Child Support Enforcement Opportunity Center Benefits Administration Social Services

The Zanesville Metropolitan Housing Authority

The Zanesville Metropolitan Housing Authority provides Youth Employment and Training Services for 25 low-income youth, residing in Muskingum County. The youth served would be enrolled and eligibility determined by the Muskingum County Opportunity Center.

ZMHA provides the following services to the youth:

  • Provide youth with a 3-week course in the introduction of "Working in the Real World".
  • Provide career exploration activities.
  • Develop with the youth an Individual Career Development Plan.
  • Develop appropriate and meaningful work experience sites.
  • Provide 15 hours of work experience per week for the youth.
  • Develop a support group that meets weekly to discuss worksite problems and attend self-development workshops.
  • Provide youth with worker compensation coverage.
  • Provide weekly visits to youth's worksites to detem1ine appropriateness of placement and progress of youth.
  • Provide opportunities for youth to explore outside their normal realm of experience
  • Provide referrals to other agencies when appropriate to assist in eliminating barriers to self-sufficiency.
  • Monitor youth's academic progress to insure youth are progressing satisfactorily. youth must maintain a "C" average or be enrolled in ZMHA tutoring to remain active in YETP program.)
  • Introduce youth to the college experience.
  • Assist youth in continuing their education beyond high school

Programs will be monitored for effectiveness to insure program goals are being achieved. Training workshops will be competency based to insure youth obtain the necessary skills to be successful. All program and fiscal information will be made available to the Muskingum County Opportunity Center.

Goal

The purpose of the Zanesville Metropolitan Housing Authority Youth Employment Services program is to provide youth age 14 to 18 that are economically disadvantaged and have identifiable barriers to employment, with the following:

  • Meaningful work experience
  • Career exploration activities
  • Career planning
  • Job seeking and surviva1 skills
  • Introduction to college life
  • Development of positive work habits
  • Supportive services
  • Job Placement
  • Development of leadership skills
  • Provide job shadowing and mentoring opportunities
  • Require community service projects of our teams to develop a sense of belonging and responsibility to their community

This will allow the youth to understand the development of a career path and the role of education in their career choice. While at the same time instill the values of self-sufficiency and development of positive work habits. Effectively making these youth more employable and less dependent upon public assistance programs.

 

Program Activities

ZMHA will use a comprehensive approach to providing employment services to our youth. The main components of our program will be career exploration, job shadowing, worksite placement, College 101, youth development workshops and job counseling. Each youth will produce a Career Development Plan with their counselor. This will help guide the youth in working towards a career goal and outline the steps necessary to eliminate barriers to career and job achievement.