.

Vulnerable Youth: Employment and Job
Training Programs

Adrienne L. Fernandes-Alcantara
Specialist in Social Policy
May 5, 2015
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R40929

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Vulnerable Youth: Employment and Job Training Programs

Summary
In an increasingly global economy, and with retirement underway for the Baby Boomer
generation, Congress has indicated a strong interest in ensuring that today’s young people have
the educational attainment and employment experience needed to become highly skilled workers,
contributing taxpayers, and successful participants in civic life. Challenges in the economy and
among certain youth populations, however, have heightened concern among policymakers that
some young people may not be prepared to fill these roles. The employment levels for youth
under age 25 have declined markedly in recent years, including in the wake of the 2007-2009
recession. Certain young people—such as high school dropouts, current and former foster youth,
and other at-risk populations—face challenges in completing school and entering the workforce.
While the United States has experienced a dramatic increase in secondary school attendance in
the past several decades, approximately 7% of youth ages 18 to 24 have not attained a high school
diploma or its equivalent.
Since the 1930s, federal job training and employment programs and policies have sought to
connect vulnerable youth to work and school. Generally, these young people have been defined as
being at-risk because they are economically disadvantaged and have a barrier to employment.
During the Great Depression, the focus was on employing young men who were idle through
public works and other projects. The employment programs from this era included an educational
component to encourage youth to obtain their high school diplomas. Beginning in the 1960s, the
federal government began funding programs for low-income youth that address their multiple
needs through job training, educational services, and supportive services.
Today’s primary federal youth employment and job training programs are carried out by the
Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Employment and Training Administration (ETA). These
programs were authorized under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA, P.L. 105-220)
through FY2003, and Congress continued to appropriate funding for the programs in subsequent
years. Although these programs have varying eligibility requirements and are carried out under
different funding arrangements, they generally have a common purpose—to provide vulnerable
youth with educational and employment opportunities and access to leadership development and
community service activities.
The Youth Activities program offers job training and other services through what are known as
local workforce development boards. The program is funded at $831.8 million in FY2015
(Program Year (PY) 2015; the program year extends from July 1 of one year through June 30 of
the next year). Job Corps provides training in a number of trades at centers where youth reside,
and received FY2015 (PY2015) appropriations of $1.7 billion. Another program, YouthBuild,
engages youth in educational services and job training that focus on the construction trades.
YouthBuild received FY2015 (PY2015) appropriations of $79.7 million. Separately, WIA’s pilot
and demonstration authority has been used to carry out the Reintegration of Ex-Offenders
program (RExO), which includes job training and other services for juvenile and adult offenders.
The youth component of the program was funded at $42.5 million in FY2014 (final FY2015
funding for the youth component was not available at the time this report was published).
On July 22, 2014, President Obama signed into law the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act (WIOA, P.L. 113-128). WIOA made significant amendments to the youth programs,
particularly to the Youth Activities program and Job Corps program. The YouthBuild program
remains essentially the same. WIOA does not explicitly authorize the Reintegration of Ex-
Offenders program; however, Congress appropriated funding for the program in FY2015 (P.L.
113-235) under the authority of Section 169 of WIOA and the Second Chance Act. Section 169
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authorizes evaluations and research. The amendments to the youth programs generally go into
effect on July 1, 2015.

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Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1
Context ............................................................................................................................................. 2
History of Federal Youth Employment and Job Training Programs ................................................ 4
Depression Era........................................................................................................................... 4
War on Poverty Programs .......................................................................................................... 5
Expanding Youth Programs ....................................................................................................... 5
Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) and Youth Employment
and Demonstrations Project Act (YEDPA) ...................................................................... 6
Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) ................................................................................... 7
School to Work Opportunity Act (STWOA) ....................................................................... 7
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) ....................................................................................... 8
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) ......................................................... 8
Overview of Youth Programs Authorized Under Title I of the WIA and WIOA ............................. 9
Coordination ............................................................................................................................ 16
Funding .......................................................................................................................................... 16
Funding for FY2000-FY2015 .................................................................................................. 17
FY2015 Funding ............................................................................................................... 17
FY2014 Funding ............................................................................................................... 18
Job Corps Transfer Authority .................................................................................................. 19
Youth Activities Program ............................................................................................................... 20
Overview and Purpose ............................................................................................................. 20
Program Structure .................................................................................................................... 21
Youth Councils .................................................................................................................. 22
Allocations ............................................................................................................................... 23
Elements of Local Programs ............................................................................................. 24
Participants .............................................................................................................................. 27
Performance ............................................................................................................................. 29
Job Corps ....................................................................................................................................... 32
Overview and Purpose ............................................................................................................. 32
Program Structure .................................................................................................................... 32
Services ............................................................................................................................. 33
Allocations ............................................................................................................................... 35
Participants .............................................................................................................................. 35
Performance ............................................................................................................................. 36
Performance Oversight ...................................................................................................... 37
Financial Oversight ................................................................................................................. 38
YouthBuild ..................................................................................................................................... 38
Overview and Purpose ............................................................................................................. 38
Program Structure .................................................................................................................... 39
Participants .............................................................................................................................. 41
Allocations ............................................................................................................................... 41
Performance ............................................................................................................................. 41
Reintegration of Ex-Offenders ....................................................................................................... 42
Overview and Purpose ............................................................................................................. 42
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Program Structure .................................................................................................................... 42
Education ........................................................................................................................... 43
Apprenticeships, Alternative Education, and Expansion Grants ....................................... 44
Reentry .............................................................................................................................. 44
Community Service/Restorative Justice ............................................................................ 45
Participants .............................................................................................................................. 45
Allocations ............................................................................................................................... 46
Performance ............................................................................................................................. 46

Tables
Table 1. Features of Youth Programs Authorized Under WIA and (as of July 1, 2015)
WIOA ......................................................................................................................................... 11
Table 2. Appropriations for DOL Youth Job Training and Employment Programs,
PY2000-PY2015 and Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA,
P.L. 111-5) ................................................................................................................................... 18
Table 3. Elements of Youth Programs as Specified Under WIA and WIOA ................................. 25
Table 4. Youth Program Eligibility Under WIA and WIOA .......................................................... 27
Table 5. Statutory and Common Measures for WIA Youth Programs ........................................... 30
Table 6. Eligible Activities Funded by YouthBuild as Specified Under WIOA ............................ 40
Table A-1. WIA Youth Activities State Allotments, PY2009-PY2014, Plus Funding Under
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, P.L. 111-5) ......................................... 47

Appendixes
Appendix. Workforce Investment Act Funding for WIA Youth Program ...................................... 47

Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 50
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Introduction
In an increasingly competitive economy, and with retirement starting for the Baby Boomer
generation, Congress has indicated a strong interest in ensuring that today’s young people have
the educational attainment and employment experience necessary to become highly skilled
workers, contributing taxpayers, and successful participants in civic life. Challenges in the
economy and among vulnerable youth populations, however, have heightened concern among
policymakers that many young people may not be prepared to fill these roles.
The employment levels for youth under age 25 have generally declined since 2000, though
attachment to the workforce has improved for this population in the wake of the recession that
extended from December 2007 through June 2009. Certain young people in particular—including
those from low-income families, high school dropouts, foster youth, and other at-risk
populations—face barriers to completing school and entering the workforce. Since the 1960s,
federal job training programs and policies have sought to connect these youth to education and
employment pathways. Contemporary federal youth employment programs with this same
purpose were authorized under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 (P.L. 105-220)
through FY2003. Congress continued to appropriate funding for the programs in subsequent
years. These programs provide a range of services and supports to youth. They include the Youth
Activities (“Youth”) grant program; Job Corps; YouthBuild; and the Reintegration of Ex-
Offenders program, which includes a youth component. Some of the programs concentrate on
specific job trades and/or serve targeted at-risk populations. Based on funding, Job Corps is the
largest program. On July 22, 2014, President Obama signed into law the Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act (WIOA, P.L. 113-128). WIOA supersedes WIA and makes significant
amendments to the youth programs, including new services that are to be provided under the
Youth Activities program and new accountability provisions for the Job Corps program. Changes
made by WIOA will generally go into effect on July 1, 2015.1
This report provides an overview of federal employment programs for vulnerable young people.
It begins with a discussion of the current challenges in preparing all youth today for the
workforce. The report then provides a chronology of job training and employment programs for
at-risk youth that began in the 1930s and were expanded or modified from the 1960s through the
1990s. It goes on to discuss the four youth programs authorized under WIA, and draws
comparisons between these programs. Following this section is a detailed discussion of each of
the programs. Where applicable, the report discusses how the programs will change under WIOA.

1 U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Training and Employment
Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 19-14, “Vision for the Workforce System and Initial Implementation of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014,” February 19, 2015; and DOL, ETA, TEGL No. 23-14, “Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth Program Transition.” See also, U.S. Department of Labor,
Employment and Training Administration, “Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking,” PUT 80 Federal Register 20689–21150, April 16, 2015; and U.S. Department of Labor, Employment
and Training Administration and U.S. Department of Education, “Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; Joint
Rule for Unified and Combined State Plans, Performance Accountability, and the One-Stop System Joint Provisions;
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,” PUT 80 Federal Register 20573—20687, April 16, 2015.
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Context
During economic downturns, youth are particularly vulnerable to job loss. From 2000 through
2012, the employment-to-population (E/P) ratio2 among teens steadily declined, from 36.8% to
26.1%, and increased slightly to 26.6% in 2013 and 27.3% in 2014. Over the summer, when teens
are most likely to have jobs, the E/P ratio decreased steadily in the past several years. In July
2000, about four out of ten (44.1%) teens were employed, compared to 27.1% in July 2014.3 The
July 2014 E/P ratio was among the lowest during the post-World War II period; however, it
increased from 25.2% in July 2011. According to the research literature, possible consequences of
reduced work among teens are reduced employment earnings, labor productivity in the future,
and output in the economy.4 Similarly, the E/P ratio of young adults ages 20 through 24 have
declined steadily. In 2014, the average E/P ratio for 20- through 24-year-olds was 62.9%, which
represents about a 15% decrease from 2000.5
Even in periods of relative economic stability, some youth do not complete school and/or make
the transition to the workforce. While the majority of young people graduate from (public) high
school by age 18 or shortly thereafter,6 just over 7% of youth ages 16 through 24 have dropped
out and have not earned a high school diploma or its equivalent.7 This figure is higher among
black and Hispanic youth.8 Further, recent estimates of youth who are not working or in school
(i.e., “disconnected”) for at least a year are approximately 2.4 million.9 Certain youth face
barriers to remaining in school or securing employment, including poverty, their parents’ level of
education, and whether the youth are pregnant or parenting, among other factors. For example,
youth ages 16 through 24 who are parenting are far more likely to be disconnected than their
counterparts who are not.10 Youth in or aging out of foster care, runaway and homeless youth, and

2 The employment-to-population (E/P) ratio is the proportion of individuals in the population as a whole who are
employed.
3 DOL, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey. (Hereinafter, DOL,
BLS, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey.)
4 Andrew Sum, Joseph McLaughlin, and Sheila Palma, The Collapse of the Nation’s Male Teen and Young Adult Labor
Market, 2000-2009: The Lost Generation of Young Male Workers
, Center for Labor Market Studies, Northeastern
University, prepared for C.S. Mott Foundation, July 2009, http://www.nyec.org/content/documents/
ThecollapseoftheNation'sMaleTeenandYoungAdult.pdf. See also, CRS Report R42519, Youth and the Labor Force:
Background and Trends
, by Adrienne L. Fernandes-Alcantara.
5 DOL, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey.
6 The average freshman graduation rate (AFGR) is an estimate of the percentage of an entering public school freshman
class graduating in four years. For the most recent school years, the AFGR has been between 74% and 81%. Of the
approximately 20% to 25% of youth who do not graduate in four years, some continue in school because they have a
learning disability or for other reasons; however, many of these youth drop out, with some returning to school at a later
time. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of Education 2014,
“Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR) for Public High School Students: School Years 1990-91 through 2011-
2012,” Indicator 28, Figure 1, May 2014, http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014083.pdf
7 Ibid, “Status Dropout Rates of 16- Through 24-year-olds, by Race/Ethnicity: 1990 through 2012,” Indicator 29,
Figure 2.
8 Ibid.
9 CRS Report R40535, Disconnected Youth: A Look at 16- to 24-Year Olds Who Are Not Working or In School, by
Adrienne L. Fernandes-Alcantara and Thomas Gabe.
10 Ibid.
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youth offenders, among other groups of youth, are particularly vulnerable to not completing high
school, going on to college, or securing employment.11
As they leave high school, either through graduation or by dropping out, young people can pursue
various options. Youth with a high school diploma may attend a two- or four-year college, enlist
in the armed services, or secure part-time or full-time employment (sometimes paired with
attending school). Youth without a high school diploma can do some of these same things, but
their opportunities are more limited. They cannot enroll in a four-year college or, in most cases,
enlist in the military. These youth will likely have difficulty supporting themselves if they do
work.
In fact, individuals who drop out are less likely to secure employment and are likely to have less
earning power. As the level of education rises, the unemployment rate decreases and median
weekly earnings increase for those who work.12 In 2014, among workers with less than a high
school degree, the unemployment rate was 9.0% and earnings averaged $488 per week. This is
compared to an unemployment rate of 6.0% and $668 in weekly earnings for workers with a high
school degree. Workers with a bachelor’s degree had an unemployment rate of 3.5% and median
weekly earnings of $1,101. With the shift to a knowledge-based economy, many new jobs will
require some college education or better. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the
fastest growing occupations between 2012 and 2022 will require some postsecondary education.13
Further, in all career clusters, a bachelor’s degree or better offers accessibility to the most high-
paying jobs.14 Still, BLS predicts that the occupations with the largest numeric increases will not
require workers to have postsecondary education15
The costs of dropping out extend beyond the individual’s foregone job opportunities and lower
wages. According to the research literature, costs can be incurred by society overall. These costs
include possible lost payroll tax revenue and increased transfers for welfare payments,
imprisonment, and programs to re-enroll dropouts in school.16

11 For further information about the challenges certain groups of youth face while making the transition to adulthood,
see CRS Report RL33975, Vulnerable Youth: Background and Policies, by Adrienne L. Fernandes-Alcantara.
12 DOL, BLS, “Employment projections: Earnings and Unemployment Rates by Educational Attainment,” April 2015,
http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm.
13 Emily Richards and David Terkanian, “Occupational Employment Projections to 2022,” Monthly Labor Review, pp.
9-10, http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2013/article/pdf/occupational-employment-projections-to-2022.pdf. (Hereinafter
Emily Richards and David Terkanian, “Occupational Employment Projections to 2022.”) See also, Anthony P.
Carnevale, Nicole Smith, and Jeff Strohl, Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements through
2018
, Georgetown University, Center on Education and the Workforce, June 2010, http://cew.georgetown.edu/
JOBS2018/.
14 Anthony P. Carnevale et al., Career Cluster: Forecasting Demand for High School Through College Jobs 2008-
2018,
November 2011, http://cew.georgetown.edu/clusters/.
15 Emily Richards and David Terkanian, “Occupational Employment Projections to 2022.”
16 Northeastern University, Center for Labor Market Studies, The Consequences of Dropping Out of High School:
Joblessness and Jailing of High School Dropouts and the High Cost for Taxpayers
, October 1, 2009,
http://iris.lib.neu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=clms_pub; Paul E. Barton, One Third of a Nation:
Rising Dropout Rates and Declining Opportunities
, Educational Testing Services, February 2009, http://www.ets.org/
Media/Education_Topics/pdf/onethird.pdf. Clive R. Belfield, Henry M. Levin, and Rachel Rosen, The Economic Value
of Opportunity Youth
, prepared for the Corporation for National and Community Service and the White House Council
for Economic Solutions, January 2012, http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED528650.pdf.
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Federal youth employment and job training programs have long targeted services to young people
who leave school before graduating or are in school and may be vulnerable to dropping out. The
purpose of these programs, as they currently exist, is to provide job training, employment,
educational services, and social services that can help youth become economically self-sufficient
and achieve their career and academic goals. These contemporary programs also emphasize
leadership development and community service. Note that while youth employment and job
training programs are also enhanced with state workforce and other dollars, the extent to which
this support is provided is unclear.
History of Federal Youth Employment and Job
Training Programs17

