S3534SEP8

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Week Ending September 8, 2006

S.3534 A bill to amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to provide for a YouthBuild program

Established in the Department of Labor is a program aimed at helping disadvantaged youth obtain education and employment skills needed to achieve economic self-sufficiency in occupations that are in demand.

The youth would benefit from opportunities for meaningful work and service to their communities.

The bill would also expand available affordable housing for the homeless and for low-income families by utilizing the youth workforce this bill creates.

Participants will be community and faith-based organizations, state and local youth conservation corps and others. Grants will be made for developing work experience and skills training and apprenticeship programs, paid and unpaid work experience, language instruction, tutoring and study skills and dropout prevention programs, counseling and financial aid for education, need-based stipends for up to twelve months after training is complete.

Participants would be between the ages of 16 and 24.

Sponsor: Senator Michael B. Enzi (WY)

Vote: Passed by Unanimous Consent August 3, 2006

Cost to the taxpayers: Such sums as may be necessary.

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`(3) APPLICATION-

`(A) FORM AND PROCEDURE- To be qualified to receive a grant under this subsection, an eligible entity shall submit an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require.

`(B) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS- The Secretary shall require that the application contain, at a minimum--

`(i) labor market information for the labor market area where the proposed program will be implemented, including both current data (as of the date of submission of the application) and projections on career opportunities in growing industries;

`(ii) a request for the grant, specifying the amount of the grant requested and its proposed uses;

`(iii) a description of the applicant and a statement of its qualifications, including a description of the applicant's relationship with local boards, one-stop operators, local unions, entities carrying out registered apprenticeship programs, other community groups, and employers, and the applicant's past experience, if any, with rehabilitation or construction of housing or public facilities, and with youth education and employment training programs;

`(iv) a description of the proposed site for the proposed program;

`(v) a description of the educational and job training activities, work opportunities, postsecondary education and training opportunities, and other services that will be provided to participants, and how those activities, opportunities, and services will prepare youth for employment in occupations in demand in the labor market area described in clause (i);

`(vi) a description of the proposed rehabilitation or construction activities to be undertaken under the grant and the anticipated schedule for carrying out such activities;

`(vii) a description of the manner in which eligible youth will be recruited and selected as participants, including a description of arrangements that will be made with local boards, one-stop operators, community- and faith-based organizations, State educational agencies or local educational agencies (including agencies of Indian tribes), public assistance agencies, the courts of jurisdiction, agencies operating shelters for homeless individuals and other agencies that serve youth who are homeless individuals, foster care agencies, and other appropriate public and private agencies;

`(viii) a description of the special outreach efforts that will be undertaken to recruit eligible young women (including young women with dependent children) as participants;

`(ix) a description of the specific role of employers in the proposed program, such as their role in developing the proposed program and assisting in service provision and in placement activities;

`(x) a description of how the proposed program will be coordinated with other Federal, State, and local activities and activities conducted by Indian tribes, such as local workforce investment activities, vocational education programs, adult and language instruction educational programs, activities conducted by public schools, activities, conducted by community colleges, national service programs, and other job training provided with funds available under this title;

`(xi) assurances that there will be a sufficient number of adequately trained supervisory personnel in the proposed program;

`(xii) a description of results to be achieved with respect to common indicators of performance for youth and lifelong learning, as identified by the Secretary;

`(xiii) a description of the applicant's relationship with local building trade unions regarding their involvement in training to be provided through the proposed program, the relationship of the proposed program to established registered apprenticeship programs and employers, and the ability of the applicant to grant industry-recognized skill certification through the program;

`(xiv) a description of activities that will be undertaken to develop the leadership skills of participants;

`(xv) a detailed budget and a description of the system of fiscal controls, and auditing and accountability procedures, that will be used to ensure fiscal soundness for the proposed program;

`(xvi) a description of the commitments for any additional resources (in addition to the funds made available through the grant) to be made available to the proposed program from--

`(I) the applicant;

`(II) recipients of other Federal, State or local housing and community development assistance who will sponsor any part of the rehabilitation, construction, operation and maintenance, or other housing and community development activities undertaken as part of the proposed program; or

`(III) entities carrying out other Federal, State, or local activities or activities conducted by Indian tribes, including vocational education programs, adult and language instruction educational programs, and job training provided with funds available under this title;

`(xvii) information identifying, and a description of, the financing proposed for any--

`(I) rehabilitation of the property involved;

`(II) acquisition of the property; or

`(III) construction of the property;

`(xviii) information identifying, and a description of, the entity that will operate and manage the property;

`(xix) information identifying, and a description of, the data collection systems to be used;

`(xx) a certification, by a public official responsible for the housing strategy for the State or unit of general local government within which the proposed program is located, that the proposed program is consistent with the housing strategy; and

`(xxi) a certification that the applicant will comply with the requirements of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) and will affirmatively further fair housing.

