[Budget of the U.S. Government]
[V. Creating Opportunity, Demanding Responsibility, and Strengthening Community]
[2. Investing in Education and Training]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


 
                 2.  INVESTING IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING

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  I want to build a bridge to the 21st Century in which we expand opportunity through education, where computers
are as much a part of the classroom as blackboards, where highly-trained teachers demand peak performance from  
our students, where every eight-year-old can point to a book and say, I can read it myself.                     
                                      President Clinton                                                         
                                      August 29, 1996                                                           
                                                                                                                

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Today's most successful workers are those with skills and a firm 
educational footing who continue to learn throughout their careers in 
order to compete successfully in this fast-changing economy.
   In recent years, education and wages have become increasingly 
intertwined. Generally, those with the best skills and education have 
made steady progress, enjoying higher living standards. Those without 
the requisite skills and education have fallen behind. Tomorrow's 
workers face an even greater challenge. As the very nature of work 
changes with technological innovation, employers will demand even more 
highly-skilled and flexible workers. The best-paying jobs increasingly 
will go only to those with education and training beyond high school.
   For the most part, our Nation places responsibility for education and 
training on State and local governments, families and individuals, and 
the private sector. Nevertheless, the Federal Government plays a 
crucial, if limited, role in providing education for a lifetime--from 
pre-school to adult career training.
   The President's goals are to help families, communities and States 
ensure that every child is prepared to make the best use of education; 
that the education system enables every child to learn to his or her 
potential; that those who need resources to pay for postsecondary 
education and training can get them; that those who need a second chance 
at training and education or a chance to improve or learn new skills 
throughout their working lives can get those opportunities; and that 
States and communities that receive Federal funds can use them more 
flexibly, with fewer regulations and less paperwork.
   Federal resources help States improve the quality of education and 
training for the disadvantaged and for people with disabilities; support 
State- and locally-designed elementary and secondary school reform; and 
help low- and middle-income families gain financial access to 
postsecondary education and skill training through loans and grants. To 
help States raise student achievement, the President has worked hard to 
make schools safer, improve teacher quality, move technology into the 
classroom as quickly as possible, raise academic standards, and better 
prepare students for college and the new workplace.
   The budget reaffirms the President's commitment to America's children 
by increasing the investment in Head Start and in Federal elementary and 
secondary education programs--focusing on innovation and technology--and 
launching a new effort to jump-start needed school renovation and 
construction. In addition, the President has begun a national, 
volunteer-based challenge called America Reads, to ensure that all 
children can read well and independently by the end of third grade.
   To ensure that all Americans have access to the high-skill training 
needed for today's workplace, the President proposes to make two years 
of postsecondary education universally available, through HOPE 
scholarship 

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tax credits of up to $1,500 for two years. And to encourage 
lifelong learning, the budget proposes: tax deductions of up to $10,000 
for tuition and fees for college, graduate school, or job training; a 
$300 increase in the maximum Pell Grant college scholarship (to $3,000), 
marking the largest increase in two decades and providing grants for at 
least 348,000 more students; lower student loan fees and interest rates 
for parents and students; the G.I. Bill for America's Workers so they 
can choose where to get the best job training available; and new 
resources to help move welfare recipients from welfare to work (see 
Table 2-1 and Chart 2-1).
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------

              Table 2-1.  THE BUDGET INCREASES RESOURCES FOR MAJOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMS BY $15 BILLION, OR 56 PERCENT OVER 1993              
                                                              (Dollar amounts in millions)                                                              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                                 Percent
                                                                                                                      1993     1997      1998    Change:
                                                                                                                     Actual  Estimate  Proposed  1993 to
                                                                                                                                                   1998 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MANDATORY OUTLAYS/TAX EXPENDITURES:                                                                                                                     
  HOPE scholarships tax credit/deduction..........................................................................  .......       100     4,100       NA
  America Reads (Education Department)............................................................................  .......  ........        31       NA
  School construction.............................................................................................  .......  ........     1,250       NA
  Work Opportunity Tax Credit.....................................................................................  .......       120       160       NA
  Welfare-to-Work Jobs Challenge..................................................................................  .......  ........       600       NA
                                                                                                                   -------------------------------------
    Total, mandatory outlays and tax expenditures.................................................................  .......       220     6,141       NA
                                                                                                                                                        
