Teen Employment ClearingHouse Helps Keep Teens Employed

by Lisa Gann-Wick

The Homewood-Flossmoor Park District has played an important role in developing a unique way to employ teenagers throughout its surrounding communities. A Teen Employment ClearingHouse, known as TECH, helps keep teens busy and employed throughout the year.

This year-round community employment service is offered primarily to residents in the Homewood-Flossmoor High School District, which includes the villages of Homewood and Flossmoor, plus a portion of Glenwood, Hazel Crest and Chicago Heights. TECH is primarily a Village of Homewood program that is operated with the cooperation and assistance of the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District.

More than 150 teenagers are employed part-time from season to season through TECH. The communities utilize the TECH teens for various odd jobs, either for residents or businesses. Ann Druetzler, Teen Employment ClearingHouse director for the past two years, said, "Our teens shovel snow in the winter and mow grass in the summer. They can do just about anything to help a business or home owner, although about 90 percent of our jobs are residential."

Former TECH Director Jeanette McDowell recalls that a teen placed through TECH four or five years ago became an elderly woman's companion after driving the woman to shopping centers. "It was really neat because this young gal was hired to drive an elderly Flossmoor woman to the store a few times, and the woman kept requesting her back. Before you knew it, they were great friends. They went to lunch all the time and did everything together. It's very similar to a 'Driving Miss Daisy' type of situation."

The TECH office is housed at the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District's Dolphin Lake Clubhouse, which is open year-round. Potential employers and individuals call the office to request specific tasks for teens.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 30 May/June 1991

Placing teens with specific jobs takes some planning. Druetzler calls teens until she reaches one who is available to work. Sometimes, teens specify types of jobs they want or do not want. This helps Druetzler know who to call for a particular position.

The park district also hires teens to assist with various programs or tasks. For example, the public information supervisor at the park district utilizes TECH teens to distribute flyers and posters in the surrounding communities for major special events. TECH teens arc also hired as ticket takers for the Starry Nights Outdoor Summer Concert Series held each year. Sometimes teens are asked to help with office tasks such as collating, filing and other similar jobs. The senior citizen community makes great use of the service. Teens are hired many times to assist the elderly with yard projects, house cleaning, shopping errands, and much more.

There are some requirements to be hired as a TECH employee. Students must be at least 14 years old and no older than 18 to work with TECH. Teens are only hired if they live in the Homewood- Flossmoor High School District. However, residents and potential employers who are out of district are encouraged to call TECH and utilize the service. A one-time $2 registration fee is required when students apply for a position. This fee is used to help defray some of the costs involved, including periodic mailings sent to all employees.

TECH is simply a service to the community where teens are connected with job opportunities. They are encouraged to negotiate salaries and hours with the potential employer entirely on their own.

The only source of income for TECH is from the Village of Homewood, which has included TECH in their budget for the past 13 years. The village pays Druetzler's salary and general operating costs. TECH also has a board of six directors, including Village and park district representatives and a high school liaison. The board helps promote TECH as a service, and the liaisons communicate new ideas and information to the board as needed.

There have been many successes since TECH was developed. For example, if a teen does a great job of cleaning a resident's pool one time, it often becomes a summer job. Plus, word-of-mouth travels fast when a good baby sitter is hired in a neighborhood. Residents pass out the names and phone numbers of the teens to other interested residents. With the large numbers of teens that work for TECH it is surprising to hear that there have been no reported accidents or cases where students have made a person unhappy. Druetzler agrees with McDowell. "As long as I' ve been here, I can't recall any situation where there has been an accident on a TECH job. And, incredibly, there haven't been any cases where the employers were dissatisfied with the teen either."

TECH, which has been in existence since 1978, is quite successful. Since its inception, TECH has served as a clearing house and does not directly employ the teens. This has removed the insurance burden from the park district and the Village.

Over the years, the number of teens who participate has grown. Local high school students are notified through press releases, school announcements, marquee displays, and word-of-mouth. Students find the Teen Employment ClearingHouse is a great way to earn money without taking away too much time from homework. One student said, "I like working for TECH. It's a great way to keep busy for a couple of hours and earn money at the same time."

Developing a Teen Employment ClearingHouse in your agency takes some planning, but, if done right, can prove beneficial to the entire community. With minimal facility space, excellent public relations and generous community support, your agency can have a TECH service in place relatively quickly.

About the Author
Lisa Gann-Wick is Public Information Supervisor at Home-wood-FIossmoor Park District.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 31 May/June 1991