Vulnerable Youth: Employment and Job Training Programs

This report is an overview of federal employment programs for vulnerable young people. Begins with a discussion of the current challenges to preparing youth today for the workforce and provides chronology of job training and employment programs for at-risk youth beginning in the 1930s and expanded or modified from the 1960s through the 1990s. Continues with discussion of the five youth programs authorized under WIA and draws comparisons between these programs, and culminates with detailed discussion of each of the programs. (p.1) (Abstractor: Website Staff)

"The Title I Workforce Investment Act job training and employment services reviewed in this report include: (1) Youth Activities, (2) Job Corps, (3) Reintegration of Ex Offenders, and (4) Youth Opportunity Grants program." (p.8) "For FY2013, the Administration has prioritized the following activities for each of the youth programs:

• YOUTH ACTIVITIES: According to DOL, the department plans to (1) increase the share of youth who have credentials needed for careers, especially in high-growth sectors such as health care; (2) facilitate connections between youth seeking jobs and businesses seeking workers, particularly businesses in the private sector; and (3) assist local programs in developing collaborative partnerships with the Department of Health and Human Services, the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture, and the Department of Education, among other departments." (p.12) "
• JOB CORPS: Job Corps has plans to initiate an agenda for improving its outcomes and strengthening accountability. DOL proposes closing “a small number of chronically low-performing” centers." (p.12) "
• YOUTHBUILD: The agency intends to continue efforts in building the quality of existing YouthBuild programs through technical assistance efforts. DOL plans to continue a pilot with HHS’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for identifying substance use and risk of substance use among participants." (p.13)
• REINTEGRATION OF EX-OFFENDERS: DOL intends to fund competitive grants to national and regional intermediaries for activities that prepare young ex-offenders and school dropouts for employment. In addition, DOL plans to partner with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to support innovative models to reduce youth involvement in the juvenile justice system and/or recidivism and improve education and employment outcomes" (p.13). (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2011
• Author(s): Fernandes-Alcantara, Adrienne L.
• Organizational Author(s): Congressional Research Service
• Funding Source: Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Katie Mehle
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies