Title
[Grant Acceptance and Contract Amendment] Youth Service Corps (YSC): 2026 Grant Agreement Extensions
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FileID
File ID: 2026-00737
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Location
Location: Citywide
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Recommendation
Recommendation: Adopt a Resolution authorizing the City Manager or designee to: 1) execute a State of California, Department of General Services Standard Agreement in the amount of $2,472,252 for the Youth Service Corps Program; 2) increase the revenue and expenditure budgets in the Youth Services Corps Grant Project (G02180370) by up to $2,472,252 (Operating Grants, Fund 2702), 3) conduct all negotiations and execute all other documents, including without limitation applications, agreements, amendments, and payment requests, related to the Youth Service Corps Program; 4) execute an Amendment to the Youth Service Corps (YSC) Grant Agreement (City Contract No. 2025-0740) in an amount not-to-exceed $226,772 for a new total not to exceed amount of $461,773 with The Sierra Service Project; 5) execute an Amendment to the Youth Service Corps Grant Agreement (City Contract No. 2025-0735) in an amount not-to-exceed $178,414 for a new total not to exceed amount of $385,872 with Improve Your Tomorrow; 6) execute an Amendment to the Youth Service Corps Grant Agreement (City Contract No. 2025-0717) in an amount not-to-exceed $222,801 for a new total not to exceed amount of $462,802 with CRE Pathways; 7) execute an Amendment to the Youth Service Corps Grant Agreement (City Contract No. 2025-0736) in an amount not-to-exceed $171,350 for a new total not to exceed amount of $383,175 with Urban Strategies Inc.; and 8) execute an Amendment to the Youth Service Corps Grant Agreement (City Contract No. 2025-0715) in an amount not-to-exceed $200,006 for a new total not to exceed amount of $400,012 with Humanbulb; and 9) execute an Amendment to the Youth Service Corps Grant Agreement in an amount not-to-exceed $240,493 for a new total not to exceed amount of $480,494 with Roberts Family Development Center.
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Contact
Contact: Kevin Daniel, Workforce Development Manager, (916) 808-7845, kldaniel@cityofsacramento.org; Tiana Jordan, Workforce Development Project Manager, (916) 808-2677, tjordan@cityofsacramento.org; City Manager’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development
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Presenter
Presenter: None
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Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-Resolution
3-State of California, Department of General Services Standard Agreement
4-Sierra Service Project
5-Improve Your Tomorrow
6-CRE Pathways
7-Urban Strategies
8-Humanbulb
9-Roberts Family Development Center
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Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail: Within California’s Office of the Governor, California Volunteers (CV) serves as the State Service Commission responsible for promoting service and volunteerism. CV’s mission is to empower and mobilize Californians to actively help tackle state and local challenges through volunteer and service action.
The Youth Service Corps (YSC), is a Governor’s initiative administered by CV in partnership with California cities and counties. This program brings together youth across the state to help address urgent challenges in their communities, while simultaneously learning key skills and earning money to help create career pathways.
In June 2024, the City accepted a $2,874,428 grant from the State of California to implement a YSC program in Sacramento. In June 2025, the City accepted an additional $3,030,876 grant from the State of California for a total of $5,905,304. The City’s YSC Program has three primary goals:
GOAL 1: Increase youth employment
GOAL 2: Develop career pathways
GOAL 3: Strengthen City/community capacity to address key areas of food insecurity, climate, education and public service
The program also sets a goal of 75% of participants qualifying as Priority Participants which is defined as meeting the following:
• May have difficulty finding employment;
• Are low-income;
• Are unemployed and/or out of school;
• Are or were justice-involved;
• Are in or transitioning from foster care; or
• Are engaged with the mental health or substance abuse system.
The City exceeded this goal by reaching 86% Priority Participants. In total there were 250 youth and young adults employed through the program, 150 city interns and 140 at community based organizations. Residents of each Council District participated, the distribution of participants can be seen in the table below:
|
Council Districts |
% |
|
1 |
11% |
|
2 |
19% |
|
3 |
16% |
|
4 |
9% |
|
5 |
8% |
|
6 |
14% |
|
7 |
10% |
|
8 |
7% |
|
Unhoused |
6% |
|
Total |
100% |
Based on the success of the 2025 grantees, staff recommends amending their grant agreements to provide program funding for 2026.
The Sierra Service Project.
The Sacramento Sustainability Academy (SSA) is a paid workforce development program for 18 youth and young adults ages 16-30 that builds career pathways in climate action, food security, energy efficiency, and sustainable design/manufacturing. Delivered through two cohorts led by program alumni, SSA combines hands-on service-learning projects in priority neighborhoods with technical training, leadership development, and entrepreneurship. Participants work on urban agriculture, home energy efficiency retrofits, and sustainable manufacturing projects while receiving wraparound support and coaching. The program increases youth employment, strengthens community capacity, and creates a pipeline into clean and green careers aligned with the City’s workforce and climate goals.
2025 Award: $235,002
Outcomes: 21 participants serving 6,067 work hours
2026 Proposed Award: $226,771
Improve Your Tomorrow
Improve Your Tomorrow’s Pathways to Success program provides paid summer internships for 40 young men of color ages 18-25 in public policy offices and nonprofit organizations focused on food security, climate, education, and public service. The program pairs participants with workplace mentors and IYT case managers, delivers professional skills training, and offers wraparound support such as transportation stipends, laptops, and professional attire. Through hands-on work experience and civic engagement, participants build workplace skills, strengthen college persistence, and develop clear pathways into public service, social impact, and policy careers while expanding a diverse talent pipeline for Sacramento’s future workforce. (see note below)
2025 Award: $207,458
Outcomes: 17 participants serving 7,417 work hours.
