Escondido Humane Society's Alliance with the Employment Skills Development Program

In July 2004, the Escondido Humane Society agreed to work with the Employment Skills Development Program (Casey Family Programs and Walden Family Services) to assist in preparing youth in our community for the future!

As a community partner in the pre-employment traineeship effort, staff at EHS welcomed seven enthusiastic teenagers embarking on their first employment experience. Other companies involved in the program had chosen to mentor up to three students only. Agreeing to work with seven students was a serious commitment for EHS staff!

Adjusting to the expectations in a work environment was a challenging experience for the students. Many of the teens were learning new social and work skills never before taught to them. The alliance took shape when staff appointed the students to specific job tasks each day. That helped to set expectations, and to monitor each student's progress. Every week the staff met with school counselors to evaluate the teens' work performance, attitude, and willingness to do a good job.