II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 454 

To establish a competitive grant program to support out-of-school-time youth 

workforce readiness programs, providing employability skills development, 

career exploration, employment readiness training, mentoring, work-based 

learning, and workforce opportunities for eligible youth. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2023 

Ms. SMITH (for herself, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. WYDEN, and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish a competitive grant program to support outof-school-time youth workforce readiness programs, providing employability skills development, career exploration, employment readiness training, mentoring, workbased learning, and workforce opportunities for eligible 

youth. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Youth Workforce 

5 Readiness Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to establish or expand ac3 tivities to— 

4 (1) increase access and opportunities for youth 

5 to obtain the education and training that youth need 

6 to succeed in the labor market; 

7 (2) support engagement in and the integration 

8 of programs and activities offered during out-of9 school-time hours through the workforce investment, 

10 education, and economic development systems; 

11 (3) improve the quality of the workforce and 

12 meet the skill requirements of employers; 

13 (4) engage employers in addressing the train14 ing, skill, and employment needs of youth and youth 

15 jobseekers, and fostering opportunities for connec16 tion and economic mobility; and 

17 (5) include younger youth in the education and 

18 workforce investment activities in an age and devel19 opmentally appropriate manner. 

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION.—The 

23 term ‘‘community-based organization’’ means a 

24 youth-serving private nonprofit organization (which 

25 may include a faith-based organization) that— 


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1 (A) is representative of a community or a 

2 significant segment of a community; 

3 (B) has demonstrated expertise and effec4 tiveness in workforce development; and 

5 (C) has demonstrated expertise— 

6 (i) in the planning and delivery of 

7 education, training, and related activities 

8 that are included in a career pathway; 

9 (ii) in forging coordination and co10 operation between educators and other 

11 members of the community; and 

12 (iii) in development and implementa13 tion of data systems that measure the 

14 progress of students and outcomes of ca15 reer pathways. 

16 (2) COVERED PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘cov17 ered partnership’’ means a partnership between— 

18 (A) a community-based organization; and 

19 (B) an industry or sector partnership, a 

20 local educational agency, or another public enti21 ty or private employer, as appropriate. 

22 (3) ELIGIBLE YOUTH.—The term ‘‘eligible 

23 youth’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 

24 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 


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1 (29 U.S.C. 3102), except that the individual involved 

2 shall be— 

3 (A) not younger than age 6; and 

4 (B) not older than age 18 (or age 19 if en5 rolled in secondary school). 

6 (4) INDUSTRY OR SECTOR PARTNERSHIP.—The 

7 term ‘‘industry or sector partnership’’ means— 

8 (A) an industry or sector partnership, as 

9 defined in section 3 of the Workforce Innova10 tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); 

11 and 

12 (B) a collaborative that meets the require13 ments of paragraph (26) of that section 3 but 

14 also includes— 

15 (i) an Indian tribe or tribal organiza16 tion (as such terms are defined in section 

17 166(b) of that Act (29 U.S.C. 3221(b))), 

18 as appropriate; or 

19 (ii) a community-based organization. 

20 (5) OUT-OF-SCHOOL-TIME.—The term ‘‘out-of21 school-time’’, used with respect to a program, means 

22 a supervised program regularly attended by eligible 

23 youth, that fosters learning and development during 

24 out-of-school-time hours, which includes hours before 


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1 school, after school, during summer vacation or an2 other school holiday, or on a Saturday or Sunday. 

3 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of Labor. 

5 (7) WIOA DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘‘career 

6 pathway’’, ‘‘customized training’’, ‘‘in-demand indus7 try sector or occupation’’, ‘‘local area’’, ‘‘local 

8 board’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, and ‘‘recognized 

9 postsecondary credential’’ have the meanings given 

10 the terms in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation 

11 and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 

12 (8) WORKFORCE READINESS PROGRAM.—The 

13 term ‘‘workforce readiness program’’ means an out14 of-school-time program that— 

15 (A) meets the requirements of section 7; 

16 (B) is offered by a community-based orga17 nization of an eligible entity or a related cov18 ered partnership; and 

19 (C) is intended to help prepare eligible 

20 youth for the workforce. 

21 SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT. 

22 (a) GRANTS.—Using the amounts made available 

23 under section 9, the Secretary shall award grants, on a 

24 competitive basis, to eligible entities. 


