2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE THREE - Executive (§§ 1 — 9311) › Chapter 57 - Youth Affairs (§§ 1601 — 1623) › Subchapter I - Office of Youth Affairs (§§ 1601 — 1610) › § 1607 - Office of Youth Affairs—Functions and duties

The Office shall have the following functions and duties:
(1) It shall prepare, with priority and in coordination with the government agencies concerned, organizations and the private sector, an effective program to provide work and other opportunities for development to unemployed youths between sixteen (16) and twenty-nine (29) years of age.
(2) To establish mechanisms for the selection and referral to employment in the public and private sector of youths, with the participation and coordination of the Department of Labor and Human Resources.
(3) To examine the government programs to determine their impact and effectiveness in handling and solving the problems of the young and recommend the corresponding corrective actions. It shall establish a center for collecting, studying, evaluating, analyzing and divulging statistical data regarding the various assistance, education and orientation programs and those of any other nature administered by government agencies. In compliance with the duties provided in this subsection, the Office shall give priority attention to those government programs directed to preparing and training Puerto Rican youth as a first step towards their full integration into the labor force. In that regard the Office shall prepare a statistical chart and conduct a study that would gather those government offerings that allow the young people of Puerto Rico to make a successful transition into the labor force. The results of the efforts set forth in this subsection shall be included in an annual report which the Office must submit to the Legislature.
(4) To develop activities, participate in forums and establish mechanisms and procedures to guarantee the rights of the young and ensure their full participation in the way of life of our people.
(5) To promote knowledge and a better understanding of the problems of our young and conduct information and orientation activities directed to preparing the young in matters of leadership, civic awareness, parliamentary procedures, oratory and others, so they may develop positive attitudes towards themselves, their families and their communities.
(6) To establish mechanisms to improve the coordination of programs and projects of the various government agencies pertaining to the youth of Puerto Rico and to submit recommendations to the agencies that develop youth related programs.
(7) To serve as liaison between the government agencies that provide services and develop programs for our youth.
(8) To encourage a study of youth legislation in force and to sponsor the measures considered necessary and convenient to advance the conditions and opportunities of our youth in all phases.
(9) To encourage the establishment and participation of the young in youth organizations.
(10) To promote the development of a good-citizenship program with the participation of the appropriate government agencies and civic and religious organizations.
(11) To offer incentives, assistance and stimulus directly to our youths, as well as to the private organizations, so that they will provide youth services, and promote their development.
(12) To take the necessary steps before the Government of the United States to increase the allocation of federal funds that are set aside specially for youth programs.
(13) To establish through regulations the general operating guidelines and any other guidelines necessary for the framing of the public policy directed to solve youth problems.
(14) Promote interactive information centers on jobs, education, prevention, drugs and recreation for youths.
(15) To promote the offering of incentives to employers who hire young students between the ages of sixteen (16) and twenty-nine (29) years.
(16) Create awareness in our youths of the need to conserve our environment.
(17) Promote the participation of youths in reforesting programs throughout Puerto Rico.
(18) Promote recreational activities that are free of drugs and alcohol.
(19) Promote the representation of youths on the governing boards of existing educational entities.
(20) Establish consortiums and agreements with other countries so that youths can acquire skills in the fields of commerce, tourism and languages at an international level.
(21) Foster, enable and support the creation of youth cooperatives in the schools, public housing projects, special communities and other sectors of the community of the country. This function shall be executed in coordination with the Cooperative Development Administration and the Puerto Rico League of Cooperatives.
(22) To represent youth in international organisms, and achieve their participation in same.
(23) To hold the convenient and necessary activities and programs to efficiently achieve the goals supposed by the public policy stated in this subchapter, or by the Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(24) To draft and adopt a plan setting forth the standards to coordinate and guide government organizations concerning the development and implementation of youth related programs and projects.
(25) To recommend programs and projects through the development and execution of affirmative action plans to ensure the integral implementation of the public policy related to the young.
(26) To establish systems and procedures to evaluate the effectiveness of the government programs for solving the problems and meeting the needs of the young.
(27) To draft and implement through diverse activities and the communications media, an orientation and consciousness-raising plan on traffic safety with special emphasis on the dangers of drag racing, speed contests and/or motor vehicle races prohibited in the public roads of Puerto Rico, known also as la fiebre, as well as the use of four track vehicles and the consequences of driving motor vehicles under the influence of drugs or intoxicating or controlled substances.
History —July 13, 1978, No. 34, p. 477, § 7; Jan. 4, 2000, No. 8, § 1; Aug. 7, 2001, No. 95, § 1; Mar. 27, 2003, No. 97, § 1; Jan. 8, 2004, No. 40, § 4; Jan. 13, 2004, No. 51, § 1; renumbered as § 4 and amended on Aug. 26, 2005, No. 85, § 5.