I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1634 

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to provide for 

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2019 

Ms. WILSON of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 

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 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Nationally, there are an estimated 

2 5,500,000 youth, ages 16 through 24, out-of-school 

3 and out-of-work, with an additional over 500,000 

4 young people dropping out of school each year. At 

5 present, the unemployment rate for youth ages 16 

6 through 24 is approximately 17 percent. For youth 

7 who are in low-income or minority communities, or 

8 who have disabilities, this rate is significantly high9 er. 

10 (2) Youth Service and Conservation Corps pro11 grams, descended from the Civilian Conservation 

12 Corps of the 1930s, have been preparing disadvan13 taged and disconnected youth for careers in resource 

14 conservation, environmental restoration, land man15 agement, building renovation and weatherization, 

16 education, human services, health care, homeland se17 curity, and disaster relief for over 4 decades. To 

18 date, nearly a million young people have found a 

19 new start through a Youth Service and Conservation 

20 Corps program. 

21 (3) Today, over 125 Youth Service and Con22 servation Corps programs are being carried out in 

23 50 States and the District of Columbia, and employ24 ing a research-driven strategy, called the Youth 

25 Corps model, to reengage and provide educational 


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1 and economic opportunity to around 30,000 young 

2 people each year. These Corps members participate 

3 in 13.5 million hours of community service annually. 

4 (4) According to a recent study by the Corpora5 tion for National and Community Service, partici6 pating in service increases your likelihood of finding 

7 employment by 27 percent. When limited to individ8 uals living in rural areas or without a high school di9 ploma, the increase in likelihood of gaining employ10 ment jumps to 55 percent and 51 percent, respec11 tively. 

12 (5) Due to the many benefits and positive out13 comes, not only for program participants but also 

14 for the communities in which they serve, the Youth 

15 Corps model is a proven strategy for reengaging dis16 connected youth in education and the workforce, 

17 while improving communities and the environment. 

18 SEC. 3. YOUTH CORPS PROGRAMS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title I of the Work20 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3221 et 

21 seq.) is amended by inserting after section 171 (29 U.S.C. 

22 3226) the following new section: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 171B. YOUTH CORPS PROGRAMS. 

24 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to uti25 lize service, environmental stewardship, and the Youth 


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1 Corps model to educate and train the next generation of 

2 workers to enable them to find meaningful employment 

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

4 a sense of civic engagement and environmental steward5 ship. 

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

7 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en8 tity’ means a public or private nonprofit agency or 

9 organization (including a consortium of such agen10 cies or organizations), including— 

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

12 ‘‘(B) a faith-based organization; 

13 ‘‘(C) a community action agency; 

14 ‘‘(D) a community development corpora15 tion; 

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

17 this title, such as a local board; 

18 ‘‘(F) an Indian tribe or other agency pri19 marily serving Indians; 

20 ‘‘(G) a public or private institution of high21 er education; 

22 ‘‘(H) a State or unit of general local gov23 ernment; or 

24 ‘‘(I) a State or local youth service or con25 servation corps. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE YOUTH.—Notwithstanding sec2 tion 3, the term ‘eligible youth’ means an individual 

3 eligible to participate in a Youth Corps program in 

4 accordance with subsection (d). 

5 ‘‘(3) INDIAN; INDIAN TRIBE.—The terms ‘In6 dian’ and ‘Indian tribe’ have the meanings given the 

7 terms in section 166(b). 

8 ‘‘(4) PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘participant’ in9 cludes a recipient of services under paragraph 

10 (5)(F). 

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

12 Corps model’ means a model for a youth education 

13 and training program for which an eligible entity— 

14 ‘‘(A) provides eligible youth with stipended 

15 or paid work experience, and basic and tech16 nical skills training leading, at a minimum, to 

17 an outcome consisting of— 

18 ‘‘(i) enrollment in postsecondary edu19 cation or training; 

20 ‘‘(ii) attainment of an industry-recog21 nized certification or credential; 

22 ‘‘(iii) meaningful employment in the 

23 economy of the 21st century; or 

24 ‘‘(iv) military service; 


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1 ‘‘(B) provides eligible youth with opportu2 nities for educational advancement, including 

