II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1279 

To prepare disconnected youth for a competitive future. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 27, 2011 

Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Mr. FRANKEN, and Mr. BROWN of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To prepare disconnected youth for a competitive future. 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Reengaging Americans in Serious Education by Uniting 

6 Programs Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Grants authorized. 

Sec. 5. Application. 

Sec. 6. Priority. 


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Sec. 7. Selection criteria. 

Sec. 8. Use of funds. 

Sec. 9. Planning grants authorized. 

Sec. 10. Accountability, performance measures, and evaluation. 

Sec. 11. Technical assistance and best practices. 

Sec. 12. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) In the United States today, millions of 

4 youth drop out of secondary school, fail to complete 

5 their studies, or do not graduate on time. While the 

6 United States has made slow progress in improving 

7 graduation rates, the dropout challenge remains a 

8 crisis that is impeding our ability to produce an edu9 cated workforce and succeed in the 21st century 

10 global economy. 

11 (2) Government data shows that more than 25 

12 percent of our students fail to complete secondary 

13 school in 4 years. In some of the Nation’s larger cit14 ies and among urban minority youth, dropout rates 

15 of 40 percent are not uncommon. 

16 (3) According to the Bureau of Labor Statis17 tics, in 2007, nearly 6,200,000 youth were secondary 

18 school dropouts. The impact of this dropout crisis 

19 has been likened to ‘‘a permanent recession’’ for 

20 youth, and it has consequences for the economy of 

21 the United States. Disconnected youth are more 

22 likely than other youth to engage in criminal activiVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Jun 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1279.IS S1279

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1 ties, become incarcerated, and rely on public systems 

2 of support. 

3 (4) The Department of Education reports that 

4 the average secondary school dropout is associated 

5 with costs to the economy of approximately 

6 $240,000 over the individual’s lifetime in terms of 

7 lower tax contributions, higher reliance on govern8 ment health programs and public assistance, and 

9 higher rates of criminal activity. Over their lifetimes, 

10 secondary school dropouts are estimated to earn 

11 $400,000 less than secondary school graduates. Fur12 ther, only 37 percent of secondary school dropouts 

13 are steadily employed, and they are more than twice 

14 as likely to live in high poverty. 

15 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

16 (1) to prepare disconnected youth for a com17 petitive future; 

18 (2) to challenge and support young people who 

19 have dropped out of secondary school to— 

20 (A) attain a secondary school diploma; 

21 (B) attain a 2-year or 4-year credential 

22 from a recognized postsecondary educational in23 stitution, an industry-recognized credential, or 

24 certification from a registered apprenticeship 

25 program; and 


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1 (C) secure and succeed in a family-sup2 porting career; and 

3 (3) to support local community partnerships in 

4 integrating existing, and often disparate, services 

5 into a comprehensive, cross-systems dropout recov6 ery approach. 

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 

9 (1) DISABILITY.—The term ‘‘disability’’ has the 

10 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Ameri11 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

12 12102). 

13 (2) DISCONNECTED YOUTH.—The term ‘‘dis14 connected youth’’ means a young person who— 

15 (A) has left secondary school without ob16 taining a secondary school diploma; 

17 (B) is or was previously a homeless child 

18 or youth; 

19 (C) is or was under the care and place20 ment responsibility of the State agency respon21 sible for administering a plan under parts B 

22 and E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 621 et seq., 670 et seq.); 

24 (D) was under the custody of a juvenile 

25 justice or criminal justice system; 


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1 (E) has a disability; or 

2 (F) is a low-income individual and is preg3 nant or parenting and not attending any school. 

4 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti5 ty’’ means a partnership consisting of entities or in6 dividuals qualified to represent the community as7 sisted, or proposed to be assisted, by a grant under 

8 this Act, including not less than one partner from 

9 each of the following categories: 

10 (A) A mayor, or other appropriate chief ex11 ecutive officer, of a unit of general purpose 

12 local government in the community. 

13 (B) A local educational agency (as defined 

14 in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec15 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

16 7801)) serving the community. 

17 (C) A local workforce system serving the 

18 community. 

19 (D) An institution of higher education 

20 serving the community. 

21 (E) A representative of a local or state sys22 tem serving young people in the community, in23 cluding— 

24 (i) a juvenile justice system; 

25 (ii) a criminal justice system; 


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1 (iii) a housing agency; 

2 (iv) a mental health agency; and 

3 (v) a child welfare agency. 

