Required Youth Services |
1. |
If youth participate in summer activities only, funded by Recovery Act funds, will they be required to: (1) receive an objective assessment, (2) have an individual service strategy, and (3) receive follow-up services as required by WIA? |
A. |
For youth who participate in summer activities only, local areas are required to conduct an objective assessment leading to an individual service strategy for each participant. Regarding summer employment opportunities, states and local areas have flexibility in their program design. Likewise, the determination of types of objective assessments and intensiveness of follow-up services is left to the local area’s discretion. Local areas may provide follow-up services when deemed appropriate. Further information is provided in TEGL 14-08 section 16. |
Serving Out-of-School Youth |
2. |
Will the 30 percent out-of-school youth expenditure requirement apply to Recovery Act funds? |
A. |
Yes. The requirement that local areas expend a minimum of 30 percent of funds on out-of-school youth applies to the Recovery Act funds. Further information on supporting older/out of school youth during non-summer months may be found in TEGL 14-08, section 16.C. |
Administering a Summer Youth Employment Opportunity Program |
3. |
Does administering a summer youth employment opportunity program include all components of running the program, including elements like work site supervision, or does administering the program only include components such as intake, assessment and individual service strategy? In other words, can the grant recipient/fiscal agent run the whole summer employment opportunities program? |
A. |
Yes. The grant recipient/fiscal agent, as provided in 20 CFR 664.610, is authorized to administer summer youth employment opportunities. This would include all functions related to the implementation of the summer efforts. |
Work Readiness Indicator |
4. |
For the work readiness outcome, must the youth obtain a nationally recognized certification or are local areas allowed to use a local pre and post test to document gains? |
A. |
A nationally recognized certification is not required for the work readiness indicator. Local areas are required to determine whether a measurable increase in work readiness skills has occurred through a pre- and post-assessment, just as they do now for all WIA youth. It is acceptable for a local area to use a local pre- and post-test to document gains. |
Paying Youth |
5. |
Do local areas have the flexibility to determine whether to pay wages or provide stipends for subsidized summer youth employment. |
A. |
Yes. It is up to the local area to determine whether to pay wages or provide stipends for summer youth employment. This determination is dependent on whether youth in summer employment are considered trainees in a training setting or are considered as employees. If youth in summer employment are considered employees, local areas should follow all applicable laws under the Fair Labor Standards Act including minimum wage provisions. This determination also impacts withholding of taxes and whether such youth are covered for unemployment compensation. For further information regarding whether an individual is an employee, please contact the Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-4-USWAGE. |
Work Experience |
6. |
Can work experience under the recovery act include any type of construction or retrofitting of buildings type training? |
A. |
According to 20 CFR 664.470, funds under the Act may be used to pay wages and related benefits for work experiences in the public, private, for-profit sectors, and non-profits sectors. This would include construction-related work experience, where the objective assessment and individual service strategy indicate that this work experience is appropriate. The allowable costs of work experience are generally limited to participant training costs such as wages or support services. In a construction setting, it is important to note that 20 CFR 667.260 prohibits the costs of construction or purchase of a building except in very limited circumstances and in this instance, it is the costs of the work experience that are allowable. In addition, youth laobor laws and Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA) regulations must be followed. |
7. |
Please provide clarification of the language on p.28 of TEGL 14-08 stating “youth summer employment should be a work experience intended to increase work readiness skills of participants and not impact the profit margin of a for-profit company.” |
A. |
Under 20 CFR 664.460(c), the purpose of work experience for youth is to provide the youth participant with opportunities for career exploration and skill development and is not to solely benefit the employer or increase company revenue. In light of this, work experience should be designed as a training activity and participants cannot be considered as the equivalent of regular employees.
Additionally, if the activity is construction-related, the wages paid to participants may need to conform to the prevailing wage requirements identified in the Davis Bacon Act, and local areas would need to determine this. |
Flexibility for Summer Employment Opportunities |
8. |
The Recovery Act only requires a work readiness indicator to be used for youth who participate in summer employment. Can states also use a work readiness indicator for youth who only participate in work experience? |
A. |
If a youth participates in a work experience between May 1 – September 30, it would be considered summer employment and the work readiness indicator would be the only measure that would apply. If a youth participates in work experience outside the summer months, states may request a waiver of the youth performance measures (either the seven statutory youth measures or the common measures as applicable) to apply to Recovery Act funds for out-of-school youth ages 18 to 24 served beyond the summer months who participate in work experience. This waiver would allow states to use the work readiness indicator as the only indicator of performance for such out-of-school youth, the same measure that applies to summer youth only participants. The waiver would only be applicable for the first six months following the summer of 2009 (i.e., October 2009 to March 2010). The waiver would only apply to youth served through WIA Youth program funds made available through the Recovery Act.
In recognition that many older and out-of-school youth would need supportive services to enable them to participate in work experience, this waiver can be applied to out-of-school youth ages 18 to 24 that receive supportive services in addition to participating in work experience. The waiver would not apply to such youth participating in other WIA youth program elements. |
9. |
Are there other areas of flexibility for serving youth who only participate in work experience? |
A. |
In TEGL 14-08, ETA has indicated that certain program design flexibility is available to states and local areas for providing summer employment opportunities to youth. States may request a waiver to apply this program design flexibility to youth ages 18 to 24 who participate in work experience outside the summer months. Such a waiver would only apply to youth served through WIA Youth program funds made available through the Recovery Act, and would only be applicable for the first six months following the summer of 2009 (i.e., October 2009 to March 2010). This program design flexibility includes the following:
- Flexibility in providing the required 12 months of follow-up services, to allow local areas to provide follow-up services when deemed appropriate.
