II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2108 

To amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to provide for the establishment of Youth Corps programs and provide for wider dissemination 

of the Youth Corps model. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2012 

Mr. BROWN of Ohio (for himself, Mr. SANDERS, and Mr. UDALL of New Mexico) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to provide 

for the establishment of Youth Corps programs and provide for wider dissemination of the Youth Corps model. 

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 Corps Act of 

5 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Nationally, there are an estimated 

9 3,500,000 to 5,000,000 youth, ages 16 through 24, 

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1 out-of-school and out-of-work, with an additional 

2 500,000 young people dropping out of school each 

3 year. At present, the unemployment rate for youth 

4 ages 16 through 24 is approximately 20 percent. 

5 For such youth who are in low-income or minority 

6 communities, or are youth with disabilities, this rate 

7 is even higher. 

8 (2) Youth Service and Conservation Corps, de9 scended from the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 

10 1930s, have been preparing disadvantaged and dis11 connected youth for careers in resource conservation, 

12 environmental restoration, land management, build13 ing renovation and weatherization, education, human 

14 services, health care, homeland security, and disaster 

15 relief for nearly 3 decades. To date, more than 

16 600,000 young people have found a new start 

17 through a Youth Service and Conservation Corps. 

18 (3) Today, over 150 Youth Service and Con19 servation Corps are working in 50 States and the 

20 District of Columbia, and employing a research-driv21 en strategy, called the Youth Corps model, to re22 engage and provide educational and economic oppor23 tunity to over 30,000 young people each year. 

24 (4) Due to the many benefits and positive out25 comes, not only for program participants but also 

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1 for the communities in which they serve, the Youth 

2 Corps model is a proven strategy for re-engaging 

3 disconnected youth, while improving communities 

4 and the environment and building the workforce of 

5 tomorrow. 

6 SEC. 3. YOUTH CORPS PROGRAMS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title I of the Work8 force Investment Act of 1998 is amended by inserting be9 fore section 174 (29 U.S.C. 2919) the following new sec10 tion: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 173B. YOUTH CORPS PROGRAMS. 

12 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to uti13 lize service, environmental stewardship, and the Youth 

14 Corps model to educate and train the next generation of 

15 workers to enable them to find meaningful employment 

16 in the economy of the 21st century, and instill in them 

17 a sense of civic engagement and environmental steward18 ship. 

19 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en21 tity’ means a public or private nonprofit agency or 

22 organization (including a consortium of such agen23 cies or organizations), including— 

24 ‘‘(A) a community-based organization; 

25 ‘‘(B) a faith-based organization; 

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1 ‘‘(C) a community action agency; 

2 ‘‘(D) a community development corpora3 tion; 

4 ‘‘(E) an entity carrying out activities under 

5 this title, such as a local board; 

6 ‘‘(F) an Indian tribe or other agency pri7 marily serving Indians; 

8 ‘‘(G) a public or private institution of high9 er education; 

10 ‘‘(H) a State or unit of general local gov11 ernment; or 

12 ‘‘(I) a State or local youth service or con13 servation corps. 

14 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE YOUTH.—Notwithstanding sec15 tion 101, the term ‘eligible youth’ means an indi16 vidual eligible to participate in a Youth Corps pro17 gram in accordance with subsection (d). 

18 ‘‘(3) INDIAN; INDIAN TRIBE.—The terms ‘In19 dian’ and ‘Indian tribe’ have the meanings given the 

20 terms in section 166(b). 

21 ‘‘(4) PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘participant’ has 

22 the meaning given the term in section 101, but in23 cludes a recipient of services under paragraph 

24 (5)(F). 

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1 ‘‘(5) YOUTH CORPS MODEL.—The term ‘Youth 

2 Corps model’ means a model for a youth education 

3 and training program for which an eligible entity— 

4 ‘‘(A) provides eligible youth with stipended 

5 or paid work experience, and basic and tech6 nical skills training leading, at a minimum, to 

7 an outcome consisting of— 

8 ‘‘(i) enrollment in postsecondary edu9 cation or training; 

10 ‘‘(ii) attainment of an industry-recog11 nized certification or credential; 

12 ‘‘(iii) meaningful employment in the 

13 economy of the 21st century; or 

14 ‘‘(iv) military service; 

15 ‘‘(B) provides eligible youth with opportu16 nities for educational advancement, including 

17 the attainment of a secondary school diploma or 

18 its recognized equivalent, or other State-recog19 nized credential; 

20 ‘‘(C) engages eligible youth to work, in 

21 teams or crews under the leadership of adult 

22 mentors and trainers, on service and conserva23 tion projects designed to improve the commu24 nities in which the youth live and the environ25 ment; 

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1 ‘‘(D) works with youth- and family-serving 

2 systems, such as child welfare and justice sys3 tems, to provide and coordinate supportive serv4 ices for education and training program partici5 pants; 

6 ‘‘(E) works with program partners in the 

7 local workforce investment system, institutions 

8 of higher education, or other community-based 

9 organizations to develop pathways to subse10 quent enrollment in education or training, at11 tainment of an industry-recognized certification 

12 or credential, meaningful employment, or serv13 ice as described in subparagraph (A); and 

14 ‘‘(F) provides 12 months of followup serv15 ices and tracking for the program graduates. 

