This brief summary accompanies the 50-page full report detailing the experiences of 22 communities that received U.S. Department of Labor Youth Opportunity Grants to support education, work exposure, and youth development for under-served young people.
The Youth Opportunity Grants were part of the overhaul of the youth delivery system brought about by the passage of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
It required engaging all sectors of the community and pulling together multiple systems.
The grantees were required to engage a sizable proportion of the 14- to 21-year-old population, both those in and out of school, in their target areas.
Youth were to be connected to education support, workplace and career exposure, youth development activities, and case management support until they completed their academic credentials and successfully transitioned into the labor market or higher education.
Much was accomplished in a relatively short period of time in these communities.
These accomplishments are particularly notable, considering the complexities of the YO grant requirements, the challenges of the economic and budgetary environments in the local communities at the time of implementation, and the change in governance in the workforce system that was occurring at the same time.
Successful implementation requires a much longer planning and start-up time than YO sites were afforded.
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