DISCRETIONARY BUDGET AUTHORITY:                                                                                                                         
  Head Start......................................................................................................    2,776     3,981     4,305     +55%
  Elementary and secondary education:                                                                                                                   
    America Reads (Corp. for National and Community Service)......................................................  .......  ........       200       NA
    Goals 2000....................................................................................................  .......       491       620       NA
    Education technology..........................................................................................       23       305       545  +2,270%
    Title I Education for Disadvantaged...........................................................................    6,709     7,698     8,077     +20%
    Eisenhower Teacher Training...................................................................................      289       310       360     +25%
    Special education.............................................................................................    2,966     4,036     4,210     +42%
    Safe and drug free schools....................................................................................      582       540       620      +7%
    Charter schools...............................................................................................  .......        51       100       NA
    After-school learning centers.................................................................................  .......  ........        50       NA
  Postsecondary student aid:                                                                                                                            
    Pell Grants...................................................................................................    6,458     5,919     7,635     +18%
    College Work Study............................................................................................      616       830       857     +39%
    Other campus-based aid........................................................................................      845       811       771      -9%
    Presidential Honors Scholarships..............................................................................  .......  ........       132       NA
  Training and employment:                                                                                                                              
    Vocational education..........................................................................................    1,176     1,131     1,172      -*%
    Adult education...............................................................................................      304       354       394     +30%
    School-To-Work (Education and Labor Departments)..............................................................  .......       400       400       NA
    Summer Jobs for Youth.........................................................................................      849       871       871      +3%
    Job Corps.....................................................................................................      966     1,154     1,246     +29%
    Youth Opportunity Areas.......................................................................................  .......  ........       250       NA
    JTPA adult/dislocated worker training.........................................................................    1,666     2,181     2,415     +45%
    Employment service and One-Stops..............................................................................      975       974       993      +2%
                                                                                                                   -------------------------------------
       Total, budget authority....................................................................................   27,200    32,037    36,223     +33%
                                                                                                                   =====================================
        Total, mandatory outlays, tax expenditures, and budget authority..........................................   27,200    32,257    42,364     +56%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                                        
STUDENT LOAN VOLUME (loan amount):                                                                                                                      
   Direct loans...................................................................................................  .......     9,938    12,037       NA
   Guaranteed loans...............................................................................................   16,029    16,965    16,774      +5%
   Consolidation loans............................................................................................    1,527     6,803     7,729    +406%
                                                                                                                   -------------------------------------
  Total, loan volume..............................................................................................   17,556    33,706    36,540    +108%
                                                                                                                                                        
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NA = Not applicable.                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                        
* Less than 0.5 percent.                                                                                                                                

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  
  
 America Reads

   Many of our children are falling short of meeting standard 
educational levels--a failure that they often have trouble overcoming 
later. In 1994, for instance, two-fifths of fourth-graders failed to 
reach the ``basic'' reading level on the National Assessment of 
Educational Progress and only 30 percent attained the ``proficient'' 
level. In response, the President has launched the America Reads 
Challenge, a multi-part effort to help States and communities ensure 
that all children are reading well and independently by the end of the 
third grade. Business and academic leaders already have pledged their 
support, and the budget proposes the Federal funding component. The 
Administration will measure the success of this effort on a national 
basis through the biennial administration of the National Assessment of 
Educational Progress fourth grade reading assessment.