3 the attainment of a secondary school diploma or 

4 its recognized equivalent, or other State-recog5 nized credential; 

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

7 teams or crews under the leadership of adult 

8 mentors and trainers, on service and conserva9 tion projects designed to improve the commu10 nities in which the youth live and the environ11 ment; 

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

13 systems, such as child welfare and justice sys14 tems, to provide and coordinate supportive serv15 ices for education and training program partici16 pants; 

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

18 local workforce investment system, institutions 

19 of higher education, or other community-based 

20 organizations to develop pathways to subse21 quent enrollment in education or training, at22 tainment of an industry-recognized certification 

23 or credential, meaningful employment, or serv24 ice as described in subparagraph (A); and 


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1 ‘‘(F) provides 12 months of followup serv2 ices and tracking for the program graduates. 

3 ‘‘(c) YOUTH CORPS GRANTS.— 

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

5 authorized to make grants to eligible entities for the 

6 purpose of carrying out Youth Corps programs ap7 proved under this section. 

8 ‘‘(2) TERM OF GRANTS.—The Secretary is au9 thorized to make the grants for terms of up to 3 

10 years in length, and is authorized to renew the 

11 grants. 

12 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—An entity that re13 ceives a grant under this subsection— 

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

15 through the grant to carry out a Youth Corps 

16 program that utilizes the Youth Corps model to 

17 provide to the participants, prior to graduation 

18 from the program— 

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

20 ‘‘(I) basic instruction and reme21 dial education; 

22 ‘‘(II) language instruction for in23 dividuals with limited English pro24 ficiency; 


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1 ‘‘(III) secondary education serv2 ices and activities, including dropout 

3 prevention, tutoring, and other activi4 ties, that— 

5 ‘‘(aa) are designed to lead to 

6 the attainment of a secondary 

7 school diploma or its recognized 

8 equivalent, or other State-recog9 nized credential (including a cre10 dential for meeting recognized al11 ternative standards for individ12 uals with disabilities); and 

13 ‘‘(bb) are delivered in con14 junction with project-based serv15 ice-learning to the maximum de16 gree practicable; and 

17 ‘‘(IV) preparation for and access 

18 to postsecondary education opportuni19 ties, including counseling and assist20 ance with applying for student finan21 cial aid; 

22 ‘‘(ii) work readiness training, which 

23 may include— 

24 ‘‘(I) development of basic skills, 

25 such as— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) arriving on time to 

2 work; 

3 ‘‘(bb) being prepared to 

4 work; 

5 ‘‘(cc) following directions; 

6 ‘‘(dd) working independ7 ently; 

8 ‘‘(ee) working with others; 

9 ‘‘(ff) working safely; and 

10 ‘‘(gg) demonstrating a com11 mitment to produce high-quality 

12 work; 

13 ‘‘(II) development of job-specific 

14 occupational skills and on-the-job 

15 training; 

16 ‘‘(III) stipended or paid work ex17 perience that provides participants 

18 with insights into the professional 

19 work environment; 

20 ‘‘(IV) activities designed to lead 

21 to— 

22 ‘‘(aa) the attainment of an 

23 industry-recognized certification 

24 or credential; or 


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1 ‘‘(bb) meaningful employ2 ment in the economy of the 21st 

3 century; 

4 ‘‘(V) career counseling and job 

5 search assistance; and 

6 ‘‘(VI) provision of a job developer 

7 to cultivate relationships with local 

8 employers to hire program graduates; 

9 ‘‘(iii) supportive services, which may 

10 include— 

11 ‘‘(I) needs-related payments; 

12 ‘‘(II) health care, including men13 tal health care such as drug and alco14 hol abuse counseling; 

15 ‘‘(III) child care; and 

16 ‘‘(IV) transportation; 

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

18 benefits; 

19 ‘‘(v) development and monitoring of 

20 individual education and career plans; 

21 ‘‘(vi) service and conservation 

22 projects, designed to develop civic engage23 ment and environmental stewardship; 

24 ‘‘(vii) supervision and training on 

25 those projects; and 


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1 ‘‘(viii) adult mentoring; 

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

3 through the grant, in carrying out the Youth 

4 Corps program, to provide followup services and 

5 tracking for program graduates; and 

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

7 through the grant for— 

8 ‘‘(i) ongoing training and technical as9 sistance that is related to the development, 

10 implementation, and sustainability of the 

11 program; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) payment of administrative ex13 penses. 

