II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3178 

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 

MARCH 25, 2010 

Mr. BROWN of Ohio (for himself, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, 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 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Nationally, there are an estimated 

2 3,500,000 to 5,000,000 youth, ages 16 through 24, 

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

4 500,000 young people dropping out of school each 

5 year. At present, the unemployment rate for youth 

6 ages 16 through 24 is approximately 25 percent. 

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

8 communities, or are youth with disabilities, this rate 

9 is even higher. 

10 (2) Youth Service and Conservation Corps, de11 scended from the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 

12 1930s, have been preparing disadvantaged and dis13 connected youth for careers in resource conservation, 

14 environmental restoration, land management, build15 ing renovation and weatherization, education, human 

16 services, health care, homeland security, and disaster 

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

18 600,000 young people have found a new start 

19 through a Youth Service and Conservation Corps. 

20 (3) Today, over 140 Youth Service and Con21 servation Corps are working in 44 States and the 

22 District of Columbia, and employing a research-driv23 en strategy, called the Youth Corps model, to re24 engage and provide educational and economic oppor25 tunity to nearly 30,000 young people each year. 


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1 (4) Due to the many benefits and positive out2 comes, not only for program participants but also 

3 for the communities in which they serve, the Youth 

4 Corps model is a proven strategy for re-engaging 

5 disconnected youth, while improving communities 

6 and the environment and building the workforce of 

7 tomorrow. 

8 SEC. 3. YOUTH CORPS PROGRAMS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of title I of the Work10 force Investment Act of 1998 is amended by inserting be11 fore section 174 (29 U.S.C. 2919) the following new sec12 tion: 

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

14 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to uti15 lize service, environmental stewardship, and the Youth 

16 Corps model to educate and train the next generation of 

17 workers to enable them to find meaningful employment 

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

19 a sense of civic engagement and environmental steward20 ship. 

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

22 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en23 tity’ means a public or private nonprofit agency or 

24 organization (including a consortium of such agen25 cies or organizations), including— 


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

2 ‘‘(B) a faith-based organization; 

3 ‘‘(C) a community action agency; 

4 ‘‘(D) a community development corpora5 tion; 

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

7 this title, such as a local board; 

8 ‘‘(F) an Indian tribe or other agency pri9 marily serving Indians; 

10 ‘‘(G) a public or private institution of high11 er education; 

12 ‘‘(H) a State or unit of general local gov13 ernment; or 

14 ‘‘(I) a State or local youth service or con15 servation corps. 

16 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE YOUTH.—Notwithstanding sec17 tion 101, the term ‘eligible youth’ means an indi18 vidual eligible to participate in a Youth Corps pro19 gram in accordance with subsection (d). 

20 ‘‘(3) INDIAN; INDIAN TRIBE.—The terms ‘In21 dian’ and ‘Indian tribe’ have the meanings given the 

22 terms in section 166(b). 

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

24 the meaning given the term in section 101, but inVerDate Nov 24 2008 03:51 Mar 26, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3178.IS S3178

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1 cludes a recipient of services under paragraph 

2 (5)(F). 

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

4 Corps model’ means a model for a youth education 

5 and training program for which an eligible entity— 

6 ‘‘(A) provides eligible youth with stipended 

7 or paid work experience, and basic and tech8 nical skills training leading, at a minimum, to 

9 an outcome consisting of— 

10 ‘‘(i) enrollment in postsecondary edu11 cation or training; 

12 ‘‘(ii) attainment of an industry-recog13 nized certification or credential; 

14 ‘‘(iii) meaningful employment in the 

15 economy of the 21st century; or 

16 ‘‘(iv) military service; 

17 ‘‘(B) provides eligible youth with opportu18 nities for educational advancement, including 

19 the attainment of a secondary school diploma or 

20 its recognized equivalent, or other State-recog21 nized credential; 

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

23 teams or crews under the leadership of adult 

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1 nities in which the youth live and the environ2 ment; 

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

4 systems, such as child welfare and justice sys5 tems, to provide and coordinate supportive serv6 ices for education and training program partici7 pants; 

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

9 local workforce investment system, institutions 

10 of higher education, or other community-based 

11 organizations to develop pathways to subse12 quent enrollment in education or training, at13 tainment of an industry-recognized certification 

14 or credential, meaningful employment, or serv15 ice as described in subparagraph (A); and 

16 ‘‘(F) provides 12 months of followup serv17 ices and tracking for the program graduates. 

