[House Hearing, 115 Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF POVERTY ======================================================================= HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES OF THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION __________ MAY 17, 2017 __________ Serial No. 115-HR03 __________ Printed for the use of the Committee on Ways and Means [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 33-391 WASHINGTON : 2019 COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS KEVIN BRADY, Texas, Chairman SAM JOHNSON, Texas RICHARD E. NEAL, Massachusetts DEVIN NUNES, California SANDER M. LEVIN, Michigan PATRICK J. TIBERI, Ohio JOHN LEWIS, Georgia DAVID G. REICHERT, Washington LLOYD DOGGETT, Texas PETER J. ROSKAM, Illinois MIKE THOMPSON, California VERN BUCHANAN, Florida JOHN B. LARSON, Connecticut ADRIAN SMITH, Nebraska EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon LYNN JENKINS, Kansas RON KIND, Wisconsin ERIK PAULSEN, Minnesota BILL PASCRELL, JR., New Jersey KENNY MARCHANT, Texas JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York DIANE BLACK, Tennessee DANNY DAVIS, Illinois TOM REED, New York LINDA SANCHEZ, California MIKE KELLY, Pennsylvania BRIAN HIGGINS, New York JIM RENACCI, Ohio TERRI SEWELL, Alabama PAT MEEHAN, Pennsylvania SUZAN DELBENE, Washington KRISTI NOEM, South Dakota JUDY CHU, California GEORGE HOLDING, North Carolina JASON SMITH, Missouri TOM RICE, South Carolina DAVID SCHWEIKERT, Arizona JACKIE WALORSKI, Indiana CARLOS CURBELO, Florida MIKE BISHOP, Michigan David Stewart, Staff Director Brandon Casey, Minority Chief Counsel ______ SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES ADRIAN SMITH, Nebraska, Chairman JASON SMITH, Missouri DANNY DAVIS, Illinois JACKIE WALORSKI, Indiana LLOYD DOGGETT, Texas CARLOS CURBELO, Florida TERRI SEWELL, Alabama MIKE BISHOP, Michigan JUDY CHU, California DAVID G. REICHERT, Washington TOM REED, New York C O N T E N T S __________ Page Advisory of May 17, 2017, announcing the hearing................. 2 WITNESSES Gerald Chertavian, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Year Up.. 6 Jameela Roland, Graduate, Year Up................................ 18 Martrice Manuel, Senior Program Director, Youth Scholars, Skills, and Services................................................... 24 Cheryl A. Oldham, Vice President of Education Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce............................................ 34 SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD Fostering Success Michigan (FSM) Policy Action Network........... 60 Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) Coalition..................... 63 Michael G. Bindner............................................... 72 Jennifer M. Geiger, Ph.D., MSW................................... 76 John Paul Horn, LMSW............................................. 78 Nebraska Children and Families Foundation Connected Youth Initiative (CYI)............................................... 82 School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago... 92 Starbucks........................................................ 94 Sylvia Sensiper, MA, Ph.D........................................ 97 OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULTS TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF POVERTY ---------- WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2017 U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Human Resources, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m., in Room 2020, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Adrian Smith [Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding. [The advisory announcing the hearing follows:] ADVISORY FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES CONTACT: (202) 225-1721 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, May 17, 2017 HR-03 Chairman Smith Announces Human Resources Subcommittee Hearing on Opportunities for Youth and Young Adults to Break the Cycle of Poverty House Ways and Means Human Resources Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith (R-NE), announced today that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled ``Opportunities for Youth and Young Adults to Break the Cycle of Poverty'' on Wednesday, May 17, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2020 of the Rayburn House Office Building. This hearing will highlight innovative approaches to helping vulnerable youth transition into adulthood and move up the economic ladder. In view of the limited time to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. However, any individual or organization may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing. DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS: Please Note: Any person(s) and/or organization(s) wishing to submit written comments for the hearing record must follow the appropriate link on the hearing page of the Committee website and complete the informational forms. From the Committee homepage, http:// waysandmeans.house.gov, select ``Hearings.'' Select the hearing for which you would like to make a submission, and click on the link entitled, ``Click here to provide a submission for the record.'' Once you have followed the online instructions, submit all requested information. ATTACH your submission as a Word document, in compliance with the formatting requirements listed below, by the close of business on Wednesday, May 31, 2017. For questions, or if you encounter technical problems, please call (202) 225-3625. FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS: The Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record. As always, submissions will be included in the record according to the discretion of the Committee. The Committee will not alter the content of your submission, but we reserve the right to format it according to our guidelines. Any submission provided to the Committee by a witness, any materials submitted for the printed record, and any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any submission not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee. All submissions and supplementary materials must be submitted in a single document via email, provided in Word format and must not exceed a total of 10 pages. Witnesses and submitters are advised that the Committee relies on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record. All submissions must include a list of all clients, persons and/or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears. The name, company, address, telephone, and fax numbers of each witness must be included in the body of the email. Please exclude any personal identifiable information in the attached submission. Failure to follow the formatting requirements may result in the exclusion of a submission. All submissions for the record are final. The Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TDD/TTY in advance of the event (four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to special accommodation needs in general (including availability of Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the Committee as noted above. Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available at http://www.waysandmeans.house.gov/ Chairman SMITH. The Subcommittee will come to order. Good morning, and welcome to today's hearing on opportunities for youth and young adults in seeking to break the cycle of poverty. There is an alarming trend happening in this country--one in seven 16- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. are not in school and are not working. This totals more than 5.5 million youth Nationwide. Most concerning, these young people are not entering the workforce at a time when the national unemployment rate is now 4.4 percent, and the economy is making some progress. By failing to get started in the workforce when we know jobs are available, these young people are putting themselves at a disadvantage from the get-go. Workers who do not graduate from high school face higher rates of unemployment, regardless of economic conditions, dwindling job prospects, and lower lifetime earnings. We also know unemployment disproportionately affects minorities who account for some of our country's fastest- growing population. Without gainful employment and the ability to build a career, the consequences are dire for these young people and their families. Many will have significant difficulties gaining the skills and knowledge to attain self- sufficiency, putting them and their children at risk of falling into a life of poverty and the need for long-term government support. The risks of not addressing this trend are also critical for American businesses, which have millions of job openings but are unable to find skilled and talented employees to hire. Our economy cannot grow if it cannot rely on American workers to produce. While this Subcommittee works day in and day out to help people move from welfare to work, we often focus on the adults already within the system receiving benefits from programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Unemployment Insurance. But what if we focused on what works in helping young people before they ever have to set foot into an unemployment or welfare office? While there are dozens of major Federal programs dedicated to helping these youth, from job training and education to social services and juvenile justice, we have not seen major improvements in desired outcomes such as program completion, improved wages, or increased self-sufficiency. Sometimes it is because the government-directed solution does not address the strengths of the participants. For youth who struggled in high school, dropping them on the doorstep of a 4-year university may not be the best solution. The Government Accountability Office has written multiple reports on these programs, identifying duplication, poor employment outcomes and educational attainment, and lack of coordination for youth seeking these services. Today the GAO is releasing yet another report detailing very low participation in the numerous work incentive programs offered to young adults transitioning off the Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, program. Less than 1\1/2\ percent of SSI youth participate in the largest of SSA's work incentive programs, the student earned income exclusion, which permits children receiving SSI to attempt work without being concerned about their eligibility status or benefit amount. In addition, few, if any, youth on SSI receive vocational training and education services offered by the Department of Education, despite recent changes to the law requiring them to focus on this population. This is why we are here today--to discuss innovative programs and partnerships which are addressing this trend and providing young people transitioning into adulthood with the necessary skills and support to find work and climb the economic ladder. One such example is The HUB located in Lincoln, Nebraska, which provides a central access point for young adults. The HUB assists 16- to 24-year-olds, often without a high school diploma, transitioning into adulthood who are disconnected from their family and their community. It provides a 16-week hands- on program known as Project HIRE, which addresses potential barriers to employment and gives youth the problem-solving skills needed to address situations as they arise. The HUB then helps these young people attain employment and provides support along the way to ensure success. We know the best way to reduce poverty is through work and work-related experiences, such as on-the-job training and employer-sponsored internships and apprenticeships. These experiences not only provide occupation skills training for available jobs, but they also help in growing an individual's network, improve soft skills, and build resumes. Instead of counting 5.5 million young people out, our focus needs to be on innovative approaches, which help these opportunity youth find private sector employment and career development. Today I am excited to learn from our witnesses about how their evidence-based practices, which focus on results, highlight how the private sector can help in leading these efforts and provide a roadmap to improving young people's outlook on the future. I now yield to the distinguished Ranking Member, Mr. Davis, for the purposes of an opening statement. Mr. DAVIS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and I, too, want to thank all of our witnesses for coming to share with us this morning. Across America, nearly 5 million young people are disconnected, not working, and not in school. In my congressional district in Chicago, almost 17,000 young people, 17 percent of youth between ages 16 and 24, are not working or going to school. The rate is even higher for young African American men. In 2014, nearly half of African American men between the ages of 20 and 24 in Chicago were disconnected from both school and work. Just as in a rural district like Chairman Smith's, some of these young people are dealing with serious issues like disabilities, substance abuse, mental and physical health challenges, and caregiving responsibilities. But many others are struggling with less visible challenges--communities with fewer role models and fewer jobs, a lack of skills and a lack of confidence that they can acquire skills to get good jobs. Those youth that drift in the wind, if we don't catch them and anchor them to our communities and our economy, many of them will go from struggling youth into struggling adults, with higher unemployment rates, lower wages, and more physical and mental health problems. The problem is complicated, but some successful organizations, including some represented at our witness table today, are finding that the solution is difficult but simple. Reach out a hand to these youth, believe in them, and help them to believe