I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1748 
To provide at-risk and disconnected youth with subsidized summer and year- 
round employment and to assist local community partnerships in improv-
ing high school graduation and youth employment rates, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 28, 2017 
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia (for himself, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. BASS, Ms. BONAMICI, 
Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. BROWNLEY 
of California, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, 
Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CORREA, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. 
DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DESAULNIER, 
Ms. FUDGE, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GUTIE´RREZ, 
Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JEFFRIES, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KIHUEN, Mr. 
LANGEVIN, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. LEE, Ms. 
MOORE, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. NOLAN, Mr. NORCROSS, Ms. NORTON, 
Mr. PAYNE, Mr. POLIS, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUSH, Mr. RYAN of 
Ohio, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. DAVID SCOTT 
of Georgia, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, 
Mr. TAKANO, Mrs. TORRES, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. WATSON 
COLEMAN, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. SWALWELL of Cali-
fornia, and Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To provide at-risk and disconnected youth with subsidized 
summer and year-round employment and to assist local 
community partnerships in improving high school grad-
uation and youth employment rates, and for other pur-
poses. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Opening Doors for 
Youth Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The time between the early teens and mid- 
twenties represents a critical developmental period in 
which individuals can gain the education and train-
ing, entry-level work experiences, work-readiness 
skills, and social networks needed to smoothly tran-
sition into the labor market and build towards fu-
ture professional success. 
(2) Yet, nearly 5 million young people ages 16 
to 24 are out of school and unemployed, leaving 
them disconnected from the systems and institutions 
critical for developing the building blocks of inde-
pendence and self-sufficiency. 
(3) Communities of color experience the highest 
rates of youth disconnection: 25.4 percent of Native 
American youth, 18.9 percent of Black youth, and 
14.3 percent of Latino youth between the ages of 16 
and 24 were disconnected from school and work in 
2015. 
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(4) Disconnected youth are also three times 
more likely than other youth to have a disability, 
twice as likely to live below the Federal poverty 
threshold, and significantly more likely to live in ra-
cially segregated neighborhoods. Disconnected young 
women and girls are three times more likely to have 
a child, and young people involved in the juvenile 
justice system or aging out of the foster care system 
are at high risk of disconnection. 
(5) Disconnection from school and work can 
have significant consequences for youth, including 
decreased earning power and fewer future employ-
ment opportunities. According to the 2012 report, 
‘‘The Economic Value of Opportunity Youth’’, dis-
connected youth will, on average, earn $392,070 less 
than the average worker over their lifetimes. 
(6) Failure to successfully connect young people 
to employment and educational opportunities also re-
sults in a significant loss in productivity for the 
overall economy, as well as increases in government 
spending. According to a recent report from Meas-
ure of America, in 2013, youth disconnection re-
sulted in $26.8 billion in public expenditures, includ-
ing spending on health care, public assistance, and 
incarceration. 
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(7) Disconnected young people, commonly re-
ferred to as ‘‘opportunity youth’’ because of their 
tremendous potential, can add great social and eco-
nomic value to our communities and the economy, if 
given the appropriate supports and resources. Ac-
cording to the Opportunity Index, an annual meas-
urement of opportunity in a geographic region, the 
number of opportunity youth, along with educational 
attainment and poverty rates, are strongly linked to 
overall opportunity in communities. When young 
adults do well, communities do well. 
(8) Despite their talent and motivation, many 
opportunity youth lack access to the training, edu-
cation, and entry-level jobs that can help them gain 
the work experience and credentials needed to suc-
cessfully transition into the labor market. 
(9) Lack of access to entry-level jobs can limit 
a young adult’s ability to accrue early work experi-
ence and demonstrate productivity and work readi-
ness to potential employers. Labor market shifts 
have also limited opportunities for young people 
without a high school diploma or with limited post-
secondary credentials. According to a 2013 report 
from the Georgetown University Center on Edu-
cation and the Workforce, by the year 2020, an esti-
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mated 65 percent of all U.S. jobs will require post-
secondary education and training. 
(10) Summer and year-round youth employ-
ment programs that connect young people with 
entry-level jobs give youth the work experience and 
opportunity for skill development needed to transi-
tion into the labor market and prevent points of dis-
connection, such as involvement in the criminal and 
juvenile justice systems. 