18 ‘‘(c) YOUTH CORPS GRANTS.— 

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

20 authorized to make grants to eligible entities for the 

21 purpose of carrying out Youth Corps programs ap22 proved under this section. 

23 ‘‘(2) TERM OF GRANTS.—The Secretary is au24 thorized to make the grants for terms of up to 3 


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1 years in length, and is authorized to renew the 

2 grants. 

3 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—An entity that re4 ceives a grant under this subsection— 

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

6 through the grant to carry out a Youth Corps 

7 program that utilizes the Youth Corps model to 

8 provide to the participants, prior to graduation 

9 from the program— 

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

11 ‘‘(I) basic instruction and reme12 dial education; 

13 ‘‘(II) language instruction for in14 dividuals with limited English pro15 ficiency; 

16 ‘‘(III) secondary education serv17 ices and activities, including dropout 

18 prevention, tutoring, and other activi19 ties, that— 

20 ‘‘(aa) are designed to lead to 

21 the attainment of a secondary 

22 school diploma or its recognized 

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1 ternative standards for individ2 uals with disabilities); and 

3 ‘‘(bb) are delivered in con4 junction with project-based serv5 ice-learning to the maximum de6 gree practicable; and 

7 ‘‘(IV) preparation for and access 

8 to postsecondary education opportuni9 ties, including counseling and assist10 ance with applying for student finan11 cial aid; 

12 ‘‘(ii) work readiness training, which 

13 may include— 

14 ‘‘(I) development of basic skills, 

15 such as— 

16 ‘‘(aa) arriving on time to 

17 work; 

18 ‘‘(bb) being prepared to 

19 work; 

20 ‘‘(cc) following directions; 

21 ‘‘(dd) working independ22 ently; 

23 ‘‘(ee) working with others; 

24 ‘‘(ff) working safely; and 


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1 ‘‘(gg) demonstrating a com2 mitment to produce high-quality 

3 work; 

4 ‘‘(II) development of job-specific 

5 occupational skills and on-the-job 

6 training; 

7 ‘‘(III) stipended or paid work ex8 perience that provides participants 

9 with insights into the professional 

10 work environment; 

11 ‘‘(IV) activities designed to lead 

12 to— 

13 ‘‘(aa) the attainment of an 

14 industry-recognized certification 

15 or credential; or 

16 ‘‘(bb) meaningful employ17 ment in the economy of the 21st 

18 century; 

19 ‘‘(V) career counseling and job 

20 search assistance; and 

21 ‘‘(VI) provision of a job developer 

22 to cultivate relationships with local 

23 employers to hire program graduates; 

24 ‘‘(iii) supportive services, which may 

25 include— 


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1 ‘‘(I) needs-related payments; 

2 ‘‘(II) health care, including men3 tal health care such as drug and alco4 hol abuse counseling; 

5 ‘‘(III) child care; and 

6 ‘‘(IV) transportation; 

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

8 benefits; 

9 ‘‘(v) development and monitoring of 

10 individual education and career plans; 

11 ‘‘(vi) service and conservation 

12 projects, designed to develop civic engage13 ment and environmental stewardship; 

14 ‘‘(vii) supervision and training on 

15 those projects; and 

16 ‘‘(viii) adult mentoring; 

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

18 through the grant, in carrying out the Youth 

19 Corps program, to provide followup services and 

20 tracking for program graduates; and 

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

22 through the grant for— 

23 ‘‘(i) ongoing training and technical as24 sistance that is related to the development, 


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1 implementation, and sustainability of the 

2 program; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) payment of administrative ex4 penses. 

5 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In order to be quali7 fied to receive a grant for a program under this 

8 subsection, an eligible entity shall submit an ap9 plication at such time, in such manner, and 

10 containing such information as the Secretary 

11 may require. 

