Facing an outcry about a lack of jobs for young people this summer, the Patrick administration is planning to announce next week that it will provide $9.1 million to put some 4,700 at-risk youth to work.
The money will go to 25 municipalities with the greatest number of youths who have gone through the juvenile justice system. Eligible individuals, state officials say, must be 14 to 21 years old and come from families whose household incomes fall below the poverty line, which is about $18,000 for a family of four.
“Putting nearly 5,000 young people to work who otherwise would not have an opportunity for employment is huge’’ for the state, Joanne Goldstein, secretary of labor and workforce development, said yesterday. “It keeps kids safe. It provides income for themselves and their families.’’
Goldstein said $3.5 million will come from the new fiscal 2011 budget, $3.8 million from reserve funding in last year’s budget, and $1.8 million from federal stimulus money from previously years.
Money from the state will allow 3,810 youths to be hired at camps and recreational sites and the federal stimulus would provide 916 additional jobs.
About 1,400 of the total jobs are slated for Boston, Goldstein said.
Other cities that will get funding are Brockton, Cambridge, Chelsea, Chicopee, Fall River, Fitchburg, Framingham, Gardner, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, New Bedford, Pittsfield, Quincy, Randolph, Salem, Springfield, Taunton, Weymouth, and Worcester.
In a statement, Governor Deval Patrick said he is committed to ensuring that young people across the state hold jobs and help build their communities.
“Jobs foster the kinds of ethics and skills young people need to succeed as adults,’’ the governor said.
The outlook for summer jobs seemed bleak just weeks ago. The state had slashed its summer youth works funding by half to about $4 million, and Congress balked at a billion-dollar summer jobs bill that would have hired 8,500.
With a wave of crime in Boston and with private-sector jobs scarce because of the slow economy, pressure was mounting for the state to step in.
“For teens, this not a recession; it’s a depression in terms of their ability to get jobs,’’ said Lew Finfer, who has been leading the Youth Jobs Coalition, which has been pressing the state on the jobs issue.
With no help from the federal government this year, Patrick decided to begin using money that was allocated for summer jobs in the fiscal 2011 budget, said Nancy Snyder, who heads the Commonwealth Corporation, the agency that runs the state’s youth jobs program.
Daiquan Bradford, a 16-year-old from Roxbury who helped press for more funding, said he was pleased that the state listened to their appeals and found more cash for summer jobs.
“It’s a good thing, because we’ve been very persistent in our fight,’’ he said. “It is nice to know that we got some recognition for our hard work.’’
Meghan Irons can be reached at mirons@globe.com. 