4 (F) A representative of a community-based 

5 organization serving the community. 

6 (G) A representative from business or in7 dustry. 

8 (H) A representative with expertise in 

9 labor management relations. 

10 (I) A disconnected youth in the community 

11 and the parents or caregivers of such discon12 nected youth. 

13 (4) FEDERAL YOUTH DEVELOPMENT COUN14 CIL.—The term ‘‘Federal Youth Development Coun15 cil’’ means the Federal Youth Development Council 

16 established under the Tom Osborne Federal Youth 

17 Coordination Act (Public Law 109–365; 120 Stat. 

18 2594). 

19 (5) HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTHS.—The 

20 term ‘‘homeless children and youths’’ has the mean21 ing given the term in section 725 of the McKinney22 Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). 

23 (6) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

24 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 


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1 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 

2 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

3 (7) ONE-STOP CENTER.—The term ‘‘one-stop 

4 center’’ means a one-stop center described in section 

5 134(c) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 

6 U.S.C. 2864(c)). 

7 (8) POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION.—The term 

8 ‘‘postsecondary education’’ means— 

9 (A) a 4-year program of instruction, or not 

10 less than a 1-year program of instruction that 

11 is acceptable for credit toward a baccalaureate 

12 degree, offered by an institution of higher edu13 cation; or 

14 (B) a certificate or registered apprentice15 ship program at the postsecondary level offered 

16 by an institution of higher education or a non17 profit educational institution. 

18 (9) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 

19 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ 

20 means an industry skills training program at the 

21 postsecondary level that combines technical and the22 oretical training through structured on-the-job learn23 ing with related instruction (in a classroom or 

24 through distance learning) while an individual is em25 ployed, working under the direction of qualified perVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Jun 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1279.IS S1279

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1 sonnel or a mentor, and earning incremental wage 

2 increases aligned to enhanced job proficiency, result3 ing in the acquisition of a nationally recognized and 

4 portable certificate, under a plan approved by the 

5 Office of Apprenticeship of the Department of Labor 

6 or by a State agency recognized by the Department 

7 of Labor. 

8 (10) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘sec9 ondary school’’ has the meaning given the term in 

10 section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu11 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

12 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

13 means the Secretary of Labor. 

14 (12) YOUNG PEOPLE.—The term ‘‘young peo15 ple’’ means individuals who are between the ages of 

16 16 and 24, inclusive, at the time of commencement 

17 of participation in services funded through a grant 

18 under section 4. 

19 SEC. 4. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

21 with the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Health 

22 and Human Services, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

23 Development, the Attorney General of the United States, 

24 the Federal Youth Development Council, and leaders in 

25 the field of working with disconnected youth, shall award 


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1 grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to enable 

2 the eligible entities to pay the costs of— 

3 (1) developing and implementing a strategy to 

4 identify disconnected youth; and 

5 (2) providing such disconnected youth with sup6 port needed to— 

7 (A) attain a secondary school diploma or 

8 its recognized equivalent; 

9 (B) attain a postsecondary credential, in10 cluding a 2-year or 4-year credential from an 

11 institution of higher education, an industry-rec12 ognized credential, or certification from a reg13 istered apprenticeship program; and 

14 (C) secure and succeed in a family-sup15 porting career. 

16 (b) MINIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—The Secretary shall 

17 award a grant under this section in an amount that— 

18 (1) is appropriate to achieve the goals and im19 plement the activities described in the application 

20 submitted under section 5; and 

21 (2) is not less than $1,000,000 per year. 

22 (c) DURATION OF GRANT.—A grant under this sec23 tion shall be awarded for a period of 5 years, and may 

24 be renewed at the discretion of the Secretary based on the 

25 effective performance of the eligible entity under the preVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Jun 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1279.IS S1279

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1 ceding grant in accordance with the levels of performance 

2 determined by the eligible entity and the Secretary pursu3 ant to section 9(b). 

4 (d) EQUITABLE GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF

5 FUNDS.—The Secretary shall ensure an equitable and ap6 propriate distribution of grants awarded under this section 

7 among eligible entities— 

8 (1) serving urban, rural, and suburban areas; 

9 and 

10 (2) with varying degrees of experience and ex11 pertise in serving disconnected youth. 