2026 Proposed Award: $178,414
Urban Strategies Inc.
Urban Strategies, Inc. (USI) operates the Mirasol Village Career Academy (MVCA) as a centralized workforce hub connecting 20 youth and young adults ages 16-30 to paid internships, employer partnerships, and wraparound supports in Sacramento. Building prior courts that successfully placed participants with local employers, MVCA provides on-the-job training, soft skills development, career coaching, and barrier-removal supports (e.g., transportation, certifications) to help participants persist and succeed. The program targets employment pathways aligned with City priorities-climate action, food security, education support, and public service-by placing participants with nonprofit and private-sector partners where they gain marketable skills and real-world experience. MVCA strengthens access to living-wage career pathways for residents of Mirasol Village and surrounding priority neighborhoods while building a diverse, job-ready talent pipeline for local employers.
2025 Award: $210,025
Outcomes: 22 participants serving 4,481.5 work hours
2026 Proposed Award: $171,350
Roberts Family Development Center
The District 2 Workforce Collaborative (D2WC), led by Roberts Family Development Center in partnership with I Am ManPower Academy and Academics 4 Athletes, provides paid summer work experiences for low-income 28 youth and young adults ages 16-30 in Sacramento’s District 2. Participants are placed in three pathways-Freedom Schools’ literacy teaching, community beautification and maintenance, and Junior Recreation Aide roles in youth sports-where they gain hands-on job experience, certifications, leadership development, and workforce readiness training. The program prioritizes youth facing barriers to employment and provides wraparound supports such as transportation, work clothing, meals, and mental health resources. D2WC increases youth employment, strengthens career pathways, and builds community capacity in education, public service, and neighborhood revitalization.
2025 Award: $240,865
Outcomes: 38 Participant serving 9,240 work hours
2026 Proposed Award: $212,257
Humanbulb.
Humanbulb’s Green Careers Launchpad is a paid, project-based internship program for 30 youth and young adults ages 16-30 that builds pathways into clean and green technology careers. Interns work directly with Humanbulb to support local clean tech companies and sustainability initiatives through research, digital media, outreach, and project support across sectors such as renewable energy, electrification, water conservation, and decarbonization. The program combines hands-on work experience with weekly career development workshops, field trips, and wraparound supports-including case management, transportation assistance, and mental health-informed services-to prepare participants for in-demand climate careers while strengthening Sacramento’s inclusive green economy pipeline.
2025 Award: $200,006
Outcomes: 30 participants serving 2,668.87 work hours
2026 Proposed Award: $200,006
CRE Pathways.
CRE Pathways’ Fellowship Pipeline Program provides paid, mid-level work-based learning placements for 8 youth and young adults ages 16-30 in public service sectors such as government, education, environmental health, and community development. Fellows are placed with partner organizations and receive structured mentorship, trauma-informed coaching, and individualized case management to remove barriers and build career-aligned skills. The program emphasizes pathways to livable-wage, permanent employment-moving participants beyond entry-level roles-while providing wraparound supports including transportation, emergency assistance, mental health resources, financial literacy, and career readiness training. Through strong employer partnerships and a proven placement model, CRE Pathways builds a diverse pipeline into public service careers and strengthens Sacramento’s workforce equity goals.
2025 Award: $240,001
Outcomes: 12 Participants, serving 8,545 work hours
2026 Proposed Award: 222,801
This report also includes the recommendation to accept a grant in the amount of $2,472,252 for 2027 programming.
Policy Considerations: The City’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development is focused on better connecting residents in underserved communities with critical workforce resources. The workforce development priorities and goals are to build capacity, expand the reach of workforce development training activities and provide wraparound and supportive services into the neighborhoods.
The City’s workforce development programs will support and advance inclusive economic growth, improve the health of neighborhoods and support people, places, and actions that promote overall economic recovery and impact immediately and well beyond the pandemic.
Economic Impacts: None.
Environmental Considerations: The proposed action is not a project under CEQA because it relates to government fiscal activities that do not involve any commitment to a specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment. (Cal. Code
Regs., tit. 14, §§15060(c)(3), 15378(b)(4)). The proposed action involves activities that are exempt from NEPA under title 24, section 58.34, of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Sustainability: The City’s YSC programs are designed to provide paid work experience and career pathway opportunities for youth and young adults, particularly those from priority populations. A key goal of these programs is to advance pathways in high-demand and community-impact sectors, including climate action, sustainability, and environmental resiliency.
For example, organizations like the Sierra Service Project (SSP) and USI provide hands-on opportunities for youth to contribute to climate action and community resilience through urban gardening to address food insecurity and activate unused space in vulnerable communities. Additional partners implement similar efforts focused on environmental stewardship, green job exposure, and improving neighborhood conditions.
Commission/Committee Action: None.
Rationale for Recommendation: This program provides funding to youth and young adults 16-30 years of age giving priority to individuals who: are living in community priority neighborhoods, have difficulty finding employment, are low-income, are unemployed and/or out of school, are or were justice-involved, are in or transitioning from foster care, or are engaged with the mental health or substance abuse system. Approving the 2027 grant and the amendments for 2026 programming allows the City to continuing supporting resident’s economic mobility.
Financial Considerations: The total grant award is $2,472,252 and does not require matching funds. To ensure proper tracking and administration of these funds, staff recommend depositing the award into the Youth Service Corps Project (G02180370) and increasing the revenue and expenditure budgets in the amount of $2,472,252 (Operating Grants, Fund 2702). These grant funds are to be used for 2027 programming.
The six amendments will be funded by the 2026 grant which totaled $3,030,876. Sufficient funds remain in the Youth Service Corps Project (G02180360) to fund them.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
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