in themselves. And, most importantly, stay with them and help them tackle all the challenges they are facing. The question for us today is, how can our Subcommittee support this good work? How can we empower our communities to do more of it? At least 17 States use a portion of their social services block grant funds for programs to serve at-risk youth. In my State of Illinois, the SSBG funds a significant investment in support for pregnant and parenting teens, as well as an at-risk youth program intended to keep young people out of the juvenile justice system. The social services block grant can be part of the solution. Our Committee has worked hard on a bipartisan basis to help children avoid foster care when possible, and to do better by those who do need to be in care. Older foster youth become disconnected at high rates, especially a year or two after their foster care ends. Our child welfare programs can be part of the solution, helping these young people build social capital they need to become successful adults. More than \1/4\ of parents served by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, or TANF, are under age 25, and most of them are not engaged in school or work. Youth over age 20, who are considered adults by TANF, are especially struggling. Improvements to TANF can be a part of the solution. And, of course, at our most recent hearing, we heard about the impressive work evidence-based home visiting programs are doing to support teen parents. MIECHV is part of the solution. We have an opportunity to make a real difference for today's youth and tomorrow's adults. I look forward, Mr. Chairman, to working with you and our colleagues to find and explore opportunities to take action and support solutions that work. Again, I thank you very much for holding this hearing, and yield back the balance of my time. Chairman SMITH. Thank you. Without objection, other Members' opening statements will be made a part of the record. I certainly want to thank our witnesses, welcome our witnesses, and all those participating and observing here today. I'm grateful for your input and your offering of solutions. As we know, in Washington, too often it is real easy to cite what the problem is, and yet finding the right solutions and moving forward on those I think are certainly what we want to focus on, and I certainly appreciate your bringing your expertise here into the room today. I would like to welcome, again, our witnesses. We have Mr. Gerald Chertavian. Am I saying that right? Mr. CHERTAVIAN. You are. Chairman SMITH. You know, my last name being Smith, I am a little challenged by maybe sometimes even Jones. But we also have Ms.--Mr. Chertavian is founder and CEO of a program called Year Up, and we also have, as evidence perhaps of a successful program, a graduate of Year Up, Ms. Jameela Roland. Welcome. Thank you for being here. We also have Mr. Martrice Manuel, senior program director with Youth Scholars, Skills, and Services. And also Ms. Cheryl Oldham, vice president of education policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Witnesses are reminded to limit their oral statements to 5 minutes. You will see the light there on the table there. Once it turns yellow, you want to bring that plane in for a landing, a safe landing of course, but we certainly appreciate your being here. We will begin with Mr. Chertavian. You may begin. STATEMENT OF GERALD CHERTAVIAN, FOUNDER AND CEO, YEAR UP Mr. CHERTAVIAN. Thank you, Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Davis, and all Members of this Committee, for your kind invitation to testify today. My name is Gerald Chertavian. I am the founder and CEO of Year Up, which is now the Nation's largest and fastest-growing youth-serving program started in this century. I would like to begin today by describing the talent crisis that is currently facing our country. Across America, as we have just heard, more than 5 million young adults called ``opportunity youth'' are out of school and out of work, unable to find a path to self-sufficiency or a family-sustaining wage. This represents 1 out of 7 of all young adults and 1 out of 5 young adults of color, and it costs our Nation $97 billion in lost revenues and increased social services. And, at the same time, we are projecting 12 million American jobs will go unfilled over the next decade, simply because employers can't find the skilled talent they need for the 21st century economy. This paradox is the result of a market failure. Our education and training systems are increasingly out of touch with employers' needs and out of reach for young people. Correcting this failure is both a moral imperative and an economic necessity. To give you a sense of what this opportunity looks like, this opportunity divide looks like, I would like to share with you a story of one of our graduates named Greg Walton. Ten years ago, Greg was sitting in the South Bay Correctional Facility in Boston. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was sentenced to a year in prison. Having grown up in foster care, without a stable home, you can imagine how limited Greg's opportunities were upon release from prison. But his story didn't end there. Today Greg is a technology executive at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has worked there for the past 9 years and recently received the 2017 MIT excellence award, one of the highest honors awarded to staff at MIT. Greg is also a homeowner, a taxpayer, a loving husband, an extremely doting father of 2 beautiful children. I saw him recently and he told me--and this really stuck with me--he said, ``Gerald, I don't think you will ever understand how it feels to carry our children over the threshold of the home that we bought with our hard-earned money, and to tuck those children into a bed that they will never be without.'' Now, Greg's story shouldn't be viewed as exceptional. It actually should be viewed as what is possible when we provide deserving young adults with a hand up, not a handout. Seventeen years ago, I sold my technology business to a public company and founded Year Up. The mission was simple: in 1 year to move low-income young adults from poverty to a professional career. We serve that mission through the market. First, we work with leading employers like State Street, Microsoft, Bank of America. We understand what their needs are for entry-level skills. Second, we provide students with an intensive 6 months of training in both professional skills and technical skills, followed by a 6-month internship with those companies, at the end of which they are now prepared to work full-time. The results: 91 percent of our graduates are employed--are working or in school full-time within 4 months, making an average of $38,000 a year. Now, this is a demand-driven approach, and our partners now use our program as a source of reliable, relevant, and valuable talent across this country. State Street Corporation has hired 500 of our