City Budget 2020: TEMPO Seeks $150,000 in Funding

A new public safety and economic development outreach initiative, Tallahassee Engaged in Meaningful Productivity for Opportunity (TEMPO), was created this year as an additional item in the City’s budget to “connect Disconnected Youth with educational and workforce opportunities.”

As of May 2019, the program has engaged 500 participants, with a target population of 1,000 for FY20. To meet these goals, staff is working to identify program needs such as continued funding and additional staffing. 

The City has an estimated 7,000 disconnected youth between ages 16-24. These youth are not in school, are unemployed, and when looking at national research, they are most susceptible to crime as a victim, suspect, or perpetrator.

To help these youth, TEMPO would provide essential services to find technical and vocational educational opportunities and would provide youth with workforce training through local short-term apprenticeships and through job placement.

TEMPO began with just one local partnership, and now has over 30 local partners and is garnering national support.

The City worked with the legislative delegation to request state funding to support TEMPO. This funding includes a one-time $150,000 stipend in FY20 for program costs. Staff also recommends funding a permanent location for TEMPO offices in the FY20 Capital Improvement Plan. The program has also received a preliminary award notification of $70,000 from the Department of Juvenile Justice to pay for various internal costs.

Based on the above staff recommendations, the award will be given from July 1, 2019, to June 2020. Needs will be reassessed for FY21 and a cconsistant funding source will be identified. The outcomes of this program would positively influence the Commission priorities of Economic Development, Quality of Life, and Impact of Poverty.