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1 (b) GENERAL USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary shall 

2 award the grants, on a competitive basis, to assist eligible 

3 entities in planning, developing, and implementing nation4 wide, comprehensive workforce readiness programs, that 

5 are— 

6 (1) in out-of-school-time programs; 

7 (2) carried out by community-based organiza8 tions of the eligible entity or related covered partner9 ships; and 

10 (3) for eligible youth. 

11 (c) PERIODS OF GRANTS.—The Secretary shall 

12 award the grants for periods of not less than 3 years and 

13 not more than 5 years. 

14 SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE ENTITIES. 

15 To be eligible to receive a grant under section 4, an 

16 entity shall— 

17 (1)(A) be a national youth-serving organization 

18 with active chapters, affiliates, or subgrant recipi19 ents, that are community-based organizations (in20 cluding such organizations that are facility-based or21 ganizations) in not fewer than 35 States; and 

22 (B) provide programming focused on youth 

23 workforce readiness in an out-of-school-time pro24 gram; and 


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1 (2) obtain approval of an application under sec2 tion 6. 

3 SEC. 6. APPLICATION. 

4 To be eligible to receive a grant under section 4, an 

5 entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 

6 time, in such manner, and containing such information as 

7 the Secretary may require, including— 

8 (1) a description of how the entity will imple9 ment a youth workforce readiness program in a 

10 manner that ensures an equitable geographic dis11 tribution of program activities, including an equi12 table distribution between urban and rural commu13 nities; 

14 (2) a description of the proposed program ac15 tivities to be funded and their locations; 

16 (3) a description of populations of eligible youth 

17 to be served, including populations living in or from 

18 underserved communities or communities with em19 ployment disparities; 

20 (4) a description of the effective strategies, best 

21 practices, or evidence-based practices the workforce 

22 readiness program will use; 

23 (5) an assurance that the program will take 

24 place in safe and easily accessible facilities; 


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1 (6) a demonstration of how, in implementing 

2 the proposed program activities, the entity will co3 ordinate activities with Federal, State, and local pro4 grams and make the most effective use of public re5 sources; 

6 (7) a description of— 

7 (A) the community-based organizations or 

8 the covered partnerships through which the en9 tity will implement the program; and 

10 (B) if a covered partnership will assist in 

11 implementing the program, the collaboration 

12 and coordination activities that the community13 based organization in the partnership has car14 ried out or will carry out with other entities in 

15 the partnership, related to that implementation; 

16 (8) if the program includes an opportunity to 

17 earn a recognized postsecondary credential, a de18 scription of the activities leading to the credential; 

19 and 

20 (9) an assurance that funds provided under this 

21 Act will be used to supplement and not supplant 

22 other Federal, State, or local funds expended to pro23 vide youth programs or workforce readiness pro24 grams. 


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1 SEC. 7. PROGRAM ACTIVITIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that receives a 

3 grant under section 4 shall use the grant funds— 

4 (1) if the entity seeks to implement the work5 force readiness program through a covered partner6 ship, to establish the partnership; and 

7 (2) to carry out the development and implemen8 tation of a youth workforce readiness program— 

9 (A) that includes services to help prepare 

10 eligible youth for the workforce, which services 

11 shall include— 

12 (i) leadership development opportuni13 ties, which may include community service 

14 and peer-centered activities encouraging 

15 responsibility and other positive social and 

16 civic behaviors, as appropriate; 

17 (ii) workforce or workforce readiness 

18 opportunities; 

19 (iii) supportive services; 

20 (iv) adult mentoring for the period of 

21 participation and a subsequent period, for 

22 a total of not less than 12 months; 

23 (v) comprehensive guidance and coun24 seling (which may include drug and alcohol 

25 abuse counseling and referral, and preven26 tion services, as appropriate); 


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1 (vi) financial literacy education; 

2 (vii) entrepreneurial skills training; 

3 (viii) services that provide labor mar4 ket and employment information about in5 demand industry sectors or occupations 

6 available in the local area, such as career 

7 awareness, career counseling, and career 

8 exploration services; 

9 (ix) activities to develop fundamental 

10 workforce readiness skills, or to develop 

11 employability skills (such as communica12 tion, creativity, collaboration, and critical 

13 thinking) that support social-emotional de14 velopment through every developmental 

