A three-way partnership to help unemployed residents is proving successful for the Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA). Thanks to some innovative thinking and a collaborative partnership, the AVTA is now providing curb to curb transportation to job interviews, with the goal of helping job seekers obtain employment in the Antelope Valley.
AVTA is working with L.A. County 211 and the Los Angeles County Department of Social Services (D.P.S.S.) to help fund and administer this new program. To date, more than 500 trips, to and from job interviews, have been provided to clients of Greater Avenues of Independence (GAIN), a D.P.S.S program that is administered through CalWorks. The GAIN program helps participants find employment, stay employed, and move on to higher paying jobs. The AVTA program rolled out in February with just 18 trips and has grown to more than 250 trips during the month of May. Service levels will likely increase as the program gains momentum in the ensuing months.
AVTA’s Employment Travel Program (ETP) was initially funded through a three-year, $550,000 Federal Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC) grant, which did not include funding to cover administrative costs. As a result, AVTA sought help from L.A. County 211, which also had a JARC grant in excess of $2 million for administration expenses to facilitate regional transportation connectivity throughout Los Angeles County. Within a month, the two entities had signed a Memorandum of Understanding to partner, using AVTA’s operating funds and a portion of LA County 211’s administrative funds to improve transportation service for residents seeking employment in the Antelope Valley.
“We knew from the start this was a unique partnership and recognized that both of our agencies would benefit from the collaboration which would ultimately better serve our customers,” stated AVTA Chair Marvin Crist. “At AVTA we pride ourselves on thinking outside of the box and when it comes to putting people back to work in our community it’s vital we be out in front to ensure success."
The partnership between AVTA and L.A. County 211 soon expanded after reaching out to the Department of Social Services through the office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich. The D.P.S.S. recognized the value of improving transportation for job access in the Antelope Valley’s rural communities, and agreed to pay half of the round trip cost to transport job seekers to interviews and job club activities.
"This is an innovative public-private partnership providing our Antelope Valley residents with a vital resource to help them obtain employment,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.”
The partnership is turning out to be a success for all three entities. AVTA has been able to expand the program’s service level because of the influx of D.P.S.S. funding, and L.A. County 211 has been able to improve regional transportation connectivity by facilitating the partnership, and by administering the ETP at the job club level. Furthermore, the D.P.S.S. can now ensure its GAIN clients have transportation to job interviews if they live farther than half a mile from an AVTA transit route. AVTA’s service area is 100 square miles and the system is challenged with trying to provide public transportation to the outlying rural communities where populations are sparse.
Although curb to curb transportation is typically more expensive to provide, L.A. County 211 has managed to reduce the cost per trip by organizing group travel arrangements. Although the program is still in its infancy, organizers believe job seekers will have a significantly better chance at obtaining employment if they can rely on curb to curb transportation to reach the interview. The ETP also provides ongoing transportation for a time after a person has been hired in order to facilitate a transition to more permanent travel options. L.A .County 211 also works with those newly hired to identify other travel arrangements that will ensure job access on a reliable basis.
"This has been an exciting program to develop from the ground up and we look forward to working with other transit systems in the future who might want to replicate a similar service in Los Angeles County,” stated 211 L.A. County Representative David Serby. “We are confident the success stories will speak loud and clear about the program’s effectiveness.”
