Job and Life Skills Improvement Act of 1993

Summary: Job and Life Skills Improvement Act of 1993 - Amends the Job Training Partnership Act to authorize the Secretary of Labor to establish a national program of Job and Life Skills Improvement grants to eligible entities to pay the Federal share of providing comprehensive services to youth and young adults in high poverty urban and rural areas. 
Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Job and Life Skills Improvement Act 
of 1993''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF JOB AND LIFE SKILLS IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Title IV of the Job Training Partnership Act (29 
U.S.C. 1671 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
part:

           ``Part K--Job and Life Skills Improvement Program

``SEC. 499F. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to establish a 
national program of Job and Life Skills Improvement grants to pay the 
Federal share attributable to this part of providing comprehensive 
services to youth and young adults living in high poverty areas in the 
cities and rural areas of the United States.
    ``(b) Eligibility.--The Secretary may only award grants under this 
part to--
            ``(1) a private industry council or nonprofit private 
        organization which is providing services in a target area of a 
        participating community;
            ``(2) in the case of a grant involving a target area 
        located in an Indian reservation or Alaska Native village, the 
        grantee designated under subsection (c) or (d) of section 401, 
        or a consortium of such grantees and the State; or
            ``(3) in the case of a grant involving a target area 
        located in a migrant or seasonal farmworker community, the 
        grantee designated under section 402(c), or a consortium of 
        such grantees and the State.
    ``(c) Renewability of Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--Grants awarded under this part shall be 
        for a 1-year period. Such a grant shall be renewable for each 
        of the 2 succeeding fiscal years if the Secretary determines 
        the grant recipient complied with conditions of the grant 
        during the previous fiscal year.
            ``(2) Extension.--The Secretary may extend the renewal 
        period set forth in paragraph (1) for an additional 2 fiscal 
        years on reapplication.

``SEC. 499G. APPLICATION.

    ``(a) Eligibility.--Participating communities that have the highest 
concentrations of poverty, as determined by the Secretary based on the 
latest Bureau of the Census estimates, shall be eligible to apply for a 
Job and Life Skills Improvement grant.
    ``(b) Contents.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each participating community desiring a 
        grant under this part shall, through the individuals or 
        entities set forth in subsection (c), submit an application to 
        the Secretary which meets the requirements of paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Requirements.--An application meets the requirements 
        of this paragraph if the application is submitted at such time, 
        in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the 
        Secretary may reasonably require, including--
                    ``(A) a comprehensive plan for the Job and Life 
                Skills Improvement initiative designed to achieve 
                identifiable goals for youth and young adults in the 
                target area;
                    ``(B) measurable program goals and outcomes, which 
                may include increasing the proportion of--
                            ``(i) youth and young adults completing 
                        high school or its equivalent;
                            ``(ii) youth and young adults entering into 
                        postsecondary institutions, apprenticeships, or 
                        other advanced training programs;
                            ``(iii) youth and young adults placed in 
                        jobs; or
                            ``(iv) youth and young adults participating 
                        in education, training, and employment 
                        services;
                    ``(C) supporting goals for the target area such as 
                increasing security and safety, or reducing the number 
                of drug-related arrests;
                    ``(D) assurances that the applicant will comply 
                with the terms of the agreement described in section 
                499H;
                    ``(E) a description of how the participating 
                community will make use of the resources, expertise, 
                and commitment of institutions of higher education, 
                educational agencies, and vocational and technical 
                schools and institutes;
                    ``(F) an assurance that all youth and young adults 
                in the target areas will have access to a coordinated 
                and comprehensive range of education and training 
                opportunities that serve the broadest range of the 
                interests and needs of youth and young adults and 
                simultaneously mobilizes the diverse range of education 
                and training providers in the participating community;
                    ``(G) assurances that the youth and young adults in 
                the target area will have access to supportive services 
                necessary for successful participation, including such 
                services as child care, transportation, and assistance 
                in resolving personal or family crises, such as crises 
                related to substance abuse, homelessness, migration, 
                and family violence;
                    ``(H) a description of a system of common intake 
                procedures or sites, individualized assessment, and 
                case management to be used by the program;
                    ``(I) a description of how the participating 
                community will make use of the resources, expertise, 
                and commitment of such programs and service providers 
                as--
                            ``(i) community-based organizations 
                        providing vocational skills, literacy skills, 
                        remedial education, and general equivalency 
                        preparation, including community-based 
                        organizations serving youth and young adults 
                        with limited-English proficiency;
                            ``(ii) youth corps programs, including 
                        youth conservation and human service corps;
                            ``(iii) Job Corps centers;
                            ``(iv) apprenticeship programs; and
                            ``(v) other projects and programs funded 
                        under this Act;
                    ``(J) an estimate of the expected number of youth 
                and young adults in the target area to be served;
                    ``(K) a description of the resources available in 
                the participating community from private, local 
                government, State, and Federal sources that will be 
                used to achieve the goals of the program; and
                    ``(L) an estimate of funds required to ensure 
                access to appropriate education, training, and support 
                services for all youth and young adults in the target 
                area who seek such opportunities.
    ``(c) Submission of Application.--The application for funds 
described in subsection (b) may only be submitted to the Secretary on 
behalf of a participating community by--
            ``(1) the private industry council;
            ``(2) the nonprofit private organization; or
            ``(3) a grantee or consortium described in paragraph (2) or 
        (3) of section 499F(b) in applications for Native American or 
        migrant or seasonal farmworker communities, respectively.

