BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1559
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 22, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
William W. Monning, Chair
AB 1559 (Committee on Labor and Employment) - As Introduced:
March 11, 2009
SUBJECT : Summer youth training programs.
SUMMARY : Provides that local workforce investment boards shall
facilitate the implementation of summer youth training programs
through partnerships and effective collaboration.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The recently-enacted American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 includes $1.2 billion in funding
for Workforce Investment Act (WIA) youth employment activities.
The ARRA also extended the eligibility for participation in WIA
youth employment programs from the statutory age of 21 to 24.
Local areas will have until June 30, 2011 to expend the funds.
While the ARRA does not limit the use of youth funds to summer
employment, the Congressional explanatory statement states that
"the conferees are particularly interested in these funds being
used to create summer employment opportunities for youth."
The ARRA does not provide the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
with any policy guidance as to how it should implement the youth
employment program, nor does it provide guidance as to what
policies DOL and states and local workforce investment boards
should pursue to ensure that these programs are successful.
Therefore, there is a need for further policy direction at the
state and local level.
On March 18, 2009, the DOL's Employment Training Administration
(ETA) issued its own guidance letter with respect to
implementing WIA funding contained in the ARRA. That guidance
letter states the following:
"ETA strongly encourages states and local areas to use as
much of these funds as possible to operate expanded summer
youth employment opportunities during the summer of 2009,
and provide as many youth as possible with summer
employment opportunities and work experiences throughout
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the year, while ensuring that these summer employment
opportunities and work experiences are high quality. ETA is
also particularly interested in and encourages states and
local areas to develop work experiences and other
activities that expose youth to opportunities in "green"
educational and career pathways.
In addition to emphasizing summer employment as a major
component of the funding, the Recovery Act includes two
other significant changes to youth activities under WIA.
The Act increases the age eligibility to a maximum of 24
years old. The Recovery Act also states that the work
readiness indicator will be the only indicator to assess
the effectiveness of summer employment."
ETA also made the following specific comments or recommendations
(among others):
"ETA encourages states to develop policies to ensure
local areas adhere to current workplace safety guidelines
and applicable federal/state wage laws."
"Given the expanded age range to 24 under the Recovery
Act, states and local areas may encounter an increased
volume of veterans. Veterans age 21 to 24 have a
particularly high incidence of unemployment immediately
upon discharge. States and local areas are required to
provide priority of services for veterans and eligible
spouses pursuant to 20 CFR part 1010, the regulations
implementing priority of service for veterans and eligible
spouses in Department of Labor job training programs under
the Jobs for Veterans Act published at 73 Fed. Reg. 78132
on December 19, 2008."
"States can provide direction and leadership to LWIBS
and Youth Councils to assist local youth programs to
consider using these funds to operate expanded summer youth
employment opportunities during the summer of 2009, and
provide as many youth as possible with summer employment
opportunities and other work experiences outside of the
summer months, while ensuring that these summer employment
opportunities and work experiences are of high quality."
"States and local areas can identify regional and local
environmental resources, businesses, and pre-apprenticeship
programs promoting "green" jobs and products to provide
youth summer work experiences that prepare them to compete
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in a 'green' economy."
"Registered apprenticeship programs represent
collaborative partnerships with schools, employers, labor
organizations, community groups, and state apprenticeship
offices."
"Local areas can connect with registered apprenticeship
program sponsors and their individual state apprenticeship
office to better determine how best to coordinate a
pre-apprenticeship or pre-employment training program.
States and local areas are encouraged to expand work
experience opportunities to registered apprenticeships
offered by employers in the information technology, health
care, and financial services sectors."
"ETA encourages states and local areas to focus services
on the youth most in need including: out-of-school youth
and those most at risk of dropping out, youth in and aging
out of foster care, youth offenders and those at risk of
court involvement, homeless and runaway youth, children of
incarcerated parents, migrant youth, Indian and Native
American youth, and youth with disabilities."
Representatives of the Center for Labor Market studies (Center)
at Northeastern University recently provided testimony before
Congress, stating "the summer job market for teens will be
extremely weak and forecast a seasonally adjusted teen summer
employment rate of only 34.2%, which would have marked a 60 year
historical low teen employment rate."
Since 2000, national teen employment rates have dropped
dramatically. And while there is a case to address this on a
national level, many argue that California simply cannot wait to
prepare current and future workers to compete. Research shows
that youth engaged in any type of work activity while in high
school do better economically as adults. Data also indicate
that there is a correlation between employment rates and a drop
in crime rates.
A 1994 report entitled, "One Out of Five," on out-of-school and
out-of-work youth in Long Beach and Los Angeles found that early
labor market experiences of young adults generate a number of
strong positive impacts on short-term and long-term employment
and earnings.
This bill is sponsored by the California Workforce Association
(CWA) and is intended to facilitate ongoing discussions with
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stakeholders about how California can provide policy guidance
and maximize the success of summer youth training programs,
including those funded through the recent ARRA.
Specifically, CWA indicates that it is working with stakeholders
on exploring ways to provide meaningful work-based learning
experiences for youth, to ensure referrals from the county
welfare systems for youth eligible to participate in these
programs, to ensure that eligible youth have access to
pre/apprenticeship programs in growing sectors, including
opportunities in 'green' educational and career pathways, and to
remove barriers to serving at risk youth.
CWA states that it is working with the Administration and
representatives of the labor, human services, and education
communities and would like for this vehicle to move while these
discussions continue.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Workforce Association (sponsor)
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ben Ebbink / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091