At-risk youth in Maricopa County received a big boost today thanks to a collaboration between the Maricopa County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) and Chicanos Por La Causa Workforce Solutions (CPLC). The IDA awarded CPLC an $827,631 grant for a two-year assistance program aimed at connecting young adults in Maryvale with jobs and career training. Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo presented the check to CPLC on behalf of the IDA.
“As the nation’s fastest-growing county, we have a responsibility to ensure that everyone has access to the skills and connections needed to flourish as our economy grows and changes,” said Supervisor Gallardo, who represents Maryvale and the rest of District 5. “Our Industrial Development Authority is making targeted community investments aimed at not just growing our economy, but making it work better for everyone.”
The Maricopa County IDA is a non-profit with its own governing board. The IDA promotes economic development through low-cost financing and community investments, which sometimes require the approval of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. As such, strategic goals of the IDA and the Board of Supervisors often align. One area of focus this year are so-called “opportunity youth,” the 18-to-24-year-olds in our community who are not in school and are not working. Maryvale has a higher rate of opportunity youth than many other neighborhoods in Maricopa County.
The two-year grant to Chicanos Por La Causa focuses on connecting these at-risk youth to workforce programs and other services in the area, with program success measured by job placements and community college enrollments, among other things.
“Chicanos Por La Causa has a long history of addressing gaps in services to uplift communities that are sometimes overlooked,” said Gallardo. “I’m glad the IDA board prioritized funding this program, and I’m hopeful it will mean greater self-sufficiency for young men and women in Maryvale.”