``SEC. 499H. GRANT AGREEMENT.

    ``(a) In General.--Each grant recipient receiving a grant under 
this part on behalf of a participating community shall enter into an 
agreement with the Secretary.
    ``(b) Contents.--Each such agreement shall--
            ``(1) designate a target area that--
                    ``(A) will be the focus of the demonstration 
                project; and
                    ``(B) shall have a population of--
                            ``(i) not more than 25,000; or
                            ``(ii) in an appropriate case, not more 
                        than 50,000,
                except that in the event that the population of an area 
                from which a high school draws a substantial portion of 
                its enrollment exceeds either limit, the target area 
                may encompass such boundary;
            ``(2) contain assurances that funds provided under this 
        part will be used to support education, training, and 
        supportive activities selected from a set of youth and young 
        adult program models designated by the Secretary or from 
        alternative models described in the application and approved by 
        the Secretary;
            ``(3) provide that funds received under this part will be 
        used--
                    ``(A) for services to youth and young adults ages 
                14 through 30 at the time of enrollment; and
                    ``(B) to provide stipends to youth and young adults 
                ages 17 to 30 at the time of enrollment for participant 
                support in paid work experience and classroom programs 
                (if such programs are combined with other education and 
                training activities), except that employment provided 
                to any such youth or young adult may not exceed 20 
                hours per week and the amount of such stipend shall 
                reflect the cost of living in the participating 
                community;
            ``(4) contain assurances that the local educational agency 
        and any other educational agency that operates secondary 
        schools in the target area shall provide such activities and 
        resources as are necessary to achieve the educational goals 
        specified in the application;
            ``(5) contain assurances that the participating community 
        will provide such activities and local resources as are 
        necessary to achieve the goals specified in the application;
            ``(6) contain assurances that the participating community 
        will undertake outreach and recruitment efforts in the target 
        area to encourage, to the maximum extent possible, 
        participation by the disadvantaged youth and young adults who 
        are currently unserved, or underserved, by education and 
        training programs, including targeted measures specifically 
        designed to enlist the participation of youth and young adults, 
        particularly males, under the jurisdiction of the child 
        welfare, juvenile justice, and criminal justice systems;
            ``(7) provide that the participating community will carry 
        out special efforts to establish coordination with Federal, 
        State, or local programs that serve the target population;
            ``(8) provide assurances that funds provided under this 
        part for a fiscal year will be used only to pay the Federal 
        share attributable to this part of the cost of programs and 
        services not otherwise available in the target area and will 
        supplement, and not supplant, funding from other local, State, 
        and Federal sources available to youth and young adults in the 
        target area during the previous year; and
            ``(9) permit funds provided under this part to be used to 
        support paid work experience programs if such programs are 
        combined with other education and training activities.

SEC. 499I. PAYMENTS AND FEDERAL SHARE.