14 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In order to be quali16 fied to receive a grant for a program under this 

17 subsection, an eligible entity shall submit an ap18 plication at such time, in such manner, and 

19 containing such information as the Secretary 

20 may require. 

21 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec22 retary shall require that the application contain, 

23 at a minimum— 


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

2 the amount of the grant requested and the 

3 proposed uses for the grant funds; 

4 ‘‘(ii) a description of the applicant 

5 and a statement of its qualifications, in6 cluding a description of the applicant’s— 

7 ‘‘(I) past experience with youth 

8 education and training programs; and 

9 ‘‘(II) relationships with local 

10 boards, one-stop operators and one11 stop partners, local labor organiza12 tions, entities carrying out registered 

13 apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship 

14 programs, employers, institutions of 

15 higher education, and other commu16 nity-based organizations who are pro17 posed as members of the program 

18 partnership; 

19 ‘‘(iii) a description of the educational 

20 and work readiness training activities (in21 cluding paid work opportunities), sec22 ondary education, preparation for and ac23 cess to postsecondary education and train24 ing opportunities, and other services that 

25 will be provided to participants, and how 


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1 those activities, opportunities, and services 

2 will prepare eligible youth for an outcome 

3 described in subsection (b)(5)(A), and in4 still in them a sense of civic engagement 

5 and environmental stewardship; 

6 ‘‘(iv) a description of the proposed 

7 service and conservation projects to be un8 dertaken under the grant, how the project 

9 activities will improve the affected commu10 nity or environment, and the anticipated 

11 schedule for carrying out such activities; 

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

13 which eligible youth will be recruited and 

14 selected as participants, including a de15 scription of any coordination with local 

16 boards, one-stop operators and one-stop 

17 partners, community-based organizations, 

18 faith-based organizations, State edu19 cational agencies (as defined in section 

20 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

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

22 or local educational agencies (including 

23 agencies of Indian tribes), public assistance 

24 agencies, local courts, probation and parole 

25 offices, the justice system, agencies serving 


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1 homeless youth, foster care agencies, the 

2 Armed Forces, and other appropriate pub3 lic and private agencies; 

4 ‘‘(vi) a description of how the pro5 posed program will be coordinated with 

6 other Federal, State, and local activities 

7 and activities conducted by Indian tribes, 

8 such as local workforce investment activi9 ties, career and technical education pro10 grams, programs of adult education and 

11 literary activities, activities conducted by 

12 public schools, activities conducted by com13 munity colleges, national and community 

14 service programs, and other non-school15 based education or training provided with 

16 funds available under this title; 

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

18 achieved with respect to performance indi19 cators described in subsection (e); 

20 ‘‘(viii) a detailed budget and a de21 scription of the system of fiscal controls, 

22 and auditing and accountability proce23 dures, that will be used to ensure fiscal 

24 soundness for the proposed program; and 


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1 ‘‘(ix) a description of the commit2 ments of any additional resources (in addi3 tion to the grant funds) by the applicant 

4 or any program partners. 

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

6 to be eligible to receive a grant under this sub7 section, the applicant and the applicant’s proposed 

8 program shall meet such selection criteria as the 

9 Secretary shall establish under this section, which 

10 shall include criteria relating to— 

11 ‘‘(A) the qualifications or potential capa12 bilities of an applicant; 

13 ‘‘(B) an applicant’s potential for devel14 oping and implementing a successful education 

15 and training program utilizing the Youth Corps 

16 model; 

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

18 program, as determined by the degree of eco19 nomic distress of the community from which 

20 participants would be recruited (measured by 

21 indicators such as poverty, youth unemploy22 ment, and the number of individuals who have 

23 dropped out of secondary school); 


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

2 service and conservation projects by the af3 fected community or environmental area; 

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

5 the education, training, and other services de6 scribed in paragraph (3) that are necessary to 

7 prepare participants for an outcome described 

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

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

10 coordinate and partner with local boards, one11 stop operators and one-stop partners, local 

12 labor organizations, entities carrying out reg13 istered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship 

