Building a Next Generation Climate Corps with Austin’s Civilian Conservation Corps
Austin, TXThe City of Austin dedicated $2.9 million of its ARPA recovery funds to expand the Austin Civilian Conservation Corps program (ACCC, pronounced “A triple C “) to create a “next generation climate corps” that creates pathways into green careers for workers disproportionately affected by the pandemic and systemic inequities. Recognizing that the original CCC of the 1930s was rooted in systemic racism, ACCC Program Manager Juan Espinoza, says that they’ve “changed that by creating a program that centers equity throughout."
Why this investment?
COVID-19 drastically affected employment in Austin, with the number of unemployed people rising from 32,881 to 133,963 between February and April 2020. This employment crisis disproportionately affected Black and Latinx workers who primarily live in East Austin due to historic segregationist policies and the economic disparities they perpetuated. Artists and other creative workers saw their employment prospects decline precipitously. Even in non-emergency times, the City struggles to retain these workers, whose hourly median wages are $5 below the level required to sustain a family in Austin.
In seeking solutions to these employment challenges, Austin was inspired by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) of the 1930s, which created employment opportunities for young men conserving the nation’s parks and public lands. But while the implementation of the CCC was often racially discriminatory and inequitable, Austin sought to design an explicitly anti-racist program.
In May 2020, the City launched the Austin Civilian Conservation Corps to quickly hire unemployed Austinites on conservation projects, leveraging unused Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds along with City operating funds. The pilot demonstrated success, employing 100 people on 11 projects.
What is this investment?
Recognizing the continued need to build pathways into family-supporting careers for residents facing barriers to good jobs, Austin allocated $1.9 million in ARPA funds to sustain and grow the ACCC and shift its focus from temporary employment/emergency response to creating pathways into green careers as envisioned by the City’s Climate Equity Plan. $1 million in ARPA funds also went toward developing an ACCC program to provide same-day employment opportunities for homeless people painting murals, modeled after Philadelphia’s successful program. The expanded ACCC is being managed by the Parks and Recreation Department.
The ACCC works to develop green job career pathways within the City’s workforce, prioritizing working with the communities that have been historically most impacted by extreme weather, including low-income communities, those experiencing homelessness, and communities of color.
ACCC is collaborating with several city departments and three nonprofit organizations (Austin Youth River Watch, American Youthworks, and Hungry Hill Foundation) to build out six green career pathways: 1) Museums, Arts & Culture; 2) Environmental Education; 3) Zero Waste; 4) Digital Media; 5) Recreation; and 6) Natural Systems. The jobs include a variety of roles from restoring and maintaining natural areas to video editing and designing communication strategies. The partnership with the Hungry Hill Foundation is focused on supporting long-term unhoused East Austin residents in accessing forestry and land management career pathways.
Centering equity in the program
Countering inequities within the green jobs workforce is a primary focus of the ACCC. Observing that people of color were being hired into the City’s labor-intensive green jobs, but not into leadership positions, the ACCC team has worked to incorporate leadership development into its program. Juan Espinoza explains, “We try to get them work ready to not only have the experience, but also have the experience to one day lead as well.” ACCC also works at the systems level, providing job training partners with anti-racism education to transform their work cultures into inclusive and welcoming ones.
Exposing young people to green job opportunities is a key equitable implementation strategy. Espinoza, who grew up in East Austin, explains how “I never knew what a green job was my entire life until I started working within the Parks and Rec department.” Direct community outreach to young people growing up in underserved communities is now embedded in the program’s recruitment strategy.
ACCC partnered with two local non-profit organizations with deep experience working with the city’s underserved communities, MEASURE and Build with Humanity, to understand the career training interests of the program’s potential participants, as well as likely barriers to participation through focus groups and other research. The reports produced by these organizations are being used to inform program design and evaluation.
Outcomes to date
As of March 2023, the ACCC program has employed 669 individuals. Of the 387 people employed in fiscal year 2023, 112 people were offered a full-time position after their temporary job ended, and 12 transitioned to full-time City positions.
Toward transformative change
In passing the 2022-2023 budget, Mayor Adler requested that the City Manager prepare an evaluation of the ACCC’s impacts on employment and the environment, and develop a five-year plan that includes a strategy for how the program can serve the City’s homeless population. In partnership with MEASURE and Build with Humanity, Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department is working on a five-year plan for ACCC, which includes a streamlined system to track their metrics and follows the MEASURE report’s recommendations including guaranteeing a living wage, addressing barriers to employment participation, and supporting the most vulnerable populations in the application process.