For more than 70 years, the federal government has played a role in helping young people secure
employment and achieve academic success. Generally, these young people have been defined as
being vulnerable in some way—either because they are economically disadvantaged and/or have
a barrier to securing employment or completing their education. During the Great Depression, the
focus was on employing idle young men in public works and other projects. The employment
programs from this era included an educational component to encourage youth to obtain their
high school diplomas. Beginning in the 1960s, the federal government started funding programs
for low-income youth, such as Job Corps, that address their multiple needs, including job training,
educational services, housing, and supportive services. During the 1970s and 1980s, Job Corps
was expanded and the federal government funded additional programs for both in-school and out-
of-school youth. Funding was also appropriated to test the efficacy of some of these programs.
The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 extended earlier programs and created new ones, with the
intention of providing more seamless job training and education services for youth year-round.
Generally, these programs are targeted to teenagers and young adults, usually not beyond age 24,
who are at risk of dropping out or have already done so.
Depression Era
Prior to the 1930s, the federal government’s involvement in youth employment was primarily
limited to regulating child labor.18 The Great Depression served as a catalyst for the creation of
federal programs to employ and educate young people who were out of work or at risk of
dropping out of school due to financial difficulties. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
began in 1933 as an employment program for unemployed males ages 18 to 25 (and veterans,
Indians, and residents of territories of any age) to participate in projects planned by the
Departments of the Interior and Agriculture. These projects focused on creating and improving
infrastructure, transportation, and recreational services, among other categories. The young men
lived in camps and were provided with an allowance, food, and medical care. The CCC also
included an educational component, which taught nearly 35,000 participants to read and write and

17 Unless otherwise noted, this section draws heavily on an archived report by the Congressional Research Service,
Youth Employment: A Summary History of Major Federal Programs, 1933-1976. Available upon request.
18 John H. Bremner, Tamara K. Hareven, and Robert M. Mennel, eds., Children & Youth in America, Vol. II: 1866-
1932, Parts 1-6 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971), pp. 687-749.
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assisted a smaller number with attaining their high school and college degrees. Until the program
ended in 1945, it served nearly 3 million men, of whom approximately 10% were veterans.
Other Depression era programs—the Student Aid program, Works Project program, and Guidance
and Placement program—were administered by the National Youth Administration, which was
created as part of the now-defunct Works Progress Administration by an executive order in 1935.
The programs provided funds for part-time employment of needy high school, college, and
graduate students to assist them in completing school, as well as funds for part-time employment
for unemployed out-of-school youth. These young people, all of whom were ages 16 through 25,
were employed in a number of broad areas, including construction, clerical work, and research.
These programs served hundreds of thousands of youth before they were discontinued in the early
1940s.
War on Poverty Programs
The 1960s marked a period of federal efforts to assist poor and disadvantaged children,
adolescents, and their families through job training and other programs. In response to concerns
about high unemployment, the Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962 (P.L. 87-415)
and subsequent amendments to it authorized funding for employment training. Specifically,
amendments to the act in 1963 (P.L. 88-214) encouraged the Department of Labor to provide
assistance to youth so that they might be able to successfully enter the labor force, and expanded
the share of job training funds that could be used to train youth under age 22 from 5% to 25%.
Further, federal funding was first authorized through the 1963 amendments to provide
employment opportunities to youth from low-income families.
President Lyndon B. Johnson’s subsequent War on Poverty established new youth-targeted
programs in job training and educational assistance under an initiative known as the
Neighborhood Youth Corps (NYC). The NYC was made up of work training programs, the Work
Study program, and Job Corps. The work training programs provided work experience, job
training, and supportive services to low-income unemployed youth ages 16 through 21 who were
in school or out of school, including dropouts. The Work Study program was modeled on the
Depression-era Student Aid program and provided money to high school and college students
from low-income families who needed earnings to stay in school. The program continues today
for college students. Job Corps, which also continues today, was established under the Economic
Opportunity Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-452) to provide educational and job training opportunities to
disadvantaged youth at residential and non-residential centers. (See “Job Corps,” below, for
further information.)
Expanding Youth Programs
The 1973 Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA, P.L. 93-203) was the first of
four laws enacted during the 1970s and 1980s that focused greater federal attention on youth
employment and training. The second law, the Youth Employment and Demonstrations Project
Act (YEDPA, P.L. 95-93) was enacted in 1977 and established a variety of employment, training,
and demonstration programs for youth. The 1982 Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA, P.L. 97-
300) repealed CETA. JTPA was subsequently repealed by WIA. Separately, the School-to-Work
Opportunities Act of 1994 (STWOA, P.L. 103-239) supported the development of programs that
encouraged students to pursue learning opportunities and experiences that incorporated
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occupational skills. Activities authorized under these acts were administered by DOL. STWOA
was additionally carried out by the Department of Education (ED).
Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) and Youth Employment
and Demonstrations Project Act (YEDPA)

As amended through 1978, CETA authorized a range of employment and training programs for
adults and youth. Job Corps and the Summer Program for Economically Disadvantaged Youth
(SPEDY) were the primary youth programs authorized under CETA. SPEDY provided funding to
employers to hire low-income youth ages 14 through 21 during the summer months. Youth served
as assistants in hospitals, libraries, community service organizations, and schools, among other
settings.
The Youth Employment and Demonstrations Project Act (YEDPA), signed into law in 1977,
amended CETA.19 YEDPA increased authorization of appropriations for Job Corps and SPEDY
and authorized three additional programs targeted to “economically disadvantaged” (defined
under the act) youth ages 14 through 21: Youth Employment and Training Programs (YETP),
Youth Community Conservation and Improvement Projects (YCCIP), and Youth Incentive
Entitlement Pilot Projects (YIEPP).20 YEDPA was passed in response to high levels of
unemployment among youth relative to adults, even during periods of economic expansion, and
growing gaps in youth unemployment among whites and blacks, males and females, and in-
school and out-of-school youth. The programs were carried out during the Carter Administration,
from 1977 through 1981. Over this period, YEDPA served 6.1 million youth.
YETP and YCCIP were intended to meet the immediate employment needs of youth, and funding
for the programs was allocated primarily on a formula basis. YETP activities include work
experience, pre-employment skills, and an emphasis on the transition from school to work.
YCCIP was intended to assist unemployed, out-of-school youth obtain a high school degree,
conditional on satisfactory performance in work and school. Further, it was aimed at improving
coordination between the job training and educational systems as a means of addressing the
dropout problem.21 Finally, YIEPP funded evaluations to test the efficacy of demonstration
programs; the other two programs included funding for demonstration programs. During the
YEDPA years, more than 60 major demonstrations were funded in about 300 sites, operated by
DOL in cooperation with six other federal agencies and private nonprofit intermediaries.

19 Much of this section on YEDPA was drawn from Charles L. Betsey, Robinson G. Hollister, and Mary R.
Papageorgiou, eds., Youth Employment and Training Programs: The YEDPA Years, National Research Council,
Washington, DC, 1985, http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=
true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED265245&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED265245.
(Hereinafter, Betsey, Hollister, and Papageorgiou, Youth Employment and Training Programs.)
20 A fourth, the Young Adult Conservation Corps (YACC), was operated by the Department of Agriculture and
Department of the Interior, in cooperation with DOL, and targeted unemployed youth ages 16 to 23 who were not
necessarily disadvantaged. This program operated year-round and was separate from a similarly named program, the
Youth Conservation Corps (YCC). YCC was permanently authorized by the Youth Conservation Corps Act of 1970
(P.L. 91-378) and continues to operate.
21 Other parts of YEDPA required close coordination with the school system. According to an assessment of the act’s
implementation, the schools maintained their focus on in-school youth and provided essentially the same set of
educational services as usual. The lack of influence of YEDPA on schools may be largely attributed to the schools’
resistance to allocating services according to income and the schools’ perception that their mission was exclusively to
educate students. Betsey, Hollister, and Papageorgiou, Youth Employment and Training Programs, pp. 84-87.
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Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA)22
CETA was repealed in 1982 by the Job Training Partnership Act. JTPA was distinct from its
predecessor because it emphasized that states and localities, rather than the federal government,
had the primary responsibility for administering job training and employment programs. Funding
was appropriated under JTPA through FY1999. JTPA programs focused on the training needs of
“economically disadvantaged” (defined under the act) youth and adults facing significant barriers
to employment. These programs were frequently referred to as “second chance” programs
because most of them were intended to train individuals who had not sufficiently benefitted from
traditional secondary and post-secondary education. They included the Summer Youth
Employment and Training program, the Youth Training Program, and Job Corps (discussed in the
next section).
The Summer Youth Employment and Training program provided employment and training
activities during the summer months for low-income youth ages 14 through 21 to strengthen basic
educational skills, encourage school completion, provide work exposure, and enhance citizenship
skills. In the summer of 1997, an estimated 500,000 youth participated. The Youth Training
Program was established by the Job Training Reform Amendments of 1992 (P.L. 102-367), which
amended JTPA to address concerns that school dropouts were not being reached by the then-
existing combined program for disadvantaged adults and youth, and that the program primarily
served youth who were the easiest to place in jobs and required the fewest services.23 The
program was year-round and provided direct services, such as on-the-job training, tutoring and
study skills training, and school-to-work transition services. It also provided training-related and
supportive services, including job search assistance, drug and alcohol abuse counseling, and cash
incentives based on attendance and performance in a program. Economically disadvantaged in-
school and out-of-school youth ages 16 through 21 were eligible, but 50% of participants in
service delivery areas (SDAs), comprised of the state or one or more units of local government,
had to be out of school. Further, at least 65% of youth had to be hard to serve, meaning they were
school dropouts (if out of school), pregnant or parenting, or offenders, among other
qualifications. In program year 1997, an estimated 107,000 youth participated. As discussed
below, JTPA was repealed by WIA, the current law that authorizes youth job training and
employment programs.
School to Work Opportunity Act (STWOA)
The School to Work Opportunity Act of 1994 authorized the School-to-Work (STW) program
administered jointly by DOL and the Department of Education through the National School-to-
Work Office. The program was funded from FY1994 through FY2000.24 The law supported the
development of programs with three main elements: work-based learning to provide participating
students with work experience and on-the-job training; school-based learning, involving
upgrading and integrating the occupational skills participating students learn in school and the
workplace; and program coordination to aid the planning, implementation, and operation of the

22 Unless otherwise noted, this section was drawn heavily from an archived report by the Congressional Research
Service, The Job Training Partnership Act: A Compendium of Programs. Available upon request.
23 Archived report by the Congressional Research Service, Job Training Partnership Act: Legislation and Budget
Issues
. Available upon request.
24 Archived report by the Congressional Research Service, The School-to-Work Opportunities Act. Available upon
request.
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program. STWOA grants were competitively awarded to states, local partnerships, programs for
Indian youth, and U.S. territories to implement school-to-work systems. In addition, STWOA
authorized national activities, such as research and demonstrations. Some school-to-work
programs that received seed money from the federal program continue to operate today.
Workforce Investment Act (WIA)
The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 replaced JTPA. WIA includes titles that authorize
programs for job training and related services (Title I), adult education and literacy (Title II),
employment services (Title III), and vocational rehabilitation (Title IV). Title I of WIA authorizes
job training programs for youth, adults, and dislocated workers.25 The programs for youth are
discussed in further detail below. Funding was authorized for the program through FY2003, and
Congress continued to appropriate funding for the programs in subsequent years.
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)
Congress has taken steps toward reauthorizing WIA since the 108th Congress. For example,
during the 111th Congress, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee
held a series of listening sessions in April 2009 to address the positive aspects of WIA and to
increase understanding of the issues that can be addressed as part of any reauthorization
legislation. The Senate HELP Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety subsequently
conducted a hearing in July 2009 to discuss how WIA could be updated to help workers and
employers meet the demands of a changing economy.26 In October 2009, the House Education
and Workforce Committee held a hearing on declining youth employment.27 During the 112th
Congress, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and
Workforce Training held hearings on removing inefficiencies in job training programs and
modernizing WIA on May 11, 2011, and October 4, 2011, respectively. The full committee held a
hearing on a reauthorization bill, the Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2012 (H.R.
4297), on April 17, 2012. The committee marked up and favorably reported the bill on June 7,
2012. Also during the 112th Congress, the Senate HELP Committee released discussion drafts in
June 2011 of legislation to amend and reauthorize WIA, but they did not receive further action in
that Congress.
In the 113th Congress, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce ordered reported
H.R. 803—the Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills Act (SKILLS Act). This
bill was introduced on February 25, 2013, by Representative Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, the
chair of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training. A hearing on H.R. 803
was held before the full Committee on Education and the Workforce on February 26, 2013. The
committee ordered the bill reported by a vote of 23 to 0 on March 6, 2013. The House passed the
bill on March 15, 2013, by a vote of 215 to 202. In the Senate, Senators Patty Murray, Lamar

25 For further information about the Adult and Dislocated Worker programs, see CRS Report RL33687, The Workforce
Investment Act (WIA): Program-by-Program Overview and Funding of Title I Training Programs
, by David H.
Bradley.
26 U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), Subcommittee on
Employment and Workplace Safety, Modernizing the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 to Help Workers and
Employers Meet the Changing Demands of a Global Market
, 111th Cong., 1st sess., July 16, 2009.
27 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Education and Labor, Ensuring Economic Opportunities for Young Americans,
111th Cong., 1st sess., October 1, 2009.
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Alexander, Tom Harkin, and Johnny Isakson introduced the Workforce Investment Act of 2013
(S. 1356) on July 24, 2013. The Senate HELP Committee held a markup of S. 1356 on July 31,
2013, and ordered the bill reported by a vote of 18 to 3. On May 21, 2014, House and Senate
leaders announced an agreement that represented a compromise between H.R. 803 and S. 1356.28
On June 25, 2014, the legislation was subsequently taken up, and passed, by the Senate as H.R.
803.
On July 22, 2014, President Obama signed into law the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act (WIOA, P.L. 113-128). As of July 1, 2015, the law will supersede WIA. Like WIA, WIOA
includes titles that authorize programs for job training and related services (Title I), adult
education and literacy (Title II), employment services (Title III), and vocational rehabilitation
(Title IV). The major job training programs for youth and other workers are authorized in Title I.
The changes made by the bill generally go into effect on July 1, 2015.29
Overview of Youth Programs Authorized Under
Title I of the WIA and WIOA

WIA authorizes, and Congress has funded, three job training and employment services for youth:
Youth Activities, a formula grant program for state and local workforce
investment boards that includes employment and other services that are provided
year-round;
Job Corps, a program that provides job training and related services primarily at
residential centers maintained by contractor organizations; and
YouthBuild, a competitive grant program that emphasizes job training and
education in construction.
Under WIA’s pilot and demonstration authority, DOL established the Reintegration of Ex-
Offenders (ReXO)
program, a demonstration program for juvenile and adult offenders that
provides job training and other services. All of the programs are carried out by DOL’s
Employment and Training Administration (ETA). As mentioned above, Job Corps was enacted as
part of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-452), and was later incorporated into
CETA and JTPA. YouthBuild was originally authorized under the Cranston-Gonzalez National
Affordable Housing Act of 1992 (P.L. 102-550). The program was administered by the
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) until it was transferred to DOL in 2007
under the YouthBuild Transfer Act (P.L. 109-281) and incorporated into WIA.

28 House Committee on Education and the Workforce and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP)
Committee, “Bipartisan, Bicameral Group Announces Deal to Improve American Workforce Development System,”
May 21, 2014.
29 Most workforce programs operate on a program year basis, which extends from July 1 of one year through June 30 of
the following year. WIOA specifies that most of the bill’s provisions go into effect at the beginning of the first full
program year (PY) following the law’s enactment, which is July 1, 2015. The Department of Labor (DOL),
Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has a website that includes guidance and other information about the
new law. See DOL, ETA, “Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act,” http://www.doleta.gov/wioa/.
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All of the programs offer employment, job training, and educational services. For example, local
areas must provide specific elements, including mentoring and follow-up, to youth who receive
services under the Youth Activities formula grant program. YouthBuild program participants
engage in employment and other activities primarily related to housing and other types of
construction work. Job Corps is the only one of the programs that provides residential services;
youth can live onsite and receive health care services, child care, and other supports. Further, the
programs generally serve vulnerable youth, but some have more targeted eligibility criteria.
Participants in the Youth Activities formula grant program, YouthBuild, and Job Corps must be
low-income and have specific employment barriers, though youth in Youth Activities who are not
in school do not have to be low-income under WIOA. The youth component of the Reintegration
of Ex-Offenders serves youth who have become involved in the juvenile justice or criminal
justice system or youth at risk of becoming involved.
Finally, the programs are funded somewhat differently. DOL allocates funding for Youth
Activities to states based on a formula, while Job Corps enters into agreements with nonprofit and
for-profit organizations and other federal agencies. The other programs competitively award
grants to nonprofit and other organizations and local communities. Table 1 summarizes the major
features of the programs and how they will change under WIOA.30 These changes generally go
into effect on July 1, 2015. (States will receive their first allotment under WIOA for the Youth
Activities program in April 2015.) WIOA does not explicitly authorize the Reintegration of Ex-
Offenders program; however, Congress appropriated funding for the Reintegration of Ex-
Offenders program in FY2015 (P.L. 113-235) under the authority of Section 169 of WIOA and
the Second Chance Act. Section 169 authorizes evaluations and research.

