Engaging Santa Cruz County Employers

This internship was completed at the Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County (CAB), which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping low-income at-risk youth and adults. The intern was fortunate to work with the Links2Work!, an Alcance program. Links2Work! helps individuals gain work experience and find linkages to employment. Currently, the biggest challenge is finding employment for those individuals impacted by the justice system. Their past histories have disqualified them from jobs. The intern’s Capstone Project was to find fair chance employers in the county of Santa Cruz that will allow the organization to better serve job seekers and help them overcome the barrier of having a criminal record. The project consisted of warm and cold calls to inform employers about CAB, the intern’s project, and educate them about the Fair Chance Act(2018). In addition, the intern increased employers knowledge by providing valuable information on incentives for employers who hire individuals from this target group. In the process, the intern was able to provide a list of employers to the agency who are willing to provide a second chance and end the cycle of recidivism