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82 | RIVERSIDE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES

Shaniese Dunn, far right, Pharmacy Technician graduate

Riverside County Office of Education Partnership Creates CalWORKs Customer Career Paths A partnership between DPSS and the Riverside County Office of Education provides CalWORKs customers with comprehensive vocational training while enhancing their opportunities for success by knocking down barriers along the way.

“Students come to us from all different backgrounds and with a lot of different challenges such as childcare and transportation,” explains Trisha Jenkins Coordinator/ Principal of the RCOE School of Career Education. The school awards professional certification in Pharmacy Technician, Patient Care Technician, Dental Assistant and Medical Assistant in programs that last from five to nine months. Shaniese Dunn, who successfully completed the Pharmacy Technician program, got hugs from family members on graduation day. The support she received allowed her to finish without student loans or worrying about other day-to-day distractions. “They made it so that when we get out, we can focus on being pharmacy techs, really elevating, so we can (be self-sufficient).”

More than 60 students graduated with professional certificates and 20% had jobs lined up on graduation day.

million in grants, scholarships and assistance to this year’s students. By graduation day, about one in five students had jobs lined up and she predicted more offers would be rolling in for the proud graduates. “Today is my best workday” Jenkins beamed, as the room filled up with graduates and their supporters. “I get to celebrate all the hard work of my students.”

The principal, Jenkins, says the school presented $1.6