D.C. summer jobs problems may become campaign issue

Continuing problems with the District’s beleaguered summer jobs program are providing plenty of political ammo for Mayor Adrian Fenty’s critics and might become a key theme in the upcoming mayoral campaign.

The Summer Youth Employment Program got off to a rocky start this week when up to 800 kids found out on the opening day of the program that the city hadn’t lined them up jobs, some adult supervisors hadn’t passed a mandatory background check, and there was an investigation started into whether some program participants stole a cell phone from their new place of work.