16 ‘‘(c) YOUTH CORPS GRANTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) AMOUNTS OF GRANTS.—The Secretary is 

18 authorized to make grants to eligible entities for the 

19 purpose of carrying out Youth Corps programs ap20 proved under this section. 

21 ‘‘(2) TERM OF GRANTS.—The Secretary is au22 thorized to make the grants for terms of up to 3 

23 years in length, and is authorized to renew the 

24 grants. 

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1 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—An entity that re2 ceives a grant under this subsection— 

3 ‘‘(A) shall use the funds made available 

4 through the grant to carry out a Youth Corps 

5 program that utilizes the Youth Corps model to 

6 provide to the participants, prior to graduation 

7 from the program— 

8 ‘‘(i) education, which may include— 

9 ‘‘(I) basic instruction and reme10 dial education; 

11 ‘‘(II) language instruction for in12 dividuals with limited English pro13 ficiency; 

14 ‘‘(III) secondary education serv15 ices and activities, including dropout 

16 prevention, tutoring, and other activi17 ties, that— 

18 ‘‘(aa) are designed to lead to 

19 the attainment of a secondary 

20 school diploma or its recognized 

21 equivalent, or other State-recog22 nized credential (including a cre23 dential for meeting recognized al24 ternative standards for individ25 uals with disabilities); and 

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1 ‘‘(bb) are delivered in con2 junction with project-based serv3 ice-learning to the maximum de4 gree practicable; and 

5 ‘‘(IV) preparation for and access 

6 to postsecondary education opportuni7 ties, including counseling and assist8 ance with applying for student finan9 cial aid; 

10 ‘‘(ii) work readiness training, which 

11 may include— 

12 ‘‘(I) development of basic skills, 

13 such as— 

14 ‘‘(aa) arriving on time to 

15 work; 

16 ‘‘(bb) being prepared to 

17 work; 

18 ‘‘(cc) following directions; 

19 ‘‘(dd) working independ20 ently; 

21 ‘‘(ee) working with others; 

22 ‘‘(ff) working safely; and 

23 ‘‘(gg) demonstrating a com24 mitment to produce high-quality 

25 work; 

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1 ‘‘(II) development of job-specific 

2 occupational skills and on-the-job 

3 training; 

4 ‘‘(III) stipended or paid work ex5 perience that provides participants 

6 with insights into the professional 

7 work environment; 

8 ‘‘(IV) activities designed to lead 

9 to— 

10 ‘‘(aa) the attainment of an 

11 industry-recognized certification 

12 or credential; or 

13 ‘‘(bb) meaningful employ14 ment in the economy of the 21st 

15 century; 

16 ‘‘(V) career counseling and job 

17 search assistance; and 

18 ‘‘(VI) provision of a job developer 

19 to cultivate relationships with local 

20 employers to hire program graduates; 

21 ‘‘(iii) supportive services, which may 

22 include— 

23 ‘‘(I) needs-related payments; 

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1 ‘‘(II) health care, including men2 tal health care such as drug and alco3 hol abuse counseling; 

4 ‘‘(III) child care; and 

5 ‘‘(IV) transportation; 

6 ‘‘(iv) provision of wages, stipends, or 

7 benefits; 

8 ‘‘(v) development and monitoring of 

9 individual education and career plans; 

10 ‘‘(vi) service and conservation proj11 ects, designed to develop civic engagement 

12 and environmental stewardship; 

13 ‘‘(vii) supervision and training on 

14 those projects; and 

15 ‘‘(viii) adult mentoring; 

16 ‘‘(B) shall use the funds made available 

17 through the grant, in carrying out the Youth 

18 Corps program, to provide followup services and 

19 tracking for program graduates; and 

20 ‘‘(C) may use the funds made available 

21 through the grant for— 

22 ‘‘(i) ongoing training and technical as23 sistance that is related to the development, 

24 implementation, and sustainability of the 

25 program; and 

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1 ‘‘(ii) payment of administrative ex2 penses. 

3 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In order to be quali5 fied to receive a grant for a program under this 

6 subsection, an eligible entity shall submit an ap7 plication at such time, in such manner, and 

8 containing such information as the Secretary 

9 may require. 

