Seventeen-year-old TaKnealia Kinsler has worked for the last two summers thanks to a federally funded program. This summer, she will join her 21-year-old sister, Tanasha, working in a child-care center in Elmhurst's LeFrak City.

She said these summer jobs have given her a good insight to the work world - something that school just can't provide. Because of these early work experiences, students like TaKnealia say they've begun to foster working relationships, understand the importance of punctuality and how to project a professional image. In addition, they've gained marketable skills they can boast on their resumes.

But people familiar with the Summer Youth Employment Program, a federally funded program for 14- to 21-year-old students from lower-income families, say it's in financial jeopardy. Due to federal budget cuts, the program will offer jobs to 22,500 city teenagers this summer as opposed to the 32,000 it employed last year. Congress cut 30 percent of the program's funding this year, causing the 9,500 lost jobs.