COUNTY, COLLEGES TO WEIGH CENTERS FOR WORK PROGRAM.

Byline: Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writer

Hoping to move more people off welfare and into the workplace, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors is considering setting up career centers on or near three community college campuses.

The one-stop placement facilities would help students in the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids program find vocational work while completing their college degrees. The centers also would expand a growing partnership between the county and the college district to help residents who receive public assistance fall in line with new welfare laws - which give recipients two years to find a job, begin training for one or perform community service.

``We are pushing for a closer relationship with the community college district. I don't think we work with them enough. We administer the program through social services, but they are the ones in the business of education,'' said Supervisor Judy Mikels, whose 4th District includes Moorpark and Simi Valley.

``If the community colleges could offer some of the training programs as well as what they do best - career counseling - then we could build a better program,'' she said.

At its meeting today, supervisors will consider a proposal to build up to seven career and job centers. County officials already have been working to secure facilities - 10,000 to 12,000 square feet in size - at seven regional locations to house the job centers. Each building could cost about $150,000 to lease each year.

County officials have also looked into putting the centers directly on the community college campuses - an asset for the county, which could spend less to lease space, and a benefit for CalWORKs students, who could easily access on-campus child care, libraries and job-training classes as well as campus security, according to a report from Chief Administrative Officer M.L. Lin Koester.

Mikels said she would prefer to see the centers directly on the campuses because it would cut county costs and allow CalWORKs students easy access to important services.

``Part of the challenge is that not all the campuses have the same amount of space. We still need to work out the funding and facilities we have available,'' she said.

Moorpark College President James Walker said that the details of the ensuing discussions will be important.

``There are still so many questions we have to work out and details,'' said Walker, whose 12,000-student campus includes about 200 students on public assistance.

While it is still too early to know whether the centers will be located on or off campus, Walker said the growing partnership between the county and the colleges is an increasingly important component to implementing CalWORKs.

``But there is no doubt that there has to be a formal relationship to make sure these students have the proper education and wherewithal to secure a job.''