Sun 8 Feb 2009
An hour before sunrise, Jason Prue, a shaggy-haired member of a California Conservation Corps work crew, stood scrubbing a breakfast dish in the rain, shaking off a night of sleeping in a wet tent and loving every minute of it.
Youth Work Program on the Chopping Block “I like working in the rain,” Mr. Prue, 21, said on Thursday. “It’s beautiful. And it’s a free shower.”
But Mr. Prue, who joined the corps after living in his car for a stint, and hundreds like him could soon be jobless. A budget crisis has put the California Conservation Corps, the country’s largest and oldest work program for mostly hard-luck teenagers and young adults, on the chopping block.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to eliminate the program as the state struggles with a $42 billion budget deficit. Under the governor’s proposed budget, the state would take back the $34 million in general funds it spends on the corps each year, though some money would be funneled into work corps programs run by local governments and nonprofit groups.
“The expense of the program did not justify keeping them,” said Sandy Cooney, a spokesman for the state’s Natural Resources Agency, which oversees the corps. “This is about making hard decisions.”
That the governor might gut the corps even as President Obama’s new administration evokes themes of public works, national service and overcoming odds galls some youth advocates, who say the program serves as a model for the type of “green collar” jobs promised by the Congressional stimulus package.
“To cut off the opportunity for disadvantaged kids to get their feet on the first rung of the ladder to future green careers is criminal,” said Van Jones, author of the best-selling “Green Collar Economy” and founding president of the Oakland-based nonprofit agency Green for All.
Mr. Jones said the California program was the prototype for at least 13 similar corps in other states and an inspiration for conservation work programs being considered by the Obama administration.
Read more here: California Work Program for Young Is Threatened
February 8th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed eliminating the California Conservation Corps as a way of saving money in California’s current fiscal crisis. The CCC is a vital program providing employment, education, life skills, and vocational skills to thousands of at-promise youth in California each year. I have worked along side the CCC for 11 years now, and I have always been proud to work with an organization that provides the services to young people and the State of California that the CCC does.
CCC is more than an education and employment program. Corpsmembers fight wildfires and provide camp support for State emergencies like agricultural emergencies, earthquakes, floods and mudslides. Corpsmembers remove non-native plants, restore wetlands and native fish habitats, and build and maintain thousands of miles of trails in California recreation and wilderness areas. All while earning only minimum wage and attending high school at night and on their days off.
Please take a moment to sign the online petition at the link below and contact your local legislators and the Governor to express support for the California Conservation Corps. The CCC and citizens of California need your help.
Save the CCC Petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/saveCCC/petition.html
Save The CCC on the Web:
http://www.save-the-ccc.org/
To Find and Contact your State Assembly or Senate Representative by Zip Code:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html
To Contact Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger:
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-558-3160