12 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec13 retary shall require that the application contain, 

14 at a minimum— 

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

16 the amount of the grant requested and the 

17 proposed uses for the grant funds; 

18 ‘‘(ii) a description of the applicant 

19 and a statement of its qualifications, in20 cluding a description of the applicant’s— 

21 ‘‘(I) past experience with youth 

22 education and training programs; and 

23 ‘‘(II) relationships with local 

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1 tions, entities carrying out registered 

2 apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship 

3 programs, employers, institutions of 

4 higher education, and other commu5 nity-based organizations who are pro6 posed as members of the program 

7 partnership; 

8 ‘‘(iii) a description of the educational 

9 and work readiness training activities (in10 cluding paid work opportunities), sec11 ondary education, preparation for and ac12 cess to postsecondary education and train13 ing opportunities, and other services that 

14 will be provided to participants, and how 

15 those activities, opportunities, and services 

16 will prepare eligible youth for an outcome 

17 described in subsection (b)(5)(A), and in18 still in them a sense of civic engagement 

19 and environmental stewardship; 

20 ‘‘(iv) a description of the proposed 

21 service and conservation projects to be un22 dertaken under the grant, how the project 

23 activities will improve the affected commu24 nity or environment, and the anticipated 

25 schedule for carrying out such activities; 


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

2 which eligible youth will be recruited and 

3 selected as participants, including a de4 scription of any coordination with local 

5 boards, one-stop operators and one-stop 

6 partners, community-based organizations, 

7 faith-based organizations, State edu8 cational agencies (as defined in section 

9 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary 

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

11 or local educational agencies (including 

12 agencies of Indian tribes), public assistance 

13 agencies, local courts, probation and parole 

14 offices, the justice system, agencies serving 

15 homeless youth, foster care agencies, the 

16 Armed Forces, and other appropriate pub17 lic and private agencies; 

18 ‘‘(vi) a description of how the pro19 posed program will be coordinated with 

20 other Federal, State, and local activities 

21 and activities conducted by Indian tribes, 

22 such as local workforce investment activi23 ties, career and technical education pro24 grams, programs of adult education and 

25 literary activities, activities conducted by 


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1 public schools, activities conducted by com2 munity colleges, national and community 

3 service programs, and other non-school4 based education or training provided with 

5 funds available under this title; 

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

7 achieved with respect to performance indi8 cators described in subsection (e); 

9 ‘‘(viii) a detailed budget and a de10 scription of the system of fiscal controls, 

11 and auditing and accountability proce12 dures, that will be used to ensure fiscal 

13 soundness for the proposed program; and 

14 ‘‘(ix) a description of the commit15 ments of any additional resources (in addi16 tion to the grant funds) by the applicant 

17 or any program partners. 

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

19 to be eligible to receive a grant under this sub20 section, the applicant and the applicant’s proposed 

21 program shall meet such selection criteria as the 

22 Secretary shall establish under this section, which 

23 shall include criteria relating to— 

24 ‘‘(A) the qualifications or potential capa25 bilities of an applicant; 


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1 ‘‘(B) an applicant’s potential for devel2 oping and implementing a successful education 

3 and training program utilizing the Youth Corps 

4 model; 

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

6 program, as determined by the degree of eco7 nomic distress of the community from which 

8 participants would be recruited (measured by 

9 indicators such as poverty, youth unemploy10 ment, and the number of individuals who have 

11 dropped out of secondary school); 

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

13 service and conservation projects by the af14 fected community or environmental area; 

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

16 the education, training, and other services de17 scribed in paragraph (3) that are necessary to 

18 prepare participants for an outcome described 

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

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

21 coordinate and partner with local boards, one22 stop operators and one-stop partners, local 

23 labor organizations, entities carrying out reg24 istered apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship 

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1 cation, and other community-based organiza2 tions who are proposed as members of the pro3 gram partnership to provide participants with 

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

5 ‘‘(G) the extent of the applicant’s coordina6 tion of activities with entities carrying out pub7 lic education, criminal justice, housing and com8 munity development, national and community 

9 service, postsecondary education, or other sys10 tems that relate to the goals of the proposed 

11 program; 

12 ‘‘(H) the extent of the commitment of ad13 ditional resources (in addition to the grant 

14 funds) to the proposed program by the appli15 cant or any program partners; and 

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

17 determines to be appropriate for purposes of 

18 carrying out the proposed program in an effec19 tive and efficient manner. 

20 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec23 tion 101, for purposes of this section an indi24 vidual shall be eligible to participate in a Youth 

25 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 2010 through 2015.’’. 

Æ 


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