Youth Workforce Readiness Act of 2021
Bill: S.1696 | Sponsor: Sen. Smith, Tina (D-MN)
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Youth Workforce Readiness Act of 2021
This bill requires the Department of Labor to award grants to certain national youth-serving organizations for comprehensive workforce readiness programs provided to youth that take place before or after school, during summer vacation or holiday, or on the weekend (i.e., out-of-school-time programs).
Such grants must be used to develop and implement youth workforce readiness programs, including for activities such as on-the-job and leadership opportunities, internships, and other supportive services.
The bill also requires local workforce development boards to establish youth councils as subgroups of the boards.

To establish a competitive grant program to support out-of-school-time 
  youth workforce readiness programs, providing employability skills 
    development, career exploration, employment readiness training, 
    mentoring, work-based learning, and workforce opportunities for 
                            eligible youth.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Youth Workforce Readiness Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to establish or expand activities to--
            (1) increase access and opportunities for youth to obtain 
        the education and training that youth need to succeed in the 
        labor market;
            (2) support engagement in and the integration of programs 
        and activities offered during out-of-school-time hours through 
        the workforce investment, education, and economic development 
        systems;
            (3) improve the quality of the workforce and meet the skill 
        requirements of employers;
            (4) engage employers in addressing the training, skill, and 
        employment needs of youth and youth jobseekers, and fostering 
        opportunities for connection and economic mobility; and
            (5) include younger youth in the education and workforce 
        investment activities in an age and developmentally appropriate 
        manner.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Community-based organization.--The term ``community-
        based organization'' means a youth-serving private nonprofit 
        organization (which may include a faith-based organization) 
        that--
                    (A) is representative of a community or a 
                significant segment of a community;
                    (B) has demonstrated expertise and effectiveness in 
                workforce development; and
                    (C) has demonstrated expertise--
                            (i) in the planning and delivery of 
                        education, training, and related activities 
                        that are included in a career pathway;
                            (ii) in forging coordination and 
                        cooperation between educators and other members 
                        of the community; and
                            (iii) in development and implementation of 
                        data systems that measure the progress of 
                        students and outcomes of career pathways.
            (2) Covered partnership.--The term ``covered partnership'' 
        means a partnership between--
                    (A) a community-based organization; and
                    (B) an industry or sector partnership, a local 
                educational agency, or another public entity or private 
                employer, as appropriate.
            (3) Eligible youth.--The term ``eligible youth'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation 
        and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102), except that the 
        individual involved shall be--
                    (A) not younger than age 6; and
                    (B) not older than age 18 (or age 19 if enrolled in 
                secondary school).
            (4) Industry or sector partnership.--The term ``industry or 
        sector partnership'' means--
                    (A) an industry or sector partnership, as defined 
                in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 
                Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102); and
                    (B) a collaborative that meets the requirements of 
                paragraph (26) of that section 3 but also includes--
                            (i) an Indian tribe or tribal organization 
                        (as such terms are defined in section 166(b) of 
                        that Act (29 U.S.C. 3221(b))), as appropriate; 
                        or
                            (ii) a community-based organization.
            (5) Out-of-school-time.--The term ``out-of-school-time'', 
        used with respect to a program, means a supervised program 
        regularly attended by eligible youth, that fosters learning and 
        development during out-of-school-time hours, which includes 
        hours before school, after school, during summer vacation or 
        another school holiday, or on a Saturday or Sunday.
            (6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Labor.
            (7) WIOA definitions.--The terms ``career pathway'', 
        ``customized training'', ``in-demand industry sector or 
        occupation'', ``local area'', ``local board'', ``local 
        educational agency'', and ``recognized postsecondary 
        credential'' have the meanings given the terms in section 3 of 
        the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102).
            (8) Workforce readiness program.--The term ``workforce 
        readiness program'' means an out-of-school-time program that--
                    (A) meets the requirements of section 7;
                    (B) is offered by a community-based organization of 
                an eligible entity or a related covered partnership; 
                and
                    (C) is intended to help prepare eligible youth for 
                the workforce.

SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT.

    (a) Grants.--Using the amounts made available under section 9, the 
Secretary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 
entities.
    (b) General Use of Funds.--The Secretary shall award the grants, on 
a competitive basis, to assist eligible entities in planning, 
developing, and implementing nationwide, comprehensive workforce 
readiness programs, that are--
            (1) in out-of-school-time programs;
            (2) carried out by community-based organizations of the 
        eligible entity or related covered partnerships; and
            (3) for eligible youth.
    (c)  Periods of Grants.--The Secretary shall award the grants for 
periods of not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years.

SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.

    To be eligible to receive a grant under section 4, an entity 
shall--
            (1)(A) be a national youth-serving organization with active 
        chapters, affiliates, or subgrant recipients, that are 
        community-based organizations (including such organizations 
        that are facility-based organizations) in not fewer than 35 
        States; and
            (B) provide programming focused on youth workforce 
        readiness in an out-of-school-time program; and
            (2) obtain approval of an application under section 6.

SEC. 6. APPLICATION.

    To be eligible to receive a grant under section 4, an entity shall 
submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 
and containing such information as the Secretary may require, 
including--
            (1) a description of how the entity will implement a youth 
        workforce readiness program in a manner that ensures an 
        equitable geographic distribution of program activities, 
        including an equitable distribution between urban and rural 
        communities;
            (2) a description of the proposed program activities to be 
        funded and their locations;
            (3) a description of populations of eligible youth to be 
        served, including populations living in or from underserved 
        communities or communities with employment disparities;
            (4) a description of the effective strategies, best 
        practices, or evidence-based practices the workforce readiness 
        program will use;
            (5) an assurance that the program will take place in safe 
        and easily accessible facilities;
            (6) a demonstration of how, in implementing the proposed 
        program activities, the entity will coordinate activities with 
        Federal, State, and local programs and make the most effective 
        use of public resources;
            (7) a description of--
                    (A) the community-based organizations or the 
                covered partnerships through which the entity will 
                implement the program; and
                    (B) if a covered partnership will assist in 
                implementing the program, the collaboration and 
                coordination activities that the community-based 
                organization in the partnership has carried out or will 
                carry out with other entities in the partnership, 
                related to that implementation;
            (8) if the program includes an opportunity to earn a 
        recognized postsecondary credential, a description of the 
        activities leading to the credential; and
            (9) an assurance that funds provided under this Act will be 
        used to supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, or 
        local funds expended to provide youth programs or workforce 
        readiness programs.

SEC. 7. PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.