30 Another youth program, Youth Opportunity Grants program, was authorized under WIA. The program was funded
from FY1999 through FY2003, and operated until 2005. As stated in WIA, the program was intended to provide
employment, educational, and youth development activities to increase the long-term employment of youth who live in
enterprise communities, empowerment zones, and high-poverty areas and who seek assistance. By definition, enterprise
communities and empowerment zones are in low-income areas. WIOA did not reauthorize this program.
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Table 1. Features of Youth Programs Authorized Under WIA and (as of July 1, 2015) WIOA
Youth Offenders
Key
(Reintegration of Ex-
Feature
Youth Activities Program
Job Corps
YouthBuild
Offenders)
Purpose
Per WIA, to provide eligible youth
Per WIA, to maintain a national Job Per WIA, to enable disadvantaged
Per WIA’s pilot and demonstration
with assistance in achieving academic
Corps program—carried out in
youth to obtain the education and
authority, to support related
and employment success through
partnership with states and
employment skills necessary to
initiatives that seek to assist youth
activities that improve educational
communities—to assist eligible
achieve self-sufficiency; foster
offenders and youth at risk of
and skill competencies and foster
youth who need and can benefit
leadership skills; provide work and
dropping out; to reduce violence
effective connections to employers;
from an intensive program,
service opportunities; and expand
within persistently dangerous
ensure ongoing adult mentoring
operated in a group setting in
the supply of permanent affordable
schools; and provide supports for
opportunities for eligible youth;
residential and nonresidential
housing for the homeless.
youth at risk of involvement with
provide opportunities for training,
centers to become more
the justice system.
continued supportive services, and
responsible, employable, and
WIOA adds another purpose
participation in activities related to
productive citizens. The other
area—to improve the quality and
Congress appropriated funding for
leadership, citizenship, and
purpose areas focus on program
energy efficiency of community and
the Reintegration of Ex-Offenders
community service; and offer
operations.
other nonprofit and public facilities, program in FY2015 (P.L. 113-235)
incentives for recognition and
including those facilities that are
under the authority of Section 169
achievement to eligible youth.
WIOA maintains the language
used to serve homeless and low-
of WIOA and the Second Chance
about the partnership with states
income youth.
Act. Section 169 authorizes
WIOA does not specify purpose
and communities but specifies that
evaluations and research.
areas for the program, known as the
the purpose is to assist eligible
Youth Workforce Investment
youth to connect to the labor
Activities program. However, the
force by providing them with
purpose areas under WIA are
intensive social, academic, career
general y consistent with the
and technical education, and
provisions of the program under
service learning opportunities, in
WIOA.
primarily residential centers, to (1)
obtain secondary school diplomas

or recognized postsecondary
credentials leading to successful
careers, in in-demand industry
sectors or occupations or the
Armed Forces or (2) enroll in
postsecondary education, including
apprenticeship programs; and to
provide responsible citizenship.
The other purpose areas focus on
program operations.
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Youth Offenders
Key
(Reintegration of Ex-
Feature
Youth Activities Program
Job Corps
YouthBuild
Offenders)
Target
Under WIA, youth ages 14 through
Under WIA, youth ages 16 through Under WIA, youth ages 16 through Per WIA’s pilot and demonstration
Population
21 who are low-income and are one
24 who are low-income and meet
24 who are (1) members of low-
authority, youth offenders, young
or more of the following: (1)
one or more of the following
income families, in foster care,
adult offenders, and students in
deficient in basic literacy skills; (2) a
criteria: (1) basic skills deficient; (2)
offenders, disabled, the children of
high-risk schools.
school dropout; (3) homeless, a
homeless, a runaway, or a foster
incarcerated parents, or migrants;
runaway, or a foster child; (4)
child; (3) a parent; or (4) an
and (2) are school dropouts.
It appears that the program will
pregnant or parenting; (5) an
individual who requires additional
continue to serve the same
offender; or (6) require additional
education, vocational training, or
WIOA maintains the eligibility
population under WIOA.
assistance to complete an educational intensive counseling and related
criteria and adds that it includes
program or to secure and hold
assistance in order to participate in
individuals who aged out of foster
employment. At least 30% of funds
regular schoolwork or to secure
care or who were school dropouts
are to be used for out-of-school
and maintain employment.
and subsequently reenrol ed.
youth.
WIOA maintains the eligibility
Under WIOA, “in-school youth” ages criteria but makes changes to two
14 to 21 and “out-of-school youth”
of the categories. It specifies
ages 16 to 24 are eligible. “In-school
individual youth who aged out of
youth” includes those who are
foster care under the category for
attending school, low-income, and
homeless, runaway, and foster
meet the criteria specified above
youth. It also changes the last
(except that one such barrier
category to include individuals who
includes individuals who are English
require additional education,
language learners or aged out of
career and technical education or
foster care, and does not include
training, or workforce preparation
being a school dropout). “Out-of-
skills to be able to obtain and
school” youth includes those who
retain employment that leads to
meet certain criteria such as being a
economic self-sufficiency.
high school dropout or being low-
income. For purposes of eligibility,
“low-income” also means youth who
are living in a high-poverty area. No
less than 75% of funds (for statewide
funding and funding for local areas)
must be used for out-of-school
youth.
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Youth Offenders
Key
(Reintegration of Ex-
Feature
Youth Activities Program
Job Corps
YouthBuild
Offenders)
Funding
Under WIA, funds are allocated by
Under WIA and WIOA, DOL
Under WIA and WIOA, grants are
Per WIA’s pilot and demonstration
Mechanism
formula to state Workforce
enters into an agreement with a
competitively awarded to
authority, grants are competitively
Investment Boards (WIBs), based on
federal, state, or local agency; an
community-based organizations,
awarded to a variety of entities,
a formula that accounts for a state’s
area vocational education school or faith-based organizations, entities
including community-based
relative share of unemployment and
residential vocational school; or a
carrying out activities under Title I
organizations, school districts, and
economically disadvantaged youth. In
private organization to operate Job
(such as a local workforce board),
state departments of corrections.
turn, state boards reallocate, by
Corps centers.
community action agencies, state
formula, funding to local WIBs using
or local housing development
It appears that the program will
certain factors. Local WIBs
WIOA changes the reference from
agencies, an Indian tribe or other
continue to award funds under
competitively contract with local
vocational school to career and
agency primarily serving Indians,
WIOA in the same way.
entities, such as nonprofit
technical education school.
state or local youth service or
organizations and community
conservation corps, and other
colleges, to provide services.
organizations that provide
education or employment training
Under WIOA, the allocation of funds
under a federal program other than
is generally the same. WIOA changed
YouthBuild.
the language to refer to State
Workforce Development Boards and
Local Workforce Boards.
Types of
Under WIA, each local WIB must
Per WIA and WIOA, youth
Under WIA, grantees may carry
Per WIA’s pilot and demonstration
Activities for
provide 10 elements that include
generally live at the Job Corps
out a number of activities, including authority, grantees provide a
Youth
academic activities, summer
centers, which provide youth with
education and employment
variety of activities, depending on
employment opportunities,
a program of education, career and
activities, supervision in
the type of grant awarded. Such
supportive services, follow-up
technical training, work experience, rehabilitating or constructing
activities can include pre-release,
services, and other activities.
recreational activities, physical
housing and facilities; adult
mentoring, housing, case
rehabilitation and development,
mentoring; provision of wages or
management, employment services,
Under WIOA, each local board must
and counseling.
other benefits; and fol ow-up
and violence prevention strategies.
provide 14 elements that overlap or
services.
expand on those elements under

It appears that the program will
current law, and add new elements
WIOA adds that grantees may
continue to support the same types
that pertain to financial literacy,
provide training and supports in
of activities under WIOA.
entrepreneurial skills training, and
additional in-demand industries, if
preparation for the transition to
approved by the DOL Secretary.
postsecondary education and
training.
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Youth Offenders
Key
(Reintegration of Ex-
Feature
Youth Activities Program
Job Corps
YouthBuild
Offenders)
Youth Served in
102,971 youth exited the program
53,862 (July 1, 2013-June 30, 2014)a 28,836 were enrol ed (cumulative
6,758 (July 1, 2013-June 30, 2014)
the Program
(April 1, 2013-March 31, 2014)
from October 1, 2007-June 30,
2013)
Authorized
Under WIA, such sums as necessary
Under WIA, such sums as
Under WIA, such sums as
Under WIA pilot and
Funding
for FY1999-FY2003.
necessary for FY1999-FY2003.
necessary for FY2008-FY2012.b
demonstration authority, such
sums as necessary
Under WIOA, specified funding
Under WIOA, specified funding
Under WIOA, specified funding
for FY1999-FY2003.
levels that increase over FY2015-
levels that increase over FY2015-
levels that increase over FY2015-

FY2020 from $820 million to $964
FY2020 from $1.69 billion to $1.98
FY2020 from $76 million to $91
Under WIOA, funding authority
million.
billion.
million.
for Section 169 (evaluations and
research) increases over FY2015-
FY2020 from $91 million to $106.9
million.
FY2014 Funding
$820,430 $1,688,155 $77,534 $44,134

(dollars in
(FY2013 funding)
thousands)
$43,500
(FY2014 funding estimate)
Sources: Congressional Research Service (CRS), based on correspondence with DOL, ETA, March 2015; Workforce Investment Act (P.L. 105-220), as amended;
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA; P.L. 113-128); DOL ETA, “Workforce Investment Act; Final Rules,” 65 Federal Register, August 11, 2000; DOL, ETA,
Workforce System Results for the Quarter Ending March 30, 2013 and Workforce System Results for the Quarter Ending June 30, 2013, http://www.doleta.gov/performance/
results/#etaqr, and DOL, ETA, Office of Job Corps, “Student Outcomes/Who Job Corps Serves,” http://www.jobcorps.gov/AboutJobCorps/performance_planning.aspx;
DOL, ETA, “Workforce Investment Act Standardized Record Data (WIASRD) Data Book,” Table IV-1, March 6, 2015, http://www.doleta.gov/performance/results/pdf/
PY_2013_WIASRD_Data_Book.pdf; and U.S. Congress, House Committee on Rules, 113th Cong., 2nd sess., Committee Print 113-32 to the Senate Amendment to the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (H.R. 3547), which was enacted as P.L. 113-76.
Notes: Both WIA and WIOA require that funds appropriated for a program or activity carried out under Title I of the act are available for obligation only on the basis
of a program year (PY). The program year begins on July 1 in the fiscal year for which the appropriation is made and ends June 30 of the following year. Generally, the
appropriations for a given fiscal year (e.g., FY2015) are used to fund the program in the same program year (e.g., PY2015).
a. This number includes students who are enrol ed in the program during this period, graduates who separated prior to April 1, 2013, and were receiving placement
services; and former enrol ees who separated prior to April 1, 2013, and were receiving placement services.
b. The YouthBuild Transfer Act (P.L. 109-281) was enacted in 2006. It codified the authorizing statute for the YouthBuild program under WIA and transferred the
program from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the Department of Labor. The program was reauthorized under WIA from FY2008 through
FY2012. P.L. 109-281 retained the core parts of the program; however, it made several notable changes. For a detailed discussion of these changes, see U.S.
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Department of Labor, “YouthBuild Transfer Act: Synopsis and Section-by-Section Analysis” and “YouthBuild Transfer Act: Side-by-Side Comparison,”
http://www.doleta.gov/reports/youthbuild_program.cfm.
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Coordination
Under WIA, the WIA Youth program and other youth programs make up a job training and
workforce system for youth. In some communities, this may be formalized while in others,
coordination between the programs may be less structured. WIA includes provisions that
encourage or require the programs to coordinate with one another. For example, in submitting
their state workforce investment plans to DOL, states must specify how they will coordinate
Youth Activities programming with services provided by Job Corps centers in places where they
exist. In addition, local workforce investment boards must include youth councils, which are
made up of stakeholders with an interest in the employment and other needs of youth and must
include representatives from Job Corps, where applicable. Further, Youth Activities, Job Corps,
and YouthBuild are required partners at one-stop centers. One-stop centers include approximately
20 federal programs that coordinate employment and other services in a community for all youth
and adults.
WIOA strikes some of these provisions and adds new related provisions. The youth programs
authorized under the act will continue to be required partners at one-stop centers.31 Previously,
WIA did not specifically address whether state workforce boards include representatives of youth
organizations. These boards are responsible for carrying out WIA programs at the state level and
allocating funds to local workforce investment boards. Under WIOA, the state workforce board
may include representatives of organizations that have demonstrated experience and expertise in
addressing the employment, training, or education needs of eligible youth, including
representatives of organizations that serve out-of-school youth.32 Further, under the state
workforce plan (“unified state plan”), states will be required to submit a description of the state’s
strategic vision and goals for preparing an educated and skilled workforce—including preparing
youth and individuals with barriers to employment—and for meeting the skilled workforce needs
of employers, among other requirements.33 In addition, local workforce boards, which receive
funds to carry out the Youth Workforce Investment program (and the Adult and Dislocated
Investment programs) will now be required, as part of their local plans, to describe and assess the
type and availability of youth workforce investment activities in the local area, including
activities for youth who are individuals with disabilities. The plan must identify successful
models of such youth workforce investment activities.34 WIOA does not require local workforce
boards to have youth councils; however, they may choose to establish a standing committee to
provide information and assist with planning to provide services to youth.35
Funding
Funding authorization for the youth programs under WIA expired in FY2003; however, funding
was authorized through FY2012 for YouthBuild under the YouthBuild Transfer Act (P.L. 109-
281), which amended WIA. Although funding authorization expired, Congress continued to

31 Section 121(b)(1)(B).
32 Section 101(b)(1)(II) of WIOA.
33 Section 102(b)(1)(D) of WIOA.
34 Section 108(b)(9) of WIOA.
35 Section 107(b)(4)(ii) of WIOA.
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appropriate funds for most programs authorized under the law. WIOA generally provides funding
authorization from FY2015 through FY2019.
Both WIA and WIOA require that funds appropriated for a program or activity carried out under
Title I of the act are available for obligation only on the basis of a program year.36 The program
year begins on July 1 in the fiscal year for which the appropriation is made and ends June 30 of
the following year. Funds for Youth Activities may first become available for a new program year
in the preceding April under both WIA and WIOA. In addition, Congress has tended to specify
that funds appropriated for YouthBuild and the youth component of the Reintegration of Ex-
Offenders program are available for obligation beginning in the April preceding a given program
year.37 Congress has generally required that obligated funds for Job Corps are made available for
one program year, although funding for certain purposes can be obligated through later dates.
Funds obligated for any program year for a program or activity carried out under Title I of WIA
or WIOA may be expended by each state receiving such funds during that program year and the
two succeeding program years. Local areas may expend funds received from the state during the
program year and the succeeding program year.38
Funding for FY2000-FY2015
Table 2 includes the level of funds appropriated to each of the youth job training and employment
programs for FY2000 through FY2015. Appropriations for these years correspond to the same
program year, and are reported as such in the table (i.e., PY2000 through PY2015). Congress
appropriated a total of $2.42 billion to $2.81 billion annually for these programs in most years
over this period. Table A-1 in the Appendix presents Youth Activities funding allocated to the
states and outlying areas for PY2009 through PY2014 (the most recent data available), including
under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA, P.L. 111-5), the law that provided
additional funding to create and preserve jobs, among other purposes.
Job Corps has generally received the largest appropriation each year, followed by the Youth
Activities program, YouthBuild, and the youth component of the Reintegration of Ex-Offenders
(although in two years, YouthBuild received less funding than the ReXO youth component).
FY2015 Funding
After passing a continuing resolution for FY2015 (PY2015), Congress enacted the Consolidated
and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 113-235) to fund DOL through FY2015.
Funding increased from FY2014 by over $11 million for the Youth Activities program and over
$7 million for the YouthBuild program; Job Corps funding remained level. DOL has not yet
determined the amount of funding for youth ex-offenders from the FY2015 appropriation for the
Reintegration of Ex-Offenders program, which is funded at $82.1 million in FY2015. Notably,

