trout said. They were recruited through county schools and other agencies, said Trout and Ramona Andrews, a consultant in Trout's agency.
"Hopefully, some of the older youth will work past the summer," turning the seasonal jobs into permanent, private-sector employment, Andrews said.
Bates said his stepmother, Nikeava Bates, found out about the opportunity from the work force development agency and his dad, Melvin Bates, drove him in to apply. His parents drive him to and from work, though he hopes to begin riding his bicycle from his home in nearby Long Reach.
He's interested in computers and hopes to become an engineer, so the chance to make money while learning how to program computer code seemed like a great opportunity, he said.
