On September 6, the House approved, by voice vote, a bill (S. 3534) that would amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220) by authorizing the YouthBuild program. The Senate approved the measure on August 3 (see The Source, 8/4/06). The president is expected to sign the bill into law.
The legislation would transfer the YouthBuild program from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the Department of Labor. The bill would authorize the secretary of the Department of Labor to make grants to community-based organizations, state and local housing agencies, and Indian tribes for education and workforce opportunities, including job skills training, such as apprenticeships, internships and other paid and unpaid learning opportunities; instruction for individuals with limited English proficiency; secondary education services, including tutoring and dropout prevention activities; financial aid counseling; drug and alcohol abuse prevention; adult mentoring; and participant training in the construction or rehabilitation of permanent or transitional housing for homeless individuals and low-income families.
Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX) said, “The program is intended for individuals who are serious and committed, interested in learning construction, interested in helping to rehabilitate affordable housing, a low-income school drop out, and member of a low-income family, a youth in foster care including youth aging out of foster care, a youth offender, a youth who is an individual with a disability, a child of incarcerated parents, or a migrant youth. This is an excellent program; we are pleased to have it in my district in Houston.”
Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) said, “It gives me great pleasure to rise today in support of S. 3534, the YouthBuild Transfer Act…This is an easy program to support. Not only does it address housing needs in our communities, but [it] also addresses important educational workforce needs by providing meaningful opportunities for at-risk youth to acquire the basic education and job skills needed to advance to productive employment and higher education. It is not often the case that a program meets two important needs.”