12 (e) FISCAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE AGENTS.—An eli13 gible entity shall choose an entity to be the fiscal agent 

14 and an entity to be the administrative agent for the grant 

15 funds received under this section. 

16 (f) EXISTING PARTNERSHIP.—An existing workforce, 

17 education, or youth development partnership, coalition, or 

18 organization may serve as the eligible entity for the pur19 poses of grants under this section if the partnership, coali20 tion, or organization includes, or modifies the members of 

21 the partnership, coalition, or organization to include, the 

22 individuals required to be included in the eligible entity 

23 under section 3(2). 


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1 SEC. 5. APPLICATION. 

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

3 grant under section 4 shall submit an application to the 

4 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing 

5 such information as the Secretary may require. 

6 (b) CONTENTS.—An application submitted under this 

7 section shall include— 

8 (1) a description of the eligible entity submit9 ting the application, including a description of the 

10 fiscal agent and the administrative agent for the 

11 grant; 

12 (2) a description of the strategy that the eligi13 ble entity will use to carry out the purpose of this 

14 Act, which shall include— 

15 (A) a well-developed education component 

16 with an emphasis on— 

17 (i) multiple pathways and options to18 wards secondary school diploma and post19 secondary credential attainment, which 

20 may include recuperative strategies such as 

21 competency based instruction and credit 

22 retrieval as well as basic literacy; and 

23 (ii) the skills needed in the fields of 

24 science, technology, engineering, and math25 ematics; 


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1 (B) a work preparation component, which 

2 may include a hands-on internship, work experi3 ence, or national or community service, that 

4 promotes the development of applied skills such 

5 as oral and written communication, teamwork, 

6 leadership, and critical thinking; and 

7 (C) a youth support component, including 

8 the array of comprehensive support services 

9 that will— 

10 (i) address the challenges that caused 

11 the disconnected youth to leave school 

12 without a secondary school diploma; 

13 (ii) remove barriers to and support 

14 the attainment of— 

15 (I) the graduation of such young 

16 people from secondary school; 

17 (II) a postsecondary credential, 

18 including a 2-year or 4-year credential 

19 from an institution of higher edu20 cation, an industry-recognized creden21 tial, or certification from a registered 

22 apprenticeship program; and 

23 (III) success in a family-sup24 porting career; and 


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1 (iii) provide appropriate case manage2 ment to ensure young people achieve the 

3 purposes described in section 2(b); 

4 (3) a needs assessment of the community to be 

5 assisted under the grant, including— 

6 (A) an estimate of the number of discon7 nected youth in the community; and 

8 (B) an assessment of resources available in 

9 the community that can help such disconnected 

10 youth— 

11 (i) address the challenges that caused 

12 such disconnected youth to leave school 

13 without a secondary school diploma; 

14 (ii) return to an appropriate edu15 cational setting; 

16 (iii) attain a secondary school di17 ploma; 

18 (iv) attain a postsecondary credential, 

19 including a 2-year or 4-year credential 

20 from an institution of higher education, an 

21 industry-recognized credential, or certifi22 cation from a registered apprenticeship 

23 program; and 

24 (v) secure and succeed in a family25 supporting career; 


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1 (4) a plan for identifying and engaging discon2 nected youth and connecting such disconnected 

3 youth with a continuum of comprehensive and co4 ordinated resources that can help such disconnected 

5 youth attain a secondary school diploma, a recog6 nized postsecondary credential, including a 2-year or 

7 4-year credential from an institution of higher edu8 cation, an industry-recognized credential, or certifi9 cation from a registered apprenticeship program, 

10 and secure and succeed in a family-supporting ca11 reer, including a description of— 

12 (A) the needs of such disconnected youth 

13 that will be met by the eligible entity through 

14 the grant; 

15 (B) the identities, roles, and capacity of 

16 the partners in the eligible entity to fulfill the 

17 needs described in subparagraph (A), including 

18 a description of the role to be played by— 

19 (i) secondary schools and institutions 

20 of higher education in constructing edu21 cation programming; 

22 (ii) the local workforce system, includ23 ing one-stop career centers and businesses, 

24 in developing and implementing the work25 force preparation activities; and 


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1 (iii) systems serving young people, in2 cluding the juvenile justice system, and 

3 other community-based organizations in 

4 providing outreach, support, and direct 

5 service; 

6 (C) a plan to leverage non-Federal (includ7 ing in-kind) resources and a plan for sustain8 ability beyond the grant period; 