   America's Reading Corps: One-on-one tutoring is one key to better 
reading. America's Reading Corps will provide individualized after-
school and summer help for over three million children in grades K-3 who 
want and need it. A five-year, $2.45 billion investment, through the 
Education Department and the Corporation for National and Community 
Service, would help communities mobilize 30,000 reading specialists and 
volunteer coordinators to recruit and train over a million tutors, 
including 100,000 college work-study students.
   Parents as First Teachers: Nothing is more important to children's 
reading skills than the time parents spend reading to, and with, them. 
Research shows that the first three years of a child's life are crucial 
to his or her development. An early exposure to books, even for infants, 
is important to prepare children for pre-reading activities as toddlers. 
Reading to them for 20 minutes a day can make a big difference in their 
readiness for school. To give parents help and information in teaching 
their children, the Administration proposes a Parents as First Teachers 
Challenge Grant Fund of $300 million over five years, building on the 
current Even Start Family Literacy program to support effective, proven 
efforts that help parents help their children become successful readers.

 Head Start

   A healthy, caring family environment is the best preparation for 
school. For over 30 years, Head Start has helped low-income families 
create this environment by taking a comprehensive approach to child 
development--improving children's learning skills, health, nutrition, 
and social competency. Head Start involves parents in their children's 
learning, and links children and their families to a wide array of 
services in their communities. Over the last four years, the President 
has secured a 43-percent increase in funds for Head Start, enabling the 
program to serve 800,000 children in 1997.
   The budget proposes $4.3 billion for Head Start, $324 million more 
than in 1997, to enable 86,000 more children to participate than in 1996 
and raising program quality (see Chart 2-2). With this funding, the 
Administration would be well on its way toward meeting the President's 
commitment of a million children in Head Start by 2002.


   In addition, the Early Start component of Head Start extends 
comprehensive early development services to infants aged 0 to 3 in a way 
that supports families, builds parenting skills, and extends a safe, 
nurturing, and stimulating environment to very young children.

 Elementary and Secondary Education

   The Administration has energized State and local efforts to raise 
student achievement by boosting funds for various programs that 

[[Page 59]]

States and localities then combine with their own funds to help all students 
achieve at high levels in a safe, modern learning environment. The 
budget builds on this momentum by proposing additional funds for all 
major programs, and for the new America Reads initiative (discussed 
earlier in this chapter) and the new school construction initiative 
(discussed later).
   The Administration's goal for elementary and secondary education is 
to help States and communities raise the quality of education 

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for all children. Administration initiatives launched in 1994 are designed to 
establish a framework for comprehensive reform and to help States 
finance their role in it. The goals include: high State standards for 
all children; new curriculum and teaching methods to help all children 
achieve those standards; teacher and administrator training to support 
the standards; assessments of each child's progress; and a safe, 
technologically up-to-date learning environment. The budget proposes to 
increase funds for programs that support these goals, and proposes more 
flexibility to enhance the success of State and community efforts.

   School Construction: The General Accounting Office found that a third 
of all schools across the country, with 14 million students, have one or 
more buildings needing extensive repair. School districts also face the 
cost of upgrading schools to accommodate computers and modern 
technology, and of constructing new classrooms and schools to meet 
expected record enrollment levels over the next decade. The President 
proposes to leverage new construction or renovation projects through a 
$5 billion fund for school districts with substantial need. The fund 
would support interest subsidies or similar assistance to cut borrowing 
costs for States and localities in order to reach higher levels of 
infrastructure investment.
   Goals 2000: Enacted in 1994, this Administration initiative helps 
participating States establish high standards for all children and plan 
and implement steps to raise educational achievement. It builds on the 
National Education Goals, first articulated by the Nation's governors 
(led by then-Governor Clinton) and President Bush in 1989, which provide 
clear national targets but encourage States to develop their own means 
to achieve them. All States have now chosen to receive Goals 2000 
funding.
   The program is working. In Maryland, 40 percent of all students met 
challenging State academic standards in 1995, a 25 percent gain over 
1993. Over the next two years, the Education Department seeks to 

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ensure that at least half of all school districts are implementing reforms 
based on State-developed standards, and that the number of students 
meeting or exceeding their State's standards continues to rise. Goals 
2000 also supports individual school reforms. The budget would finance 
aid for 4,000 more schools than in 1997--for a total of 16,000 schools. 
The budget provides $620 million for Goals 2000, 26 percent more than in 
1997. It includes $15 million for parental information and resource 
centers in 42 States to help parents become more involved in their 
children's education and gain skills in child rearing through parent-to-
parent training, hotlines, and other activities. Each center also 
provides information and training to parents of pre-school aged 
children, either through the Home Instruction Program for Preschool 
Youngsters or the Parents as Teachers program.

