The Pima County School Superintendent's Pima Cycle Breaker Program (PCBP) assists Pima County youth by re-engaging them with wrap-around services, education opportunities, career exploration, skills development, and job placements to help them achieve a career with livable wages and set them on a path to further education and training. Individuals who commit to the Pima Cycle Breaker Program receive opportunities in counseling to address the root causes of their life challenges, housing assistance, food assistance, clothing, transportation, childcare, tuition, job skills training/credentialing, and employment placements.

Approximately 12% of individuals aged 16-25 in Pima County are not working or in school. This represents nearly 20,000 youth. Too many of these youth are incarcerated or involved with the court system. Under leadership from the Pima County School Superintendent's Office – with support from Potoff Private Philanthropy – the Pima Cycle Breaker Program (PCBP) addresses the needs of this population and empowers lifelong success.

The Pima County School Superintendent's Office, Goodwill of Southern Arizona, Center for the Future of Arizona, Sahuarita Food Bank, Pima County Attorney's Office, Pipeline AZ (PAZ), Futures Inc., United Way of Southern Arizona's Youth on the Rise Program, PCSSO's Business & Education Partnership Program, and Pima Community College's Pima for Youth Program are working together to provide job skills training, apprenticeships, and entry-level job placements to justice-system-involved and opportunity youth in Pima County.

Entry-level work experiences enable youth to gain technical and soft skills and build social capital that can lead to family-sustaining wages. PCBP helps participants develop critical stepping stones toward achieving a rewarding career that can lead to financial stability, personal growth, and independence. Our community partners and partner employers are working together to combat stereotyping and biases related to second-chance employment and creating quality opportunities for PCBP youth by establishing apprenticeships, employer partnerships, and academic opportunities for program participants.

Cycle Breaker Job Seekers:

Assess your skills and interests, match with relevant career opportunities, and explore education and career pathways to get you where you want to go in life. You can apply for open jobs and register for paid apprenticeships as well.

Cycle Breaker Skills Training:

RISE Up is the NRF Foundation training and credentialing program that provides foundational employability skills to help people land jobs and get promoted in retail and beyond. Their curriculum and exams are industry-recognized and were developed in collaboration with more than twenty retailers, including Walmart, The Home Depot, Costco, Dollar General, Fry's, and more. 

ServSafe Food Handler Credential- Youth can Learn basic food safety practices for preparing and serving food. Earn your food handler certificate from the food service experts, the National Restaurant Association.

Employer Partners:

PCBP is always looking for good mentors and businesses. We need business partners that will consider pre-apprenticeships, apprenticeships, and job placements for second chance and opportunity youth. Please consider joining our partner list, which currently includes Tucson Asphalt, Excel Mechanical, Barker Contracting, UW Direct Care Workforce Resources, Habitat for Humanity, ATL Wings, Goodwill Metro, Pima Area Labor Federation and Southwest Regional Carpenter's Council. Employer partners can use this platform to highlight open positions, career pathway within their organizations, and recruitment events. Our platform supports job and career matching with the job seekers' interests.