[Federal Register: November 14, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 219)]
[Notices]
[Page 66349-66350]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14no06-57]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Design of Federal YouthBuild Grants
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice of request for public comments and announcement of
public meetings.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On September 22, 2006, President Bush signed into law the
YouthBuild Transfer Act (Pub. L. 109-281) which transfers the
YouthBuild program from the Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) to the Department of Labor (DOL). YouthBuild provides education
and occupational skills training for at-risk youth age 16-24. The
purpose of this Notice is to announce public meetings and a Webinar \1\
to discuss the transition of the YouthBuild program to DOL and to
announce an open comment period for comments on a variety of issues
about YouthBuild program design. The purposes of the public meetings
and the Webinar are twofold: To provide basic information on the
legislative changes to the YouthBuild program and DOL program
management of YouthBuild; and to collect feedback on several program
design elements listed below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ A Webinar is an interactive seminar or meeting conducted
over the Internet.
Key Dates: Submit comments on or before December 15, 2006.
The public meeting dates are:
1. November 30, 2006 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Los Angeles, CA.
2. December 6, 2006 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Pittsburgh, PA.
3. December 13, 2006 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST, a Webinar.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments by e-mail to youth.build@dol.gov.
Comments can also be mailed or hand delivered to the Employment and
Training Administration, Office of Workforce Investment, Division of
Youth Services, Room N-4511, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,
DC 20210. A summary of all comments received will be made available to
the public on the Employment and Training Administration's Web site at
http://www.doleta.gov.
The meeting locations are:
1. Los Angeles--Westin Bonaventure Hotel, 404 South Figueroa
Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071.
2. Pittsburgh--Omni William Penn, 530 William Penn Place,
Pittsburgh, PA 15219.
3. Webinar--For additional details on the Webinar, please visit
http://www.workforce3one.org/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anne Stom via e-mail at
stom.anne@dol.gov or via telephone at (202) 693-3377. This is not a
toll free number.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Meeting Information
A small block of hotel rooms for both of these events has been
reserved under DOL YouthBuild. More information on these meetings can
be found at http://www.doleta.gov/youth_services. These meetings are
open to the public. However, attendees must register in advance at
http://www.doleta.gov/youth_services.
B. Background
In 1978, YouthBuild began in East Harlem, NY, as a program to teach
youth construction skills while renovating and building homes for low-
income families. It was replicated in five locations in New York City
during the 1980s. In 1990, YouthBuild USA was founded to implement
YouthBuild nationally. In 1993, the YouthBuild program was established
by federal statute and HUD was designated as the agency
[[Page 66350]]
responsible for administering the program.
In addition to teaching construction skills to youth, YouthBuild is
an alternative education program that assists youth who are often
significantly behind in basic skills with obtaining a high school
diploma or GED credential. The primary target populations for
YouthBuild are youth offenders, youth in or aging out of foster care,
and out-of-school youth. There are currently over 200 YouthBuild
programs operating throughout the United States. YouthBuild grants
administered by HUD have funded approximately 120 programs through
annual competitions.
In 2003, the White House Task Force Report on Disadvantaged Youth
recommended that the YouthBuild program be transferred from HUD to DOL
for greater consistency of agency mission and other efficiencies. The
federal departments agreed and enactment of the YouthBuild Transfer Act
represents the successful implementation of that recommendation. DOL
will run its first YouthBuild competition for funds appropriated for
YouthBuild in Fiscal Year (FY) 2007. This grant competition represents
the first funding cycle for which DOL assumes full responsibility of
the YouthBuild program. Grants awarded prior to FY 2007 will continue
to be administered by HUD until the authority to expend the funds has
expired. The President's FY 2007 budget request for the YouthBuild
program is $50 million.
In administering the YouthBuild program, DOL expects to: (1)
Increase coordination between YouthBuild sites and the workforce
investment system; (2) align the program with the Federal Shared Youth
Vision \2\ which emphasizes strong educational and employment outcomes;
and (3) promote the YouthBuild model for other youth programs. In order
to ensure that programs are designed to reach these goals, DOL is
seeking public input and observations on the YouthBuild program,
particularly in the following areas:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Information on the Federal Shared Youth Vision is available
at http://www.doleta.gov/ryf/WhiteHouseReport/VMO.cfm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Awards: As we consider the length and amount of YouthBuild
awards, we are interested in comments and observations on the optimal
length of an award (for example one-year grants v. multi-year funding),
the optimal amount of an award, and the minimal amount of funding
necessary to sustain a viable local program. As we consider the
criteria to be applied to the selection of YouthBuild grantees, we are
interested in comments and observations on the organizational
attributes required for operating an effective YouthBuild program,
including prior program experience.
2. Outcomes: We are interested in comments and observations on ways
to ensure that YouthBuild programs meet educational and employment
outcomes and on ways to measure those outcomes. Given the outcomes that
YouthBuild programs will be required to meet as part of DOL's Common
Measures for employment and training programs (gains in literacy and
numeracy skills; successful placement in post-secondary education or
employment; and diploma and industry recognized certificate
attainment), we seek public input into the types of DOL technical
assistance that will support programs in improving these educational
and career track employment outcomes for YouthBuild participants, and
in ways to strengthen the connections that YouthBuild programs make
with apprenticeship programs, construction firms, and other high-
growth, high-demand jobs. We are interested in comments and
observations on methods to support increased placements of YouthBuild
participants into apprenticeship programs, construction firms, and
other high-growth, high-demand jobs.
3. Capacity Building: In the past, through the HUD Demonstration
Act of 1993, HUD has awarded a separate set of YouthBuild grants for
capacity building. We are interested in learning whether the capacity
building grants awarded by HUD helped to strengthen YouthBuild
programs. In addition, we are interested in comments and observations
on ways that capacity building grants can be used to support shifting
YouthBuild programs to diploma granting programs, or adding new career
tracks in industries other than construction, and are interested in
other ideas for uses of capacity building grants.
4. Other Comments: DOL welcomes comments and suggestions on
improving any other aspects of the federal YouthBuild program.
Signed at Washington, DC, this 6th day of November, 2006.
Emily Stover DeRocco,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-19177 Filed 11-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-P