CareerTrek
CAREERTREK IS BACK! EMPOWERING YOUTH WITH 43 YEARS OF LIFE-CHANGING CAREER SUPPORT
We are thrilled to announce the return of CareerTREK to Community Youth Services (CYS), bringing back a legacy of 43 years of career preparation and employment services. From 1980 until 2016, CareerTREK was a lifeline for young people facing extraordinary challenges, helping them take their first career or employment steps toward a brighter future. After funding ended in 2016, CYS was forced to close the program.
During those 43 years of providing workforce/career services, CareerTREK was recognized for being “best in class” working with youth who had experienced complex trauma. The program won numerous national awards, including the Presidential Award for Outstanding Training Program and the National Association of Counties’ designation as a “program of distinction.” Over the decades, we managed over 60 different youth employment contracts from multiple government agencies, served over 10,000 youth specifically in this program, and secured over $20 million to invest in these young lives. In addition, CYS met or exceeded its performance goals and outcomes for each contract. We’re proud to bring this impactful program back into the CYS family.
CareerTREK has recently been refunded through a contract with the Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council (PacMtn), which administers federal funds from the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title IB Youth Program. The program aims to provide comprehensive workforce development services to out-of-school young individuals aged 16-24 who face significant barriers to education and employment. It is a core program in the One Workforce Fund.
How CareerTREK Changed Lives from 1980 to 2016 and Will Continue to Make a Difference:
Customized Work Experiences: CareerTREK has always been more than just a one-size-fits-all program. In its previous iteration, by collaborating with employers to create personalized work experiences, we ensured that each young person was matched with roles suited to their unique talents and aspirations. Now that the program has been refunded, we will continue this approach, creating new opportunities for youth to enter jobs aligned with their career goals. By developing individualized participant profiles highlighting strengths, abilities, and ambitions, CareerTREK will empower young people to step into their future confidently.
Workforce Readiness: Previously, CareerTREK equipped youth with essential skills for workplace success through hands-on workshops covering resume writing, interview preparation, budgeting, and workplace dynamics. With the program’s return, we will resume providing this vital workforce readiness training while staying on top of labor market trends. Our goal is to ensure youth remain well-informed about thriving industries and focus their efforts where opportunities are greatest.
Holistic Support: What sets CareerTREK apart—and will continue to set it apart—is the comprehensive case management and access to the full range of CYS services. In the past, every participant benefited from supportive housing, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, and parenting support when needed. With over 20 programs at CYS, CareerTREK’s holistic approach will once again ensure young people have the resources they need to overcome challenges, heal from trauma, and build sustainable futures.
CareerTREK is not just a program—it’s a lifeline for young people navigating some of the most difficult challenges of their lives. With its return, we are excited to empower a new generation of youth with the skills, confidence, and support they need to succeed in life and work.
About CYS: Fifty-four (54) Years of Serving Youth and Young Adults (YYA) Who Face Systemic Barriers to Success
Since our founding in 1970, Community Youth Services (CYS) has been a leading child welfare agency in southwest Washington, employing over 185 staff to serve more than 4,000 youth and families annually, providing a continuum of individualized services and advocacy to empower them to meet their goals of safety, stability, belonging, and success. CYS offers a comprehensive continuum of care, employing effective, trauma-informed, and youth-centered programs serving the area’s most underserved youth/young adults (YYA), including those who are runaway or homeless, in foster care, or aged out of the foster care system, subject to the juvenile or adult justice systems, or pregnant/parenting. CYS specializes in working with youth who have experienced complex trauma, including physical and sexual abuse, domestic violence, human trafficking, and physical and emotional neglect. Most of the young people are experiencing low or no income as well as homelessness at the time they receive services.
CareerTREK is a WIOA Youth program supported by the USDOL Employment and Training Administration. $249,956 is financed by the PY25 allocation of Federal funds to Community Youth Services, and $0 is financed by other sources. Read more about USDOL grant funding at esd.wa.gov/usdol.