Sec. 7. Connecting-for-opportunities competitive grant program
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Of the amount available under section 4(a)(3) that is not reserved under section 4(b), the Secretary of Labor shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, award grants on a competitive basis to assist local community partnerships in improving high school graduation and youth employment rates. A local community partnership awarded a grant under this section shall, at a minimum, include in the partnership— a unit of general local government; a local educational agency; an institution of higher education; a local board; a community-based organization with experience or expertise in working with youth; a public agency serving youth under the jurisdiction of the juvenile justice system or criminal justice system; a State or local child welfare agency; and an agency administering programs under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
A local community partnership awarded a grant under this section may, in addition to the required partners under paragraph (1), include in the partnership— one-stop centers; employers or employer associations; representatives of labor organizations; entities that carry out programs that receive funding under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 ( 34 U.S.C. 11101 et seq.); public agencies or community-based organizations with expertise in providing counseling services, including trauma-informed and gender-responsive counseling; public housing agencies, collaborative applicants, as defined in section 401 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 11360 ), or private nonprofit organizations that serve homeless youth and households or foster youth; and other appropriate State and local agencies.
A local community partnership desiring a grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary of Labor an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require. At a minimum, each application shall include a comprehensive plan that— demonstrates sufficient need for the grant in the local population, which need may be demonstrated with indicators including— a high rate of high school dropouts and youth unemployment; and a high percentage or number of low-income individuals in the local population; demonstrates the capacity of each local community partnership to carry out the activities described in subsection (d); does not conflict with the local plan submitted by the local board under section 108 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3123 ), the local plan for career and technical education programs authorized under the Carl D.
Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 ( 20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.) (if not part of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act local plan), and the State plan for programs under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); and includes an assurance that the local community partnership will adhere to the labor standards outlined in section 8. A local community partnership receiving a grant under this section shall use the grant funds— to target and serve individuals not younger than age 14 or older than age 24; to make appropriate use of education, child welfare, social services, and workforce development data collection systems to facilitate the local community partnership’s ability to target and serve the individuals described in paragraph (1); to develop wide-ranging pathways to higher education and employment, including— using not less than 50 percent of the grant funds to help individuals described in paragraph
(1)complete their secondary school education through various alternative means, including through high-quality, flexible programs that utilize evidence-based interventions and provide differentiated services (or pathways) to students— who are returning to education after exiting secondary school without a regular high school diploma; or who, based on their grade or age, are significantly off track to accumulate sufficient academic credits to meet high school graduation requirements, as established by the State; creating career pathways, focused on paid work-based learning consisting of on-the-job training and classroom instruction, that— will lead to credential attainment; and includes, to the maximum extent practicable, learning through registered apprenticeship programs and pre-apprenticeship programs; connecting individuals described in paragraph
(1)with professionals who can provide such individuals with pre-employment and employment counseling and assist such individuals in— finding and securing employment or work-based learning opportunities that pay not less than the greater of the applicable Federal, State, or local minimum wage; identifying and assessing eligibility for training programs and funding for such programs; completing necessary paperwork for applying for and enrolling in such programs; and identifying additional services, if needed; connecting individuals described in paragraph
(1)with providers of— youth services, adult employment and training services, vocational rehabilitation services, and adult education and literacy services, under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.); career planning services; and federally and State funded programs that provide skills training; and ensuring that such individuals successfully transition into pre-apprenticeship programs, registered apprenticeship programs, or programs leading to recognized postsecondary credentials in in-demand industry sectors or occupations; to provide a comprehensive system aimed at preventing the individuals described in paragraph
(1)from disconnecting from education, training, and employment, and aimed at re-engaging any such individual who has been so disconnected, by— providing school-based dropout prevention and community-based dropout recovery services, including establishing or improving school district early warning systems that— connect such systems to data gathering and reporting systems established under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) for the purpose of identifying the individuals described in paragraph (1); and engage any such identified individual using targeted, evidence-based interventions to address the specific needs and issues of the individual, including chronic absenteeism; and providing the individuals described in paragraph
(1)with access to re-engagement services for training programs and employment opportunities and using providers of youth services under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) to conduct intake and refer such individuals and their families to the appropriate re-engagement service; and to provide a comprehensive system of support for the individuals described in paragraph (1), including— connecting such individuals with professionals who can— provide case management and counseling services; and assist such individuals in— developing achievable short-term goals and long-term goals; and overcoming any social, administrative, or financial barrier that may hinder the achievement of such goals; and providing or connecting participants with available supportive services. In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary of Labor shall give priority to applications submitted by local community partnerships that include a comprehensive plan that— serves and targets communities with a high percentage of low-income individuals and high rates of high school dropouts and youth unemployment; and allows the individuals described in paragraph
(1)to earn academic credit through various means, including high-quality career and technical education, dual enrollment programs, or work-based learning. The Secretary shall ensure that consideration is given to geographic distribution (such as urban and rural areas) in awarding grants under this section. For activities funded under this section, the primary indicators of performance shall include— the performance metrics described in clauses (i)(III), (i)(IV), (i)(V), (ii)(I), and (ii)(II) of section 116(b)(2)(A) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3141(b)(2)(A) ); the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate and the extended-year adjusted cohort graduation rate in a State that chooses to use such a graduation rate; and the rate of attaining a recognized equivalent of a diploma, such as a general equivalency diploma. For each year that a local community partnership administers a program under this section, the local community partnership shall submit to the Secretary of Labor and, if applicable, the State a report on— the number of youth participants in the program, including the number of in-school and out-of-school youth, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, sex, age, and status as a subpopulation described in any of subclauses
(I)through
(VII)of section 129(a)(1)(B)(iii) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3164(a)(1)(B)(iii) ); the expenditures made from the amounts allocated under this section, including any expenditures made to provide youth participants with supportive services; a description of program activities and services provided, including supportive services provided and the number of youth participants accessing such services; information specifying the levels of performance achieved with respect to the primary indicators of performance described in subsection
(g)for the program, disaggregated as described in paragraph (1); and any other information that the Secretary of Labor determines necessary to monitor the effectiveness of the program.
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Sec. 7
Connecting-for-opportunities competitive grant program
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