young adults already and committed to hire another 500; 1,000 low-income folks from the most isolated pockets of poverty in Boston in working and livable wage jobs. One company. Our program model has been proven through gold standard evaluation. In fact, the CEO of the firm that conducted our first randomized control trial said these were the most exciting evaluation results he has seen in youth employment in 20 or 30 years, and the first to show a really substantial earning gain. We are committed at Year Up to rigorous evaluation because if we are not putting our young adults on a path to a W-2 that grows over time, we are not serving them well. Our program is successful because of several factors. We focus on outcomes, not efforts. So through our market mechanisms, we ensure employers' needs are met and young people's needs are met. Second, we use rigorous evaluation and are committed to constantly learning and pushing forward that learning. And, third, we believe that talent is distributed evenly in America while opportunity, unfortunately, is not. And we value those young adults as economic assets and not social liabilities. Ranking Member Davis, thank you for your continued support, for funding programs that train workers to meet local employer demand. We appreciate the Committee's work to update and align public assistance provisions in programs such as TANF, social service block grant, and foster care. I would like to commend the Committee's success last year in reporting out, passing in the House, the bipartisan SIPPRA Act. On behalf of Year Up, thanks for this opportunity. We greatly appreciate it. [The prepared statement of Mr. Chertavian follows:] [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] Chairman SMITH. Thank you, Mr. Chertavian. Ms. Roland, you may begin. STATEMENT OF JAMEELA ROLAND, GRADUATE, YEAR UP Ms. ROLAND. Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Davis---- Chairman SMITH. Did that---- Ms. ROLAND. It is green. Chairman SMITH [continuing]. Turn on? Okay. Ms. ROLAND. There you go. And Members of the Subcommittee on Human Resources, thank you for the opportunity to testify before your hearing on opportunities for youth and young adults to break the cycle of poverty. My name is Jameela Roland. In August of 2015, at age 24, I was homeless. For 2 months, my mother, my dog, and I bounced between relatives and motels. I was working full-time to support the three of us, and I had only one goal--survive-- because I knew that this trial will come to an end if held it together and stayed strong in my faith for a better future. Surviving, however, is vastly different from thriving. While both require a pulse, the difference is in the quality of life you experience. And while I have always known that survival is essential, after getting a taste of how bitter it can be, I wanted more than that. What I wanted was to thrive. I wanted survival to be a distant memory, no longer my goal for everyday life. I wanted the richness of life that comes when you have the security of employment in a career that encourages growth. I wanted my voice and my experiences to be a positive contribution to the world. This experience with homelessness was my wakeup call. I began looking for opportunities. I had heard of Year Up several years before, not long after I graduated high school and was filled with optimism and lofty aspirations. Back then, I immediately wrote it off, convinced that the only way I could succeed in life was by starting out with a college degree. Life was determined to teach me a lesson, and after 7 years out of high school and multiple failed attempts at higher education, I came to the realization that maybe the traditional college route wasn't for me. Through all of this, I worked, I lived, I failed, I grew. The one constant in my life was a hunger for something more. After the trials and tribulations of experiencing homelessness, I wanted to give up on school. I wasn't willing to risk the stability that I had just fought so hard to achieve. So my younger sister called me one evening almost exactly a year ago now to tell me about Year Up. I knew I had a lot to lose but even more to gain. As I started Year Up, I realized this program was like nothing I had ever seen before. From the beginning, the staff represented Year Up as more than a schooling opportunity. Year Up maintains a high expectations, high support environment. They took the time to get to know me and my goals and dreams, to laud my strength and bring focus to my growth areas. They gave guidance and advice and kept me focused when I was too tired to see straight. They taught me what it takes to navigate a corporate environment, and not just as an entry-level contributor, but as a young black woman moving into a realm dominated by older white men. All of this meant that I had to be there every day, on time and fully engaged. If I didn't hold up to my end of the agreement, I was held to the contract that all Year Up students sign. If I was 1 minute late or missed an assignment, I would lose points and, more importantly, money from my stipend. I learned that nothing was given. Everything was earned through hard work and visible dedication. Year Up student services did their part to eliminate or minimize external obstacles, so that I could stay focused on the rigorous academic and professional development program. Attending classes Monday through Friday, I completed daily assignments, regularly collaborated with my classmates, and participated in weekly feedback sessions, teachable moments, that helped me grow as an individual and as a professional. I had one chance to take this opportunity and do what I hadn't: Thrive. Because Year Up had my back like no one else had before. And then they placed me at my internship at Microsoft. To many, that may not seem so big, but for me it meant so much. Before doing Year Up, I was earning minimum wage, and the huge opportunity that Microsoft represented was beyond exciting. They placed me with a team dedicated to helping me achieve my goals, to learning more every day, and to helping me get a sense of my own power. My mentors, Jim and Daniel, were the perfect Dr. Who's to my Martha Jones. And Al, my manager, noticed my potential and kept me inspired from across the pond. After my internship, I was immediately hired on as a vendor and was just recently hired on as a full-time employee as a business operations associate with Microsoft's IT showcase team, making more money than I really only dreamed of. And I haven't forgotten about getting a degree either. I will be taking classes at my own pace with a clear goal ahead of me. By telling my story today, I hope to inspire this Committee to understand that, given the right opportunities, more young adults can achieve more with their lives. And I hope to have inspired you to help close this opportunity divide in our country. Year Up provided me a hand up. In 1 year, I went from minimum wage and homeless to