UNITE-LA recently published their “Fostering Statewide Prosperity Through California’s Opportunity Youth.”

2024 is well underway, and we hope it is going wonderful for each of you! In case you missed it, UNITE-LA recently shared our 2023 Impact Report, a testament to the unwavering commitment of numerous partners to collectively foster positive change in the lives of Angelenos.

As UNITE-LA launches into 2024 laser focused on equitable economic mobility through education and workforce development, we are energized by what we’re all collectively poised to achieve together. Our passionate and growing team is deeply supported by an incredible and dedicated board, which is also growing!

This month’s spotlight belongs to Microsoft! Through our partnership with Microsoft, our Programs, National Strategic Partnerships and Systems-Change teams work is supported by Microsoft Philanthropies led by Linda Nguyen, Community Engagement Lead, Los Angeles.

Thanks to Microsoft's leadership and their philanthropic investments, our team is empowered to do amazing work, leveraging industry expertise, technology tools, training, and resources to increase opportunities in technology for students and transform communities for families. Read more about the work Microsoft powers UNITE-LA to do!

The 2023 Fellowship for Economic Mobility accepted 18 fellows to participate in its six-month program.

In 2019, The Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) launched an automated referral system (ARS) to support child welfare workers with referring youth to public workforce services, following advocacy efforts by the L.A. Opportunity Youth Collaborative (LA OYC). However, after two years of implementation, ARS foster youth referrals remained low.

In May, Los Angeles Unified, a long-time L.A. Compact partner and signer, received a $30 million CCSPP investment to sustain and expand the District's Community Schools Initiative (CSI) for another five years. Community schools mobilize resources and transform instruction to more effectively meet the needs of students, building and leveraging partnerships to improve student outcomes such as attendance, academic achievement and high school graduation. In particular, community schools address local student and family needs in a culturally responsive manner, centering schools as important community conveners.

California made unprecedented investments in college and career pathways and the whole child approach in 2021-23 state budgets, including $128 billion for K-12 and community colleges. However, budget increases for long-underfunded education and youth development priorities were delivered with little state guidance to regions on aligning funds to achieve the greatest cross-system impact.

UNITE-LA is the proud convener of the L.A. Region K-16 Collaborative, aimed at closing postsecondary attainment and workforce gaps for students of color by streamlining pathways into health care, engineering and computer science careers. UNITE-LA made significant progress in 2023 by formalizing five subregional partnerships, allocating $7.57 million in subgrants to advance high-impact strategies around enhancing dual enrollment, transfer pathways and work-based learning opportunities for students across L.A. County.

UNITE-LA co-hosted a Regional Energy Policy Convening in August in partnership with CA FWD, focused on the opportunities, barriers and resources needed to make energy independence and reliability a reality. UNITE-LA was invited to share best practices related to cleantech workforce development through the LA Regional Cleantech Academy and featured our partners from Avantus, LACI and LACCD as speakers in the program. UNITE-LA facilitated a breakout discussion focused on the workforce pipeline in the energy sector, while other conversations focused on the hydrogen economy and solar energy. Input gathered from these sessions informed statewide policy advocacy, building on CA FWD's Energy Call to Action and Infrastructure Acceleration Report, which provide a framework for how stakeholders can break through silos and work across sectors to advance energy solutions.