10 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec11 retary shall require that the application contain, 

12 at a minimum— 

13 ‘‘(i) a request for the grant, specifying 

14 the amount of the grant requested and the 

15 proposed uses for the grant funds; 

16 ‘‘(ii) a description of the applicant 

17 and a statement of its qualifications, in18 cluding a description of the applicant’s— 

19 ‘‘(I) past experience with youth 

20 education and training programs; and 

21 ‘‘(II) relationships with local 

22 boards, one-stop operators and one23 stop partners, local labor organiza24 tions, entities carrying out registered 

25 apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship 

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1 programs, employers, institutions of 

2 higher education, and other commu3 nity-based organizations who are pro4 posed as members of the program 

5 partnership; 

6 ‘‘(iii) a description of the educational 

7 and work readiness training activities (in8 cluding paid work opportunities), sec9 ondary education, preparation for and ac10 cess to postsecondary education and train11 ing opportunities, and other services that 

12 will be provided to participants, and how 

13 those activities, opportunities, and services 

14 will prepare eligible youth for an outcome 

15 described in subsection (b)(5)(A), and in16 still in them a sense of civic engagement 

17 and environmental stewardship; 

18 ‘‘(iv) a description of the proposed 

19 service and conservation projects to be un20 dertaken under the grant, how the project 

21 activities will improve the affected commu22 nity or environment, and the anticipated 

23 schedule for carrying out such activities; 

24 ‘‘(v) a description of the manner in 

25 which eligible youth will be recruited and 

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1 selected as participants, including a de2 scription of any coordination with local 

3 boards, one-stop operators and one-stop 

4 partners, community-based organizations, 

5 faith-based organizations, State edu6 cational agencies (as defined in section 

7 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

8 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)) 

9 or local educational agencies (including 

10 agencies of Indian tribes), public assistance 

11 agencies, local courts, probation and parole 

12 offices, the justice system, agencies serving 

13 homeless youth, foster care agencies, the 

14 Armed Forces, and other appropriate pub15 lic and private agencies; 

16 ‘‘(vi) a description of how the pro17 posed program will be coordinated with 

18 other Federal, State, and local activities 

19 and activities conducted by Indian tribes, 

20 such as local workforce investment activi21 ties, career and technical education pro22 grams, programs of adult education and 

23 literary activities, activities conducted by 

24 public schools, activities conducted by com25 munity colleges, national and community 

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1 service programs, and other non-school2 based education or training provided with 

3 funds available under this title; 

4 ‘‘(vii) a description of results to be 

5 achieved with respect to performance indi6 cators described in subsection (e); 

7 ‘‘(viii) a detailed budget and a de8 scription of the system of fiscal controls, 

9 and auditing and accountability proce10 dures, that will be used to ensure fiscal 

11 soundness for the proposed program; and 

12 ‘‘(ix) a description of the commit13 ments of any additional resources (in addi14 tion to the grant funds) by the applicant 

15 or any program partners. 

16 ‘‘(5) SELECTION CRITERIA.—For an applicant 

17 to be eligible to receive a grant under this sub18 section, the applicant and the applicant’s proposed 

19 program shall meet such selection criteria as the 

20 Secretary shall establish under this section, which 

21 shall include criteria relating to— 

22 ‘‘(A) the qualifications or potential capa23 bilities of an applicant; 

24 ‘‘(B) an applicant’s potential for devel25 oping and implementing a successful education 

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1 and training program utilizing the Youth Corps 

2 model; 

3 ‘‘(C) the need for an applicant’s proposed 

4 program, as determined by the degree of eco5 nomic distress of the community from which 

6 participants would be recruited (measured by 

7 indicators such as poverty, youth unemploy8 ment, and the number of individuals who have 

9 dropped out of secondary school); 

10 ‘‘(D) the need for the applicant’s proposed 

11 service and conservation projects by the af12 fected community or environmental area; 

13 ‘‘(E) the ability of an applicant to provide 

14 the education, training, and other services de15 scribed in paragraph (3) that are necessary to 

16 prepare participants for an outcome described 

17 in subsection (b)(5)(A); 

18 ‘‘(F) the extent of an applicant’s ability to 

19 coordinate and partner with local boards, one20 stop operators and one-stop partners, local 

21 labor organizations, entities carrying out reg22 istered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship 

23 programs, employers, institutions of higher edu24 cation, and other community-based organiza25 tions who are proposed as members of the promstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 gram partnership to provide participants with 

2 an outcome described in subsection (b)(5)(A); 

3 ‘‘(G) the extent of the applicant’s coordina4 tion of activities with entities carrying out pub5 lic education, criminal justice, housing and com6 munity development, national and community 

7 service, postsecondary education, or other sys8 tems that relate to the goals of the proposed 

9 program; 

10 ‘‘(H) the extent of the commitment of ad11 ditional resources (in addition to the grant 

12 funds) to the proposed program by the appli13 cant or any program partners; and 

14 ‘‘(I) such other factors as the Secretary 

15 determines to be appropriate for purposes of 

16 carrying out the proposed program in an effec17 tive and efficient manner. 