   Charter Schools: One way to improve the quality of public schools is 
to introduce variety and competition into the system. Charter schools 
are public schools that parents, teachers, and communities create--and 
that States free from most rules and regulations and, instead, hold 
accountable for raising student achievement. Begun as a grassroots 
movement in 1991, and supported by Federal start-up funds since 1995, 
charter schools now number over 400, and some are now showing results in 
higher student test scores and lower drop-out rates. For example, in the 
Vaughn Next Century Learning Center, a Los Angeles public charter 
school, median scores on a 4th-grade standardized reading test rose from 
the 19th to 37th percentile in one year. The budget proposes $100 
million for public charter schools, nearly double the 1997 level, in 
order to fund start-up costs for as many as 1,100 schools and to make 
further progress towards the President's goal of 3,000 schools by 2001.
  Title I--Education for the Disadvantaged: Title I provides funds to 
raise the educational achievement of disadvantaged children. In 1994, 
the President proposed, and Congress adopted, changes to focus Title I 
re-

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sources more on low-income children, to set the same high standards 
for those children as for all others, to hold schools accountable for 
progress toward achieving those standards, and to give States and 
schools great flexibility in using Title I funds. The budget includes 
$8.1 billion for Title I, five percent more than in 1997.
   Education Technology: Education technology can expand learning 
opportunities for all students, helping to raise student achievement, 
but many districts lack the resources to integrate technology fully into 
their school curricula. In February 1996, the President challenged the 
public and private sectors to work together to ensure that all children 
are technologically literate by the dawn of the 21st Century, with the 
communication, math, science, and critical thinking skills essential to 
succeed in the Information Age. The budget proposes substantial 
increases in two technology programs, for a total 1998 investment of 
$500 million.
   First, the President has committed $2 billion over five years for the 
Technology Literacy Challenge Fund. For 1998, the budget proposes $425 
million, more than doubling the $200 million that Congress provided in 
1997. Second, the budget proposes $75 million, 32 percent more than in 
1997, for the Technology Innovation Challenge Grant program, which gives 
matching Federal funds to school-centered, public-private partnerships 
to develop and implement innovative applications of technology in the 
curriculum.

   Teacher Training: The Eisenhower Professional Development program 
helps States invest in training teachers and other educators so that 
they can help all children reach the State's challenging academic 
standards. The President proposed, and Congress enacted, major 
improvements in 1994 to ensure that the training is of high enough 
quality and sufficient duration to pay off in the classroom. The budget 
increases funding to $360 million, 16 percent more than in 1997.
   Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities: Students can reach their 
full potential only in safe, disciplined learning environments. The Safe 
and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program helps 97 percent of school 
districts implement anti-drug and anti-violence programs in our schools. 
It helps students resolve conflicts before they escalate into tragedy, 
teaches them the dangers of drug use, and helps schools increase 
security. The budget proposes to spend $620 million for the program, 12 
percent over the 1997 level, and to encourage States to adopt models of 
proven excellence.
   Special Education: States have made real progress in giving children 
with disabilities a ``free appropriate public education,'' as the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) calls for. The 
Administration will propose amendments that will help improve 
educational results for children with disabilities by promoting 
accountability for performance and focusing resources on teaching and 
learning. The budget provides $4.2 billion for special education, four 
percent more than in 1997.
   Bilingual and Immigrant Education: The Bilingual Education program 
helps schools improve the quality of instructional services for limited 
English proficient (LEP) students, teaching them English and preparing 
them to meet the same challenging academic standards as all other 
students. The Immigrant Education program helps States with large 
concentrations of immigrant students who have recently arrived, helping 
to offset their financial impact on school systems. The budget proposes 
$199 million for Bilingual Education and $150 million for Immigrant 
Education, 27 percent and 50 percent more than in 1997, respectively.