- Flexibility to determine the type of assessment and Individual Service Strategy for youth, to allow local areas to provide the type of assessment deemed appropriate for each individual.
In recognition that many older and out-of-school youth would need supportive services to enable them to participate in work experience, this waiver can be applied to out-of-school youth ages 18 to 24 that receive supportive services in addition to participating in work experience. The waiver would not apply to such youth participating in other WIA youth program elements. |
10. |
What information is required to request a workforce indicator performance waiver or a program design flexibility waiver for youth who only participate in work experience? |
A. |
States must provide a detailed justification for the waiver. In addition to the required elements listed in WIA section 189(i)(4)(b), the waiver request must address planned dates of service, continued service plans for participants served under the waiver, such as a transition to the WIA Adult program (i.e., co-enrollment in WIA Adult services) or further education and training activities under WIA or Recovery Act funded youth services. |
Additional Services for Summer Youth |
11. |
If an individual is only in the summer youth employment (May 1 - September 30), may the local board pay for other services besides work experience? |
A. |
Yes. There are no specific statutory provisions under WIA or the Recovery Act that would preclude local areas from utilizing funds to pay for additional services for a youth who requires supportive services, tutoring, or mentoring or any other allowable service to help them complete their training. States and local areas have flexibility to determine the types of additional services provided based upon local program design and participant needs, taking into account their capacity to provide such services. |
12. |
Would a participant receiving additional services during enrollment in the summer employment component have to be counted in the common measures? |
A. |
No. The work readiness portion of the skill attainment rate will be the only indicator used for youth that participate in “summer employment” only. Summer employment must include a work experience and may include any set of allowable WIA youth services that occur during the summer months (May 1 – September 30). Further details may be found in TEGL 14-08, section 16.E. |
Tracking Recovery Act Youth Funds |
13. |
Will DOL require states/local workforce areas to track Recovery Act expenditures dedicated to summer youth separately from Recovery Act expenditures for year-round youth activities? |
A. |
No. States and local areas do not need to track summer youth activities separately from year-round youth activities under the Recovery Act. However, the Recovery Act requires that all expenditures related to the Recovery Act funding be accounted for and reported separately from regular WIA and Wagner-Peyser formula funds. States and local areas must implement methods to account for and report Recovery Act funds appropriately, including cost allocation methods. |
Services for Individuals Aged 22 – 24 |
14. |
If an individual is in the adult program but falls within the revised youth eligibility age limits, could they participate in subsidized youth work experience under the Recovery Act? |
A. |
Yes, individuals between the ages of 21 and 24 who would usually be served under the WIA adult or dislocated worker formulas can be served with Recovery Act youth formula funds, provided such individuals meet all of the other youth formula eligibility requirements and want to do a subsidized youth work experience. |
15. |
Are youth ages 22 to 24 who participate in the summer employment program funded by the ARRA prohibited from receiving additional ARRA-funded WIA Youth services at the completion of the summer timeframe? |
A. |
No. Youth in the 22 to 24 age category may receive continued services funded by Recovery Act during non-summer months beyond the September 30 date, which ends the summer period. The Act does not limit the use of the Recovery Act funds for only summer employment; any youth activities under WIA are allowable for these older youth. |
16. |
Is a youth 24 years of age eligible for summer and year round programming? |
A. |
The increase in age eligibility to 24 is for all youth activities under the Recovery Act, including both summer and year round programming. However, this is only for Recovery Act funding and does not apply to the regular WIA youth funding where age eligibility remains through age 21. |
Eligibility Determinations |
17. |
If a youth has already been determined eligible and enrolled in WIA, may they be served with Recovery Act funds without an additional eligibility determination? |
A. |
Yes. If youth have already met the WIA eligibility criteria and are enrolled in WIA, including youth receiving only follow-up services, they may be served with Recovery Act funds without an additional eligibility determination. |
18. |
What are the income guidelines for eligibility for youth to be served under the Recovery Act? |
A. |
Eligibility determination for Recovery Act WIA youth programs is the same as eligibility determination for regular WIA youth formula funds, with the exception of the expansion of age eligibility to 14 – 24 years for Recovery Act funds. To be eligible for services under the Recovery Act youth formula, an individual must be between the ages of 14 – 24, have a listed barrier, and be a low-income individual. The term “low income individual” is defined at Section 101 (25). See also 29 CFR 664.200. |
19. |
Will there be a provision that allows for flexibility to expand youth eligibility criteria to include those whose parent(s) have been laid off, to allow these individuals to participate in summer employment under the Recovery Act. |
A. |
No. Other than the age increase to 24 years old, all other WIA youth eligibility criteria, including the low-income requirement, remain the same. To determine income eligibility, family income is measured during the 6-month period preceding the application for services. ETA does not have the authority to waive program eligibility criteria. |
Follow-up for Summer Youth |
20. |
Will there be a requirement that follow-up be conducted with youth who participate in summer employment? |
A. |
Due to the short summer time period, local areas have the discretion to determine if and when the 12 month follow-up requirement will be required for youth served with Recovery Act funds during the summer months only. Local areas should provide follow-up services when deemed appropriate for such individuals.
If local areas choose to provide follow-up services for summer employment, the scope of follow-up services may be less intensive for youth who have only participated in summer youth employment. |