living comfortably above the poverty line. And now here I am in front of you no longer fighting to survive. I am a young, responsible, working woman with a fantastic new career trajectory in front of me that will allow me to achieve my fullest potential. One year ago, I joined Year Up and made the choice to learn to thrive. It was the best decision I have ever made. Thank you. [The prepared statement of Ms. Roland follows:] [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] Chairman SMITH. Thank you very much. That is tremendous, and I am anxious to learn---- [Applause.] Chairman SMITH [continuing]. Anxious to learn more as well. So thank you very much. Mr. Manuel, you are recognized. STATEMENT OF MARTRICE MANUEL, SENIOR PROGRAM DIRECTOR, YOUTH SCHOLARS, SKILLS, AND SERVICES Mr. MANUEL. Good morning, Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Davis, and all Members of the Subcommittee. My name is Martrice Manuel. I am the associate director of Alternative School Network. We operate within 22 alternative schools, community- based schools I should say, throughout the city of Chicago. So we service about 2,500 youth on a yearly basis that have dropped out of school. So the things that we operate are in three areas. That is, education advocacy, policy, and employment. The reason that we do this, as Mr. Davis stated earlier, there are about 5 million youth, young adults, between the age of 16 and 24 across this country that are either out of work or have dropped out of school. So that is our mission--to help to reengage these youth. Some things to consider. A lot of these youth have--you know, there are different titles for them. They are either considered at risk, disconnected, or opportunity youth. Some of the characteristics of these youths are youth in poverty, low academic standing, single-parent homes, either missed or undiagnosed mental illness. And some of those mental illnesses are depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and ADHD. Many of these youth come from disconnected neighborhoods, violence, poverty, low self-efficacy, poor academic population--I am sorry, poor academic preparation. And, disproportionately, these are youth of color. To get a better idea of the story that I am speaking of now, I will talk to you a bit about one of our teen moms. Her name is Tia. Tia was in high school. She was 15 years old and she became pregnant. Through some altercations within high school, and her pregnancy, she ended up dropping out of school. Tia wanted to go back to school, but Tia became--she needed to take care of her child. Tia was in the foster care system. She lived with her great-grandmother. She had--her parents had lost parental rights. Through that time, Tia became 17 years old. She was out of school for about 2 years. Tia knew that she wanted to do better, she wanted more for herself and her child, so Tia began to do some research, and she located one of our schools which is located on the west side of Chicago. Through that program, her case worker set up a meeting with her mentor. Tia came in that first semester. We are not here to say that we work miracles within a few weeks. She struggled that first semester. But through the consistent efforts and advocacy from her mentor, Tia began to turn it around. That mentor has provided guidance. That mentor has worked with-- collaborated with her great-grandmother, her case worker, bringing all parties together, so that Tia can be successful. From that, Tia currently is involved in an internship program because we like to combine both education and career readiness. So within the internship that Tia is able to participate in, she is able to gain experience in a career field that she chooses. We believe that if a youth is given opportunities, they are exposed to different things, then they are more likely to be successful and want to be productive citizens. Educating teens is difficult for even the best prepared schools, but not educating them is detrimental to the mom and the parent--I am sorry, and the child that she is bringing. So with that, we have a program, in collaboration with the Department of Children and Family Services, which we call YS3. That is the Youth Scholars, Skills, and Services program. Within that YS3 program, we assist them with mentoring, as I spoke of, career readiness. We also assist them with tutoring. We allow them the opportunity for credit recovery because many of these youth are below their credits needed for graduation. Out of our 22 schools, 21 help the youth to obtain a high school diploma. We have one that focuses on GED. Our youth have shown great success in these programs. Within the YS3 program, we service about 200 youth in care a year. About 35 percent of those youth in care are teen parents. I would like to commend this Committee on the work that they are doing because the investment that is being provided to help to assist these youth has made a great impact on the city, and the youth. And so we don't believe in just reaching benchmarks; we want to save children's lives and change communities. So, with that said, we want to thank you. [The prepared statement of Mr. Manuel follows:] [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] Chairman SMITH. Thank you, Mr. Manuel. Ms. Oldham. STATEMENT OF CHERYL A. OLDHAM, VICE PRESIDENT OF EDUCATION POLICY, U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Ms. OLDHAM. Good morning, Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Davis, and Members of the Subcommittee. My name is Cheryl Oldham. I am vice president of education policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is the largest federation representing the interests of business in the country, 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, across the United States. And I really appreciate the invitation to be here with you today. You have heard already the numbers. You have talked a little bit about them yourselves. So I would like to focus my time this morning on the opportunity that we see to significantly improve the lives of millions of at-risk youth by developing and implementing innovative strategies that can provide the skills, support, and education necessary to break the cycle of poverty. In 2015, the U.S. Chamber Foundation released a report called Making Youth Employment Work: Essential Elements for a Successful Strategy. One organization highlighted in that report is Year Up, and I am so honored to be here today sitting with Gerald and Jameela. They are a remarkable example of how companies are successfully working to empower low-income young adults to move out of poverty through training, internships, and a professional career. Another example of employers working to provide opportunities for at-risk youth and adults and, in turn, benefitting from their skills, is the Hillside Work Scholarship Connection. Launched in the 1980s by Wegmans Food Markets to help at-risk youth finish high school, Hillside provides