36 Section 189(g)(1)(A) of both WIA and WIOA. Section 173(h)(2), which pertains to authorization for YouthBuild,
states that notwithstanding Section 189(g), appropriations for any fiscal year for programs and activities carried out
under this section are to be available for obligation only on the basis of a fiscal year.
37 For information about the timing of funding under the three WIA formula grant programs—Adult, Dislocated
Workers, and Youth—see Congressional Distribution Memorandum, Issues Related to Workforce Investment Act (WIA)
Funding
, by David H. Bradley. Available upon request.
38 Section 189(g)(2) of WIA and WIOA.
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Congress specified that of the amount appropriated to the program, $20 million is to be for
competitive grants to national and regional intermediaries for activities that prepare young ex-
offenders and school dropouts for employment, with a priority for projects serving high-crime,
high-poverty areas.
FY2014 Funding
FY2014 (PY2014) appropriations were not enacted prior to the beginning of the fiscal year
(October 1), resulting in a 16-day shutdown of the federal government. On October 16, 2013, the
Senate and House agreed to a bill (H.R. 2775) to provide temporary government-wide FY2014
funding through January 15, 2014 (or until full-year funding was appropriated). This bill was
signed by the President on October 17, 2013 (P.L. 113-46). A second short-term continuing
resolution (P.L. 113-73) extended appropriations through January 18, 2014. On January 17, 2014,
the President signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (P.L. 113-76) to fund
appropriations through September 30, 2014. In total, $2.6 billion was appropriated for youth job
training and employment programs.
Table 2. Appropriations for DOL Youth Job Training and Employment Programs,
PY2000-PY2015 and Under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA, P.L. 111-5)
Dollars in thousands; the fiscal year general y corresponds to the program year for each program
Youth
Offenders
(Reintegration
Total
Program
Youth
of Ex-
Funding, All
Year
Activities
Job Corps
YouthBuilda
Offenders)b
Programs
2000 $1,000,965
$1,357,776 $43,000 $13,907 $2,415,648
2001 1,127,965
1,399,148 60,000 55,000 2,642,113
2002 1,127,965
1,458,732 65,000 55,000 2,706,697
2003 994,459
1,509,094
59,610
54,643 2,617,806
2004 995,059
1,541,151
65,000
49,705 2,650,915
2005 986,288
1,551,861
62,000
69,440 2,669,589
2006 940,500
1,564,180
62,000
49,104 2,615,784
2007 940,500
1,566,178
49,500
49,104 2,605,282
2008 924,069
1,610,506
58,952
55,000 2,648,527
2009 924,069
1,683,938
70,000
88,500 2,766,507
ARRA 1,200,000 250,000 50,000
0 1,500,000
2010 924,069
1,708,205
102,500
73,493 2,808,267
2011c 825,914
1,706,171d 79,840 50,000 2,661,925
2012e 824,353
1,702,947
79,689
60,000 2,666,989
2013f 781,375
1,613,872
75,534
43,910 2,514,691
2014 820,430
1,688,155
77,534
42,500 2,628,619
2015 831,842
1,688,155
79,689
Not available
Not available
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Source: Compiled by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) from DOL budget justifications; Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) budget justifications; DOL Employment and Training Administration
budget information at http://www.doleta.gov/budget; correspondence with DOL; DOL, All Purpose Table FY2011
Full-Year Continuing Resolution
, http://www.dol.gov/dol/budget/2012/PDF/2011OperatingPlanTable.pdf; U.S.
Congress, Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 2055, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012
Division F, 112th Cong., 1st sess., December 15, 2011, H.Rept. 112-331; DOL,
FY2013 Operating Plan, http://www.dol.gov/dol/budget/2014/PDF/2013OperatingPlanTable.pdf; U.S. Congress,
House Committee on Rules, 113th Cong., 2nd sess., Committee Print 113-32 to the Senate Amendment to the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (H.R. 3547), which was enacted as P.L. 113-76; and the Consolidated and
Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (P.L. 113-235).
a. YouthBuild was transferred from HUD to DOL in 2007 pursuant to the YouthBuild Transfer Act (P.L. 109-
281).
b. Prior to FY2008, the Reintegration of Youthful Offenders program was a stand-alone program. It is now
part of the Reintegration of Ex-Offenders program, which includes funding for juvenile and adult activities.
Funding for the program is authorized under Section 171 (Demonstration and pilot projects) of WIA and
Section 112 (Responsible reintegration of offenders) of the recently enacted Second Chance Act (P.L. 110-
199). Section 112 authorizes DOL to make grants to nonprofit organizations for the purpose of providing
mentoring, job training and job placement services, and other comprehensive transitional services to assist
eligible offenders ages 18 and older in obtaining and retaining employment.
c. The Department of Defense and Ful -Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 (P.L. 112-10) includes a
0.2% across-the-board rescission.
d. Job Corps includes three accounts—administration, operations, and construction. The FY2011
appropriations law was based on funding for FY2010, and included an across-the-board rescission of 0.2%
for all programs and an additional rescission of $75.0 million. The 0.2% across-the-board rescission applied
only to current year, and not advance, appropriations. Advance appropriations are those funds enacted in
one fiscal year but not available for obligation until a subsequent fiscal year or years. Two of Job Corps’
three accounts, operations and construction, include advance funds. Therefore, the across-the-board
reduction only applied to current year funding (or $983.0 million for operations and $5.0 million for
construction). According to the Department of Labor, $75.0 million was subtracted from existing balances,
and therefore the FY2011 funding was not affected by this decrease. Congressional Research Service
correspondence with the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, May 2010.
e. FY2012 funding information was included in the conference report (H.Rept. 112-331) for the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, FY2012 (P.L. 112-74). This law was the final in a series of continuing resolutions to
provide funding for the Department of Labor and select other departments. The figures presented in this
table incorporate an across-the-board rescission of 0.189%.
f.
Funding for FY2013 was provided through a series of continuing resolutions. The final continuing resolution
was the Consolidated and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (P.L. 113-6). The FY2013 funding levels
provided were based on the operating plan provided by DOL to Congress. This funding included a 0.2%
rescission, per P.L. 113-6, and a sequestered amount of 5.0%, per the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-
25), as amended by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-240).
Job Corps Transfer Authority39
Congress appropriates funding for Job Corps under three accounts—administration; operations;
and construction, rehabilitation, and acquisition (CRA).40 The final FY2013 appropriations law

39 For further information, see CRS Report R43611, Recent Developments in the Job Corps Program: Frequently
Asked Questions
, by Adrienne L. Fernandes-Alcantara.
40 Appropriations law generally specifies that funds appropriated for the administration account are available for the
fiscal year in which they are appropriated; funds appropriated for the operations account are available for the
accompanying program year (i.e., funds appropriated in FY2013 support the program in PY2013); and funds
appropriated for the CRA account are available for the accompanying program year and the two succeeding program
years (i.e., funds appropriated in FY2013 are available through June 30, 2017).
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(P.L. 113-6) authorized DOL to transfer up to $30 million of unobligated funds—from previous
appropriations laws or P.L. 113-6, as of March 26, 2013 (the date of the law’s enactment)—to the
operations account from other Employment and Administration (ETA) accounts.41 Notably, these
funds could be used to fund operations in program year (PY) 2012 (which ended June 30, 2013)
and possibly PY2013 (which ended June 30, 2014). Ultimately, $10 million was transferred from
the ETA Training and Employment Services (TES) account to the Job Corps operations account.
The FY2013 transfer authority was in response to a shortfall in the operations account for
PY2012, which had been preceded by a shortfall for PY2011. In May 2013, the DOL Office of
Inspector General (OIG) released a performance audit report that discussed the cause of the
PY2011 shortfall and addressed whether DOL management had implemented internal controls
over Job Corps funds and expenditures during the first five months of PY2012. The report found
that the PY2011 shortfall was due to (1) untimely communication about projected costs that
exceeded appropriations for the program; (2) initial planning for costs that did not account for
increased expenditures for three new centers; (3) inaccurately accounting for costs in cost
projection models; and (4) lack of consistent monitoring of costs throughout the program year.
The OIG audit also documented concerns with internal controls to manage Job Corps funding
during the first five months of PY2012. Such concerns included deficiencies in the areas of
budget execution, data that supported spending projections, and monitoring of projected to actual
costs; and lack of policies concerning communication of financial and program risks and certain
Job Corps activities pertaining to monitoring contracts.42
The next section of the report provides further discussion about the youth programs authorized
under Title I of WIA, and, where applicable, WIOA.
Youth Activities Program43
Overview and Purpose
The Youth Activities program is one of three formula grant programs that was initially authorized
by WIA, and is now authorized under WIOA as the Youth Workforce Investment Activities
program (hereinafter Youth program when in reference to WIA or WIOA). The other two
WIA/WIOA programs target adults (Adult Activities) and dislocated workers (Dislocated Worker
Activities), although youth ages 18 or older are eligible for services provided through the Adult
Activities program. These programs provide core funding for a coordinated system of
employment and training services overseen by a state workforce investment board (WIB) and the
governor, and composed of representatives of businesses and other partners. The Youth program
is arguably the centerpiece of the federal youth job training and employment system.

41 The FY2014 appropriations law (P.L. 113-76) and FY2015 appropriations law (P.L. 113-235) authorize DOL to
transfer up to 15% of CRA funds to the operations account or administration account.
42 DOL, Office of Inspector General, Office of Audit, The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training
Administration Needs to Strengthen Controls Over Job Corps Funds,
Report No. 22-13-015-03-370, May 31, 2013,
http://www.oig.dol.gov/public/reports/oa/2013/22-13-015-03-370.pdf. (Hereinafter, U.S. DOL, Office of Inspector
General, The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration Needs to Strengthen Controls Over
Job Corps Funds
.)
43 Title I, Chapter 4 of the Workforce Investment Act and 20 C.F.R. 664.
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WIA specified several purpose areas for the Youth program: to provide assistance in achieving
academic and employment success through activities that improve educational and skill
competencies and foster effective connections to employers; to ensure ongoing adult mentoring
opportunities for eligible youth; to provide opportunities for training, continued supportive
services, and participation in activities related to leadership, citizenship, and community service;
and to offer incentives for recognition and achievement to youth.44 WIOA does not include
purpose areas for the Youth program; however, it retains many of the same elements specified
under WIA, such as providing assistance to youth in achieving academic and employment
success.
Program Structure
With assistance from the state WIB, the governor develops a plan that is submitted to DOL. The
plan is to address several items related to employment and training needs, performance
accountability, and employment and training activities. Under WIA, the plan (“state plan”) was
submitted every five years and pertained generally to the statewide workforce investment system.
It had to address items specific to youth, including a description of the factors used to distribute
Youth funds to local areas; the state’s strategy for providing comprehensive services to eligible
youth, particularly those who have significant barriers to employment; the criteria used by local
boards in awarding and assessing providers for youth services; and a description of how the state
would coordinate the Youth program with services provided by Job Corps, where applicable.
Under WIOA, the plan (“unified state plan”) is to be submitted every four years for the three
programs (Youth, Adult, and Dislocated).45 The unified state plan is to address youth primarily in
two places. It must outline the state’s strategic vision and goals for preparing an educated and
skilled workforce, include preparing youth with barriers to employment. It must also outline the
criteria to be used by local boards in awarding contracts for youth services and describing how
local boards will take into consideration the ability of providers to meet performance measures
that are based on primary indicators of performance for the Youth program (these indicators are
discussed in a subsequent section).
As specified under WIOA, a local workforce area is overseen by the local workforce board (under
WIA, this was called the local workforce investment board). Membership of the local board
includes representatives of businesses, local education entities, labor organizations, community-
based organizations, and economic development agencies, among others.46 Local boards
competitively award funds to local organizations and other entities to provide employment and
job training services to youth. The local board develops a local plan that discusses items similar
to those in the state plan, except that the plan describes the local area’s one-stop delivery system.
The local board is made up of partners that collaborate to provide coordinated employment and
training services in the community.47 Further, one-stop systems may have specialized centers to
address special needs. WIOA specifies that this may include the needs of youth. The youth
program is a required partner in the one-stop system under WIOA. The proposed WIOA
regulations issued in April 2015 specify that local boards must either collocate youth program
staff at one-stop centers and/or ensure one-stop centers and staff are equipped to advise youth in

44 Section 129(a) of WIA.
45 Section 102 and Section 103 of WIOA (and Section 112(b)(12) of WIA).
46 Section 107(b) of WIOA (Section 117(b) of WIA).
47 Section 121 of WIOA (Section 134(b) of WIA).
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order to increase youth access to services and connect youth to the program that best aligns with
their needs.48
Youth Councils
WIA required each local workforce board to establish a local youth council.49 Together, the
workforce investment board and the youth council would oversee a local program funded by the
Youth program. The purpose of the youth council was to provide expertise in youth policy and to
assist the local board in developing portions of the local plan relating to eligible youth. As
specified in the law, the councils were required to coordinate youth activities in a local area,
develop portions of the local plan related to eligible youth, recommend eligible providers of
youth activities to be competitively awarded grants or contracts, oversee the activities of the
providers, and carry out other duties specified by the local board.50
WIOA does not direct local workforce boards to have youth councils; however, local boards may
include representatives of organizations that have demonstrated experience and expertise in
addressing the employment, training, or education needs of eligible youth, including
representatives of organizations that serve out-of-school youth.51 In addition, the local board may
establish a standing committee to provide information and to assist with planning, operational,
and other issues relating to providing services to youth, including community-based organizations
with a demonstrated record of success in serving eligible youth.52 As with WIA, the local board
must ensure that parents and other stakeholders are involved in designing and implementing the
Youth program.53 The April 2015 proposed rule for WIOA discusses the potential role of a
standing youth council, including to recommend policy direction to the local board for the design
and development of programs to benefit all youth; recommend the design of a comprehensive
community workforce development system to ensure a full range of services and responsibilities
for all youth, including disconnected youth; and recommend ways to leverage resources and
coordinate services among schools, public programs, and community-based organizations serving
youth, among other possible responsibilities.54

48 DOL, ETA, “Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; Proposed Rules,” 80
Federal Register
20732, April 16, 2015 (proposed 20 CFR 681.700).
49Section 117(h) of WIA.
50 Section 129(c)(3)(C) of WIA. WIA specified that the youth council include members of the local board with special
interest or expertise in youth policy; representatives of youth service, juvenile justice, and local law enforcement
agencies; representatives of local public housing authorities; and parents of eligible youth seeking assistance through
the Adult Activities or Dislocated Worker programs, among others. Further, the local board had to ensure that parents,
participants, and other members of the community with experience relating to programs for youth were involved in the
design and implementation of the Youth program.
51 Section 107(2)(iv) of WIOA.
52 Section 107(b)(4)(A)(ii) of WIOA.
53 Section 129(c)(3)(C) of WIOA.
54 DOL, ETA, “Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; Proposed Rules,” 80
Federal Register
20732, April 16, 2015 (proposed 20 CFR 681.100).
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Allocations
Funding for the Youth program is allocated from DOL to states, including Washington, DC, and
the outlying areas.55 As with WIA, WIOA requires that not more than 0.25% is reserved for
outlying areas and not more than 1.5% is reserved for youth activities in the Native American
programs.56 The remainder of the funds are allocated to states by a formula based one-third on the
relative number of unemployed individuals residing in areas of substantial unemployment (an
average unemployment rate of at least 6.5% for the most recent 12 months), one-third on the
relative “excess” number of unemployed individuals (an unemployment rate of at least 4.5%),
and one-third on the relative number of disadvantaged youth (individuals 16 through 21 who
receive an income that, in relation to family size, does not exceed the higher of the poverty line or
70% of the lower living standard income level).57 Like WIA, WIOA specifies that states are to
receive, at minimum, the higher of 90% of their relative share of the prior year’s funding or, at
maximum, 130% of their relative share of the prior year’s funding.58 Further, WIOA specifies that
funds for the territories are allocated on a competitive basis;59 however, in practice DOL has
allocated WIA funds to the eligible territories by formula.60
Under WIA and WIOA, of the funds allocated to states for the Youth program (as well as for the
Adult and Dislocated Worker programs), not more than 15% can be reserved for statewide
activities (only 5% of reserved funds may be used for administrative activities, per WIOA).61
States must use these funds for certain specified activities, and may use the funds for other
specified activities. The two laws have an overlapping, but not identical, set of specified
activities. For example, WIOA now requires states to use the statewide funds to carry out
monitoring and oversight activities of the Youth program (and Adult and Dislocated Worker
programs), which may include a review comparing the services provided to male and female
youth.62 WIOA also allows new discretionary activities, such as supporting financial literacy.
The balance of funding that goes to states is allocated to local areas on the same basis that Youth
funds are allocated to states, to take into account the relative numbers of unemployed individuals
and low-income youth in the area compared to other local areas of the state. In addition, the law