 Postsecondary Education and Training

   Education beyond high school is increasingly a prerequisite for 
success in the rapidly changing job market. The rising rate of college 
attendance over the last half-century was fueled by State efforts to 
expand the public college system, and Federal efforts to help families 
pay for college. The post-World War II GI Bill was a watershed event in 
Federal investment in higher education, greatly increasing benefits for 
returning servicemen. Since then, through the Higher Education Act of 
1965 and subsequent amendments, the Federal Government has vastly 
expanded grant and work-study aid to all low- and middle-income 
students, and made it possible for every American to borrow 

[[Page 63]]

enough money to attend college. The President wants to ensure that financial barriers to higher education continue to fall for all Americans. The budget 
provides substantial new support to low- and middle-income families 
through a new tax credit and tax deduction for education costs (see 
Chart 2-3).


   HOPE Scholarships: More than ever, today's employers look for job 
applicants with more than a high school diploma. HOPE scholarships would 
make the 13th and 14th years of education the norm for students by 
offering, to most working families, up to a $1,500 per student tuition 
tax credit for postsecondary education or training. Students would have 
to maintain at least a B average to receive the credit in the second 
year.
   Tuition Deduction: To encourage Americans to pursue higher education 
and to promote lifelong learning, the budget proposes to give families a 
tax deduction for postsecondary tuition and fees of up to $5,000 in 1997 
and 1998, and $10,000 starting in 1999. Together, the tuition deduction 
and HOPE scholarship would put over $36 billion back in the hands of 
Americans for education and training between 1997 and 2002.
   Pell Grants: The President proposes to raise the maximum Pell Grant 
award by $300, to $3,000, marking the largest increase in two decades. 
The Administration's changes also would bring at least 348,000 more 
students into the program, reaching a total of over four million low- 
and middle-income undergraduates. Such help is particularly important to 
raise participation and graduation rates of low-income students. With 
Pell Grants, they are as likely to stay in school and earn a degree as 
middle-income students without grants.
   Student Loans: An estimated 5.5 million individuals will borrow $37 
billion through the Federal student loan programs in 1998. Families at 
any income level can receive loans, but students who show greater 
financial need receive greater interest subsidies. The loans finance 
study toward undergraduate or graduate degrees, or short-term vocational 
training programs. The annual maximum loan amount 

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varies from $2,625 for a first-year student financially dependent on his or her parents, to $18,500 for a graduate or professional program student. Under this Administration, the rate of student loan defaults within the first two 
years after borrowers leave college has reached an all-time low.
   Before 1993, students and parents paid fees of up to eight percent of 
their loan proceeds. The Student Loan Reform Act of 1993, which the 
President initiated, cut the fees to four percent and has already saved 
families nearly $2 billion. The 1993 reforms also created the simpler, 
less costly, and more accountable Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP), 
and gave borrowers a way to afford payments on their student loans based 
on their actual post-college income--which the existing guaranteed loan 
program could not do.
   The budget proposes to cut the loan fees again--by half for needy 
students, and by a quarter for other students and parents. The budget 
also would continue to allow schools to choose to participate in either 
the FDLP or the guaranteed loan program--the Federal Family Education 
Loan Program (FFELP). In addition, it would reform FFELP to improve 
Federal management and give lenders and intermediaries financial 
incentives to prevent defaults. It also would ensure that all borrowers 
receive a variety of repayment options.