15 stage, in both formal and informal learning 

16 experiences; and 

17 (x) career exposure, through men18 toring and targeted programming, offered 

19 by local industry or sector partnerships, to 

20 provide career assessments and education 

21 and career planning; 

22 (B) that includes services to help prepare 

23 eligible youth who are not younger than age 15 

24 for the workforce, which services shall include— 


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1 (i) support for the use of career path2 ways; 

3 (ii) paid and unpaid work experiences 

4 that have as a component academic and 

5 occupational education, which may in6 clude— 

7 (I) summer employment opportu8 nities and other employment opportu9 nities available throughout the school 

10 year; 

11 (II) pre-apprenticeship and reg12 istered apprenticeship programs; 

13 (III) internships and job shad14 owing; and 

15 (IV) on-the-job training opportu16 nities; 

17 (iii) work-based learning (as defined 

18 in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career 

19 and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 

20 U.S.C. 2302)) that provides opportunities 

21 for the application of employability skills, 

22 and hands-on work experiences through 

23 covered partnerships; 

24 (iv) occupational skill training, which 

25 shall include priority consideration for 


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1 training programs that lead to recognized 

2 postsecondary credentials that are aligned 

3 with in-demand industry sectors or occupa4 tions in the local area involved, if the local 

5 board determines that the programs meet 

6 the quality criteria described in section 123 

7 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor8 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3153); 

9 (v) the provision of customized train10 ing; 

11 (vi) education offered concurrently 

12 with and in the same context as workforce 

13 readiness activities and training for a spe14 cific occupation or occupational cluster; 

15 and 

16 (vii) activities that help youth prepare 

17 for and transition to postsecondary edu18 cation and training; and 

19 (C) that may include— 

20 (i) the provision of professional devel21 opment (as defined in section 3 of the Carl 

22 D. Perkins Career and Technical Edu23 cation Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302)) for 

24 training educators and other providers of 


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1 educational services who participate in the 

2 workforce readiness program; and 

3 (ii) developing assets and resources 

4 that assist an employer or groups of em5 ployers or sectors in working with eligible 

6 youth. 

7 (b) SUBGRANTS.—The eligible entity may use the 

8 grant funds, with the approval of the Secretary, to award 

9 subgrants to eligible organizations to carry out activities 

10 through a youth workforce readiness program. 

11 SEC. 8. EVALUATION AND REPORTING. 

12 (a) MEASURES OF EFFECTIVENESS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that imple14 ments a youth workforce readiness program under 

15 this Act shall— 

16 (A) ensure that the program is— 

17 (i) based upon an assessment of objec18 tive data regarding the need for such a 

19 program in the communities served; and 

20 (ii) evaluated on an established set of 

21 performance measures aimed at ensuring 

22 the availability of high-quality opportuni23 ties by measuring eligible youth success; 

24 and 


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1 (B) collect the data necessary for the 

2 measures of eligible youth success described in 

3 subparagraph (A)(ii). 

4 (2) MEASURES.—The performance measures 

5 (including indicators) that will be used to evaluate 

6 the youth workforce readiness programs— 

7 (A) shall be aligned with the regular aca8 demic program of the school of and the aca9 demic needs of participating eligible youth; and 

10 (B) shall include performance measures 

11 that— 

12 (i) are able to track the success (such 

13 as improvement over time) of eligible 

14 youth; and 

15 (ii) include assessment results and 

16 other indicators of eligible youth success, 

17 such as improved attendance during the 

18 school day, better classroom grades, reg19 ular (or consistent) program attendance, 

20 and on-time advancement to the next 

21 grade level; and 

22 (C) for high school students, may include 

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1 ships, apprenticeships, or work-based learning 

2 opportunities, or high school graduation. 

3 (b) PERIODIC EVALUATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct 

5 a periodic evaluation of the eligible entity, to assess 

6 the progress of the entity’s youth workforce readi7 ness program toward ensuring high-quality opportu8 nities by measuring eligible youth success. 

9 (2) USE OF RESULTS.—The results of evalua10 tions under paragraph (1) shall be— 

11 (A) used to refine, improve, and strengthen 

12 the program, and to refine the performance 

13 measures; and 

14 (B) used by the Secretary to determine 

15 whether a grant for a program is eligible to be 

16 renewed under section 4. 

17 (c) REPORTING.—The Secretary shall submit a re18 port containing the results of the evaluation to the appro19 priate committees of Congress, and make the report avail20 able to the public. 