    ``(a) Payments Required.--In any fiscal year, the amount of a grant 
awarded under this part shall be based on the size of the target area 
and the extent of the poverty in such area, and shall be of sufficient 
size and scope to carry out an effective program under this part.
    ``(b) Federal Share.--The Federal share attributable to this part 
of the cost of providing comprehensive services as provided in section 
499F(a) shall be not less than 70 percent for each fiscal year a grant 
recipient receives assistance under this Act.
    ``(c) Other Federal Sources.--In providing for the remaining share 
of such cost, each grant recipient may provide not more than 20 percent 
of such cost from Federal sources other than funds received pursuant to 
this part.
    ``(d) Non-Federal Share.--A grant recipient shall provide non-
Federal funds in an amount not less than 10 percent of such cost, an 
in-kind contribution equivalent to such percent (as determined by the 
Secretary), or a combination thereof.

``SEC. 499J. REPORTING.

    ``The Secretary is authorized to establish such reporting 
procedures as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this part.

``SEC. 499K. FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITIES.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall provide assistance to 
participating communities in implementing the projects assisted under 
this part.
    ``(b) Independent Evaluation.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide for a 
        thorough, independent evaluation of the Job and Life Skills 
        Improvement program to assess the outcomes of youth and young 
        adults participating in programs assisted under this part.
            ``(2) Evaluation measures.--In conducting the evaluation 
        described in paragraph (1) the Secretary shall include an 
        assessment of--
                    ``(A) the impact on youth and young adults residing 
                in target areas, including the rates of school 
                completion, enrollment in advanced education or 
                training, and employment of the youth and young adults;
                    ``(B) the extent to which participating communities 
                fulfilled the goal of guaranteed access to appropriate 
                education, training, and supportive services to all 
                eligible youth and young adults residing in target 
                areas who seek to participate;
                    ``(C) the effectiveness of guaranteed access to 
                comprehensive services combined with outreach and 
                recruitment efforts in enlisting the participation of 
                previously unserved or underserved youth and young 
                adults residing in target areas;
                    ``(D) the effectiveness of efforts to integrate 
                service delivery in target areas, including systems of 
                common intake, assessment, and case management; and
                    ``(E) the feasibility of extending guaranteed 
                access to comprehensive education, training, and 
                support services for youth and young adults in all 
                areas of the United States, including possible 
                approaches to incremental extension of such access over 
                time.
    ``(c) Report.--The Secretary shall prepare a report detailing the 
results of the independent evaluation described in subsection (b) and 
shall submit such report to the Congress not later than December 31, 
1996, along with an analysis of expenditures made, results achieved, 
and problems in the operations and coordination of programs assisted 
under this part.
    ``(d) Reservation of Funds.--The Secretary may reserve not more 
than 5 percent of the amount appropriated under this part in each 
fiscal year to carry out the provisions of this section.

``SEC. 499L. DEFINITIONS.

    ``For the purposes of this part--
            ``(1) High poverty area.--The term `high poverty area' 
        means an urban census tract, a nonmetropolitan county, a Native 
        American Indian reservation, or an Alaska Native village, with 
        a poverty rate of 30 percent or more, as determined by the 
        Bureau of the Census, or a migrant or seasonal farmworker 
        community.
            ``(2) Participating community.--The term `participating 
        community'--
                    ``(A) in the case of a community conducting a 
                project in an urban area, means a city in a 
                metropolitan statistical area;
                    ``(B) in the case of a community conducting a 
                project in a rural area, means a nonmetropolitan county 
                or contiguous nonmetropolitan counties;
                    ``(C) in the case of a community conducting a 
                project in an Indian reservation or Alaska Native 
                village, the grantee designated under subsection (c) or 
                (d) of section 401, or a consortium of such grantees 
                and the State; or
                    ``(D) in the case of a community conducting a 
                project in a migrant or seasonal farmworker community, 
                the grantee designated under section 402(c), or a 
                consortium of such grantees and the State.
            ``(3) Target area.--The term `target area' means a high 
        poverty area or set of contiguous high poverty areas that will 
        be the focus of the program in each participating community.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents relating to the 
Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 499C the 
following new items:

           ``Part K--Job and Life Skills Improvement Program

``Sec. 499F. Program authorized.
``Sec. 499G. Application.
``Sec. 499H. Grant agreement.
``Sec. 499I. Payments and federal share.
``Sec. 499J. Reporting.
``Sec. 499K. Federal responsibilities.
``Sec. 4989L. Definitions.''.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 3(c) of the Job Training Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 
1502(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(6) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out part K 
of title IV $5,000,000,000 for fiscal year 1994 and such sums as may be 
necessary for each of the fiscal years 1995 through 1998.''.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on 
July 1, 1993, or the date of the enactment of this Act, whichever 
occurs later.