tutoring, mentoring, college preparation, and job readiness training to prepare young adults for jobs at Wegmans and 20 other employer partners. Another is Quality Float Works. A small manufacturing company established a work-study program where students attend academic classes in the morning and work on the shop floor in the afternoon. They test their skills on approved equipment, assist with prep work, and explore different roles in the firm. Students receive school credit for participating in the program and benefit from coaching on soft skills and have the opportunity for high-paying careers in manufacturing. And, in turn, Quality Float Works has an opportunity to identify promising young talent that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. Building on the 2015 report, the Chamber Foundation launched a youth employment initiative that is supporting employers and business associations, championing scalable and sustainable solutions. In particular, this effort focuses on building the capacity for greater employer leadership and identifying promising practices for how the business community can more deliberately engage young people in an overall part of their talent strategy. We believe that in order to address the youth employment challenge of our time, we must activate the large network of business associations and other intermediaries that are well- positioned to partner with employers. Our federation of State and local chambers is over 2,500 strong. Many of them regularly engage with their members on issues related to finding and retaining talent, as well as ensuring that education and workforce programs are aligned to business needs. The Denver Opportunity Youth Investment initiative, supported by the Denver Chamber of Commerce, is dedicated to improving educational and employment outcomes for youth. This initiative is focused on building connection points and pathways for young people, along with developing tools and resources for the business community and the many community- based partners that work with opportunity youth. Another important network is community-based organizations that can better reach disconnected youth. One example is i.c.stars. As a technology training program for low-income young adults in Chicago, they leverage project-based learning to equip participants with not only the technical proficiencies but also the behaviors, values, and attitudes to be leaders in the workforce and their communities. With about 1,000 hours of hands-on experience, the 16-week core curriculum creates small teams of young adults to solve real-world business problems, allowing them to develop the critical foundational, professional skills employers need in the innovation economy. It is a good example of how alternative networks and ways of learning can make a big difference for opportunity youth. For our part, the U.S. Chamber remains committed to strengthening our Nation's education system. This is truly the single most important step to addressing poverty. In addition, we believe that more employers must become involved in initiatives to help at-risk youth and must understand how these initiatives can benefit both students and businesses alike. Through our vast network of businesses, as well as State and local chambers of commerce, we will continue to educate the business community on the opportunities effective youth employment strategies present. We encourage policymakers to consider how, through activating employer leadership and business associations as part of the solution, we can go a long way toward scaling up youth employment. Again, thank you for this opportunity to testify before you today. I welcome questions. [The prepared statement of Ms. Oldham follows:] [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] Chairman SMITH. Thank you very much to all of our witnesses, and, Ms. Oldham, thank you. Mr. Chertavian, in your written testimony, you discuss a commitment to rigorously evaluating what you are doing. You look for perhaps W-2s and an increasing nature, hopefully, of those W-2s for your participants. You also discuss how perhaps some of our institutions--be it educational or others--are really wanting to do the right thing, and yet are not really adequately preparing young adults for success in the labor market. And I am concerned that Congress oftentimes funds programs without looking at the evidence of success. So you recommend focusing on outcomes and results in your testimony. What measurements do you use to evaluate Year Up's success in helping the youth move out of poverty and up the economic ladder? And how frequently do you measure? And can you tell us more about what you do with that information and who might find it most useful? Mr. CHERTAVIAN. Sure. Thank you for the question, Chairman Smith. We are currently undergoing our third randomized control trial. The last two were funded by the Federal Government in one of the most significant investments this country has made in studying anti-poverty programs called the Pace initiative. Our goal is to prove and improve what we do every single day. We measure the increased earnings that our graduates are able to achieve over now a 3- to 5-year outcome versus a control group that was also admitted to the program but that was not served by the program. So you are looking very specifically at control groups versus those who are served. Measuring the delta of their earnings is your first major measure. We also measure postsecondary attainment, so how those young adults, now that they can feed their bellies, how do they continue to feed their brains, right? And those often have to be done concomitantly for folks in this country today. We will then look at other factors of how young adults are achieving, like wealth creation. Are you now buying homes? Are you investing in assets? It is not just income; it is actually achieving wealth over time. And so we are looking at those factors. We study the randomized control trials the most rigorous. We do assiduous surveys 1 year out, collect data on the students who have graduated a year ago. Every 5 years, we will do a complete sweep and go all the way back to 17 years ago and grab every single student we can. It tends to be through different mechanisms, like text and interesting ways to get that. That data absolutely drives every improvement we make, and we are dedicated each year to seeing how do we get better and smarter. And what we have learned I would humbly think over the past 17 years could be very applicable to a wider range of Federal programs that are looking to actually serving adults and move them out of poverty. So it is something that I would be more than happy, however helpful, to share anything and everything we have learned over 17 years. We have now served 17,000 young people in 21 locations across America, so we have learned a lot that we would be happy to pass on. And the data we have acquired, we will happily pass on that in ways that are