Last week Governor Carcieri and Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline announced the details of summer jobs programs that will provide employment for 1,700 Rhode Island youths who come from low-income families and have other barriers to employment. Funding for the programs comes from $4 million in federal stimulus money targeted for summer employment.

The programs are intended to provide employment readiness training, career exploration and workplace experience to disadvantaged youth. Participants will either receive minimum wage or a stipend averaging about $100 per week. Unless noted otherwise, participants should be between ages 14 and 24.

To qualify for the programs, participants must be legal residents of Rhode Island, and must meet low-income requirements. For a family of four, for example, family income must be no higher than $26,209. To qualify for the summer job program, participants must also have one or more “barriers to success,” among them deficiency in literacy, performance one or more grade levels below age, being a school drop-out, being a homeless, runaway or foster child, being a pregnant or parenting youth, being a criminal offender, or disabled.

People interested in applying for the job programs financed by the stimulus money may apply through the state’s network of YouthWorks411 Centers. (Youth who are not eligible for the stimulus summer jobs may still be eligible for year-round, state-funded work readiness programs offered through the centers). For more information on the YouthWorks411 system, visit www.dlt.ri.gov and click on the YouthWorks411 link.

Applications for programs in the city of Providence are available at all Providence public schools, the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services at Providence City Hall, or online at www.providenceri.com. Besides the jobs listed here, Workforce Solutions of Providence/Cranston, one of the two agencies in the state that administer the jobs programs, plans to hire about 300 additional youth for jobs in municipal departments and local arts organizations. Details are still being finalized.

Here’s a list of the summer job programs, by geographic area: