800 companies which brought $55 million of new activity into our local economy. we were all extremely disappointed when congress decided not to continue that program last september. but i am very happy that because of the partnership with the mayor's office and with mayor lee's commitment to jobs, with hsa, and private sector leaders, we've been able to move this forward with state and local and some federal funding. i particularly want to single out scott, who pointed out our numbers have been lagging in the private sector. he brought this to our attention. what we really ask you, our media partners, is to give the word out. there is still be potential for hundreds of jobs to qualify between now and june 30. the latest estimate is 300 new jobs that could be created if

companies take advantage of what we have got here. with that, i want to thank all the partners here as well as our friends in private sector and small businesses we hope will be using this program to put our people back to work. >> good morning. i am the founder of small business california. but i am also an employer. everybody knows that small business is the engine that drives the economy, nationally. they hired two-thirds of the net job increases. it is really important that this information get out to the small business community. as a little background -- i did hire a person from jobsnow, the first portion of it. cecilia has been with me since january 2010. i did so because i knew at some

point within six months to hear a was going to have to hire another employee, and this gave me the opportunity to hire someone earlier than i would have done otherwise. and she turned out to be just a fabulous employee. my assistance -- my assistant claims person in our office. she does a tremendous job. i think there is tremendous opportunity to increase from $2,500 to $5,000. it is an enormous benefit for small businesses. i would like to ask the small business community in san francisco to look at this program and see what opportunities are out there for them. to that extent, i gave to tony lugo information on a job that was available, and hopefully we will take advantage of the subsidies.

thank you. >> thank you, scott. coming from the human services side, where we focus 90% of our time and effort on the clients we are serving, we are not used to being in the economic development business. this program really is that. certainly among small businesses. 80% of our placements in the first program more small businesses. i will give you a story about a gentleman i met at one of our events of last year. he runs a car wash. this is in the east by. he told me he was hesitant to expand. he did not want to take the risk to expand. it just means more staff, right? more people to wash cars. he said jobsnow came along and he doubled his staff. he took that risk because he was not going to invest anything. he doubled his revenue. and when the program expired, he

kept those people. they are still working. his business is thriving. there are dozens of examples like that there really -- at least in our world where we are so excited about getting 4100 people placed in jobs, we certainly need small businesses to stay in business, and also to grow and flourish. we have an example here. a company called book bog. -- book big. charlotte is here to talk about her experience with jobsnow 1 and 2. i think she brought a couple of folks she hired through the program. >> hello. i am one of the four founders of book big. we are a book rental service. we encourage children to

develop a lifelong love of reading. using our company, they can take out books and give them as long as they like and return them when they are done. the truth is that reading is key. the truth is that finding the right books is key to finding a successful reading experience. the other truth is that kids who enjoy reading do better at school and life afterwards. working part-time and unpaid, we were able to build a product and service, and began shipping it to friends and family. we first began to be aware of the program in march 2010, and we thought this was a great opportunity. through the first program, we have been able to hire a total of six employees, four of which remaintamara and tashina

williams. we also have two other employees. they are single mothers and need jobs. they have shown a commitment to our business. the program has been crucial to our business. we found it to be a smooth and easy business. our representative, roxanne, has been incredibly helpful. one of our employees started in april 2010 and began by assisting me in shipping books. she is extremely dedicated and the real assets. she has proven to be flexible, multitalented, and an essential member of the team. we plan to keep both employees on long-term. the benefits of these programs are not just financial.

we have seen how each employee's improves their self-esteem in having a job. i feel proud of the process, and the city is doing a great thing by helping struggling companies. hiring these employees through these programs helps focus on growing the business. over the past year, we've shipped over 25,000 books to kids and help pay for 11500 kids to read more regularly. we think the program is the best support in helping grow the business. we are thankful for the opportunity to employ these four great individuals and help their families. thank you. and i will introduce toshina williams, our most recent

employee through jobsnow2. >> good morning. in a single mother of a divide- year-old boy. for a year, i was unemployed and frustrated because i was having a hard time finding a job. what became very hard for me because i could not provide for -- life became very hard for me because i could not provide for my son. after being on calworks for some time, i was referred to the jobsnow program. i was able to better my interviewing skills and even got help with interviewing close. through this program, the program was four weeks long, and i was offered a job as a shipping and receiving assistance. after learning more about the company, i learned that this was opportunity to introduce books into my son's life.

before i worked for them, i had a hard time getting my son interested in books at all. now we enjoy reading together. i enjoyed working with book big, and i feel that my skills are a perfect fit for the company. the program gave me a better hope for our future. in closing, i would like to likebook big for offering -- i would like to wouldbook big -- would like to thank book big. >> and i will introduce tamara as well, the we employed a year ago with the program. >> hello. i am a single mother of a 10- year-old little girl. i was unemployed for over a year. money was extremely tight, and i spent the majority of my time looking for job, sending out

resumes, and going to dead and interviews. i needed the job to cover my living expenses. i first heard of book big through the program. a year later, i am still working for them and managing the operations side of the business. is right to be part of the team were my role really matters and i get to provide -- it is great to be part of the team, rolled really matters and get to provide voluble feedback. i have been given the opportunity to assist in marketing materials and develop graphics for the website. these are skills i hope to build upon in the future. having this job means a great deal to me. i have grown in confidence. i am happy to give up in the morning. my life has purpose and meaning. i am able to pay my way and provide for my family, which has had a positive influence on our lives.

i am now able to spend time with my daughter and do things with her instead of looking for jobs and constantly working -- worrying about money. finally, i never knew how much my daughter loves to read prior to working here. she now reads several books per week, and with friends over for book review parties. is very hard to stopper from wanting to read all the time. -- it is very hard to stop her from wanting to read all the time. in closing, i would like to say how grateful i am to the sf jobsnow program. it has affected every part of my life in a positive way. and i would also like to thank book big four allowing me to be part of a successful new startup. thank you. >> to recap, principally today the word we want to get out to

small business as well as other private employers in the city is the subsidy for jobsnow2 has been doubled to $5,000. we have room for it least 300 more slots. the way to get a hold of the human services agency -- there are many ways. one is to call 311 and ask for jobsnow. the other is 877-job-1now. or you can go to our website. so i will close with that. >> [unintelligible] >> yes. we have 113 have been placed in

public sector positions with the city's human services agency, underwritten by this. and then we have the remainder in various community-based organizations throughout our community jobs program, as well as english as a second language placements. again, underwritten with the same $9 million. we were successful on the start of sides. we want to open up to the private sector more. -- we were successful on those two sides. >> [unintelligible] >> scott may want to address this as well, but the $2,500 may be was not enough of an incentive, and we think doubling it to 5000 -- especially for small businesses that have thin margins to take advantage. we do -- starting a new program,

we were uncertain about the demand on the client side. we kept the match quite low with the total money we had. we are quite confident giving the remainder of the budget we have, that we can place 300 folks. scott wants to add as well. >> i think trent is totally right about increasing from $2,500 to $5,000. but the other aspect of what we're doing this today is to get this out to the small business community. i sent out an e-mail to about 500 small businesses. i got 70 to 80 responses. most of them did not know it existed. >> [unintelligible] so, the $5,000 only covers you so far. maybe the business doesn't pay.

you know, $10,000 -- >> carolyn, that is a good question. that is what we are testing, right? we will see in the next couple months, a few months what kind of uptake we get on the private side as well as clients. if the program is successful, jobsnow2 is a bit of a pilot program. we wanted to see what we could do. the idea would be to maximize the number of placements. as you increase the subsidy, he will impact your clients. we are trying to find that balance. -- as you increase the subsidy, you impact fewer clients. we hope to continue this and maybe see another restructure. >> can you talk about --

[unintelligible] are the people who got jobs on an jobsnow1, for those people still employed? what happened to them? >> on the private sector side, private businesses had to decide whether to keep the employees or not. we think we are running at 65%? tony? about 65% retention on the private side. on the public and non-profit side, because of the limited budget authority, that subsidy ended and the attentive to transition those employees into other jobs, either into -- and we attempted to transition as employees and to other jobs, either into the private sector

or to find jobs on the rump. >> another question. [unintelligible] what is going to happen to people? [unintelligible] >> the idea on the public sector side -- you have to put this in the context. we have to move families into self-sufficiency. one of the ways to do that is to work and build job skills, the ability to compete in the private sector. the public sector is serving as that bridge. it is a way of getting individuals who may not have found a job through limited

skills or work history, get them the skills, whether it is administered of assistance or maintenance -- administrative assistant work for maintenance -- or maintenance. to get them a job in the private sector. it is not meant to be a permanent job. it is meant to be an opportunity to make some money, to put money in the hands of families to desperately needed, as well as get job skills. >> [unintelligible] >> that is exactly right, barbara. folks who were coming to offices who had the better resume or more jobs skills tend to be the ones who moved to the private sector. it is important to remember, the employer is actually doing the interviewing. we are not giving -- barbara taylor, here is your job. you take it. we go to the candidates and

select the ones with the skills and experience that matched the job they are being hired for. so, it is a competitive process within the context of folks who are eligible for the program. the private sector is the best outcome. private sector, and subsidized. the folks in public sector placement -- private sector, unsubsidized. the folks in public-sector placement and nonprofit placement, we hope it will get to the private sector side. >> [unintelligible] >> we actually have an expanded program for single adults to have children over 18 or who do not have children. a portion of the money is general funds. we are able to target our folks who are on -- public assistance who do not have kids. correct. what we are focusing on in jobsnow2 is single-family is who

are on public assistance. jobsnow1 was a broader range of individuals who were eligible. now we're focusing on the city's public assistance rolls. we of about 5000 families on public assistance -- we have about five dozen families on public assistance in san francisco. -- we have about 5000 families on public assistance in san francisco. >> [unintelligible] if you sign up for the program, do you [unintelligible] is it a pool of set people? >> we have a pool of people who are employment specialists who are engaged in that job placement process. certainly, given the volume,

given the number of people, there is a big enough job pool where employers can select from, can select appropriate candidates. and what the person's behind me mentioned -- we do internally audit that' work, providing the transportation, cloves, child care support -- clothes, child care support. that is in our regular welfare program. >> [unintelligible] >> sure, barbara. >> [unintelligible] the city has this giant deficit, so -- >> sure. luckily, three-quarters of the human services agency budget is from state and federal sources. $8.9 million is from federal and state programs. what we have been able to do is

re-engineering our system to move away from some source of contracts and job work and move it more towards what we have found it to be a very successful model, the jobsnow model. the other $1.2 million are nhs funds in the budget. it was something of a priority because it was effective. we were able to move money around to more successful programs. so, we did not seek additional funding for this program. we did in our current budget. >> [unintelligible] there is a group of homes that were picked today, taken over, because there is not enough housing for the homeless. is this an open ended response

to that? >> you've been covering the homeless issue, caroline. -- carolyn. would i like their to be housing for everyone in san francisco? of course. we place about 35 homeless people into permanent supportive housing every month. our existing portfolio, we have turnover. the answer to that problem is not taking over someone's house and swapping. the answer is to engage in our programs and get in queue to get a home that will eventually become available. >> thank you. [unintelligible]

>> the san francisco ethnic dance festival is one of the jewels on san francisco sculptural crowns. this is in its 32nd year of showcasing the celebrated dance troupes. this year will be one of the past with four new works representing kondo, afghanistan, china, mexico. -- congo, afghanistan, china, mexico.

more than a hundred 30 ensembles and soloists auditioned in january for a slot in the ethnic dance festival. in the end, 37 companies were selected to perform. 26 of those performances are world premieres. >> each year, we assembled a panel of dance experts that is made up of academics, scholars, researchers. people have been working for decades in the field. many of them came to this country in the seventies and have trained the next generation of dancers. they are proud to see many of these students at the these masterful levels. this was one of the best panel''

we have ever had, extraordinary people. at the end of the process, they rank their top groups which are then merged into a master list. >> performers are judged on stage presence, costumes, and innovation. >> the four programs are created around an exciting and dynamic range so the soloists and groups selected each weekend will have enough dynamic range to be a society overall to are experience. >> hundreds of dancers from different countries need each other, compare stuff, and make new friends. this has resulted in new cross- cultural collaborations'. >> one of the extraordinary

things is that it really only happens here in the san francisco bay area. all of the dancers that we are presented -- presenting are from the area. they have full-time jobs and they spend their weekends nurturing their passion to sustain these extraordinary dance forms from around the world. the audience cannot help but be inspired. >> this year, the festival will feature a special collaboration that celebrates the mexican bicentennial and commemorates the 100th anniversary of the mexican revolution. >> one of the great area biographers has stepped out of that role and we asked them to create a special work working with 6 x ordinary dance companies that we have assembled

dancers from all of these companies to present a united work in celebration of the bicentennial. >> dancers from over 20 countries are staunch cultures are participating. >> one of the things that is inspiring is how many are being invited back to their home countries as cultural ambassadors from the u.s.. we are teaching them in committees so that the next generation here in america and back to india or bali or whatever will be able to get enriched by these very beautiful art forms. >> thank you for watching "culture wire." and you can find more