    (a) In General.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under 
section 4 shall use the grant funds--
            (1) if the entity seeks to implement the workforce 
        readiness program through a covered partnership, to establish 
        the partnership; and
            (2) to carry out the development and implementation of a 
        youth workforce readiness program--
                    (A) that includes services to help prepare eligible 
                youth for the workforce, which services shall include--
                            (i) leadership development opportunities, 
                        which may include community service and peer-
                        centered activities encouraging responsibility 
                        and other positive social and civic behaviors, 
                        as appropriate;
                            (ii) workforce or workforce readiness 
                        opportunities;
                            (iii) supportive services;
                            (iv) adult mentoring for the period of 
                        participation and a subsequent period, for a 
                        total of not less than 12 months;
                            (v) comprehensive guidance and counseling 
                        (which may include drug and alcohol abuse 
                        counseling and referral, and prevention 
                        services, as appropriate);
                            (vi) financial literacy education;
                            (vii) entrepreneurial skills training;
                            (viii) services that provide labor market 
                        and employment information about in-demand 
                        industry sectors or occupations available in 
                        the local area, such as career awareness, 
                        career counseling, and career exploration 
                        services;
                            (ix) activities to develop fundamental 
                        workforce readiness skills, or to develop 
                        employability skills (such as communication, 
                        creativity, collaboration, and critical 
                        thinking) that support social-emotional 
                        development through every developmental stage, 
                        in both formal and informal learning 
                        experiences; and
                            (x) career exposure, through mentoring and 
                        targeted programming, offered by local industry 
                        or sector partnerships, to provide career 
                        assessments and education and career planning;
                    (B) that includes services to help prepare eligible 
                youth who are not younger than age 15 for the 
                workforce, which services shall include--
                            (i) support for the use of career pathways;
                            (ii) paid and unpaid work experiences that 
                        have as a component academic and occupational 
                        education, which may include--
                                    (I) summer employment opportunities 
                                and other employment opportunities 
                                available throughout the school year;
                                    (II) pre-apprenticeship and 
                                registered apprenticeship programs;
                                    (III) internships and job 
                                shadowing; and
                                    (IV) on-the-job training 
                                opportunities;
                            (iii) work-based learning (as defined in 
                        section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 
                        Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 
                        2302)) that provides opportunities for the 
                        application of employability skills, and hands-
                        on work experiences through covered 
                        partnerships;
                            (iv) occupational skill training, which 
                        shall include priority consideration for 
                        training programs that lead to recognized 
                        postsecondary credentials that are aligned with 
                        in-demand industry sectors or occupations in 
                        the local area involved, if the local board 
                        determines that the programs meet the quality 
                        criteria described in section 123 of the 
                        Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 
                        U.S.C. 3153);
                            (v) the provision of customized training;
                            (vi) education offered concurrently with 
                        and in the same context as workforce readiness 
                        activities and training for a specific 
                        occupation or occupational cluster; and
                            (vii) activities that help youth prepare 
                        for and transition to postsecondary education 
                        and training; and
                    (C) that may include--
                            (i) the provision of professional 
                        development (as defined in section 3 of the 
                        Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education 
                        Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302)) for training 
                        educators and other providers of educational 
                        services who participate in the workforce 
                        readiness program; and
                            (ii) developing assets and resources that 
                        assist an employer or groups of employers or 
                        sectors in working with eligible youth.
    (b) Subgrants.--The eligible entity may use the grant funds, with 
the approval of the Secretary, to award subgrants to eligible 
organizations to carry out activities through a youth workforce 
readiness program.

SEC. 8. EVALUATION AND REPORTING.

    (a) Measures of Effectiveness.--
            (1) In general.--An eligible entity that implements a youth 
        workforce readiness program under this Act shall--
                    (A) ensure that the program is--
                            (i) based upon an assessment of objective 
                        data regarding the need for such a program in 
                        the communities served; and
                            (ii) evaluated on an established set of 
                        performance measures aimed at ensuring the 
                        availability of high-quality opportunities by 
                        measuring eligible youth success; and
                    (B) collect the data necessary for the measures of 
                eligible youth success described in subparagraph 
                (A)(ii).
            (2) Measures.--The performance measures (including 
        indicators) that will be used to evaluate the youth workforce 
        readiness programs--
                    (A) shall be aligned with the regular academic 
                program of the school of and the academic needs of 
                participating eligible youth; and
                    (B) shall include performance measures that--
                            (i) are able to track the success (such as 
                        improvement over time) of eligible youth; and
                            (ii) include assessment results and other 
                        indicators of eligible youth success, such as 
                        improved attendance during the school day, 
                        better classroom grades, regular (or 
                        consistent) program attendance, and on-time 
                        advancement to the next grade level; and
                    (C) for high school students, may include 
                indicators such as achievement of career competencies, 
                or successful completion of internships, 
                apprenticeships, or work-based learning opportunities, 
                or high school graduation.
    (b) Periodic Evaluation.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct a periodic 
        evaluation of the eligible entity, to assess the progress of 
        the entity's youth workforce readiness program toward ensuring 
        high-quality opportunities by measuring eligible youth success.
            (2) Use of results.--The results of evaluations under 
        paragraph (1) shall be--
                    (A) used to refine, improve, and strengthen the 
                program, and to refine the performance measures; and
                    (B) used by the Secretary to determine whether a 
                grant for a program is eligible to be renewed under 
                section 4.
    (c) Reporting.--The Secretary shall submit a report containing the 
results of the evaluation to the appropriate committees of Congress, 
and make the report available to the public.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such 
sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.