effective. Our goal is not to grow our program; it is to help this country. So if this program called Year Up can help our country, that is our goal as a program is to ultimately be of assistance to the wider issue of those 5-plus million young people. Chairman SMITH. All right. And do you feel that the Federal Government, perhaps in the limited interactions you have with them on funding, on the funding front, what--I mean, do they express an interest in as much data as you might have? Or, obviously, you are very rigorous in going through all of that data and looking at outcomes. Has the Federal Government indicated an interest in all of that? Is there room for improvement? Mr. CHERTAVIAN. So what I have observed myself is there is an increased desire to look at evidence-based and increasingly outcomes-driven models. I think the outcomes-driven is in its ascendancy. Evidence-based we see increasing. Unfortunately, though, we still see a disconnect between who gets funded and how are those programs evaluated. So it seems programs in operation, new programs, may be being held to different standards, programs that have been funded for a while. So we receive almost no government money today because we don't fit often in the somewhat inflexible requirements of a program, yet we are the fastest-growing program in the country that serves low-income youth. So there is some disconnect there between how funding currently flows and, indeed, the evidence base is growing. That is for sure. Chairman SMITH. Okay. Well, in the interest of time, I have a lot more questions, but I might have to postpone those. But we will move on here. Mr. Davis, you are recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. DAVIS. Thank you very much again, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Manuel, we know that foster youth are twice as likely to become teen parents as their peers, and we also know that they are much more likely to have more than one child before they are 19. What are the critical services that your organization provides that really help these young people decide that it is not time to have another child, and that there would be some impediment, in all likelihood, to their continuous progress? Mr. MANUEL. Thank you, Mr. Davis. Well, first of all, we obviously know that we are not the pregnancy police, but we do try to put things in place for those teen parents. First, we start off--I talked about earlier--about a mentor. That mentor meets with that youth daily. That mentor also helps to direct that youth to other teen parenting programs, sits with them, so that they can get background on financial literacy, what it means if they have another child. They also work with that particular teen parent involving them with group discussions, so that they can sit with other teen parents to learn about some of the issues that they face with having more than one particular child. The biggest thing, the most influential piece that I could say is just those youth having a role model to look up to. So when they have no particular individuals in their lives, then it helps to somewhat reduce the likelihood of them becoming pregnant again. Mr. DAVIS. Thank you. Thank you very much. Mr. Chertavian, I was interested in your story about Greg Walton, who went from a correctional facility into a program. But what really interested me is the fact that you were able to convince employers to take these individuals on, and in some instances even paid to be a part of the program. How do you get employers to really join in? Mr. CHERTAVIAN. So we appeal not only to employers' social responsibility, but perhaps, if not more importantly, their wallets. We know that a job that pays about $40,000 a year--and Excentra has done separate research on this--it is more cost effective for a company to work with Year Up to find entry- level talent than to go to the street, hire 100 people, see if they work out; one out of two out of three doesn't. The cost of that, the cost of retraining, rehiring--so we can produce research in front of a company that says, ``You may not have seen these young adults as economic assets. We can prove to you--17,000 young people now--that this is not only a better but a more cost effective way to grow your workforce.'' Once they see that, it now becomes something they are coming to us for. So American Express said, ``We will now take 200 entry- level Java developers from your organization, but we need you to open up in Phoenix and in Plantation, Florida.'' So we move also to accommodate the need of industry, which means we have to be responsive to where the job demand is in this country. And I think that critical thing is you have to start with the employer and work backward. And many programs are starting not at that employer end, and, therefore, there is a disconnect between what the employer needs and what training is happening for the young person. If we could reverse that flow, boy, we could help this country. Mr. DAVIS. Thank you very much. And, quickly, Ms. Roland, you expressed glee when you were able to connect with this job that really paid enough money for you to feel like you were living well or decently on. We just had an experience with a young intern who managed to get a job paying $18 an hour for the rest of the summer with a utility company. Trying to prepare people for that, is there a way that we could be more helpful in terms of helping people get jobs that actually paid a livable wage? Ms. ROLAND. I think one of the things that help get young adults hired is networking, connecting them to people who are willing to help. That is one of the big things that Year Up taught us. Most jobs are gotten by knowing someone or knowing someone who knows someone. So if you know a young adult, if you know a good program, introducing them to it is definitely very helpful. Mr. DAVIS. Thank you very much, and I yield back Mr. Chairman. Chairman SMITH. Thank you. Mrs. Walorski. Mrs. WALORSKI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to all of you that are here today. Jameela, you rock. You just had an opportunity to tell our fellow Americans and the youth in this country that there is hope and determination. There is a way. You just did it. You just proved it. And what young person doesn't want to work at Microsoft? I mean, this is the best news that could be delivered, I think, to this country. It is from you. Because you have proven what we have all talked about up here, which is there is not one way fits all, all size--one size fits all. College is not for everybody right outside the door, you know? I so much appreciate your determination and the hunt that-- and the mission that you were on, and I think that, you know, for me, when I look at organizations like Year Up, I have an organization in my district as well, Goodwill of Northern Indiana, that has a program called Excel Center. And, you know, they are bringing on hands-on this and hands-on that, and offering, you