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Spotlight Feature
More Opportunity Passport™ Participants Gaining Employment Experience
Tarkiyah Melton
When Tarkiyah Melton successfully interviewed for an information technology internship in the Georgia Department of Human Resources, it was just the opportunity she needed to pursue the field of her dreams. "I knew that a computer engineering career would allow me to provide for my family, especially as a single mother of two without a family of my own to turn to for financial help," says Melton, 24, who aged out of foster care at 18. Yet, although she had a bachelor's degree in computer engineering with a stellar grade point average, she faced a challenging job search—until a door was opened through the Opportunity Passport™.
Since January, Melton worked as an intern with the Office of Information Technology, assisting teams working on four major applications that cover record-keeping, time-accounting, development standards and other issues. Just recently, Melton was hired for a full-time software developer position at another government agency, earning a 23 percent pay increase.
"I have a goal," Melton says. "Six figures." With determination to make it in a growing career field—and with a boost from the Opportunity Passport™—her goal is within reach.
In June 2007, the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative released its first major evaluation of saving and asset purchasing among Opportunity Passport™ participants. The evaluation also examines early progress on five youth outcomes among participants: personal and community engagement, education, employment, housing and physical and mental health.
Like Melton, who is a youth board member of the Metropolitan Atlanta Youth Opportunities Initiative, young people throughout the Initiative's ten demonstration sites are showing considerable progress in obtaining and retaining steady employment:
- All participants were participating in one or more work-related learning/work experiences at both first and most recent survey administration.
- For those attending high school, the percent of young people that obtained one or more part-time jobs or participated in an internship changed from 41 percent to 54 percent.
- For those not attending school, the percent that worked full-time for six months or more rose from 67 percent to 78 percent.
The progress on employment is significant because participants who purchased assets have higher levels of employment and education.
For Melton, the Opportunity Passport™ has been "extremely important" in shaping her future career, she says. "I've learned so much through my internship: the terminology, the importance of working with teams and dealing with customers, while building my professional network."
Melton also takes weekend classes to build up specialized skills and develops Web sites on the side. Through all of her efforts, she plans to move up the corporate ladder and the economic ladder, learn how to manage stocks and build up savings. "I see a future," she says. "I see my career."
The Initiative has five site-level core strategies: youth engagement, partnerships and resources, research, evaluation and communications, public will and policy, and increased opportunities. The Opportunity Passport™, one of many increased opportunities, is a package of resources that help young people transitioning from foster care. It includes an Individual Development Account for matched savings, a personal debit account for short-term expenses and cash and also connections (called, "Door Openers") to job and educational opportunities in the community.
More than 2,000 participants held Opportunity Passport™ by the end of 2006. The June 2007 evaluation report analyzed progress of participants based on more than 2,500 initial and follow-up surveys. The young people come from ten sites: Nashville, Michigan, Atlanta, Des Moines, Maine, San Diego, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Denver and Tampa.
The early data around youth outcomes helps the Initiative and its demonstration sites better help youth transitioning from foster care.