9 (D) the services to be provided through the 

10 grant to carry out the strategy described in 

11 paragraph (2) and a description of the process 

12 that will be used to award subgrants and con13 tracts under section 8 for the provision of such 

14 services; 

15 (E) the research and evidence base indi16 cating why the selected strategy and selection of 

17 services will be effective in meeting the com18 prehensive needs of the disconnected youth 

19 identified in the community; 

20 (F) the goals, intended outcomes, and per21 formance measures of the eligible entity’s strat22 egy in accordance with the performance meas23 ures under section 10(b); 

24 (G) a statement of concurrence on the ap25 plication, signed by the partners in the eligible 


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1 entity, that outlines the specific roles and re2 sponsibilities of the partners as the roles and 

3 responsibilities relate to the functioning of the 

4 eligible entity; and 

5 (H) a plan to create, or include an exist6 ing, youth advisory council, that is composed of 

7 disconnected youth from the community to be 

8 served, to make recommendations regarding the 

9 services to be provided under the grant; 

10 (5) a description of the system that will be put 

11 in place to— 

12 (A) provide case management, counseling, 

13 intensive placement and follow-up services, 

14 adult advocacy, or mentoring to help discon15 nected youth and their families access the var16 ious systems, resources, and supports necessary 

17 to ensure such young people’s success; and 

18 (B) ensure that young people receiving 

19 services through the grant will receive individ20 ualized case management to ensure that the 

21 young people achieve the purposes described in 

22 section 2(b), including— 

23 (i) an assessment of needs; 

24 (ii) coordination of appropriate serv25 ices; and 


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1 (iii) academic preparation and support 

2 for entry, persistence, and completion of 

3 postsecondary education; 

4 (6) a description of how the eligible entity will 

5 ensure that every young person served under the 

6 grant receives comprehensive services, including 

7 services from each of the categories described in sec8 tion 7(b)(1) through section 7(b)(3) until the young 

9 person— 

10 (A) attains a secondary school diploma, a 

11 2-year or 4-year credential or occupational cer12 tification from an institution of higher edu13 cation, an industry-recognized credential, or 

14 certification from a registered apprenticeship 

15 program; and 

16 (B) secures employment that can lead to 

17 economic self-sufficiency; 

18 (7) a description of how the strategy to be im19 plemented under the grant will identify, engage, and 

20 provide services to young people who— 

21 (A) left school without a secondary school 

22 diploma and have reading, mathematics, or 

23 science skills at or below the grade 8 level; and 


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1 (B) are disconnected youth described in 

2 any of subparagraphs (C) through (E) of sec3 tion 3(2); 

4 (8) a description of how public and private serv5 ices that exist on the date of submission of the ap6 plication will be coordinated and integrated in order 

7 to implement and sustain the strategy under the 

8 grant; 

9 (9) a description of how Federal, State, and 

10 local private and public funds will be leveraged, co11 ordinated, and integrated in order to implement the 

12 strategy under the grant; 

13 (10) a description of how the strategy to be im14 plemented under the grant strengthens, and does not 

15 duplicate, efforts within the community to be served 

16 under the grant that are funded under chapter 4 of 

17 subtitle B of title I of the Workforce Investment Act 

18 of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2851 et seq.); 

19 (11) a description of the process to be used to 

20 review or approve the industry-recognized credentials 

21 that may be attained by the young people receiving 

22 support under the grant; and 

23 (12) a description of how the strategy to be im24 plemented under the grant aligns with the efforts of 

25 the local educational agency serving the community 


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1 assisted under the grant to improve secondary 

2 schools, including efforts focused on— 

3 (A) students who are off-track to an on4 time graduation; and 

5 (B) recuperative strategies. 

6 (c) EXISTING PLANS, ASSESSMENTS, AND STRATE7 GIES.—Plans, needs assessments, and strategies that have 

8 been developed by an eligible entity or the partners in the 

9 eligible entity may be used to satisfy the requirements of 

10 this section if such plans, needs assessments, or strate11 gies— 

12 (1) include the information required by this sec13 tion, or can be modified to include the information 

14 required by this section; and 

15 (2) are submitted to the Secretary with such 

16 modifications. 