55 The outlying areas comprise the U. S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.
WIOA specifies that the Republic of Palau may not apply for funding during any period during which DOL and the
Department of Education (ED) determine that a Compact of Free Association (COFA) is in effect and contains
provisions for training and education assistance that prohibit the assistance provided under WIOA. COFA defines the
relationship that Palau has entered into as an associated state agreement with the United States.
56 Section 127(1) of WIOA (Section 127(1) of WIA).
57 The word “relative” means the number of individuals in a state compared to the total number in all states.
58 As with WIA, WIOA provides small state minimums such that no state receives less than—the total of three-tenths
of 1% of $1 billion that is allocated to states, or two-thirds of 1% of the excess if the allocation exceeds $1 billion.
Under WIA, in years where appropriations exceed $1 billion, the minimum allotments were the higher of (1) 90% of a
state’s relative share of the previous year’s funding, (2) the amount the state received in 1998, or (3) 0.3% of the first
$1 billion plus 0.4% of the amount over $1 billion.
59 Section 127(1)(B)(ii) of WIOA (and Section 127(1)(B)(ii) of WIA).
60 See, for example, DOL, ETA, “Employment and Training Administration Program Year (PY) 2014 Workforce
Investment Act (WIA) Allotments; PY 2014 Wagner-Peyser Act Final Allotments and PY 2014 Workforce Information
Grants,” 79 Federal Register 20235-20243, April 11, 2014.
61 Section 128(a) of WIOA (Section 128(a) of WIA).
62 Section129(b) of WIOA (Section129(b) of WIA).
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includes provisions for minimum (90% of the average allocation for the preceding two years) and
maximum (130% of the average allocation for the preceding two years) funding that goes to local
areas.63 Local areas may reserve no more than 10% of funds allotted under the program for
administrative costs. WIA and WIOA specify different processes for local boards to competitively
award funds. Under WIA, the local boards competitively awarded grants or contracts to youth
providers based on the recommendations of the youth council and criteria specified in the state
plan. Under WIOA, local boards are to award grants or contracts on a competitive basis to youth
providers based on criteria in the state plan, and by taking into consideration the ability of the
providers to meet performance accountability measures that are based on primary indicators of
performance for the Youth program. Further, a local board may award funding on a sole-source
basis if the board determines there is an insufficient number of eligible providers of youth
workforce investment activities in the local area to participate on a competitive basis. Local
boards may terminate “for cause” the eligibility of these providers.64 The proposed regulation on
WIOA issued by DOL in April 2015, specifies that if a local board establishes a standing
committee, it may assign it the responsibility of selecting youth providers.65
Elements of Local Programs
Local Youth programs, carried out by local workforce boards, are responsible for providing direct
services to youth participants. The programs must be designed to include an objective assessment
of the youth’s skills, and they must develop service strategies for these youth that are linked to
employment goals.66 Under WIOA specifically, these service strategies must be directly linked to
one or more of the indicators of performance for the program and they must identify career
pathways that both include education and employment goals. Each local Youth program must also
provide specific services, or elements. Table 3 shows the 10 elements that were required under
WIA and the 14 elements required under WIOA. Some of these elements are the same. WIOA
amended some of these elements and added some new ones. The table is organized based on
whether the elements are targeted for educational achievement, linkages between educational
achievement and employment services, employment services, leadership development activities,
additional support for youth services, and other activities.67
Under both laws, local boards must provide to each youth information on the full array of
applicable or appropriate services available through the local board, other eligible providers, or
one-stop partners, and they must also refer youth to appropriate training and educational
programs, among other activities.68 Under WIOA specifically, at least 20% of the funds allocated
to the local area must be used to provide youth (whether in-school or out-of-school) with paid and
unpaid work experiences that have academic and occupational education as a component.

63 Section 128(b) of WIOA (Section 128(b) of WIA).
64 Section 107(d)(10(B) and Section 123 of WIOA. “For cause” is not defined under WIOA. (Section 117(d)(2)(B) and
Section 123 of WIA.)
65 DOL, ETA, “Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; Proposed Rules,” 80
Federal Register
20732, April 16, 2015 (proposed 20 CFR 681.400).
66 Section 129(c) of WIOA (Section 129(c) of WIA).
67 These elements are classified under these categories (for purposes of WIA) in the Workforce Investment Act
Standardized Record Data (WIASRD) Data Book.
68 Section 129(c)(3) of WIOA (Section 129(c)(3) of WIA).
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In guidance on WIA, DOL said that although local boards must make all program elements
available to youth, each individual youth does not need to participate in all elements. Further,
local programs that receive Youth funding were not required to provide all program elements if
certain services are already accessible for all eligible youth in the area; however, these other
services had to be closely coordinated with the local programs.69 WIOA states much of the same,
noting that each of the elements need not be offered by each provider of youth services. In the
April 2015 proposed rule for WIOA, DOL notes that the local program must have an agreement
in place if it partners with another organization to ensure that a program element will be offered
by that organization. In practice, this means that youth program case managers must contact and
monitor the other provider to ensure the activity is of high quality and beneficial to the youth
participant.70
Table 3. Elements of Youth Programs as Specified Under WIA and WIOA
WIA WIOA
Educational achievement

Tutoring, study skills training, and instruction leading •
Tutoring, study skills training, instruction, and
to completion of secondary school, including
evidence-based dropout prevention strategies that
dropout prevention strategies.
lead to completion of the requirements for a
secondary school diploma or its recognized
equivalent (including a recognized certificate of
attendance) or for a recognized postsecondary
credential.

Alternative secondary school services, as

Alternative secondary school services or dropout
appropriate.
recovery services, as appropriate.

Not applicable.

Activities that help youth prepare for and transition
to postsecondary education and training.
Employment services

As appropriate, paid and unpaid work experiences,

Paid and unpaid work experiences that have as a
including internships and job shadowing.
component academic and occupational education,
which may include (1) summer employment

Summer employment opportunities that are directly
opportunities and other employment opportunities
linked to academic and occupational learning.
throughout the school year; (2) pre-apprenticeship
programs;0 (3) internships and job shadowing; and
(4) on the job skills training.

Occupational skill training, as appropriate.

Occupational skills training, which may include
priority consideration for training programs that
lead to recognized postsecondary credentials that
are aligned with in-demand industry sectors or
occupations in the local area involved, if the local
board determines that the programs meet the
quality criteria for eligible youth providers.

69 DOL, ETA, TEGL No. 9-00 (“Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Section 129—Competitive and Non-competitive
Procedures for Providing Youth Activities Under Title I”), January 31, 2001, and U.S. Department of Labor,
Employment and Training Administration, Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 18-00, April 23,
2001. Local boards are advised to establish ongoing relationships with non-WIA funded activities that provide services
for WIA-eligible youth.
70 DOL, ETA, “Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; Proposed Rules,” 80
Federal Register
20732, April 16, 2015 (proposed 20 CFR 681.470).
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Not applicable.

Services that provide labor market and employment
information about in-demand industry sectors or
occupations available in the local area, such as
career awareness, career counseling, and career
exploration services.
Linkages between educational achievement and employment services

Not applicable.

Education offered concurrently within and in the
same context as workforce preparation activities
and training for a specific occupation or
occupational cluster.
Leadership development activities

Leadership development opportunities, which may

Leadership development opportunities, which may
include, but are not limited to, community service
include community service and peer-centered
and peer-centered activities encouraging
activities concerning responsibility and other
responsibility and other positive social behaviors
positive social and civic behaviors, as appropriate.
during non-school hours, as appropriate; community
and service learning projects; organizational and
teamwork training, including team leadership
training; and citizenship training, including life skills
training such as parenting, work behavior training,
and budgeting of resources, among other activities.
Additional support for youth services

Supportive services.

Same.

Adult mentoring for the period of participation and

Same.
a subsequent period, for a total of not less than 12
months.

Comprehensive guidance and counseling, which may

Same.
include drug and alcohol abuse counseling and
referral, as appropriate.
Other

Fol ow-up services for not less than 12 months after •
Fol ow-up services for not less than 12 months after
the completion of participation, as appropriate;
the completion of participation, as appropriate.
follow-up services for youth include regular contact
with a youth participant’s employer, including
assistance in addressing work-related problems that
arise; assistance in securing better jobs, career
development, and further education; work-related
peer groups; adult mentoring; and tracking the
progress of youth in employment after training.

Not applicable.

Financial literacy education.

Not applicable.

Entrepreneurial skills training.
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), based on Section 129(c)(2) of the Workforce Investment Act
(WIA; P.L. 105-220) and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA; P.L. 113-128) and Department
of Labor, WIASRD Data Book, Appendix B.
Notes: The proposed rule issued by the Department of Labor on April 16, 2015, defines the fol owing terms:
“pre apprenticeship program,” “adult mentoring,” “financial literacy education,” “comprehensive guidance and
counseling,” “leadership development opportunities,” “positive civic and social behaviors,” and “occupational
skills training.” DOL, ETA, “Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; Notice of Proposed Rulemaking;
Proposed Rules,” 80 Federal Register 20732, April 16, 2015 (proposed 20 C.F.R. 681.480 through 20 C.F.R.
681.540).
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Participants
WIA and WIOA have different eligibility requirements for youth participants. Some of these
distinctions are described in Table 4. Notably, WIA enabled local areas to serve youth up to the
age of 21, compared to age 24 for out-of-school youth under WIOA. In addition, WIOA requires
local areas (and states) to use no less than 75% of funds for serving out-of-school youth. This is
compared to no less than 30% of funds for this population under WIA. Also under WIOA, not
more than 5% of the in-school youth in a local area may be eligible because they are an offender.
Both laws address whether a state (and local area for WIOA) may adjust the share of out-of-
school youth served (down to 50% under WIOA; percentage not specified under WIA) if the state
determines it will be unable to use a certain share of funding to serve these youth. WIA required
all youth to be low-income, except that up to 5% of participants in a local area did not have to
meet the income criteria if they meet certain other criteria such as being a high school dropout.
WIOA requires in-school youth generally and two groups of out-of-school youth to be low-
income, and enables up to 5% of these youth to not meet the income criteria.71 Under WIA, youth
ages 18 through 21 could enroll in the Youth Activities formula grant program or Adult program,
or may co-enroll in both programs.72 The same is true under WIOA for youth ages 18 through
24.73
Table 4. Youth Program Eligibility Under WIA and WIOA
WIA WIOA
Age
A youth is eligible for the Youth Activities
A youth is eligible for the Youth Workforce program if he or she is
program if he or she is age 14 through 21.
age 14 through 24. Eligibility by age varies depending on whether the
youth is in school or out-of-school.
Other Criteria
The youth must be low-income and one or
“In school youth” is a youth
“Out-of-school youth” is a youth
more of the following:
attending school (as defined by
not attending any school (as
state law) who is age 14
defined by state law), age 16

deficient in basic literacy skills;
through 21 (or older age if the
through 24, and one or more of

a school dropout;
individual has a disability and is
the following:
attending school per state law);

homeless, a runaway, or a foster child;
low-income; and one or more

a school dropout;


of the following:

within the age of compulsory

pregnant or parenting;
school attendance, but has



basic skills deficienta;

an offender; or
not attended school for at

least the most recent


a homeless individual, a

an individual who requires additional
homeless child or youth, a
completed school year
assistance to complete an educational
runaway, in foster care or
calendar quarter;
program or to secure and hold
has aged out of the foster
employment.

a homeless individual, a
care system, a current or
homeless child or youth, a
Of these youth, an “out-of-school youth” is
former foster child eligible
runaway, in foster care or has

71 Section 129(a)(4) of WIOA (Section 129(c)(4) of WIA). See Appendix for the definition of “low-income” under
both laws.
72 Less than 1% of youth tend to enroll in both programs as implemented under WIA. See Social Policy Research
Associates, WIASRD Data Book, Table II-14.
73 DOL, ETA, “Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; Proposed Rules,” 80
Federal Register
20732, April 16, 2015 (proposed 20 C.F.R. 681.430).
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WIA WIOA
an eligible youth who is a school dropout or
for independent living
aged out of the foster care
an eligible youth who has received a
services or in an out-of-
system, a current or former
secondary school diploma but is basic skills
home placement;
foster child eligible for
deficient, unemployed, or underemployed.
independent living services or

pregnant or parenting;
in an out-of-home placement;

an offender;

pregnant or parenting;

an English language

an individual who is subject to
learner;
the juvenile or adult justice
system;

an individual with a
disability; or

an individual with a disability;

who requires additional

a low-income recipient of a
assistance to enter or
secondary school diploma or
complete an educational
its recognized equivalent, and
program or to secure or
who is basic skills deficient or
hold employment.
an English language learner; or

a low-income individual who

requires additional assistance
to enter or complete an
educational program or to
secure or hold employment.
Exceptions based on income
Up to 5% of participants in a local area can
As noted above, most of the eligibility categories do not specify a
participate if they are not low-income but
certain level of income.
meet one of the fol owing criteria:
Up to 5% of in-school youth can participate if they are not low-

deficient in basic literacy skills;
income. In addition, up to 5% of out-of-school youth participants can
participate if they are not low-income and qualify under one of these

a school dropout;
two categories: (1) recipients of a secondary school diploma or its

homeless or a runaway;
recognized equivalent and who are basic skills deficient, or English
language learners, or (2) individuals who require additional assistance

an offender;
to enter or complete an educational program or to secure or hold
employment.

one or more grade levels below the
grade level appropriate to the
individual’s age;

pregnant or parenting;

possesses one or more disabilities,
including learning disabilities; or

faces serious barriers to employment as
identified by the local board.
Restrictions on share of funds
No less than 30% of the Youth program
No less than 75% of the Youth program funds for statewide activities
funds for local areas must be used to provide and local activities must be used to provide youth workforce
youth activities to out-of-school youth.
investment activities for out-of-school youth.
Source: Section 101(13), Section 101(33), and Section 129(c)(4) of WIA and Section 129(a) of WIOA.
Notes: For purposes of eligibility, “low-income” means youth living in a high-poverty area or the youth receives
or is eligible to receive a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard R. Russell National School Lunch Act
(Section 3(36) of WIOA). Eligibility for an individual with a disability is based on his or her own income rather
than his or her family’s income, so long as the personal income meets the definition of low-income (Section
3(36)(A)(vi) of WIOA). The proposed rule issued by the Department of Labor in April 2015 specifies that a high-
poverty area is a Census tract, set of contiguous Census tracts, Indian reservation, tribal land, or Native Alaskan
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Vil age or county that has a poverty rate of at least 30% as set every five years in the American Community
Survey 5-Year data. DOL, ETA, “Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; Notice of Proposed Rulemaking;
Proposed Rules,” 80 Federal Register 20732, April 16, 2015 (proposed 20 C.F.R. 681.260).
a. “Basic skills deficient” means the individual (1) has English reading, writing, or computing skills at or below
the 8th grade level on a generally accepted standardized test or (2) is unable to compute or solve problems,
or read, write, or speak English at a level necessary to function on the job, in the individual’s family, or in
society (Section 3(5) of WIOA).
Performance
WIA established state and local performance measures as part of the accountability system for the
Youth program.74 (This accountability system is in effect until FY2016.) The measures, or “core
indicators,” for youth ages 14-18 were different than the indicators for youth ages 19-21, as
shown in Table 5. The measures for younger youth focused on skill attainment and educational
attainment. The older youth outcomes focused on employment. For each of the core indicators,
the states negotiate with DOL to establish a level of performance. That is, the “measures” are
identified in WIA, but the “levels” are determined by negotiation between states and DOL. The
adjustments made for each state take into account specified factors, such as how the levels
compare with the levels of performance established for other states given the differences in
economic conditions, characteristics of program participants, and the services to be provided.
Measures are reported as part of the Workforce Investment Act Standardized Record Data
(WIASRD), which also collects demographic and other information about youth, adults, and
dislocated workers who exit the program. Similarly, local workforce areas negotiate with the
governor on the local levels of performance based on the state adjusted levels of performance.
Separately, ETA implemented a “Common Measures” policy for several workforce programs and
revised the reporting requirements for WIA Title I programs.75 Specifically, ETA introduced three
youth measures, as listed in Table 5. It is important to note, however, that ETA specifically
indicated that the Common Measures were not to supersede the existing statutory performance
reporting requirements for WIA. Despite this, DOL has granted waivers to multiple states to
permit implementation of and reporting on only the Common Measures rather than on the current,
fuller array of measures in WIA for youth, adults, and dislocated workers.76 These states only
negotiate performance levels for the Common Measures.