(11) Evidence suggests that summer youth em-
ployment programs may help in-school youth remain 
connected to the education system. A 2014 study of 
the New York City Summer Youth Employment 
Program found that after program participation, 
youth older than 16 increased their school attend-
ance by four or five additional days compared to 
their previous fall semester attendance. This attend-
ance increase represented 25 percent of the total 
days students were permitted to miss school and still 
continue on to the next grade. 
(12) Evidence shows that participation in sum-
mer youth employment programs also reduces the 
rate of violent crimes arrests. For example, a 2014 
study of Chicago’s One Summer Plus program 
shows that the program reduced violent crime ar-
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rests among at-risk youth by approximately 43 per-
cent, with crime reduction benefits lasting over a 
year after the program had ended. This reduction 
can have significant impact for young people, given 
the impact of a criminal record on future employ-
ment prospects and wages. 
(13) Despite its benefits, summer youth em-
ployment has declined by more than 40 percent dur-
ing the past 12 years, at a loss of more than 3 mil-
lion summer jobs for young Americans. A J.P. Mor-
gan Chase study of 14 major U.S. cities found that 
summer youth employment programs were only able 
to provide opportunities for 46 percent of applicants 
in 2014. 
(14) According to research by Measure of 
America, the overwhelming number of youth discon-
nected from school and work come from discon-
nected communities marked by high adult unemploy-
ment, poverty, and racial segregation, as well as low 
levels of adult education attainment. These commu-
nities often lack the resources and supports needed 
to prevent and reverse youth disconnection. 
(15) Many at-risk or opportunity youth, finding 
that traditional pathways to educational attainment 
or employment are ill-matched to their individual 
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needs, struggle to remain connected or reconnect to 
school and work. 
(16) For some youth, individual barriers—such 
as unstable housing, lack access to affordable child 
care or transportation, or involvement in the juvenile 
or criminal justice system—make it difficult to take 
advantage of existing employment and education 
pathways. 
(17) According the 2016 report, ‘‘Supportive 
Services in Job Training and Education: A Research 
Review’’, studies suggest that education and training 
programs that offer supportive services, such as 
child care, transportation, and financial assistance, 
are associated with improved outcomes. 
(18) Community-based preventions and inter-
ventions can address the distinct problems oppor-
tunity youth may face in the local community and 
provide a connection to the education and training, 
re-engagement, and supportive services needed to 
help these young people succeed. 
(19) Previous Federal grant programs targeting 
communities with high rates of poverty have been 
successful in building such communities’ capacity to 
improve labor market participation and education at-
tainment rates for young people. 
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SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary of Labor— 
(1) $1,500,000,000 to carry out section 5; 
(2) $2,000,000,000 to carry out section 6; and 
(3) $2,000,000,000 to provide competitive 
grants in accordance with section 7. 
SEC. 4. RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE 
AND OTHER PURPOSES. 
(a) RESERVATION
OF FUNDS.—The Secretary of 
Labor shall reserve— 
(1) not more than 5 percent of amounts avail-
able under each of paragraphs (1) through (3) of 
section 3 for the costs of innovation and learning ac-
tivities under section 10; 
(2) not more than 5 percent of amounts avail-
able under each of paragraphs (1) through (3) of 
section 3 for the costs of Federal administration of 
this Act; and 
(3) not more than 2 percent of amounts avail-
able under each of paragraphs (1) through (3) of 
section 3 for the costs of evaluations conducted 
under section 11. 
(b) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—The amounts appro-
priated under this Act shall be available for obligation by 
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the Secretary of Labor until the date that is 4 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 5. SUMMER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR AT- 
RISK YOUTH. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts available under 
section 3(1) that are not reserved under section 4, the Sec-
retary of Labor shall, for the purpose of carrying out sum-
mer employment programs under this section— 
(1) make an allotment in accordance with sec-
tion 127(b)(1)(C)(ii) of the Workforce Innovation 
and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3162(b)(1)(C)(ii)) 
to each State that meets the requirements of section 
102 or 103 of such Act (29 U.S.C. 3112, 3113); 
(2) reserve not more than one-quarter of 1 per-
cent of such amounts to provide assistance to the 
outlying areas; and 
(3) reserve not more than 11⁄2 percent of such 
amount to, on a competitive basis, make grants to, 
or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements 
with, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, Alaska Na-
tive entities, Indian-controlled organizations serving 
Indians, or Native Hawaiian organizations to carry 
out the activities described in subsection (d)(2). 