SEC. 10. REESTABLISHMENT OF YOUTH COUNCILS.

    (a) Establishment.--Section 107 of the Workforce Innovation and 
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3122) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(j) Youth Council.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--There shall be established, as a 
        subgroup within each local board, a youth council appointed by 
        the local board, in cooperation with the chief elected official 
        for the local area.
            ``(2) Membership.--The membership of each youth council--
                    ``(A) shall include--
                            ``(i) representatives with special interest 
                        or professional expertise in youth workforce 
                        development programs, activities related to 
                        youth workforce readiness, or youth workforce 
                        investment activities;
                            ``(ii) local labor or joint labor-
                        management organizations; and
                            ``(iii) representatives of education-
                        related organizations; and
                    ``(B) may include--
                            ``(i) members of the local board with 
                        special interest or expertise in youth 
                        workforce readiness or youth workforce 
                        development;
                            ``(ii) representatives of local labor or 
                        joint labor-management organizations with 
                        special interest or expertise in youth 
                        workforce readiness or youth workforce 
                        development;
                            ``(iii) representatives of the workforce, 
                        in the local area, with special interest or 
                        expertise in youth workforce readiness or youth 
                        workforce development;
                            ``(iv) representatives of entities 
                        administering education and training 
                        activities, including career and technical 
                        education activities, in the local area, with 
                        special interest or expertise in youth 
                        workforce readiness or youth workforce 
                        development;
                            ``(v) representatives of youth service 
                        agencies, including juvenile justice and local 
                        law enforcement agencies, and representatives 
                        of local public housing authorities;
                            ``(vi) parents of eligible youth, and 
                        current or former youth program participants;
                            ``(vii) representatives of vulnerable 
                        populations (including foster youth, minority 
                        youth, and youth with disabilities);
                            ``(viii) community representatives, 
                        employers of eligible youth, and workplace 
                        learning advisors (as defined in section 3), 
                        with experience relating to youth workforce 
                        activities;
                            ``(ix) for a local area in which a Job 
                        Corps center is located, representatives of 
                        that center; and
                            ``(x) such other individuals as the 
                        chairperson of the local board, in cooperation 
                        with the chief elected official, determines to 
                        be appropriate.
            ``(3) Relationship to local board.--Members of the youth 
        council who are not otherwise members of the local board shall 
        be voting members of the youth council and nonvoting members of 
        the board.
            ``(4) Duties.--The duties of the youth council shall 
        include--
                    ``(A) representing the interests of youth before 
                the local board;
                    ``(B) collaborating with the local board to ensure 
                programs address youth workforce development and youth 
                workforce readiness; and
                    ``(C) advising the local board on the inclusion and 
                incorporation of the local youth workforce in decisions 
                as appropriate.''.
    (b) State Plans.--Section 102(b)(2)(C) of the Workforce Innovation 
and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3112(b)(2)(C)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (vii), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) by redesignating clause (viii) as clause (ix); and
            (3) by inserting after clause (vii) the following:
                            ``(viii) how the local boards in the State 
                        are incorporating the recommendations of the 
                        youth councils within the local boards; and''.
    (c) Local Plans.--Section 108(b) of the Workforce Innovation and 
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3123(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (21), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (22) as paragraph (23); and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (21) the following:
            ``(22) how the local board is incorporating the 
        recommendations of the youth council within the local board; 
        and''.
    (d) Annual Reports.--Section 116(d) of the Workforce Innovation and 
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3141(d)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (K), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) by redesignating subparagraph (L) as 
                subparagraph (M); and
                    (C) by inserting after subparagraph (K) the 
                following:
                    ``(L) information on the activities carried out in 
                the State on the recommendation of youth councils in 
                the State; and''; and
            (2) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``(L)'' and 
                inserting ``(M)'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 
                subparagraph (D); and
                    (D) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the 
                following:
                    ``(C) information on the activities carried out in 
                the local area on the recommendation of the youth 
                council within the local board; and''.
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