17 SEC. 6. PRIORITY. 

18 In awarding grants to eligible entities under section 

19 4, the Secretary shall give priority to applications from 

20 eligible entities proposing— 

21 (1) to serve areas with disproportionately high 

22 numbers or percentages of young people who have 

23 left secondary school without obtaining a secondary 

24 school diploma or its recognized equivalent; 


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1 (2) to serve areas with high concentrations of 

2 young people in families whose family income is not 

3 more than 200 percent of the poverty line (as deter4 mined under section 673(2) of the Community Serv5 ices Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2))); and 

6 (3) to serve areas with high numbers or per7 centages of young people who are unemployed or un8 deremployed. 

9 SEC. 7. SELECTION CRITERIA. 

10 The Secretary shall award grants to eligible entities 

11 under section 4 based on selection criteria that includes 

12 the following: 

13 (1) BEST PRACTICES OR RESEARCH.—The ex14 tent to which the application submitted by an eligi15 ble entity under section 5 is rooted in documented 

16 best practices or research. 

17 (2) INTEGRATION.—The extent to which the 

18 application demonstrates the integration of multiple 

19 services into a comprehensive, coordinated con20 tinuum that meets the holistic needs of young peo21 ple, including health services, mental health services, 

22 housing, civic opportunities, job readiness, work ex23 perience, school readiness, reenrollment in school, 

24 and connections to family and community. 


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1 (3) LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY INVOLVE2 MENT.—The extent to which the application dem3 onstrates the leadership and substantive involvement 

4 of the business community, the mayor or appropriate 

5 chief executive officers of the general purpose local 

6 government of the community to be served by the 

7 grant, each local educational agency serving the 

8 community, the public and nonprofit sectors of the 

9 community, and other individuals and entities, de10 scribed in section 3(2), of the community. 

11 (4) LEVERAGING AND SUSTAINABILITY.—The 

12 extent to which the application demonstrates that re13 sources from multiple sources will be leveraged to 

14 implement the grant, and the extent to which the 

15 application demonstrates a plan for sustainability 

16 beyond the grant period. 

17 SEC. 8. USE OF FUNDS. 

18 (a) SUBGRANTS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity receiving 

20 a grant under section 4 shall use the grant funds— 

21 (A) to award subgrants and contracts to 

22 community-based organizations and other enti23 ties to enable the organizations and entities to 

24 provide a comprehensive array of coordinated 

25 activities that will— 


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1 (i) support the educational, career and 

2 technical, social, emotional, and civic needs 

3 of disconnected youth; and 

4 (ii) allow disconnected youth to grad5 uate from secondary school, attain a post6 secondary credential, including a 2-year or 

7 4-year credential from an institution of 

8 higher education, an industry-recognized 

9 credential, or certification from a reg10 istered apprenticeship program, and secure 

11 and succeed in a family-supporting career; 

12 (B) for training, technical assistance, and 

13 professional development for the organizations 

14 and entities that is offered by local or national 

15 organizations; 

16 (C) for coordinating the overall effort of 

17 the eligible entity; or 

18 (D) for the reasonable costs associated 

19 with the administration and oversight of the 

20 grants under section 4. 

21 (2) USE OF SUBGRANT FUNDS.—Each organi22 zation or entity receiving a subgrant or contract 

23 under this section— 

24 (A) shall use the subgrant or contract 

25 funds to carry out a workforce preparation 


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1 service, an education support service, or a youth 

2 support service, described in paragraphs (1), 

3 (2), and (3) of subsection (b), respectively; and 

4 (B) may use the subgrant or contract 

5 funds to carry out an activity described in para6 graph (4) or (5) of subsection (b). 

7 (b) ALLOWABLE ACTIVITIES.—The services and ac8 tivities referred to in subsection (a)(2) include the fol9 lowing: 

10 (1) WORK AND CAREER PREPARATION.— 

11 (A) WORKFORCE PREPARATION.—Job 

12 training, youth entrepreneurship, technological 

13 and career and technical skill building, mean14 ingful internship and apprenticeship opportuni15 ties, and other workforce preparation activities 

16 developed in partnership with the business com17 munity and other employers. 

18 (B) EXPOSURE AND PREPARATION FOR

19 CAREERS.—Strategies that will expose discon20 nected youth to, and prepare such disconnected 

21 youth for, careers, including careers in high22 growth, high-demand industries that require the 

23 use of science, technology, engineering, and 

24 mathematics skills. 