74 Section 136 of WIA.
75 DOL, ETA, Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 18-04 (“Announcing the Soon-to-be Proposed
Revisions to Existing Performance Reporting Requirements... ”), February 28, 2005.
76 U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, “WIA Waiver Authority: Increased Flexibility
and Improved Programmatic Outcomes, Summary of WIA Waivers,” http://www.doleta.gov/waivers/.
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Table 5. Statutory and Common Measures for WIA Youth Programs

WIA Statutory Measures
Common Measures
Youth

Attainment of Basic Skills, and As

Placement in Employment and
(ages 14 through 18)
Appropriate, Work Readiness or
Education: Number of youth in
Occupational Skills: (Number of basic
employment (including the
skills goals attained + Number of
military) or enrolled in post-
work readiness skills goals attained +
secondary education and/or
Number of occupational skills goals
advanced training or
attained)/ (Number of basic skills
occupational skills training in the
goals set + Number of work
first quarter after the exit
readiness skills goals set + Number
quarter / Number of youth
of occupational skills goals set).
exiters during the exit quarter.

Attainment of Diploma or Equivalent

Attainment of a Degree or
Attainment: Number of younger youth
Certificate: Number of youth
attaining secondary school diploma
participants who attain a
or equivalent by end of 1st quarter
diploma, GED, or certificate by
after exit / Number of younger youth
the end of the third quarter
exiters during exit quarter.
after the exit quarter / Number
of youth exiters during the exit

Placement and Retention: Number of
quarter.
youth in postsecondary education,
advanced training, employment, or

Literacy or Numeracy Gains:
apprenticeships / Number of younger
Number of youth participants
youth exiters during exit quarter.
who increase one or more
educational functional levels /
Youth

Entered Unsubsidized Employment:
Number of youth participants
(ages 19 through 21)
Number of older youth employed in
who have completed a year in
1st quarter after exit quarter /
the program (i.e., one year from
Number of older youth exiters
the date of first youth program
during the exit quarter.
service) + the number of youth
participants who exit before

Employment Retention at Six Months:
completing a year in the
Number of older youth employed in
program.
3rd quarter after exit / Number of
older youth exiters during the exit
quarter.

Earnings Change in Six Months:
Earnings in 2nd and 3rd quarter after
exit minus earnings in 2nd and 3rd
quarter prior to participation /
Number of older youth exiters
during the exit quarter.

Credential/Certificate Number of older
youth employed, in postsecondary
education, or in advanced training
after 1st quarter of exit and received
credential by end of 3rd quarter /
Number of older youth exiters
during the exit quarter.
Source: Congressional Research Service, based on the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220), ETA
Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 7-99 (“Core and Customer Satisfaction Performance
Measures for the Workforce Investment System “), March 3, 2000, and ETA TEGL No. 17-05 (“WIA Title IB
Performance Measures and Related Clarifications,” Attachment D), February 17, 2006.
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WIOA creates six primary indicators of performance for the Youth program that will supersede
the existing performance measures that are outlined in WIA. These six primary indicators will
apply to all youth, regardless of age, and will go into effect in FY2016:77
• percentage of program participants who are in education or training activities, or
in unsubsidized employment, during the second quarter after exit from the
program;
• percentage of program participants who are in education or training activities, or
in unsubsidized employment, during the fourth quarter after exit from the
program;
• median earnings of program participants who are in unsubsidized employment
during the second quarter after exit from the program;
• percentage of program participants who obtain a recognized postsecondary
credential, or a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent,78 during
participation in or within one year after exit from the program;
• percentage of program participants who, during a program year, are in an
education or training program that leads to a recognized postsecondary credential
or employment and who are achieving measurable skill gains toward such a
credential or employment; and
• indicators of effectiveness in serving employers.79
As with WIA, states will be required to reach an agreement with DOL, in conjunction with the
Department of Education (ED), about the levels of performance for each state. These levels of
performance are to be based on specified factors, including how the levels compare with other
states’ adjusted levels of performance. Further, states are to ensure the levels are adjusted using an
objective statistical model established by DOL.80
The following sections of the report discuss, in less detail, additional programs for youth that are
authorized under WIA.

77 Section 116(A) of WIOA.
78 Program participants who obtain a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent are to be included in the
percentage counted if, in addition to obtaining such diploma or its recognized equivalent, they have obtained or
retained employment or are in an education or training program leading to a recognized postsecondary credential within
one year after exit from the program.
79 The law specifies that DOL and the Department of Education are to jointly develop and establish one or more
indicators of performance that indicate the effectiveness of the Youth program (and Adult and Dislocated Worker
programs) in serving employers.
80 Section 116(b(3)(v) of WIOA.
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Job Corps81
Overview and Purpose
The Job Corps program is carried out by the Office of Job Corps within the Employment and
Training Administration, and consists of residential centers throughout the country. The purpose
of the program is to provide disadvantaged youth with the skills needed to obtain secondary
school diplomas or recognized postsecondary credentials leading to successful careers in in-
demand industry sectors or occupations or the Armed Forces, that will result in economic self-
sufficiency and opportunity for advancement; or enrollment in postsecondary education,
including apprenticeship programs.82
Program Structure
Currently, 125 Job Corps centers operate throughout the country.83 Of these 125 centers, 28 are
known as Civilian Conservation Corps Centers, which are operated by the U.S. Forest Service, an
agency within the Department of Agriculture, through an interagency agreement with DOL.84
Programs at these sites focus on conserving, developing, or managing public natural resources or
public recreational areas. Most Job Corps centers are located on property that is owned or leased
long-term by the federal government.
As specified under WIOA (and WIA), Job Corps centers may be operated by a federal, state, or
local agency; an area career and technical education school, or residential vocational school; or a
private organization. Authorization and funding for new Job Corps centers are contained in
appropriations law. DOL initiates a competitive process seeking applicants that are selected based
on their ability to coordinate activities in the workforce system for youth, their ability to offer
vocational training opportunities that reflect local employment opportunities, and past
performance. Additionally, under WIOA, an entity applying to operate a center must submit to
DOL certain information, such as a description of the entity’s strong fiscal controls in place. WIA
did not specify the length of time DOL and the center operator may enter into an agreement;
however, in practice the contract period is two years, with three one-year-option renewals. WIOA
specifies the contract may be for up to a two-year period with up to three one-year renewal
periods.85

81 Title I, Subtitle J of the Workforce Investment Act and 20 C.F.R. 670.
82 Section 141 of WIA and WIOA. These are the purposes under WIOA. The purposes specified under WIA are
similar.
83 For the most recent list of centers, see the U.S. Department of Labor, Budget Justifications of Appropriation
Estimates for Committee on Appropriations
, http://www.dol.gov/dol/budget/. The FY2016 budget justification specifies
that DOL is in the process of closing the Treasure Lake center and opening centers in New Hampshire and Wyoming.
84 Under WIA, the DOL Secretary may select an entity to operate a CCC on a competitive basis if the center fails to
meet national performance standards (as with DOL-operated centers). WIOA specifies that DOL must select another
entity to operate a CCC if it fails to meet the expected levels of performance relating to the primary indicators of
performance or fails to improve performance after three program years. WIOA also adds that enrollees in CCCs may
provide assistance in addressing disasters, consistent with current child labor laws.
85 Section 147(a) of WIOA (Section 147(a) of WIA).
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WIA did not include provisions for high-performing centers; however, WIOA designates centers
as high-performing based on their ranking and performance under the primary indicators of
performance for eligible youth (see following discussion on indicators). It also enables the
operator of a high-performing center to compete in any competitive selection process carried out
for an award to operate such center. (The FY2015 appropriation law, P.L. 113-235, also specifies
that entities operating the top 5% of Job Corps centers for PY2013 are eligible to compete in any
such process from October 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015.)
WIOA further provides that DOL may not renew the agreement with an operator if the center is
ranked in the lowest 10% of centers, and fails to achieve an average of 50% or higher in the
expected levels of performance under each of the primary indicators of performance for eligible
youth in the program.86 The law allows DOL to renew an agreement with these centers under
certain circumstances (i.e., performance is due to circumstances beyond the operator’s control,
etc.), and specifies standards that all centers must meet for agreements to be renewed (i.e.,
satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics, etc.).
Job Corps campuses include dormitories, classrooms, workshops for various trades, wellness (or
health) centers, a cafeteria, a career services building, and administrative buildings. WIA
prohibited an individual from being denied a position in the Job Corps program solely on the
basis of his or her contact with the criminal justice system. Under WIOA, an individual can be
denied a position if he or she has been convicted of a felony consisting of murder (as described in
Title 18 of the U.S. Code), child abuse, or a crime involving rape or sexual assault.87 Each Job
Corps center must develop standards for student conduct and implement a zero tolerance policy
for violence and drug and alcohol use. Students are dismissed from the program if they violate
this policy. Centers also follow detailed guidelines about all aspects of the program as they are
outlined in the program’s policy guidance known as the Policy and Requirements Handbook.88
Services
While at a Job Corps center, students receive the following services:
• education program, including English language acquisition programs;
• career and technical education, work experience, and work-based learning; and
• recreational activities, physical rehabilitation and development, driver’s
education, and counseling, which may include information about financial
literacy.
Youth also receive personal allowances and transition allowances as they are leaving the program.
WIOA specifies that these transition allowances are now to be incentive-based to reflect the
graduate’s completion of academic, career and technical education or training, and attainment of
recognized postsecondary credentials.89 It also strikes the provision in WIA pertaining to
allowances for former enrollees.

86 Section 147(g) of WIOA.
87 Section 145(b) of WIOA Section (145(b) of WIA).
88 DOL, ETA, Office of Job Corps, Policy and Requirements Handbook, http://www.jobcorps.gov/Libraries/pdf/
prh.sflb. (Hereinafter, DOL, ETA, Office of Job Corps, Policy and Requirements Handbook.)
89 Section 150 of WIOA (Section 150 of WIA).
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Students tend to experience the program in four stages.90 In the first phase, students learn about
the program and center through orientation sessions and other outreach efforts conducted by the
center and its contractor for outreach and admissions. Students who decide they want to pursue
the program and are selected participate in the second phase, which emphasizes career
preparation, in the first few weeks of the program. Students learn about life at the center and
focus on personal responsibility, social skills, and career explanation. Students also receive
assessments of their abilities in math and reading, and they work with staff to develop and
commit to what is known as a Personal Career Development Plan (PCDP). This plan includes the
students’ personal, academic, and career goals, which are evaluated as they progress through the
program.
The third phase focuses on career development and is the stage at which most youth spend the
majority of their time in the program. During this period, students learn and demonstrate career
technical, academic, and employability skills. Training focuses on academic subject matters and
how they are applied to specific trades or occupations. Students who did not graduate from high
school can pursue a high school diploma or GED. Most Job Corps centers have developed a high
school diploma program for their students through partnerships with public, private, and/or
charter schools. Students who have already graduated focus on developing their technical skills at
the center and on work sites under the direction of Job Corps’ employer partners. Job Corps
centers offer several technical training clusters, such as construction, health care, business and
finance, hospitality, and advanced manufacturing.91 During this period, students also begin to
look for a job and learn how to identify and access the support services that are needed to live
independently.
Finally, in the fourth phase, students participate in a period of career transition, in which they
receive placement services that focus on placing them in full-time jobs that are related to their
vocational training and pay wages that allow them to be self-sufficient, or placing them in higher
education or advanced training programs, including apprenticeship programs. For one year after
exiting the program, Job Corps must provide graduates with services that include transition
support and workplace counseling. Some graduates may go on to participate in advanced training.
These students continue to remain in the program for another year while obtaining additional
training and education, such as an Associate’s Degree.
Job Corps centers provide services both on-site and off-site, and contract some of these services.
Centers rely on outreach and admissions contractors to recruit students to the program. These
contractors may include a one-stop center, community action organizations, private for-profit and
nonprofit businesses, labor organizations, or other entities that have contact with youth.
Contractors seek out potential applicants, conduct interviews with applicants to identify their
needs and eligibility status, and identify youth who are interested and likely Job Corps
participants. Similarly, centers rely on placement agencies—organizations that enter into a
contract or other agreement with Job Corps—to provide placement services for graduates and, to
the extent possible, former students. Services such as vocational training are sometimes provided
by outside organizations.

90 DOL, ETA, Office of Job Corps, Policy and Requirements Handbook.
91 DOL, ETA, Office of Job Corps, Job Corps Annual Report: Program Year 2008, July 1, 2008—June 30, 2009, p. 29,
http://www.jobcorps.gov/Libraries/pdf/py06report.sflb.
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In addition, each Job Corps center director must establish relationships with employers,
applicable one-stop centers and local boards, and other stakeholders.92 Each center must also
establish a Workforce Council, made up of employers who must have substantial management
and other responsibilities and represent businesses with employment opportunities for youth in
the program; representatives of labor organizations, where present, and employees; and Job Corps
students and graduates. A majority of the members must be employers. The council must work
with local workforce boards and review local market information to provide recommendations to
the center director about the center’s education and training offerings, including emerging
occupations that would suitable for training. WIOA also requires the council to determine in-
demand industries in the state for graduates to seek employment.93
Finally, each center must establish a Community Relations Council to serve as a liaison between
the center and the surrounding communities.94 The councils are to be comprised of representatives
of business, civic, and educational organizations; elected officials; representatives from law
enforcement agencies; other service providers; students; and staff. Centers must provide
opportunities for students and staff to participate in community service activities on a regular
basis.
Allocations
DOL enters into contracts with nonprofit and for-profit organizations and the Department of
Agriculture to operate the centers. Contracts are competitively awarded to organizations based on
ranked scores, in conjunction with other factors. The contract period is two years, with three one-
year-option renewals.
Participants
Job Corps participants must be ages 16 through 24,95 low-income, and be one or more of the
following: (1) basic skills deficient; (2) a school dropout; (3) homeless, a runaway, or a foster
child (including an individual who was in foster care and has aged out of foster care, per WIOA);
(4) a parent; or (5) in need of additional education, vocational training, or intensive counseling
and related assistance in order to participate in regular schoolwork or to secure and maintain
employment. Pursuant to WIOA, a veteran is eligible if he or she meets the eligibility criteria,
except that the income requirement would not apply if income earned from the military within the
six-month period prior to applying for the program would exceed the income limit.96
Job Corps centers take additional factors into consideration when selecting participants, such as
whether the program can best meet their educational and vocational needs and whether the youth
can engage successfully in group situations and settings. The applicant must also pass a
background check that demonstrates he or she is not on probation or parole, or subject to similar

92 Section 154 of WIOA (Section 154 of WIA). WIA specified that a business and community liaison designated by the
director is responsible for these activities.
93 Section 154 of WIOA (Section 154 of WIA). WIA referred to this body as the Industry Advisory Council.
94 Ibid.
95 No more than 20% of participants may be ages 22 through 24 on the date of enrollment. The age limit may be waived
by DOL, in accordance with DOL regulations, for individuals with a disability.
96 Section 145 of WIOA (Section 145 of WIA).
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findings. WIA specified that when selected for the program, students are usually placed at the site
closest to their home; however, DOL could waive this requirement if the enrollee meets certain
other criteria. WIOA changes this requirement such that the enrollee is to be assigned to the
center that offers the type of career and technical education and training that he or she selects
(unless the parent or the guardian of an enrollee under 18 objects). Among the centers that offer
such education and training, the enrollee is to be assigned to the one closest to his or her home.97
No more than 20% of participants may live off the grounds of the Job Corps center. Priority in
non-residential placements is to be given to participants who are single parents.98
WIA specified that no individual may be enrolled in Job Corps for more than two years, except in
certain cases. WIOA makes additional exceptions for enrolling for more than two years: (1) an
individual with a disability who would reasonably be expected to graduate, if allowed to
participate for up to an additional year; and (2) in the case of an individual who participates in
national service (as authorized by the Civilian Conservation Center program) who may extend
enrollment to equal the period of service.99
Performance
WIA requires DOL to establish multiple performance metrics for Job Corps. (These are generally
in effect through PY2016.) Specifically, DOL had establish indicators of performance for centers
and the program that are consistent year to year, and that include certain specified measures
relating to graduation, unsubsidized employment, average wage, postsecondary education or
advance training programs. WIA also directed the Secretary to establish indicators of performance
for local and national Job Corps recruitment service providers (known as Outreach and
Admissions, or OA, staff) that relate to the number of enrollees retained in the program for 30
days and for 60 days after they are placed. The law did not specify performance indicators for
career transition services (CTS) providers who assist youth as they transition from the center to
the workplace. It additionally directed DOL to collect and submit as part of an annual report to
Congress information on the expected and actual performance of each center, the program, and
recruiters. The report must also include information on several items, such as number of enrollees
serviced, number of enrollees and graduates who enter postsecondary education, and average
learning gains.100
DOL reports on performance through four report cards that include information about various
aspects of the program’s performance: Outreach and Admissions (OA) Report Card, which
pertains to the recruiters; Center Report Card, which pertains to each individual center and all
centers combined; Career Technical Training Reporting and Improvement System, which pertains
to the students completing career technical training programs at centers; and Career Transitions
Services (CTS) Report Card, which pertains to CTS providers.101 The report cards include the
measurements specified in statute, as well as additional performance metrics. These additional
measures were developed from DOL policy and the Government Performance and Results Act
(GPRA), which established requirements in statute for most agencies to set performance goals,

