Officials hiope to snag $2 miliion for youth jobs

The city's Job Training Partnership Act office will help 1,000 disadvantaged youth find jobs this summer if President Clinton's economic stimulus package is approved by Congress. More than $2 million has been allocated by the Clinton administration for Anaheim's Summer Youth Employment Program, JTPA representative Daizel Cortez said. "We're really getting geared up for this," Cortez said. "Last year we got $1 million, which included additional funding that we received because of the (Los Angeles) riots." A product of the Reagan administration, the jobs act was passed by Congress in 1982. The bill, cosponsored by Ted Kennedy and former senator and vice-president Dan Quayle, formed a partnership between government and private industry to make low-income youth ages 14 to 21 more employable. To qualify for JTPA, youth must meet certain incomeguidlines, lack math or reading skills or have a handicap. The program, a partnership between JTPA and the Anaheim Private Industry Council, also promotes staying in school and assists in remedial education, career development and the job search. Claudia Rios, 19, said JTPA offered her the only support she could find after she had a baby at IS. "I finished 10th grade and then stayed home with my baby for about two years," she said. "I wanted to go back to school at the Trident Center, but I couldn't pay for a babysitter. " I went back to JTPA and they kind of helped me find a job again and paid for my child" These days, Rios attends Fullerton College where she is learning to be a paralegal. She also works in the human resources department of Clothestime headquarters. "They helped me a lot," she said. Mel Miller, chairman of the private industry council, said the summer program helps local businesses, too. "The PIC programs supply business with resources and incentives to make a much needed investment in human capital," he said. "This is a win-win partnership between the PIC, its participants and the business community in Anaheim." The $2.2 million would be used to subsidize the salaries of JTPA employees, who work in various industries at businesses throughout Anaheim. While the employers get free manpower, the employee gets work experience, job skills and the chance for a good future reference. "The job training program has been very helpful to us from a small business perspective," employer Marilyn Leuer said. She owns Power Property Services in Anaheim Hills. She said her company has employed several teens through JTP