(b) WITHIN STATE ALLOCATIONS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of a State, in 
accordance with the State plan developed under sec-
tion 102 or 103 of the Workforce Innovation and 
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3112, 3113), shall allo-
cate the amounts that are allotted to the State 
under subsection (a)(1) to eligible local areas in ac-
cordance with section 128(b)(2)(A) of the Workforce 
Innovation 
and 
Opportunity 
Act 
(29 
U.S.C. 
3163(b)(2)(A)) for the purpose of developing and ex-
panding summer employment programs under this 
section. 
(2) 
SUPPLEMENT
NOT
SUPPLANT.—Funds 
made available for summer youth employment pro-
grams under this section shall supplement and not 
supplant other State or local public funds expended 
for summer youth employment programs or other 
youth activities funded under section 129 of the 
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 
U.S.C. 3163). 
(3) REALLOCATION AMONG LOCAL AREAS.—The 
Governor may, after consultation with the State 
board, reallocate to eligible local areas within the 
State amounts that are made available to local areas 
from allocations made under this section and that 
are available for reallocation in accordance with sec-
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tion 128(c)(2)–(4) of the Workforce Innovation and 
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3163(c)(2)–(4)). 
(4) LOCAL RESERVATION.—Of the amounts al-
located to a local area under paragraph (1), not 
more than 7 percent of such amounts may be used 
for the administrative costs, including costs for par-
ticipating in regional and national opportunities for 
in-person peer learning under section 10. 
(c) LOCAL PLANS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The local board of the local 
area shall develop and submit, in partnership with 
the chief elected official, a 4-year plan. The plan 
shall be consistent with the local plan submitted by 
the local board under section 108 of the Workforce 
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3123), 
as determined by the Governor. 
(2) SUBMISSION.—The plan shall be submitted 
to the Governor at such time and in such manner 
as the Governor may reasonably require. A local 
area may develop and submit to the Governor a local 
plan for programs under this section and a local 
plan for programs under section 6 in lieu of submit-
ting two plans. 
(3) CONTENTS.—At a minimum, each plan 
shall include— 
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(A) a description of how the local area will 
use program funds, in accordance with sub-
section (d), to develop or expand summer youth 
employment programs for each program year; 
(B) a description of how the local area will 
recruit eligible youth into the program; 
(C) the number of individuals expected to 
participate in the summer employment program 
each program year; 
(D) a description of the services, including 
supportive services, that the summer employ-
ment program is expected to provide; 
(E) reasonable goals for performance ac-
countability measures outlined in subsection (i); 
(F) an assurance that the summer employ-
ment program will be aligned with the youth 
services provided under the Workforce Innova-
tion and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3101 et 
seq.); 
(G) an assurance that the local area will 
adhere to the labor standards outlined in sec-
tion 8; and 
(H) any other information as the Governor 
may reasonably require. 
(d) LOCAL USE OF FUNDS.— 
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subsidized or partly subsidized opportuni-
ties and opportunities in the private sector; 
(ii) conduct outreach to youth partici-
pants and employers; 
(iii) use allocated program funds to 
subsidize wages of each youth participant; 
and 
(iv) at the local area’s discretion, en-
hance activities described in paragraph 
(3)(B). 
(3) LOCAL ELEMENTS.— 
(A) PROGRAM DESIGN.— 
(i) IN
GENERAL.—Programs funded 
under this section shall match each youth 
participant with an appropriate employer, 
based on factors including the needs of the 
employer and the age, skill, and informed 
aspirations of the youth participant, for 
high-quality year-round employment, which 
may not— 
(I) be less than 180 days and 
more than 1 year; 
(II) pay less than the highest of 
the Federal, State, or local minimum 
wage; and 
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