Gov. Jay Nixon announced an initiative to connect 1,500 Kansas City area young people from low-income families in the Kansas City region with summer jobs in 2015.

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The summer jobs program will use $4.5 million of existing federal block grants to support wages of $8-an-hour, for up to thirty hours a week, for 1,500 Kansas City youth from low-income families during the summer of 2015.

The program will also provide resources for supportive employment services such as mentoring and case management. 

Youth employment opportunities will be available in Jackson, Cass, Clay, Platte and Ray counties.

The summer jobs program will be led by Maida Coleman, Director of the Missouri Office of Community Engagement, in partnership with local workforce investment boards.

The Missouri Office of Community Engagement will work with employers that can offer rewarding, high-impact work experiences for young people to help put them on track to success.

This past September, Nixon signed an executive order creating the Office of Community Engagement responsible for facilitating communication with Missourians and informing policy solutions for the unique challenges facing low-income and minority communities.