97 Section 145(d) of WIOA (Section 145(d) of WIA).
98 Section 147(b) of WIOA (Section 147(b) of WIA).
99 Section 146 of WIOA (Section 146 of WIA).
100 Section 159(c) and Section 159(d) of WIA.
101 For further information, see DOL, ETA, Office of Job Corps, “Performance Management System Overview Guide.”
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measure performance, and report the information to Congress for potential use.102 The program
also collects information to assess performance through the Common Measures. As explained
previously, DOL introduced the Common Measures for WIA Title I programs in 2005. The
Common Measures for Youth are placement in employment and education, attainment of a degree
or certificate, and literacy and numeracy gains. Together, these various measures are used by the
Office of Job Corps to evaluate student performance and how well students are served at each of
the centers.
Beginning with PY2016 (July 1, 2016), WIOA directs DOL to establish expected levels of
performance for the program and individual centers that relate to each of the six primary
indicators of performance for the Youth Workforce Activities program. Specifically, these
indicators pertain to (1) entry into education, training, or unsubsidized employment (during both
the (a) second quarter and (b) fourth quarter after exiting the program); (2) median earnings; (3)
obtaining a recognized postsecondary credential or secondary school diploma or its equivalent;
(4) participation in an education or training program that leads to a credential or employment; and
(5) program effectiveness in serving employers. WIOA further specifies performance measures
for the OA staff and CTS providers. The OA performance measures pertain to recruitment,
including whether the youth are from the state or region where their center is located, and the cost
per graduate. The CTS performance measures include the performance measures for the Youth
Workforce Investment Activities program, among others. WIOA further requires DOL to report to
Congress certain specified information about enrollees and graduates. The report must include
some of the same information under current law, as well as information on the performance of
each center, program, and recruiter based on their specified performance measures. It adds other
items to the report such as demographic information on enrollees; the number of graduates who
entered apprenticeships; the total cost per enrollee and graduate; information about the state of
Job Corps buildings and facilities; and national and community service activities of enrollees,
particularly those at CCCs.
Performance Oversight
WIA specified that a Job Corps center failing to meet expected performance levels (as specified
in the law) can be placed under a performance improvement plan (PIP). PIPs are documented
plans that outline deficiencies in program performance, corrective actions, and targets for
improvement. Under WIA, the plan had to encompass certain actions taken by DOL, including
providing technical assistance to the centers; changing the vocational training offered at the
center; changing the management staff of the center; replacing the operator of the center;
reducing the capacity of the center; relocating the center; or closing the center. WIA also enabled
DOL to establish a PIP when a Job Corps center failed to meet additional criteria established by
the Secretary. These discretionary PIPs had to include the actions described above. WIOA adds
that a PIP established when a center fails to meet expected performance levels must require the
specified actions (i.e., providing technical assistance to the centers, etc.) to be undertaken within a
one-year period.103
Prior to the closure of any Job Corps center, DOL must ensure (1) that the proposed decision to
close the center is announced in advance to the general public through publication in the Federal

102 DOL, ETA, Office of Job Corps, “Performance Management System Overview Guide.”
103 Section 159(f) of WIA and WIOA.
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Register or other appropriate means; (2) that a reasonable comment period, not to exceed 30 days,
is established for interested individuals to submit written comments to the Secretary; and (3) that
the Member of Congress who represents the district in which a center is located is notified within
a reasonable period of time in advance of any final decision to close the center. WIOA required
by December 1, 2014, that DOL submit to Congress written criteria to determine when a center is
to be closed and how to carry out such closure.104 Finally, WIOA directs DOL to provide for a
third-party evaluation of the program every five years, and to submit the results to Congress. The
evaluation must address the general effectiveness of the program in relation to its costs; the
effectiveness of the performance measures for the program; the effectiveness of the structure and
mechanisms for delivering services; the impact of the program on the community, businesses, and
participants involved; the extent to which the program and activities meet the needs of various
demographic groups, and other such factors that may be appropriate.105
Financial Oversight
WIA does not require reporting on financial oversight measures specifically for Job Corps;
however, WIOA requires DOL to prepare and submit reports to Congress that include information
about implementing financial oversight measures suggested in the 2013 DOL IG report about
oversight of Job Corps funding,106 a description of any budgetary shortfalls in the period covered
by the report, and an explanation for approving contract expenditures that are in excess of the
amount specified under a contract. The reports are to be provided every six months for an initial
three-year period, then annually for another two years. WIOA further requires DOL to submit an
additional report to Congress if the program has a budget shortfall, including an explanation of
how the shortfall will be addressed. The report must be submitted within 90 days after the
shortfall is identified.107
YouthBuild108
Overview and Purpose
In 2007, YouthBuild was transferred from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to
DOL under the YouthBuild Transfer Act (P.L. 109-281). The program was authorized under WIA,
and the WIOA provisions for the program are effective as of July 1, 2015. As stated in the law,
the purpose of YouthBuild is to (1) enable disadvantaged youth to obtain the education and
employment skills necessary to achieve economic self-sufficiency in occupations in demand and
post-secondary education and training opportunities; (2) provide disadvantaged youth with
opportunities for meaningful work and service to communities; (3) foster the development of
employment and leadership skills and commitment to community development among youth in
low-income communities; and (4) expand the supply of permanent affordable housing for

104 Section 159(j) and Section 161(c) of WIOA (Section 159(g) of WIA).
105 Section 161(b) of WIOA.
106 DOL, Office of Inspector General, The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration Needs
to Strengthen Controls Over Job Corps Funds
.
107 Section 161(a) of WIOA.
108 Title I, Subtitle D, Section 173A of the Workforce Investment Act.
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homeless individuals and low-income families by utilizing the energy of disadvantaged youth.
WIOA adds an additional purpose area: (5) to improve the quality and energy efficiency of
community and other nonprofit and public facilities, including those facilities that are used to
serve homeless and low-income families.109 WIOA makes few other changes to YouthBuild.
Program Structure
DOL competitively awards YouthBuild funds to organizations, which carry out the program in
cooperation with subgrantees or contractors or through arrangements made with local education
agencies and certain other entities. Entities that are eligible to apply for funding include a public
or private nonprofit agency or organization, including a consortium of such agencies or
organizations. Specifically, such entities may include community-based or faith-based
organizations; entities that carry out activities authorized under certain other parts of WIA (and
WIOA), such as a local workforce board; community action agencies; state or local housing
development agencies; an Indian tribe or agencies primarily serving Indians; state or local youth
service or conservation corps; or any other entity eligible to provide education or employment
training under a federal program.110
While in the program, youth participate in a range of education and workforce investment
activities, as listed in Table 6. These activities include instruction, skill building, alternative
education, mentoring, and training in rehabilitation or construction of housing. Notably, any
housing unit that is rehabilitated or reconstructed may be available only for rental by, or sale to,
homeless individuals or low-income families; or for use as transitional or permanent housing to
assist homeless individuals achieve independent living. All educational programs, including
programs that award academic credit, and activities supported with YouthBuild funds must be
consistent with applicable state and local educational standards.
As specified in both WIA and WIOA, at least 40% of the time, youth must participate in certain
work and skill development activities (these activities are denoted by footnote “a” in Table 6). At
least an additional 50% of the time, participants must be engaged in education and related
services and activities designed to meet their educational needs (these activities are denoted by
footnote “b” in Table 6). WIOA made a change to some of these activities to enable them to
include, if approved by the DOL Secretary, training and supports in additional in-demand industry
sectors or occupations. This is consistent with a 2012 regulation for the program that enables
grantees to expand their occupational skills training beyond construction skills training; however,
all programs must still provide training in the construction trades.111



109 Section 171(a) of WIOA (Section 173A(a) of WIA).
110 Section 173(b) of WIOA (Section 173A(b) of WIA).
111 U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, “YouthBuild Program Final Rule,” 77
Federal Register
9112, February 15, 2012.
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Table 6. Eligible Activities Funded by YouthBuild as Specified Under WIOA
Education and Workforce Investment Activities

Work experience and skills training, coordinated, to the maximum extent feasible, with pre-apprenticeship and
registered apprenticeship programs (in the rehabilitation and construction activities described under
“Supervision and Training,” below) and if approved by the Secretary, in additional in-demand industry sectors or
occupations in the region in which the program operates.a

Occupational skills training.a

Other paid and unpaid work experiences, including internships and job shadowing.a

Services and activities designed to meet the educational needs of participants, including—(1) basic skills
instruction and remedial education, (2) language instruction educational programs for participants who are
English language learners, (3) secondary education services and activities designed to lead to the attainment of a
high school diploma or its equivalent; (4) counseling and assistance in obtaining postsecondary education and
required financial aid, and (5) alternative secondary school services.b

Counseling services and related activities, such as comprehensive guidance and counseling on drug and alcohol
abuse and referral.b

Activities designed to develop employment and leadership skills, including community service and peer-centered
activities encouraging responsibility and other positive social behaviors, and activities related to youth policy
committees that participate in decision-making related to the program.b

Supportive services and provision of need-based stipends to enable individuals to participate in the program, and
supportive services to assist individuals, for a period not to exceed 12 months after the completion of training, in
obtaining or retaining employment, or applying for and transitioning to postsecondary education.b

Job search assistance.a
Supervision and Training

Supervision and training for participants in the rehabilitation or construction of housing, including residential
housing for homeless individuals or low-income families, or transitional housing for homeless individuals. If
approved by the Secretary, this may also include supervision and training in additional in-demand industry sectors
or occupations in the region in which the program operates.

Supervision and training for participants in the rehabilitation or construction of community and other public
facilities, except that not more than 15% of funds appropriated may be used for such supervision and training. If
approved by the Secretary, this may also include supervision and training in additional in-demand industry sectors
or occupations in the region in which the program operates.
Other

Payment of administrative costs of the applicant, except that not more than 10% of the amount of assistance
provided to the grant recipient may be used for such costs.

Adult mentoring.

Provision of wages, stipends, or benefits to participants in the program.

Ongoing training and technical assistance that are related to developing and carrying out the program.

Follow-up services.
Source: Section 173A of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA; P.L. 113-128).
Notes: WIOA made a change to some of these activities to enable them to include, if approved by the
Secretary, training and supports in additional in-demand industry sectors or occupations. In addition, WIOA
changed the percentage of funds used for supervising and training participants in the rehabilitation or
construction of community and other public facilities from 10% to 15%. The law also changed the percentage of
funds used for payment of administrative costs of the applicant, from 15% to 10%.
a. This activity counts toward the requirement that at least 40% of the time, youth must participate in certain
work and skill development activities.
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b. This activity counts toward the requirement that at least 50% of the time, youth must participate in
education and related services and activities.
Participants
Youth are eligible for the program if they are (1) ages 16 through 24; (2) a member of a low-
income family, a youth in foster care, a youth offender, an individual with a disability, a child of
incarcerated parents, or a migrant youth; and (3) a school dropout. However, up to 25% of youth
in the program are not required to meet the income or dropout criteria, so long as they are basic
skills deficient despite having earned a high school diploma, GED, or the equivalent; or have
been referred by a high school for the purpose of obtaining a high school diploma.
Allocations
Grants are competitively awarded to organizations based on ranked scores, in conjunction with
other factors, such as the applicant’s potential for developing a successful YouthBuild program;
the need for the program in the community; the applicant’s commitment to providing skills
training, leadership development, and education to participants; regional distribution of grantees;
and the applicant’s coordination of activities to be carried out with certain other stakeholders,
including employers, one-stop partners, and national service and other systems; among other
criteria.
DOL makes awards for three years (two years of program operations with a one-year period of
follow-up). Applicants must provide cash or in-kind resources equivalent to at least 25% of the
grant award amount as matching funds. Prior investments and federal resources do not count
toward the match.
Performance
WIA requires grantees to use common indicators of performance for youth and lifelong learning,
as identified by the Secretary. Accordingly, DOL directs YouthBuild grantees to report the
Common Measures and two additional performance measures for all youth in the program. The
two other measures are retention in employment or education and recidivism. Retention in
employment and education tracks the share of young people who are employed or in an
educational placement for each of the three quarters after exiting. The recidivism measure tracks
the share of youth arrested and convicted of a new crime or parole violation within one year of
enrollment.112
As of July 1, 2016, WIOA will require grantees to meet the primary indicators of performance for
eligible youth described in the Youth Workforce Activities program. Specifically, these indicators
pertain to entry into education, training, or unsubsidized employment (both two and four quarters
after exiting the program); median earnings; obtaining a recognized postsecondary credential or

112 U.S. DOL., ETA, “ETA Quarterly Workforce System Results, YouthBuild,” http://www.doleta.gov/performance/
results/#etaqr.
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secondary school diploma or its equivalent; participation in an education or training program that
leads to a credential or employment; and program effectiveness in serving employers.113
Reintegration of Ex-Offenders114
Overview and Purpose
Section 171 of WIA authorizes DOL to conduct pilot and demonstration programs. The purpose
of these programs is to develop and evaluate innovative approaches to providing employment and
training services. In recent years, two programs have been specified in appropriations language
and funded under the authority of Section 171. One of the programs—Reintegration of Ex-
Offenders—is targeted, in part, to youth. The youth component is comprised of related initiatives
that seek to assist youth offenders and youth at risk of dropping out (or who have dropped out)
with pre-release, mentoring, housing, case management, and employment services; to reduce
violence within persistently dangerous schools through a combination of mentoring, educational,
employment, case management, and violence prevention strategies; and to provide alternative
education and related services for youth at risk of involvement with the justice system.115
Grants for youth offenders have been funded under WIA since FY2000.116 The program was a
stand-alone program until FY2008, when it was made a part of the Reintegration of Ex-Offenders
program, which also supports the Prisoner Reentry Initiative (PRI) for adults. Funding for the
program was authorized under both WIA and Section 112 (Responsible Reintegration of
Offenders) of the Second Chance Act (P.L. 110-199), enacted on April 9, 2008. The Second
Chance Act authorizes DOL to make grants to nonprofit organizations for the purpose of
providing mentoring, job training and job placement services, and other comprehensive
transitional services to assist eligible offenders ages 18 and older in obtaining and retaining
employment.
Congress appropriated funding for the Reintegration of Ex-Offenders program in FY2015 (P.L.
113-235) under the authority of Section 169 of WIOA and the Second Chance Act. Section 169
authorizes evaluations and research.
Program Structure
The earliest initiatives for youth offenders, from FY1999 through FY2004, operated under what
is known as the Youth Offender Demonstration Project (YODP).117 The pilot funded 52 grantees

113 Section 171(c) of WIOA (and Section 173(c) of WIA).
114 Title I, Subtitle D, Section 171 of the Workforce Investment Act.
115 This is based on a review of initiatives funded by the Reintegration of Ex-Offenders program. DOL, ETA, Youth
Services Discretionary Grants
, http://www.doleta.gov/Youth_services/Discretionary.cfm.
116 This program was known as the Youth Offender Pilot Program, and funded 14 communities that provided
educational, employment, re-entry, and other services to youth.
117 The earliest funding for the program was authorized under Title IV of the Job Training Partnership Act. See U.S.
Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Notice Inviting Proposals for Youth Offender
Demonstration Projects
, August 28, 1998, http://www.doleta.gov/grants/sga/01-101sga.cfm.
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to assist youth at risk of court or gang involvement, youth offenders, and gang members ages 14
to 24 in finding long-term employment.
The more contemporary grant programs for youth offenders have funded multiple projects in
recent years that have a focus similar to the earlier projects under YODP. Recent projects have
included (1) education-related grants for the School District Youth Offender Initiative and
Persistently Dangerous Schools Initiative; (2) apprenticeship and related grants under grants
collectively called Categorical Grants (Youth Offender Registered Apprenticeship, Alternative
Education, and Project Expansion Grants); (3) grants that focus on reentry, including Beneficiary-
Choice Demonstration, High Growth Youth Offender Initiative, Planning, State/Local
Implementation, and Replication Grants; and (4) grants that focus on community service,
including Civic Justice Grants and Serving Young Adult Ex-Offenders through Training and
Service Learning. Grantees include local and state governments, nonprofit organizations,
including faith-based organizations; school districts; and community colleges.118
Each of these projects has been funded in at least one year since PY2006.119 The projects are
grouped below based on their focus. While the projects each have a distinct purpose, their overall
aim is to provide employment and other assistance to youth who are involved in the justice
system, or are at risk of becoming involved.
Education
The School District Youth Offender Initiative, also known as the School District Gang Reduction
grants, was funded with FY2006 appropriations and focused on developing strategies for
reducing youth involvement in gangs using a workforce development approach. The initiative
was aimed at helping five public school districts—Baltimore; Chicago; Milwaukee; Orange
County, FL; and Philadelphia—reduce the involvement of youth in gangs and violent crimes.
Grant funds could be used for a range of education and employment interventions for youth who
are involved, have been involved, or have a high risk of being involved in gangs or the juvenile
justice system. Youth were eligible if they were in school and in grades 8-12, or were high school
dropouts under the age of 21. School districts were required to partner with the local juvenile
justice system, the mayor’s office, the local WIB, the police department, and the U.S. Attorney’s
office in carrying out the program.
The Persistently Dangerous Schools Initiative used FY2007 and FY2008 appropriations to
provide funding to three school districts—Berkshire Union Free School District in Canaan, NY;
Baltimore; and Philadelphia—to improve outcomes of students in nine high schools that have
been identified as persistently dangerous by the states’ department of education, pursuant to the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The grants funded a combination of new initiatives at
each school, including reduced class size in core 9th and 11th grade English and math, which have
a history of high rates of failure; a mentoring program using adult and peer mentors; career

