D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced Wednesday that he will extend the Summer Youth Employment Program two weeks past its scheduled Aug. 3 end date.
The extension will add $4 million to $5 million in costs to the $19 million program, according to Carrie Brooks, a spokeswoman for the mayor.
Fenty already increased the number of positions from 10,000 allotted in the budget to 14,370.
However, the extra spending is justified, the mayor said.
“Anyone who knows the District of Columbia knows that in the summer, young people don’t have as much to do,” Fenty said. “When these people don’t have as much to do, they start to either get into trouble or gravitate towards those who are causing trouble.”
The Office of the Chief Financial Officer is “still working with the mayor’s office to identify the most appropriate source of funding for the extension,” spokeswoman Maryann Young said in an e-mail.
The program provides youth ages 14 to 21 with training and temporary jobs with D.C. government agencies and the private sector.
The program is the third-largest of its kind in the nation, and it is the only program in the nation that is entirely funded by local dollars, program director Summer Spencer said.
The Mayor’s Youth Leadership Institute is under the umbrella of the Summer Youth Employment Program, said Nicole Newman, the D.C. youth mayor.
“We are going to definitely enjoy the extra two weeks that we get to spend together,” she said.