`(4) SELECTION CRITERIA- For an applicant to be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection, the applicant and the applicant's proposed program shall meet such selection criteria as the Secretary shall establish under this section, which shall include criteria relating to--

`(A) the qualifications or potential capabilities of an applicant;

`(B) an applicant's potential for developing a successful YouthBuild program;

`(C) the need for an applicant's proposed program, as determined by the degree of economic distress of the community from which participants would be recruited (measured by indicators such as poverty, youth unemployment, and the number of individuals who have dropped out of secondary school) and of the community in which the housing and public facilities proposed to be rehabilitated or constructed is located (measured by indicators such as incidence of homelessness, shortage of affordable housing, and poverty);

`(D) the commitment of an applicant to providing skills training, leadership development, and education to participants;

`(E) the focus of a proposed program on preparing youth for occupations in demand or postsecondary education and training opportunities;

`(F) the extent of an applicant's coordination of activities to be carried out through the proposed program with local boards, one-stop operators, and one-stop partners participating in the operation of the one-stop delivery system involved, or the extent of the applicant's good faith efforts in achieving such coordination;

`(G) the extent of the applicant's coordination of activities with public education, criminal justice, housing and community development, national service, or postsecondary education or other systems that relate to the goals of the proposed program;

`(H) the extent of an applicant's coordination of activities with employers in the local area involved;

`(I) the extent to which a proposed program provides for inclusion of tenants who were previously homeless individuals in the rental housing provided through the program;

`(J) the commitment of additional resources (in addition to the funds made available through the grant) to a proposed program by--

`(i) an applicant;

`(ii) recipients of other Federal, State, or local housing and community development assistance who will sponsor any part of the rehabilitation, construction, operation and maintenance, or other housing and community development activities undertaken as part of the proposed program; or

`(iii) entities carrying out other Federal, State, or local activities or activities conducted by Indian tribes, including vocational education programs, adult and language instruction educational programs, and job training provided with funds available under this title;

`(K) the applicant's potential to serve different regions, including rural areas and States that have not previously received grants for YouthBuild programs; and

`(L) such other factors as the Secretary determines to be appropriate for purposes of carrying out the proposed program in an effective and efficient manner.

`(5) APPROVAL- To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall notify each applicant, not later than 5 months after the date of receipt of the application by the Secretary, whether the application is approved or not approved.

`(d) Use of Housing Units- Residential housing units rehabilitated or constructed using funds made available under subsection (c) shall be available solely--

`(1) for rental by, or sale to, homeless individuals or low-income families; or

`(2) for use as transitional or permanent housing, for the purpose of assisting in the movement of homeless individuals to independent living.

`(e) Additional Program Requirements-

`(1) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS-

`(A) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in subparagraph (B), an individual may participate in a YouthBuild program only if such individual is--

`(i) not less than age 16 and not more than age 24, on the date of enrollment;

`(ii) a member of a low-income family, a youth in foster care (including youth aging out of foster care), a youth offender, a youth who is an individual with a disability, a child of incarcerated parents, or a migrant youth; and

`(iii) a school dropout.

`(B) EXCEPTION FOR INDIVIDUALS NOT MEETING INCOME OR EDUCATIONAL NEED REQUIREMENTS- Not more than 25 percent of the participants in such program may be individuals who do not meet the requirements of clause (ii) or (iii) of subparagraph (A), but who--

`(i) are basic skills deficient, despite attainment of a secondary school diploma, General Education Development (GED) credential, or other State-recognized equivalent (including recognized alternative standards for individuals with disabilities); or

`(ii) have been referred by a local secondary school for participation in a YouthBuild program leading to the attainment of a secondary school diploma.

`(2) PARTICIPATION LIMITATION- An eligible individual selected for participation in a YouthBuild program shall be offered full-time participation in the program for a period of not less than 6 months and not more than 24 months.

`(3) MINIMUM TIME DEVOTED TO EDUCATIONAL SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES- A YouthBuild program receiving assistance under subsection (c) shall be structured so that participants in the program are offered--

`(A) education and related services and activities designed to meet educational needs, such as those specified in clauses (iv) through (vii) of subsection (c)(2)(A), during at least 50 percent of the time during which the participants participate in the program; and

`(B) work and skill development activities such as those specified in clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and (viii) of subsection (c)(2)(A), during at least 40 percent of the time during which the participants participate in the program.

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