118 For a list of grantees and grant funding amounts, see DOL, ETA, Youth Services Discretionary Grants,
http://www.doleta.gov/grants/.
119 Between PY2000 and PY2006, DOL used Youthful Offender funding to support the Serious and Violent Reentry
Initiative at the Department of Justice; to award competitive grants to serve youthful offenders in 29 communities; to
award non-competitive grants to several nonprofit organizations to serve young offenders and youth at risk of
becoming offenders; and to award grants to eight states to improve the academic and workforce preparation programs
in one juvenile correctional facility in each state.
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academies with particular themes; and a summer bridge program with remediation in English and
math.
Apprenticeships, Alternative Education, and Expansion Grants
The Categorical Grants project funded programs with FY2006 appropriations that provided
apprenticeship opportunities and alternative education to youth who had been adjudicated (i.e.,
cases have been judicially determined) or were at risk of involvement in the justice system. The
grantees with programs on apprenticeship opportunities were intended to prepare young adult
offenders for in-demand careers in fields such as construction, welding, masonry, and advanced
manufacturing. Programs with an alternative education focus were focused on creating or
enhancing schools to help young offenders earn diplomas and continue on to postsecondary
education or jobs. Some grantees received funding to expand their programs to additional sites
because of their records of successfully providing assistance to juvenile offenders. Grantees
included state departments of corrections, school boards, and nonprofit organizations.
Reentry120
Multiple grant programs have focused on assisting young adults as they transition from the
juvenile justice system. Two of the grants are currently funded while others received funding in
the recent past.
Face Forward-Serving Juvenile Offenders grants (funded with FY2012 and FY2013
appropriations) seek to help improve long-term labor market outcomes for juvenile justice
involved youth. The grants are supporting community-based organizations to provide juvenile
offenders with support services, training, and skills development. Eligible youth are ages 16 to 24
and meet certain criteria related to their involvement in the juvenile justice system. Another grant,
Strategies Targeted to Characteristics Common to Female Ex-Offenders (funded with FY2011,
FY2012, and FY2013 appropriations), focuses on providing employment and support services for
previously incarcerated female youth and adults as they transition back to their communities.
The Serving Juvenile Offenders in High-Poverty, High Crime Communities (funded with
FY2009, FY2010, FY2011, and FY2013 appropriations) has sought to improve the long-term
labor market prospects of juvenile offenders ages 16 to 24 in high-poverty, high-crime areas. The
grants funded efforts at multiple sites to provide a combination of workforce development,
education and training, case management, mentoring, restorative justice (to provide community
service or other activities as a way to repair damage to the community), and activities to reduce
community-wide violence. For example, the grant funded the Latino Coalition for Faith &
Community Leadership and Public/Private Ventures to support training opportunities for high
school dropouts and young adult offenders ages 18 through 24 throughout the country.
The Beneficiary Choice Demonstration provided funding (in FY2006 and FY2008) to grantees to
assist ex-offenders ages 18 through 29 transition from prison to the workplace. Participants could
choose service providers from pools of faith-based and community groups. The grantees included
the Arizona Women’s Education and Employment, Inc., of Phoenix; the Colorado Department of

120 Youth ages 18 and older may also be eligible to participate in the Prisoner Reentry Initiative (PRI), which seeks to
reduce recidivism by helping former inmates find work when they return to their communities.
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Labor and Employment; the City of Chicago; the Indianapolis Private Industry Council, Inc.; and
the Director’s Council of Des Moines, IA. For example, Colorado’s project focused on delivering
individualized, comprehensive offender reentry strategies through partners such as the
Department of Corrections, Salvation Army, Grant Valley Catholic Outreach, one-stop centers,
and Goodwill, among other entities. The project offered mentoring, counseling, housing,
education, and training and employment opportunities in industries with high growth.
The High Growth Youth Offender Initiative funded efforts (in each of FY2004 through FY2008)
to help former offenders gain the skills necessary to enter industries with high growth. Projects
focused on addressing the workforce needs of growing industries that provide employment
opportunities and potential for advancement. Among the grantees were nonprofit organizations
and workforce boards.
Finally, the Planning, State/Local Implementation and Replication Grants funded (with FY2008
appropriations) four state juvenile justice agencies in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Texas,
and Washington to serve all youth returning from juvenile correctional facilities to one county in
the state; five counties to develop plans for serving all youth returning from correctional facilities
to the local area; and YouthBuild Newark to develop YouthBuild programs serving juvenile
offenders in four additional cities in New Jersey.
Community Service/Restorative Justice
Some grants funded under the youth component of the Reintegration of Ex-Offenders program
focus on community service and restorative justice projects to repair the harm former offenders
may have caused and to help rebuild the community. These grants are known as Civic Justice
Corps Grants Serving Juvenile Offenders (funded with FY2010 appropriations) and Serving
Young Adult Ex-Offenders through Training and Service Learning (funded with FY2011
appropriations).
These grants sought to provide community service opportunities to juvenile offenders ages 18 to
24 involved with the juvenile justice system within the past year. Programs funded under these
grants were to provide the following: (1) meaningful community service projects and service
learning opportunities; (2) educational interventions that lead to a credential and increase
placement in post-secondary education and/or vocational training; (3) community connections
that result in opportunities for offenders to rebuild trust; (4) high staff-to-participant ratios,
including close adult supervision on community service projects; (5) career development
components that seek to place each participant in a job, apprenticeship, or educational setting that
leads to an industry-recognized credential; and (6) post-program support and follow-up.
Participants
Each of the initiatives targets select groups of at-risk youth. However, the projects generally serve
youth ages 14 and older (or 18 or older) who have been involved with or have a high risk of
involvement in gangs or the juvenile justice system or criminal justice system, or attend
“persistently dangerous” schools, as reported by select states.
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Allocations
Grants are competitively awarded to entities such as community-based organizations and state
and local juvenile justice agencies, based on ranked scores and other factors, depending on the
project. Notably, only schools that meet the criteria of “persistently dangerous,” as specified by
the states and as permitted under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), are
eligible to apply for funds under the Persistently Dangerous Schools Initiative.121 Allocations vary
for each of the projects, but, generally, grantees have received grants of $1 million to $5 million
for one or more years.
Performance
DOL has performance measures for each Youth Offender initiative. The standards vary for each
initiative depending on the focus of the grants and the population of youth served. However, the
program has uniform measures for the program overall: (1) percentage of youth ages 18 and older
who are out of school entering employment or enrolling in post-secondary education, or
occupational training; (2) percentage of youth offenders ages 14 through 17 who recidivate; and
(3) percentage of youth offenders ages 18 and older who recidivate.122


121 ESEA requires each state receiving funds under the act to establish and implement a statewide policy requiring that
a student attending a persistently dangerous school, as determined by the state in consultation with a representative
sample of local education agencies (LEAs), or a student who becomes a victim of a violent criminal offense on school
grounds be allowed to attend a safe school within the LEA.
122 DOL, ETA, Budget Justification of Appropriation Estimates for Committees on Appropriations, FY2016, vol. I, p.
TES-83.
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Appendix. Workforce Investment Act Funding for WIA Youth Program
Table A-1. WIA Youth Activities State Allotments, PY2009-PY2014, Plus Funding Under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA, P.L. 111-5)
Includes al otments for outlying areas and Native Americans
ARRA
PY2009
PY2010
PY2011
PY2012
PY2013
PY2014
State
(P.L. 111-5)
(P.L. 111-8)
(P.L. 110-351)
(P.L. 112-5)
(P.L. 112-74)
(P.L. 113-6)
(P.L. 113-76)
Total
$1,188,000,000
$924,069,000
$924,069,000
$825,913,862
$824,353,022
$781,375,289
$818,169,000
Alabama
11,647,403
9,059,768
11,777,698
12,455,574
11,711,479
10,504,766
10,363,134
Alaska
3,936,018
3,061,576
2,755,418
2,216,462
2,024,817
1,919,253
2,009,628
Arizona
17,830,637
13,869,309
15,982,731
15,326,190
16,510,641
15,938,449
16,873,353
Arkansas
12,065,555
9,385,022
8,446,520
6,794,393
6,431,994
6,367,716
6,814,031
California
186,622,034
145,161,310
136,875,948
117,952,080
123,857,750
118,211,133
119,122,833
Colorado
11,874,970
9,236,777
11,132,070
9,788,025
11,882,561
11,600,883
12,414,406
Connecticut
11,034,723
8,583,204
8,869,254
8,060,872
8,794,724
8,152,502
9,398,657
Delaware
2,918,025
2,269,744
2,269,744
2,028,651
2,024,817
1,919,253
2,009,628
District of Columbia
3,969,821
3,087,869
2,779,082
2,402,872
2,323,591
2,074,840
2,216,117
Florida
42,873,265
33,348,363
43,352,872
50,372,277
53,892,125
47,791,321
45,067,004
Georgia
31,361,665
24,394,229
28,251,785
24,305,197
25,482,266
25,123,453
27,467,948
Hawai
2,918,025
2,269,744
2,690,193
2,272,811
2,243,958
2,174,842
2,049,527
Idaho
2,918,025
2,269,744
2,950,667
3,428,419
4,027,145
3,623,538
3,414,748
Illinois
62,203,400
48,384,035
43,545,632
36,086,031
32,767,678
33,775,763
38,093,547
Indiana
23,677,573
18,417,265
19,697,136
16,043,006
15,457,182
15,696,820
17,756,443
Iowa
5,172,183
4,023,109
4,750,212
5,519,334
4,962,142
4,671,103
4,739,579
Kansas
7,121,714
5,539,524
5,930,458
5,248,975
5,511,824
5,304,061
5,398,508
Kentucky
17,709,821
13,775,333
14,303,105
12,514,937
12,676,374
11,299,654
12,118,913
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ARRA
PY2009
PY2010
PY2011
PY2012
PY2013
PY2014
State
(P.L. 111-5)
(P.L. 111-8)
(P.L. 110-351)
(P.L. 112-5)
(P.L. 112-74)
(P.L. 113-6)
(P.L. 113-76)
Louisiana
20,012,271
15,566,262
14,009,636
11,269,372
11,409,318
9,733,043
9,327,194
Maine
4,293,710
3,339,802
3,476,520
2,887,584
2,831,274
2,888,765
3,244,888
Maryland
11,585,610
9,011,703
11,311,383
10,073,999
10,354,690
10,289,216
11,989,592
Massachusetts
24,838,038
19,319,917
17,387,925
15,988,686
15,009,154
12,803,985
14,507,221
Michigan
73,949,491
57,520,566
51,768,509
41,642,666
37,407,571
31,911,591
30,072,831
Minnesota
17,789,172
13,837,056
14,264,509
11,474,392
10,523,152
9,841,004
9,947,978
Mississippi
18,687,021
14,535,436
13,081,892
10,523,093
9,452,885
8,556,357
9,200,818
Missouri
25,400,077
19,757,091
17,781,382
14,549,044
15,108,428
13,072,955
12,877,148
Montana
2,918,025
2,269,744
2,344,418
2,174,750
2,405,630
2,105,266
2,152,132
Nebraska
2,944,616
2,290,428
2,518,508
2,288,141
2,207,155
2,157,402
2,394,620
Nevada
7,570,212
5,888,382
7,654,897
8,303,837
9,104,832
9,407,590
8,865,521
New Hampshire
2,918,025
2,269,744
2,269,744
2,253,475
2,024,817
1,919,253
2,200,035
New Jersey
20,834,103
16,205,512
20,938,294
20,362,826
20,322,861
21,422,496
25,513,414
New Mexico
6,235,678
4,850,334
4,365,301
4,775,669
4,918,291
4,195,688
4,625,925
New York
71,526,360
55,635,768
51,835,670
46,253,787
45,892,839
46,093,646
52,011,703
North Carolina
25,070,698
19,500,888
25,351,154
24,598,968
23,736,834
26,575,543
28,871,997
North Dakota
2,918,025
2,269,744
2,269,744
2,028,651
2,024,817
1,919,253
2,009,628
Ohio
56,158,510
43,682,103
39,313,893
31,915,350
29,136,945
25,942,472
26,270,342
Oklahoma
8,708,036
6,773,423
6,970,582
6,877,913
6,676,111
5,982,158
6,258,954
Oregon
15,068,081
11,720,493
13,707,810
11,026,583
10,760,018
9,901,654
10,543,691
Pennsylvania
40,647,780
31,617,301
31,871,328
29,506,561
28,346,353
27,854,861
33,509,103
Puerto Rico
42,456,987
33,024,567
29,722,110
23,908,509
21,476,993
18,321,559
17,265,863
Rhode Island
5,611,097
4,364,513
4,531,698
3,767,218
3,687,520
3,676,868
3,743,023
South Carolina
24,712,293
19,222,108
17,299,897
13,916,063
12,754,206
12,151,961
12,574,365
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ARRA
PY2009
PY2010
PY2011
PY2012
PY2013
PY2014
State
(P.L. 111-5)
(P.L. 111-8)
(P.L. 110-351)
(P.L. 112-5)
(P.L. 112-74)
(P.L. 113-6)
(P.L. 113-76)
South Dakota
2,918,025
2,269,744
2,269,744
2,028,651
2,024,817
1,919,253
2,009,628
Tennessee
25,099,116
19,522,993
18,716,506
16,288,215
15,784,120
15,045,025
16,496,140
Texas
82,000,708
63,783,091
57,404,782
52,833,195
55,664,646
52,525,623
52,492,802
Utah
5,067,154
3,941,414
3,547,273
4,121,624
5,347,985
4,562,251
4,304,671
Vermont
2,918,025
2,269,744
2,269,744
2,028,651
2,024,817
1,919,253
2,009,628
Virginia
12,982,612
10,098,341
13,127,843
13,540,444
13,020,339
12,509,940
13,392,465
Washington
23,445,432
18,236,698
17,997,280
15,992,583
16,959,549
16,388,794
16,309,501
West Virginia
5,343,318
4,156,224
3,924,261
4,315,932
4,577,244
3,904,748
3,957,765
Wisconsin
13,808,812
10,740,989
13,963,286
13,099,180
12,342,748
12,133,146
13,562,824
Wyoming
2,918,025
2,269,744
2,269,744
2,028,651
2,024,817
1,919,253
2,009,628
State Total
1,167,210,000
907,897,792
907,897,792
811,460,369
809,926,844
767,701,222
803,851,042
Outlying Areas Total
2,970,000
2,310,173
2,310,173
2,064,785
2,060,883
1,953,438
2,045,423
Native Americans
17,820,000
13,861,035
13,861,035
12,388,708
12,365,295
11,720,629
12,272,535
Source: Congressional Research Service presentation of DOL, ETA, State Statutory Formula Funding, http://www.doleta.gov/budget/statfund.cfm.
Note: Funds appropriated for a given fiscal year correspond to funding for a program year. The program year is July 1 through June 30, although funds may be made
available on April 1, pursuant to Section 189(g)(1)(B) of the Workforce Investment Act. Funds for the program are available for two program years, including funds
appropriated under ARRA. ARRA funds were available for two program years—PY2009 and PY2010, which extended through June 30, 2011. For purposes of the
summer youth component, youth may participate in summer activities from May 1 through September 30, though it would appear that youth could participate only
through the end of June in 2011.
a. ARRA appropriated $1.2 billion for the Youth Activities program. Section 801 of ARRA permitted DOL to use 1% ($12 million) of funds for administration,
management, and oversight of the program.
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Vulnerable Youth: Employment and Job Training Programs


Author Contact Information

Adrienne L. Fernandes-Alcantara

Specialist in Social Policy
afernandes@crs.loc.gov, 7-9005


Congressional Research Service
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