   Presidential Honors Scholarships: The President proposes an 
achievement-based scholarship program, rewarding the best and the 
brightest of high school students. It would grant $1,000 honors awards 
to the top five percent of graduating students in every secondary school 
in the Nation, making clear the Government's commitment to excellence. 
The budget requests $132 million for this program.
   College Work-Study: Work-study gives students additional aid through 
subsidized jobs, including an increasing number of community service 
positions. The budget proposes $857 million for Work-study, three 
percent more than in 1997, and continues the President's commitment to 
raise the number of Work-study recipients to a million by the year 2000, 
including 100,000 reading tutors to support America Reads.

 G.I. Bill for America's Workers

   For the past two years, the President has sought to dramatically 
overhaul the complex, inefficient structure of Federal job training 
programs through his proposed G.I. Bill for America's Workers. It would 
consolidate multiple programs into a single, integrated work force 
development system and provide Skill Grants (i.e., vouchers) to adults 
who need training so that they, not bureaucracies, choose where to get 
it. It also would streamline program administration, while improving 
accountability by freeing States and localities to focus on results, not 
process.
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                
The President's Principles for Work Force Policy Reform:                                                        
                                                                                                                
  1.                             Give resources for training directly to adults so they can make informed       
                                  choices, without bureaucratic interference.                                   
                                                                                                                
  2.                             Consolidate and streamline Federal programs for adults, organize them within   
                                  the One-Stop Career Center delivery system, and ensure that the private sector
                                  is a full partner.                                                            
                                                                                                                
  3.                             Ensure strong accountability to taxpayers by establishing high standards for   
                                  program quality and giving States and localities responsibility for results.  
                                                                                                                
  4.                             Organize Federal programs for youth within the School-to-Work Opportunities Act
                                  systems being established in States and local communities.                    
                                                                                                                
  5.                             Increase funding for work force development each year, commensurate with the   
                                  needs of workers and the economy.                                             
                                                                                                                

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   Although Congress did not enact these essential reforms, the 
Administration has pressed ahead to reform the job training system under 
current law. The Administration is making grants to establish One-Stop 
Career Center systems and School-to-Work systems; developing America's 
Labor Market Information System; expanding America's Job Bank to help 
match workers to jobs across the 

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country; and implementing new authority to waive certain Federal legal and regulatory requirements in order to help States and local communities make changes to the job training system.
   Comprehensive reform still requires legislation. The President will 
again seek legislation that reflects the principles of his G.I. Bill. 
Because enactment would not occur before the fiscal 1998 appropriations 
process begins in Congress, the budget presents funding proposals under 
the current program structure.

 Youth Programs

   The President is deeply committed to helping States and communities 
help young people make a successful transition to the world of work and 
family responsibility. As discussed earlier in this chapter, the budget 
includes major new proposals to eliminate financial barriers to 
postsecondary education and training for all youth. In addition, the 
budget continues to support the goal by helping States develop and 
implement their school-to-work systems. And it proposes additional 
resources to aid disadvantaged youth who have left school, or are on the 
verge of doing so, and have entered the labor force.