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1 (C) APPLIED SKILLS.—Strategies that pro2 mote the development of applied skills in such 

3 young people, including oral and written com4 munication, teamwork, leadership, critical 

5 thinking, and a commitment to social and civic 

6 responsibility, including service-learning activi7 ties. 

8 (D) COMPENSATION.—Compensation for 

9 employment opportunities for such young peo10 ple, including summer and year-round employ11 ment opportunities, national and community 

12 service, service-learning, and work experience. 

13 (2) EDUCATION SUPPORT.— 

14 (A) EDUCATION PROGRAMMING.—Edu15 cation programming for such young people, in16 cluding assessment, instruction, tutoring, and 

17 technology supports to academic instruction. 

18 (B) CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDU19 CATION.—Career and technical education. 

20 (C) DUAL ENROLLMENT PROGRAMS AND

21 EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOLS.—Participation 

22 in dual enrollment programs, early college high 

23 schools, and other proven models for supporting 

24 the educational achievement of disconnected 

25 youth. 


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1 (D) POSTSECONDARY CREDENTIALS.—Pro2 grams that provide young people with a postsec3 ondary credential from an institution of higher 

4 education, a non-profit postsecondary edu5 cational institution that offers an industry rec6 ognized credential, or a registered apprentice7 ship program. 

8 (E) TRANSITION SUPPORT.—Support for 

9 young people in their transition into and their 

10 successful completion of postsecondary edu11 cation. 

12 (F) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—Financial 

13 assistance for such young people for education 

14 support services and for higher education. 

15 (3) YOUTH SUPPORT.— 

16 (A) CASE MANAGEMENT.—Case manage17 ment, including using subgrant or contract 

18 funds for youth centers to serve as points of ac19 cess and continued support. 

20 (B) HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH, OR DRUG

21 TREATMENT SERVICES.—Health services, men22 tal health services, or drug treatment services. 

23 (C) HOUSING.—Housing. 

24 (D) TRANSPORTATION.—Transportation. 


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1 (E) CHILDCARE OR FAMILY SUPPORT

2 SERVICES.—Childcare services or family sup3 port services. 

4 (F) MENTORING ACTIVITIES.—Mentoring 

5 activities for such young people, including one6 to-one relationship building and tutoring. 

7 (4) CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT.—Curriculum 

8 development that promotes contextual learning. 

9 (5) OTHER SERVICES OR OPPORTUNITIES.— 

10 Other services or opportunities that the Secretary or 

11 the eligible entity determine will help carry out the 

12 purposes of this Act. 

13 (c) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS.—An eligible entity re14 ceiving a grant under section 4 shall ensure that, of the 

15 group of young people who receive the services and partici16 pate in the activities described in subsections (a) and (b) 

17 under the grant, not less than 75 percent of the group 

18 shall be disconnected youth as defined in section 3(2). 

19 (d) WAIVER OF MULTIPLE SERVICE REQUIRE20 MENT.—The Secretary may waive the requirement of sub21 section (a) regarding the provision of a comprehensive 

22 array of coordinated activities for an eligible entity receiv23 ing a grant under section 4 to permit not more than 25 

24 percent of the young people served by the eligible entity 

25 under the grant to receive only 1 or more services among 


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1 the allowable activities described in subsection (b) if the 

2 eligible entity determines that such young people only need 

3 1 or more such services in order to— 

4 (1) attain a secondary school diploma; 

5 (2) attain a recognized postsecondary creden6 tial, including a 2-year or 4-year credential from an 

7 institution of higher education, an industry-recog8 nized credential, or certification from a registered 

9 apprenticeship program; and 

10 (3) secure and succeed in a family-supporting 

11 career. 

12 SEC. 9. PLANNING GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award plan14 ning grants to eligible entities to develop the components 

15 of the application described in section 5, in order to allow 

16 eligible entities to become competitive for grants under 

17 section 4. 

18 (b) DURATION; AMOUNT.—Planning grants under 

19 this section shall be— 

20 (1) for a duration of not more than 6 months 

21 in an amount of not more than $50,000; or 

22 (2) for a duration of more than 6 months and 

23 not more than one year and in an amount of not 

24 more than $100,000. 


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1 (c) RECIPIENTS.—Recipients of grants under this 

2 section shall include— 

3 (1) eligible entities that applied for and did not 

4 receive a grant under section 4, and demonstrate the 

5 ability to submit a competitive application after ad6 ditional local planning; and 

7 (2) eligible entities that intend to apply for a 

8 grant under section 4 after undergoing a thorough 

9 planning process. 

