1.This Act may be cited as the
Urban Jobs Act of
2011
.
2.
(a)Congress finds the following:
(1)One-third of minority youth are
unemployed.
(2)The labor force
participation rate for persons without a high school diploma is 20 percentage
points lower than the labor force participation rate for high school
graduates.
(3)Nationally,
approximately 70 percent of all students graduate from high school, but
African-American and Hispanic students have a 55 percent or less chance of
graduating from high school.
(4)High school
dropouts from the class of 2004 will cost the Nation more than $325 billion in
lost wages, taxes, and productivity over their lifetimes.
(5)Only 52 percent of
students in the 50 largest cities in the United States graduate from high
school. That rate is below the national high school graduation rate of 70
percent, and also falls short of the 60 percent average for urban districts
across the Nation.
(6)Over his or her
lifetime, a high school dropout earns, on average, about $260,000 less than a
high school graduate, and about $1 million less than a college graduate.
(7)Approximately 75 percent of State prison
inmates and 59 percent of Federal prison inmates have not completed high
school. Increasing the high school completion rate by 1 percent for all men
ages 20 to 60 would save the United States $1.4 billion annually in reduced
costs associated with crime.
(8)According to a
recent study, a 10-percent increase in the male high school graduation rate
would reduce arrest rates for murder and assault by about 20 percent, motor
vehicle theft by 13 percent, and arson by 8 percent.
(9)The National Urban League is a historic
civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate
the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. Founded
in 1910 and headquartered in New York City, the National Urban League
spearheads the efforts of its local affiliates through the development of
programs, public policy research, and advocacy.
(10)There are more
than 100 local affiliates of the National Urban League located in 36 States and
the District of Columbia, providing direct services that impact and improve the
lives of more than 2 million people nationwide. Local National Urban League
affiliates operate programs that focus on education, job training and
placement, housing, business development, and many other important
initiatives.
(11)The National
Urban League has a history of success in implementing national programs through
its local affiliate network. From 2007 to 2010, 27 local National Urban League
affiliates served at-risk young adults by providing job skills training,
community service opportunities, and employment for over 3,500 young adults
ages 18 to 24.
(b)It is the purpose of this Act to provide
adequate resources for the National Urban League (acting through local National
Urban League affiliates) to reduce the disproportionate incarceration of
minority youth and to prepare eligible young adults for entry into the world of
work by providing a comprehensive set of services that includes job training,
education, and support services.
3.
(a)Subtitle D of title I
of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2911 et seq.) is
amended—
(1)by redesignating
section 174 as section 175;
(2)in section 173, by
striking 174
each place it appears and inserting
175
; and
(3)by inserting after
section 173A the following:
174.
(a)
(1)The Secretary of
Labor may make grants to the National Urban League for the purpose of operating
an Urban Jobs Program through local National Urban League affiliates.
(2)Funds from a grant made
under paragraph (1) shall be used by the National Urban League to provide a
comprehensive set of services and activities for eligible young adults, to be
implemented by local National Urban League affiliates. Services and activities
eligible for assistance include the following:
(A)Case management services to help program
participants effectively use the activities and services offered under the
program.
(B)Educational
offerings, including skill assessment, reading and math remediation,
educational enrichment, General Education Development credential preparation,
and post-secondary education.
(C)Employment and job readiness activities,
including mentoring, placement in community service opportunities, internships,
on-the-job training, occupational skills training, job placement in
unsubsidized jobs, and personal development.
(D)Support services,
including health and nutrition referral, housing assistance, training in
interpersonal and basic living skills, transportation, child care, clothing,
and other assistance as needed.
(3)
(A)Not later than May 1 of each fiscal year for which
amounts are made available to carry out this section, the Secretary shall
submit to Congress a report regarding—
(i)the progress made
under this section by the National Urban League and local National Urban League
affiliates in implementing the program; and
(ii)the effectiveness
of the program in improving General Educational Development credential
attainment and job placement in unsubsidized jobs for program
participants.
(B)Inapplicability
of section 172The program shall not be subject to evaluations
required under section 172.
(b)National jobs
council advisory committee
(1)The Secretary shall establish a committee
to be known as the National Jobs Council Advisory Committee.
(2)The committee shall advise the Secretary
concerning—
(A)the design and operation of the
program;
(B)long-term
strategic priorities for the program; and
(C)the formulation and application of
guidelines related to activities carried out under the program.
(3)The committee shall be comprised of 11
members, to be appointed by the Secretary as follows:
(A)Three individuals from the private sector
who are senior human resources or diversity executives with national or
regional responsibilities and experience in oversight that includes hiring,
employee training, or employee relations.
(B)Five representatives of employers in
high-impact, high-growth industries, as defined by the Secretary.
(C)One National Urban
League Workforce Development staff member.
(D)Two
representatives from the Department of Labor.
(c)Sense of
Congress regarding local advisory committeesIt is the sense of
Congress that a local National Urban League affiliate receiving funding under
this section should establish a local jobs council advisory committee, the
membership of which should include representatives from not fewer than 5
employers from high-growth industries in the locality, to aid in establishing
support from the local community for and guiding the local implementation of
the program.
(d)
(1)Authorization of
appropriationsThere is
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section—
(A)$20,000,000 for fiscal year 2012;
(B)$30,000,000 for
fiscal year 2013;
(C)$40,000,000 for
fiscal year 2014;
(D)$50,000,000 for
fiscal year 2015; and
(E)$60,000,000 for
fiscal year 2016.
(2)Not
more than 2 percent of funds appropriated for any fiscal year under paragraph
(1) may be used for expenses associated with carrying out the requirements of
subsection (b).
(e)In
this section:
(1)The term eligible young adults means
individuals ages 18 to 24 who—
(A)are not enrolled
in secondary or post-secondary school; or
(B)are or have been
subject to any stage of the criminal justice process.
(2)The
term program means the Urban Jobs Program established under
subsection (a).
(3)The term unsubsidized job means employment for
which the wages are provided by an employer that does not receive public funds
for the creation and maintenance of the employment
position.
.
(b)The table of contents contained in section 1(b) of such
Act is amended—
(1)by inserting a
period at the end of the item relating to section 173A; and
(2)by striking the
item relating to section 174 and inserting the following:
Sec. 174. Urban jobs program.
Sec. 175. Authorization of
appropriations.
.