14 programs, employers, institutions of higher edu15 cation, and other community-based organiza16 tions who are proposed as members of the pro17 gram partnership to provide participants with 

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

19 ‘‘(G) the extent of the applicant’s coordina20 tion of activities with entities carrying out pub21 lic education, criminal justice, housing and com22 munity development, national and community 

23 service, postsecondary education, or other sys24 tems that relate to the goals of the proposed 

25 program; 


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1 ‘‘(H) the extent of the commitment of ad2 ditional resources (in addition to the grant 

3 funds) to the proposed program by the appli4 cant or any program partners; and 

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

6 determines to be appropriate for purposes of 

7 carrying out the proposed program in an effec8 tive and efficient manner. 

9 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec12 tion 101, for purposes of this section an indi13 vidual shall be eligible to participate in a Youth 

14 Corps program only if such individual is— 

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

16 more than age 24, on the date of enroll17 ment; and 

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

19 youth in foster care (including youth aging 

20 out of foster care), a formerly incarcerated 

21 or court-involved youth, a child of an in22 carcerated parent, a youth who is an indi23 vidual with a disability, or a migrant 

24 youth; or 

25 ‘‘(bb) a school dropout; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) eligible to participate under sub2 paragraph (B). 

3 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR INDIVIDUALS NOT

4 MEETING INCOME OR EDUCATIONAL NEED RE5 QUIREMENTS.—Not more than 25 percent of 

6 the individuals selected to be participants in 

7 such program may be individuals who do not 

8 meet the requirements of subclause (II) of sub9 paragraph (A)(i). 

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

11 Federal law, participants in a Youth Corps pro12 gram under this section shall be considered par13 ticipants of the program rather than employees 

14 of the program. 

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

16 individual selected for participation in a Youth 

17 Corps program under this section shall be offered 

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

19 not less than 6 months and not more than 24 

20 months. 

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

22 grants for programs under subsection (c) shall report an23 nually to the Secretary concerning the following perform24 ance indicators: 

25 ‘‘(1) Program enrollment rates. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Program attendance rates. 

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

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

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

5 early release for meaningful employment in the econ6 omy of the 21st century. 

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

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

9 ‘‘(6) Wages of program graduates. 

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

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

12 be reasonably required by the Secretary. 

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

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

15 may enter into contracts or cooperative agreements 

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

17 assistance to the Secretary in the management, su18 pervision, and coordination of the program carried 

19 out under this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

21 ‘‘(A) CONTRACTS, COOPERATIVE AGREE22 MENTS, AND GRANTS.—The Secretary shall 

23 enter into contracts or cooperative agreements 

24 with or make grants to 1 or more qualified na25 tional nonprofit organizations with a demVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:24 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1634.IH H1634

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1 onstrated record of experience with and achieve2 ment in developing and implementing the Youth 

3 Corps model, in order to provide training, infor4 mation, and technical assistance to recipients of 

5 grants under subsection (c). 

6 ‘‘(B) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Of the 

7 amounts available under section 172(g) to carry 

8 out this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary 

9 shall reserve 5 percent to carry out subpara10 graph (A). 

11 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) CONTRACTS, COOPERATIVE AGREE13 MENTS, AND GRANTS.—The Secretary shall 

14 enter into contracts or cooperative agreements 

15 with or make grants to 1 or more qualified na16 tional nonprofit organizations with a dem17 onstrated record of experience with and achieve18 ment in developing and implementing the Youth 

19 Corps model, for the purpose of conducting 

20 data collection and evaluation. 

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

22 amounts available under section 172(g) to carry 

23 out this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary 

24 shall reserve 1 percent to carry out subpara25 graph (A). 


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

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

3 percent of the amounts available under section 

4 172(g) to award grants to 1 or more qualified na5 tional nonprofit organizations to pay for the Federal 

6 share of the cost of providing capacity building ac7 tivities for recipients of grants under subsection 

8 (c).’’. 

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

10 section 1(b) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

11 Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to sec12 tion 171 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 171B. Youth Corps programs.’’. 

13 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 Section 172 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor15 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3227) is amended by adding at the 

16 end the following: 

17 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 

19 171B such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal 

20 years 2020 through 2025.’’. 

Æ 


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