21 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

23 this Act such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

24 years 2024 through 2028. 


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1 SEC. 10. REESTABLISHMENT OF YOUTH COUNCILS. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 107 of the Workforce 

3 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3122) is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(j) YOUTH COUNCIL.— 

6 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be estab7 lished, as a subgroup within each local board, a 

8 youth council appointed by the local board, in co9 operation with the chief elected official for the local 

10 area. 

11 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of each 

12 youth council— 

13 ‘‘(A) shall include— 

14 ‘‘(i) representatives with special inter15 est or professional expertise in youth work16 force development programs, activities re17 lated to youth workforce readiness, or 

18 youth workforce investment activities; 

19 ‘‘(ii) local labor or joint labor-manage20 ment organizations; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) representatives of education-re22 lated organizations; and 

23 ‘‘(B) may include— 

24 ‘‘(i) members of the local board with 

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1 force readiness or youth workforce develop2 ment; 

3 ‘‘(ii) representatives of local labor or 

4 joint labor-management organizations with 

5 special interest or expertise in youth work6 force readiness or youth workforce develop7 ment; 

8 ‘‘(iii) representatives of the workforce, 

9 in the local area, with special interest or 

10 expertise in youth workforce readiness or 

11 youth workforce development; 

12 ‘‘(iv) representatives of entities ad13 ministering education and training activi14 ties, including career and technical edu15 cation activities, in the local area, with 

16 special interest or expertise in youth work17 force readiness or youth workforce develop18 ment; 

19 ‘‘(v) representatives of youth service 

20 agencies, including juvenile justice and 

21 local law enforcement agencies, and rep22 resentatives of local public housing au23 thorities; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) parents of eligible youth, and 

2 current or former youth program partici3 pants; 

4 ‘‘(vii) representatives of vulnerable 

5 populations (including foster youth, minor6 ity youth, and youth with disabilities); 

7 ‘‘(viii) community representatives, em8 ployers of eligible youth, and workplace 

9 learning advisors (as defined in section 3), 

10 with experience relating to youth workforce 

11 activities; 

12 ‘‘(ix) for a local area in which a Job 

13 Corps center is located, representatives of 

14 that center; and 

15 ‘‘(x) such other individuals as the 

16 chairperson of the local board, in coopera17 tion with the chief elected official, deter18 mines to be appropriate. 

19 ‘‘(3) RELATIONSHIP TO LOCAL BOARD.—Mem20 bers of the youth council who are not otherwise 

21 members of the local board shall be voting members 

22 of the youth council and nonvoting members of the 

23 board. 

24 ‘‘(4) DUTIES.—The duties of the youth council 

25 shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(A) representing the interests of youth 

2 before the local board; 

3 ‘‘(B) collaborating with the local board to 

4 ensure programs address youth workforce devel5 opment and youth workforce readiness; and 

6 ‘‘(C) advising the local board on the inclu7 sion and incorporation of the local youth work8 force in decisions as appropriate.’’. 

9 (b) STATE PLANS.—Section 102(b)(2)(C) of the 

10 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

11 3112(b)(2)(C)) is amended— 

12 (1) in clause (vii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

13 (2) by redesignating clause (viii) as clause (ix); 

14 and 

15 (3) by inserting after clause (vii) the following: 

16 ‘‘(viii) how the local boards in the 

17 State are incorporating the recommenda18 tions of the youth councils within the local 

19 boards; and’’. 

20 (c) LOCAL PLANS.—Section 108(b) of the Workforce 

21 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3123(b)) is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (21), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

24 end; 


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1 (2) by redesignating paragraph (22) as para2 graph (23); and 

3 (3) by inserting after paragraph (21) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(22) how the local board is incorporating the 

6 recommendations of the youth council within the 

7 local board; and’’. 

8 (d) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Section 116(d) of the Work9 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

10 3141(d)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

12 (A) in subparagraph (K), by striking 

13 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

14 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (L) as 

15 subparagraph (M); and 

16 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (K) 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(L) information on the activities carried 

19 out in the State on the recommendation of 

20 youth councils in the State; and’’; and 

21 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

22 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘(L)’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘(M)’’; 

24 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

25 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

2 subparagraph (D); and 

3 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(C) information on the activities carried 

6 out in the local area on the recommendation of 

7 the youth council within the local board; and’’. 

Æ 


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