By Angela Woodall, Oakland Tribune—An internship program in Alameda County, California is giving youth an opportunity to gain meaningful work experience during the summer. Adrienne Bergum is working at the Deputy Sheriff’s Activity League of Alameda County helping organize a series of meetings for parents about gang awareness, health, and fitness.

  Others like her may not get the same experience in the future, however. The program is facing being cut in coming years and has already had tcompensate for funding cuts from the current years. The program currently serves youth who are in foster care or have had interactions with the juvenile justice system. During the summer, 18- to 24-year-olds are employed for two months in different county agencies.

Advocates of the program say that people need to support programs that help at-risk youth and equip them with the skills they need to succeed. They argue it is more effective to assist them now than support them later.

 "You can pay on the front end or the back end," said David Muhammad, head of the county probation department. "The back end is far more costly, far more punitive and far more negative."

Finding ways to keep programs like this running can provide opportunities for those who participate and save taxpayers money in the long run.

Courtesy of Mercury News

Original Article: New Beginnings internship program helps at-risk youth get a fresh start

Link: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18846601?nclick_check=1