18 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec21 tion 101, for purposes of this section an indi22 vidual shall be eligible to participate in a Youth 

23 Corps program only if such individual is— 

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1 ‘‘(i)(I) not less than age 16 and not 

2 more than age 24, on the date of enroll3 ment; and 

4 ‘‘(II)(aa) a low-income individual, a 

5 youth in foster care (including youth aging 

6 out of foster care), a formerly incarcerated 

7 or court-involved youth, a child of an in8 carcerated parent, a youth who is an indi9 vidual with a disability, or a migrant 

10 youth; or 

11 ‘‘(bb) a school dropout; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) eligible to participate under sub13 paragraph (B). 

14 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR INDIVIDUALS NOT

15 MEETING INCOME OR EDUCATIONAL NEED RE16 QUIREMENTS.—Not more than 25 percent of 

17 the individuals selected to be participants in 

18 such program may be individuals who do not 

19 meet the requirements of subclause (II) or (III) 

20 of subparagraph (A)(i). 

21 ‘‘(C) PARTICIPANTS.—For purposes of 

22 Federal law, participants in a Youth Corps pro23 gram under this section shall be considered par24 ticipants of the program rather than employees 

25 of the program. 

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1 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPATION LIMITATION.—An eligible 

2 individual selected for participation in a Youth 

3 Corps program under this section shall be offered 

4 full-time participation in the program for a period of 

5 not less than 6 months and not more than 24 

6 months. 

7 ‘‘(e) PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.—Recipients of 

8 grants for programs under subsection (c) shall report an9 nually to the Secretary concerning the following perform10 ance indicators: 

11 ‘‘(1) Program enrollment rates. 

12 ‘‘(2) Program attendance rates. 

13 ‘‘(3) Attainment of a diploma, equivalent, or 

14 credential described in subsection (c)(3)(A)(i)(III). 

15 ‘‘(4) Rates of program completion, including 

16 early release for meaningful employment in the econ17 omy of the 21st century. 

18 ‘‘(5) Rates of outcomes described in subsection 

19 (b)(5)(A) for program graduates. 

20 ‘‘(6) Wages of program graduates. 

21 ‘‘(7) Post-program employment retention rates. 

22 ‘‘(8) Such other performance indicators as may 

23 be reasonably required by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(f) MANAGEMENT AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) SECRETARY ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

2 may enter into contracts or cooperative agreements 

3 with or make grants to 1 or more entities to provide 

4 assistance to the Secretary in the management, su5 pervision, and coordination of the program carried 

6 out under this section. 

7 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

8 ‘‘(A) CONTRACTS, COOPERATIVE AGREE9 MENTS, AND GRANTS.—The Secretary shall 

10 enter into contracts or cooperative agreements 

11 with or make grants to 1 or more qualified na12 tional nonprofit organizations with a dem13 onstrated record of experience with and achieve14 ment in developing and implementing the Youth 

15 Corps model, in order to provide training, infor16 mation, and technical assistance to recipients of 

17 grants under subsection (c). 

18 ‘‘(B) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Of the 

19 amounts available under section 174(d) to carry 

20 out this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary 

21 shall reserve 5 percent to carry out subpara22 graph (A). 

23 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) CONTRACTS, COOPERATIVE AGREE25 MENTS, AND GRANTS.—The Secretary shall 

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1 enter into contracts or cooperative agreements 

2 with or make grants to 1 or more qualified na3 tional nonprofit organizations with a dem4 onstrated record of experience with and achieve5 ment in developing and implementing the Youth 

6 Corps model, for the purpose of conducting 

7 data collection and evaluation. 

8 ‘‘(B) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Of the 

9 amounts available under section 174(d) to carry 

10 out this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary 

11 shall reserve 1 percent to carry out subpara12 graph (A). 

13 ‘‘(4) CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS.—For each 

14 fiscal year, the Secretary may use not more than 3 

15 percent of the amounts available under section 

16 174(d) to award grants to 1 or more qualified na17 tional nonprofit organizations to pay for the Federal 

18 share of the cost of providing capacity building ac19 tivities for recipients of grants under subsection 

20 (c).’’. 

21 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 

22 section 1(b) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 is 

23 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

24 173A the following: 

‘‘Sec. 173B. Youth Corps programs.’’. 

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1 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 Section 174 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 

3 (29 U.S.C. 2919) is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 173B 

7 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

8 2013 through 2018.’’. 

Æ 

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