TU: Help Wanted: Jacksonville’s economic mobility challenge and efforts to address it

Florida imes-Union

http://jacksonville.com/news/2017-02-13/help-wanted-jacksonville-s-economic-mobility-challenge-and-efforts-address-it

Since Gabrielle King graduated from Wolfson High School, she’s worked a series of paraprofessional and clerk jobs to support herself.

King, 20, was a bright student with several college scholarship offers, but as a new mom to her now 3-year-old son, Ephriam, she couldn’t go to school full time. She felt unfulfilled by her jobs and wanted something more.

“I know I have … so much more potential that a lot of employers don’t really invest in,” King said.

An estimated 18,000 young people like King are in Jacksonville: between the ages 18 and 24, under-employed and not pursuing higher education.

Jacksonville is among the worst big cities in the South for young people to improve their economic outlook.

A presentation by the research and advocacy group MDC highlights stark socioeconomic disparities. A child born into the bottom one-fifth of family incomes has a 4.9 percent chance of ever getting to the top one-fifth. However, there’s a 35 percent chance they’ll stay in the bottom group.

Forbes ranked Jacksonville 52nd in the 100 largest metro areas for best business climate in 2014, while the city’s rank for economic mobility was among the worst at 90th. The city had a 13.9 percent poverty rate, an increase of 56 percent since 2000.

It would take a wage of $22.58 an hour to support an adult and one child in Jacksonville. But, the median hourly earning in Jacksonville is $19.39, and only 29 percent of jobs pay above the living wage, according to MDC.

Cities that have residential segregation by income or race, income inequality, lower-quality schools and a high-rate of single-parent homes tend to have less economic mobility, according to the presentation.

“If we don’t do something about the opportunity for these under-employed young adults, these 18,000, if we don’t bridge the Southside, with the North, the East and the Westside, then we’re in trouble,” said Robin Tanya Watson, who runs a program for young adults. “I think we are seeing in our community right now, crime is going up.”

When it comes to earning potential, education matters, said Michelle Braun, president and CEO of United Way of Northeast Florida, and it doesn’t have to be a four-year degree. A person who gets at least a certificate or two-year degree can improve their circumstances by 30 percent, she said.

Potential for leadership

The United Way recently hosted David Dodson, president of MDC, to talk to various non-profit and city leaders about how to build an “infrastructure of opportunity” to help improve economic mobility.

“We’re not trying to launch a new thing,” said Braun. “We want to bring in people who are already interested.”

MDC is also launching its Network for Southern Economic Mobility in which four selected cities — Jacksonville, Chattanooga, Tenn.; Greenville, S.C.; and Athens, Ga., — work together to improve economic mobility for their residents.

Braun said the cities will come together in person in May, but will have monthly conversations. The first step for each city is data analysis so they can decide which issues to address first.

Braun said all four cities have the Achieving the Dream initiative at their community colleges, an engaged chamber of commerce and an involved municipal government. They all have ideas they can share, including Jacksonville’s Operation Open Door that removes questions about arrests from job applications.

“There’s potential for Jacksonville to be a leader,” Braun said.

Phyllis Martin, head of community impact at the United Way, said the work is really at the intersection of programs and systems. She noted that while programs are a critical part of serving people, there also has to be a big-picture focus on the systems that create the problems that make the programs necessary.

Finding a professional passion

There are a number of initiatives in Jacksonville already targeting economic opportunity.

Operation New Hope helps ex-offenders re-enter to workforce and get back on their feet. Local colleges work closely with first-generation college students to ensure their successes. Year Up, which started in 2015, aims to improve the circumstances of its clients. It is seen as an effort than can act as a role model for others.

Located at Florida State College at Jacksonville’s Downtown Campus, the year-long program is designed to fast-track a young person’s route to earning a two-year degree while teaching him or her the skills necessary to succeed in the workforce.

King is in Year Up’s fifth cohort of students, which launched this semester. She’s learned better time management and critical thinking, and found a passion for technology — a career she previously never considered.

“I came to Year Up thinking these people were going to enhance all of the things I already have and build on things I didn’t know,” King said. “By going into the internship (next semester) and potentially getting a job, I know I’m going to create a bigger, better, brighter future for myself and my son, more so than I could have just done by myself, working this job, working that job, living from paycheck to paycheck.”

Year Up expanded to Jacksonville in January 2015 at the request of an anonymous donor who saw a “60 Minutes” piece on the program and called the non-profit’s national office to bring it to Jacksonville. After a year-long study, Year Up agreed it could be effective in Jacksonville, said External Relations Director Richard Naylor.

Students in the program take 18 college credit hours at FSCJ in their first semester, in addition to the programming that Year Up requires. In their second semester, students are placed in an internship at one of Year Up’s corporate partners and earn an additional 12 credit hours.

Naylor said most students go above and beyond and earn more like 40 or 45 hours during their Year Up year, putting them on the fast-track to earn a two-year degree in 18 months.

Students must dress professionally and be active in Year Up activities like mentoring and receiving constructive feedback. In return, they receive a biweekly stipend that can be reduced for certain infractions.

Shared experiences, aspirations

Part of what makes Jacksonville’s Year Up unique is the diversity of its students, said Year Up Jacksonville Executive Director Robin Tanya Watson. Whereas other Year Up locations tend to be ethnically homogeneous, Jacksonville’s is not.

“What we have learned is that many of the young adults in Jacksonville who are impoverished truly have the same experience, irrespective of race,” Watson said. By having a diverse group of young adults in a city that is racially segregated, “that is the beginning of how you break down the barriers. You sit in class together, you have conversations about your aspirations, about who you are, and you have a shared experience of wanting better for yourself.”

Year Up Jacksonville has served nearly 300 young people. Watson said Year Up is rigorous, so only about 75 percent of the students who sign up will graduate the program. For those who do, they’re likely to have a positive outcome. In the most recent class to complete its internship, 95 percent of the graduates had a job or were pursuing their four-year degree; some were doing both. Year Up students hired by their internship programs have a 48-month turnover compared to the 24-month turnover of other employees, Watson said, adding that they are loyal to the companies that have helped them.

FSCJ President Cynthia Bioteau said Jacksonville was prime for a program like Year Up, and FSCJ was the right partner. “We pride ourselves on being the open access to higher education in our community,” she said.

Bioteau said FSCJ hears from employers in the IT sector about the constant need for qualified employees. Students need to understand more than the technical skill set, but also have soft skills, like knowing how to dress appropriately, show up on time, communicate effectively and work as a team. While they’re skills some people assume to be common knowledge, she said many Year Up students don’t have them when they first enroll.

Now, Bioteau said, she can always point out the Year Up students on campus because they’re so sharply dressed.

Time to prove your worth

Ricky Clover, 23, said he was skeptical of Year Up when he first heard about it. His past experiences left him weary of programs aimed at teens and young adults.

“I’ve run into people who don’t actually seem genuine,” said Clover, also a Wolfson graduate. “People (at Year Up) definitely seem really genuine. I thought these people were hard to find.”

Clover said he’s looking forward to proving himself in his internship. “In sixth months, if you know you have the skill set and you’re confident, then that’s plenty of time for you to prove it, which I think it makes it a great opportunity to get on with the company,” he said.

King, once stuck in dead-end jobs, is studying IT at FSCJ. She said she believes the program is taking the strengths she already has and using them to set her up for a promising career.

Now, King plans to own her own tech company one day. She wants to turn her native Jacksonville into the “New York of the South.” Year Up, she said, set her on this path.

“It has the possibility to change a lot of lives,” King said.

Tessa Duvall: (904) 359-4697