   School-to-Work: This initiative, which the Education and Labor 
Departments fund and administer jointly, gives States and communities 
competitive grants to build comprehensive systems to help young people 
move from high school to careers or postsecondary training and 
education. School-to-Work supports reforms to the education system and 
its links to employers, so that young people can better prepare for 
high-skill, high-wage careers; receive top-quality academic and 
occupational training; and pursue more postsecondary education or 
training. Businesses get the trained workers they need to stay globally 
competitive. By 1996, 37 States and 133 local partnerships had already 
received grants to implement School-to-Work systems. The budget proposes 
$400 million, maintaining the 1997 level, in accord with the strategy of 
phasing in School-to-Work in all States by early in the next decade.
  After-School Program: Young people need access to after-school 
activities that keep them off the streets and out of trouble. The 
Presidential initiative will provide $50 million to keep public schools 
open during non-school hours, giving students access to after-school 
tutoring and other educational and recreational activities in a crime-
free environment within their own communities.
   Youth Opportunity Areas Program: Recognizing the special problems of 
out-of-school youth, especially those in inner-city neighborhoods where 
jobless rates can exceed 50 percent, the budget proposes $250 million 
for new competitive grants to selected high-poverty urban and rural 
areas with major youth unemployment problems. The Labor Department would 
award funds to high-poverty areas, including designated Empowerment 
Zones or Enterprise Communities, based on the quality of the local 
applications--that is, those that show the best chance of substantially 
increasing employment among youth. These ``seed'' funds would leverage 
State, local, and private resources to sustain public-private efforts to 
train and employ youth in private sector jobs. (For more information on 
Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities, see Chapter 6.)
   Summer Youth Employment and Training Program: The summer jobs program 
gives many urban and rural disadvantaged students their first work 
experiences, and localities may include an academic component that re-
enforces the skills they have learned during the school year. The budget 
provides $871 million to finance 530,000 job opportunities for the 
summer of 1998, assuming that localities spend this flexible funding 
entirely on summer jobs.
   Disadvantaged Youth Year-Round Program: The year-round program helps 
low-income youth who have dropped out of school, are at risk of dropping 
out, or are in families on public assistance. The Administration will 
expand upon ongoing efforts to refocus this program to stress local 
programs of proven effectiveness. Local service delivery areas that 
receive these funds under the Job Training Partnership Act can shift 
resources between the summer and year-round programs, as local needs 
dictate. The budget proposes $130 million for the year-round program.

[[Page 66]]

   Job Corps: The Job Corps provides intensive, work-related vocational 
skills training, academic and social education, and support services to 
severely disadvantaged young people in a structured residential setting. 
The budget proposes $1.2 billion to fund opportunities for 70,000 young 
people.

 Adult Programs

   Most adults change jobs and get new skills by themselves or through 
their employers. But, many others--particularly welfare recipients and 
those permanently laid off from jobs--need help to get the services and 
information they need to successfully manage their careers. The budget 
proposes sizable new support for grants to States and localities to 
finance a training and employment system that adequately serves these 
adults, and helps build the job skills of American workers and job 
seekers into the 21st Century. These activities are the core of the 
adult portion of the G.I. Bill for America's Workers.

   Dislocated Workers and Low-Income Adult Training: The budget proposes 
$2.4 billion for Job Training Partnership Act programs that provide 
training, job search assistance, and related services to laid-off 
workers and economically disadvantaged adults, a $233 million increase 
over 1997. The dislocated worker program provides readjustment services, 
job search assistance, training, and other services to help dislocated 
workers find new jobs as quickly as possible. The program for 
disadvantaged adults helps welfare recipients and other low-income 
adults, giving them the skills and support to become employed. States 
and localities likely will continue to use a sizable portion of these 
resources to supplement training for welfare recipients under the new 
Transitional Assistance to Needy Families block grant. (For more 
information on this new block grant, and on the related Welfare-to-Work 
Challenge Fund and tax credit, see Chapter 7.)
   Adult Education: The Adult Education program helps educationally 
disadvantaged adults develop basic skills (including literacy), achieve 
certification of high school equivalency, and learn English. In 1993-94, 
the program served over 3.75 million adult learners--over 1.4 million 
enrollments in adult basic education programs, about 1.1 million in 
adult secondary education programs, and over 1.2 million in English-as-
a-second-language programs. The budget proposes $394 million, nine 
percent more than in 1997 (and over 50 percent more than in 1996), to 
meet the demand for literacy training that the new welfare and 
immigration laws have stimulated.
   One-Stop Employment Service: The budget proposes $843 million for 
grants to the Employment Service--the Nation's public labor exchange--
and $150 million to continue building One-Stop Career Center systems to 
streamline re-employment and career development service delivery. To 
date, 24 States have received grants to implement One-Stop systems and 
nine more States will receive grants in July 1997. The budget would 
permit One-Stops to expand to all States in 1998. While the One-Stop 
grants provide seed money for systems-building and increased automation, 
Employment Service grants provide the core operating funds for the new 
system. They help States to match employers and job seekers, and to 
provide counseling and re-employment assistance to unemployment 
insurance claimants and others who need more help finding jobs.