10 SEC. 10. ACCOUNTABILITY, PERFORMANCE MEASURES, 

11 AND EVALUATION. 

12 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to es13 tablish an accountability system, comprised of the activi14 ties described in this section, in order to— 

15 (1) assess the effectiveness of grants under sec16 tion 4 in helping disconnected youth— 

17 (A) attain a secondary school diploma; 

18 (B) attain a 2-year or 4-year credential 

19 from an institution of higher education, an in20 dustry recognized credential, or certification 

21 from a registered apprenticeship program; and 

22 (C) secure and succeed in a family-sup23 porting career; 

24 (2) identify and disseminate effective practices 

25 to strengthen performance; and 


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1 (3) maximize the return on investment of Fed2 eral funds in activities assisted pursuant to a grant 

3 under section 4. 

4 (b) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each eligible entity, per6 formance measures shall consist of the indicators of 

7 performance described in paragraph (2) and the 

8 level of performance described in paragraph (3). 

9 (2) INDICATORS OF PERFORMANCE.—The indi10 cators of performance referred to in paragraph (1) 

11 shall consist of the following: 

12 (A) INTERIM INDICATORS.— 

13 (i) YOUTH PARTICIPATION.—The par14 ticipation of young people in activities 

15 funded under section 4. 

16 (ii) YOUTH PROGRESS.—The progress 

17 of young people towards all of the fol18 lowing: 

19 (I) Attainment of a secondary 

20 school diploma or its recognized equiv21 alent. 

22 (II) Job readiness. 

23 (iii) YOUTH ATTAINMENT.—The at24 tainment by young people of a secondary 

25 school diploma or its recognized equivalent. 


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1 (B) TRANSITIONAL INDICATORS.— 

2 (i) DIPLOMA, AND ENTRANCE INTO

3 EDUCATION OR EMPLOYMENT.—The at4 tainment by young people of a secondary 

5 school diploma, and entrance into postsec6 ondary education or employment. 

7 (ii) CREDENTIAL.—The attainment by 

8 young people of 1 or more recognized post9 secondary credentials, which may include a 

10 certificate, a license, a journey-status card, 

11 or an associate degree or baccalaureate de12 gree. 

13 (C) LONG-TERM INDICATORS.— 

14 (i) EMPLOYMENT, DIPLOMA, AND CRE15 DENTIAL.—Employment of individuals who 

16 participated in activities funded under sec17 tion 4, attained a secondary school di18 ploma, and attained 1 or more recognized 

19 credentials, which may include a certifi20 cate, license, journey-status card, or asso21 ciate degree or baccalaureate degree. 

22 (ii) INITIAL WAGE OR SALARY

23 LEVEL.—The initial wage or salary level of 

24 individuals described in clause (i). 


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1 (3) LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE.—For each indi2 cator of performance described in paragraph (2), the 

3 Secretary, in coordination with the eligible entity, 

4 shall determine a level of performance expressed in 

5 objective, quantifiable, and measurable form and in 

6 a way to show the progress of the eligible entity to7 ward continuously improving performance. 

8 (4) ELIGIBLE ENTITY MEASURES.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity 

10 that receives a grant under section 4 shall reach 

11 agreement with the Secretary on the levels of 

12 performance for the years covered by the grant. 

13 The levels of performance shall take into ac14 count the economic conditions of the area 

15 served, the characteristics of young people in 

16 the area, secondary school graduation rates, 

17 and the activities or services provided in the 

18 community served under the grant. 

19 (B) ADJUSTMENTS.—If unanticipated cir20 cumstances arise resulting in a significant 

21 change in the economic conditions of the area, 

22 the characteristics of young people in the area, 

23 secondary school graduation rates, or activities 

24 or services provided in the community served 

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1 quest that the Secretary adjust the level of per2 formance for the eligible entity. 

3 (c) ASSURANCE.—Each eligible entity that receives a 

4 grant under section 4 shall provide an assurance to the 

5 Secretary, as part of the application submitted under sec6 tion 5, that the eligible entity will— 

7 (1) report progress toward achieving the indica8 tors under subsection (b) beyond the grant period 

9 for young people served under the grant; and 

10 (2) use funds provided under the grant for such 

11 progress reporting. 

