Better connecting potential participants to services
Serving the second most populous city in the country, The City of Los Angeles Workforce Development Board understands the importance of utilizing human-centered design (HCD) to bring systems together and empower clients. “The City...has used a human-centered design lens throughout the years to make systems work together and more accessible so the clients who access service[s] have an empowered experience,” says Tammy Ortuno, the City of Los Angeles’s director of workforce development. “Customer-focused means to meet the person where they’re at and ensure we are providing services and an experience that takes a person’s situation into consideration when working with them.” Ortuno cites the city’s previous efforts in addressing dropout rates for youth through the City Partnership program and Student Success program as examples of collaborative approaches utilizing HCD in service delivery.
Teil Samuels Fellow
Tammy Ortuno Friend
LA’s previous approach to supporting youth services through HCD aligns with the background of Teil Samuels, the Workforce Transformation Corps (WTC) fellow for the City of Los Angeles. “I had the privilege of collaborating with the New York City Department of Youth & Community Development. In this experience, I gained a greater understanding of what it meant to provide support to adolescents.” Samuels also recognizes the need to tailor services individually to help those most in need. “Through my experience, I have come to understand how within its sphere lies the possibility to remove economic, psychological, and sociological barriers and establish networks to ensure continual growth within the lives of individuals.”
Ortuno notes alignment with programs and procedures as the area LA most identifies within Jobs for the Future’s (JFF) HCD maturity model. Through LA’s involvement in the WTC, she hopes to identify policies that can be changed to improve client experiences, while also obtaining a better understanding of local community needs and if current services align. “The City strives to continue to work with community partners to meet the needs of the people while taking into account how the services are best delivered,” states Ortuno. Samuels’s hope with his involvement is to raise awareness of the struggles faced in underserved communities. “HCD presents an opportunity to evaluate the processes intended to service some of the most vulnerable populations…with the goal of making services more meaningful, efficient, and inclusive.”
