Sec. 6. Connecting-for-opportunities competitive grant program

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From the amount available under section 3(b)(3), the Secretary of Labor shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, award grants on a competitive basis to local community partnerships to assist such local community partnerships in improving high school graduation and youth employment rates. In this section, the term local community partnership means a partnership that shall include each of the mandatory partners described in paragraph

(2)and may include any of the optional partners described in paragraph (3). The mandatory partners described in this paragraph are each of the following: 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 or young adults under the jurisdiction of the juvenile justice system or criminal justice system. A State or local child welfare agency. An agency administering programs under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq. ). An industry or sector partnership, to the extent practicable. A labor organization or joint labor-management organization, to the extent practicable. The optional partners described in this paragraph are any of the following: A one-stop operator. An employer or employer association. An entity that carries out a program that receives funding under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 ( 34 U.S.C. 11101 et seq. ). A public agency, or community-based organization, with expertise in providing, to youth, evidence-based trauma support services, counseling (including trauma-informed and gender-responsive care), or mental health care. A public housing agency, a collaborative applicant (as defined in section 401 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 11360 )), or a private nonprofit organization that serves homeless youth and households or foster youth. The operator of a Job Corps center. Another appropriate State or local agency. 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 to serve the local population, which need may be demonstrated— on the basis of the relative number of high school dropouts in the local area to be served by the partnership, as compared to the total number of high school dropouts in local areas in all States; on the basis of the relative number of unemployed individuals ages 16 through 24 in the local area to be served by the partnership, as compared to the total number of unemployed individuals ages 16 through 24 in local areas in all States; or on the basis of the relative percentage or number of low-income individuals in the local area to be served by the partnership, as compared to the total percentage or number of low-income individuals in local areas in all States; identifies and describes the role of each entity in the partnership, including the fiscal agent in the partnership and the role of each such entity in carrying out the activities described in subsection (d); does not conflict with the local plan submitted by the local board, in the local area served by the local community partnership, under section 108 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3123 ), the applicable local application for career and technical education programs under section 134 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 ( 20 U.S.C. 2354 ) (if not part of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act local plan), and the applicable State plan for programs under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 601 et seq. ); includes an assurance that the partnership will adhere to the labor standards and other requirements and restrictions described in paragraphs (1), (2), and

(3)of section 7; and for any activity that leads to a recognized postsecondary credential, describes the activity leading to the credential. 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, prioritizing individuals with barriers to employment; 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 leading to postsecondary 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, including through high-quality, flexible programs that utilize community-based, and, to the extent practicable, evidence-based interventions and provide differentiated services (or pathways) to students— who are returning to education after exiting secondary school without a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent; 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 the attainment of a recognized postsecondary credential; and includes, to the maximum extent practicable, learning through 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 (such as youth workforce investment activities), adult employment and training activities, 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, apprenticeship programs, or programs leading to recognized postsecondary credentials in high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors or occupations; to provide a comprehensive system of supportive services aimed at preventing the individuals described in paragraph

(1)from disconnecting from education, training, or 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 local educational agency early warning systems that— connect to data collection 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)who are at risk for such disconnection if such data does not reveal personally identifiable information about a program participant or would not reveal such information when combined with other released information; and engage any such identified individual using targeted, community-based, and, to the extent practicable, evidence-based interventions to address the specific needs and issues of the individual, including chronic absenteeism; and providing the individuals described in paragraph

(1)who are at risk for such disconnection with access to re-engagement services for training programs and employment opportunities and, to the extent practicable, using providers of youth workforce investment activities 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 services; 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 enrollment in the program for which the grant was made or 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 a high rate 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 or concurrent enrollment programs, virtual learning, or work-based learning. The Secretary of Labor shall ensure that consideration is given to geographic distribution (such as distribution to urban, Tribal, and rural areas) in awarding grants under this section. For a partnership receiving a grant to carry out a program under this section, the primary indicators of performance, with respect to such program, shall include— the performance metrics described in section 116(b)(2)(A)(ii) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3141(b)(2)(A)(ii) ); 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 for participants in the program; and the rate of attaining a recognized equivalent of a high school diploma, such as a GED diploma for participants in the program. For each year that a local community partnership carries out activities (including providing services) with a grant under this section, the partnership shall submit to the State board in which the partnership is carrying out activities under this section, and to the Secretary of Labor, a report on— the number of individuals ages 16 through 24 (referred to in this subsection as youth ) participating in activities under subsection (d), including the number of in-school youth and out-of-school youth so participating; the expenditures made from the grant awarded under this section, including any expenditures made to provide youth participants with supportive services; a description of the activities carried out under this section, 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; and any other information that the Secretary of Labor determines to be necessary to monitor the effectiveness of the program. The information required to be reported under subparagraphs (A), (C), and

(D)of paragraph

(1)shall be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, sex, age, and status in each subpopulation described in subclauses

(I)through

(VI)of section 129(a)(1)(B)(iii) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act ( 29 U.S.C. 3164(a)(1)(B)(iii) ).

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