12 (d) REPORTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity that re14 ceives a grant under section 4 shall annually, for 

15 each year of the grant, provide a report to the Sec16 retary that includes the progress of the eligible enti17 ty in accomplishing the performance measures for 

18 the eligible entity. The annual report shall include— 

19 (A) information on the progress each eligi20 ble entity made in accomplishing its perform21 ance measures, disaggregated by the categories 

22 described in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II) of the 

23 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

24 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)); 


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1 (B) the costs of the activities supported 

2 under the grant under section 4, including— 

3 (i) the type of cost, such as cash, per4 sonnel, equipment, supplies, or materials, 

5 or other cost; and 

6 (ii) the sources used to pay such 

7 costs, such as— 

8 (I) funding from other Federal, 

9 State, or local public programs; or 

10 (II) private sector or philan11 thropic contributions; and 

12 (iii) the dollar value of the resources 

13 leveraged to cover such costs and support 

14 the activities; 

15 (C) any fiscal and management account16 ability information required by the Secretary, 

17 which information shall use sound financial and 

18 management practices; 

19 (D) the characteristics and number of dis20 connected youth served by the services and ac21 tivities provided under the grant; and 

22 (E) the services and supports provided 

23 under the grant. 

24 (2) VALID AND RELIABLE INFORMATION.—In 

25 preparing the reports under this subsection, each eliVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:09 Jun 29, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1279.IS S1279

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1 gible entity shall establish procedures, consistent 

2 with guidelines issued by the Secretary, to ensure 

3 that the information contained in the reports is valid 

4 and reliable. 

5 (e) EVALUATION.—Not later than 90 days after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall award 

7 a grant or a contract to an entity outside the Department 

8 of Labor for an evaluation of the activities assisted under 

9 the grants awarded under section 4. Such evaluation 

10 shall— 

11 (1) evaluate a subgroup of eligible entities that 

12 received a grant under section 4; 

13 (2) include an analysis and documentation of 

14 the strategies implemented by the eligible entities as15 sisted under the grants awarded under section 4 and 

16 the key lessons learned, as such lessons relate to 

17 program design, systems coordination, and imple18 mentation; 

19 (3) measure the outcomes, and progress toward 

20 the outcomes, of the strategies implemented under 

21 the grants under section 4 in terms of the interim 

22 and transitional indicators of performance under 

23 subsection (b)(2), and if feasible, the long-term indi24 cators of performance under such subsection; 


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1 (4) document the incremental progress of such 

2 young people over time on the outcomes measured 

3 under paragraph (3); 

4 (5) measure the return on investment resulting 

5 from the activities funded with grants under section 

6 4; and 

7 (6) begin as soon as practicable after the 

8 awarding of the grant or contract under this section 

9 and continue throughout the duration of the periods 

10 of the grants under section 4 so that the plans in11 cluded in the applications under section 5 may be in12 formed by, and conducive to, the evaluation. 

13 SEC. 11. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND BEST PRACTICES. 

14 The Secretary shall— 

15 (1) in consultation with the Federal Youth De16 velopment Council, the Coordinating Council on Ju17 venile Justice and Delinquency Prevention estab18 lished under section 206 of the Juvenile Justice and 

19 Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

20 5616), the Shared Youth Vision, and other related 

21 agencies, disseminate best practices that emerge 

22 from the programs assisted under this Act in identi23 fying disconnected youth, and in implementing effec24 tive public and private strategies for preparing such 

25 young people to be successful students, workers, and 


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1 citizens during and after implementation of the pro2 gram; and 

3 (2) provide, directly or through a grant or con4 tract with 1 or more nonprofit organizations selected 

5 through a competitive process, training, technical as6 sistance, and professional development for organiza7 tions serving disconnected youth, including organiza8 tions serving such disconnected youth that do not re9 ceive funding under this Act. 

10 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro12 priated to carry out this Act such sums as may be nec13 essary for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 2015. 

14 (b) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts appropriated to 

15 carry out this section for each fiscal year, the Secretary 

16 shall use— 

17 (1) not less than 90 percent of such amount for 

18 grants to eligible entities under section 4 and section 

19 9; and 

20 (2) a total of not more than 10 percent of such 

21 amount for the evaluation under section 10(b) and 

22 the training, technical assistance, and dissemination 

23 of best practices under section 11. 

Æ 


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