The
Work/Restitution Program is the oldest of our programs and the
cornerstone of our services for at-risk youth. It was designed
to
assist both juvenile offenders and the victims of juvenile crime.
The program employs youth ages 10-19 who work on supervised work
crews and gain viable job skills and world of work experience while
repaying the victims of their crimes. Workout, Ltd. serves between
200 to 350 youth annually in this program who return $45,000 to $55,000
annually to the victims of juvenile crime. The uniqueness of program
is that it is the only program that allows youthful offenders and
youth at-risk to repay the victims of their crimes. This is accomplished
through meaningful work projects in the Colorado Springs community.
Our youth employees learn valuable world of work experience that
they can apply long after they complete their obligations to the
justice system in which they were referred. The program consists
of supervised work crews where the youth are transported to numerous
construction and residential sites to remove scrap, build construction
bin/tie walls, light landscaping and clean up around the sites, and
various general labor projects.
Our
clients are under the direct supervision of Workout, Ltd. Work
Crew Supervisors,
who provide the youth hands-on skill training in
basic employee/work habits, tool use, and
group cooperation. The youth employee receives immediate evaluation
and feedback after each
job by our supervisors and through peer evaluation. Youth employees
participating in the work program remain employed by Workout, Ltd.
until they have successfully found permanent employment or completed
their restitution orders. During the first 90 days of program participation,
unemancipated youth earn a training wage of $4.25 per hour. Once
a youth moves beyond the 90-day probationary period they receive
$5.15 per hour with the opportunity to receive daily bonuses depending
on their work performance. 80% of the youths’ earnings are
returned to the victims of their crime through restitution payments.
Once a youth has mastered
basic work skills, tools/equipment use along with demonstrating
proficiency, responsibility, and motivation
they may be selected for an apprenticeship program. Workout, Ltd.
offers two programs:
-
The
Workout, Ltd. Neighborhood Victim Assistance
Program in
collaboration with the Hillside Neighborhood Association,
Silver Key Senior Services, and CSPD’s Senior Victims
Assistance Team (SVAT). Our clients assist the victims of
crime and senior citizens
in their neighborhoods by providing home security upgrades,
such as installing deadbolt locks, replacing doors, windows,
security
bars, and motion detector systems.
-
The
Work/Restitution Painting Apprenticeship for clients 16 and
older. These youth are educated on the importance of preparation
of the rooms, the mixing of paints, the differences between
the types
of equipment used for interior and exterior jobs, and clean
up. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Apprenticeship
and Training supports the painting apprenticeship component
of the Work/Restitution
Program.
The diversification of the Work/Restitution Program to include more
skilled employment opportunities for the older youth at Workout,
Ltd. will allow them to be more competitive in the employment market
once they complete the two to three year painter apprenticeship program.
Moreover, it will enable our clients to become economically self-sufficient
once they complete their court-ordered obligations through Workout,
Ltd. The Department of Labor has placed their seal of approval on
our painter apprenticeship program and after the youth completes
the required in classroom instruction and on the job training they
will be issued an accredited Department of Labor certificate of their
trade completion that is recognized nationally.
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