know, business connections and setups and all those things, networking, like you said, as well. But I think it is so important for young people in this country to be able to talk about the fact that they can point to people who did this. And I think it is easy, and I think it is easy at the Federal Government level to say that government always has the answers, we always do this right, you know, all these models and plans never exhaust. And I think today the reason this is so important is to listen to all of you--but, Jameela, especially you--to be able to say that being able to fund innovative programs, and being able to allow innovation and research, and those kinds of things to happen in the private sector, to come along on the front lines and absolutely start showing new ways, new innovations, new paths to follow. And I think one of the things that you said is so important. You talked about--and it matches up with my Goodwill in Northern Indiana--they talk about career and college, not college and career. And I think when we kind of start breaking through that mind-set of setting people free, they don't have to go into that one mode and that one model. So in initiatives like the Excel Center in my district, Year Up that you are involved in, they are locally driven. They adapt to individuals. They help make that bridge out of poverty. But, Jameela, you mentioned that in the 7 years that you were trying to attend college, you couldn't find the support you needed to make it work. What specifically did Year Up do that colleges weren't going to provide? What was it that when you saw that and you thought, oh, my gosh, I just found the key, I am walking through the door, what is--what was it that they offered that you didn't see anywhere else? Ms. ROLAND. A stipend. Mrs. WALORSKI. Ah ha. [Laughter.] Ms. ROLAND. A stipend is so critical because during the program I had to work just to pay the bills. Even the stipend amount wasn't fully enough to take care of everything, but the fact that there was a stipend meant that I could reduce my work hours and focus on this program without having to, you know, work all night long and then come in the next day tired, not fully receiving everything. Mrs. WALORSKI. And let me ask you this. So I spent 2 years on another committee chairing a subcommittee on the bridge out of poverty, on nutrition, and it was on food stamps, and it was on all these different things. But we had 17 hearings listening to people all over the country talk about the bridge out of poverty. And the one thread that I saw in all of those hearings for 2 years seems to be also buried in the success of yours. And can you speak to the fact of I guess one of the things that I saw was it is one thing to just be providing money maybe over here or normal, just traditional resources over here, without human interaction. Can you speak to, when you talked about accountability and all these classes, how much just having another human being, another person, not just being a number through the government, but the hands-on with people, how much of a role did that play? Ms. ROLAND. That was also--that is probably right under the stipend. It is so important, because every day I walked in I knew the staff knew my story, knew my situation, knew my circumstances, my challenges. And so when I needed help, and I reached out, I didn't have to retell my story every time, which can get extremely exhausting and very discouraging as well. So having someone who knows your story, who is willing to engage in you, who checks up on you, if you are going through something, it means a lot to know that they care about more than just their bottom line. Mrs. WALORSKI. Right. And then what kind of--what was going on with your family? So as you are going through this process, and you are interning, and you are happy, and you are working, and you are doing all of these classes, that stipend is coming in, things are a little bit better, I am sure your self- confidence was building, you felt more secure, so what was happening with the interaction around other groups of people, your friends and your family, as they were watching this transformation? What did your friends say? Ms. ROLAND. I honestly didn't have much interaction with my friends at the time because I was---- Mrs. WALORSKI. You were so busy? Ms. ROLAND [continuing]. Pretty busy. I was really busy. But everyone--every time I gave updates on--oh, cool, internship at Microsoft--everyone was so excited and supportive. My family was so excited and supportive. Yeah, I don't know if you read my testimony, but my sister, she cries about everything because she is always super excited. And so I had a lot of support from--on a personal level. Mrs. WALORSKI. That is awesome. Well, lady, you rock. And I am excited for our fellow Americans and for young people to know that there is hope and to keep moving and that one size doesn't fit all and to keep pushing for those individual things that mean a lot to those individuals. Thanks for being here today to all of you. I very much appreciate it. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. I yield back. Chairman SMITH. Thank you. And, you know, the more successful you are at Microsoft, maybe Apple will be knocking on your door as well. [Laughter.] Or a number of other brands. So with that, next up is Ms. Sewell. Ms. SEWELL. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me echo my--the other colleagues who are just so excited for you, Jameela, for your success, and Year Up sounds like a wonderful program. Look, I represent rural Alabama--Selma, Alabama--where everybody knows about the bridge, but it is a town of 19,000 and it is dying on the vine. My question is: How can we scale programs like Year Up to help rural America? Especially when you have--you don't have a Microsoft located in your community, and yet we still have disconnected youth. In fact, in my district, between the ages of, you know, 16 and 24, the sort of disconnected youth age, 15.9 percent are disconnected, meaning they are not employed. And so what are we doing to help scale programs like yours or the program that you suggested, Mr. Manuel? I think you said it was Y2--Y3? Mr. MANUEL. Y3. Ms. SEWELL. Yes. How do we scale up programs like that, so that they are accessible and tailored? Because we know one size doesn't fit all. Mr. CHERTAVIAN. That is correct. Ms. SEWELL. Tailored for rural parts of America. Mr. CHERTAVIAN. That is right. In fact, I was just on the phone with folks from Birmingham, Alabama, talking very similarly. I think what is most important to understand is the principles that will drive the outcomes, in many cases. So if this only works if an employer says, ``I need talent,'' now that talent doesn't have to be we work in technology and finance and I would call middle-skill white collar jobs. But this applies to any job today that requires honestly more than a high school degree, which is the vast majority of jobs in this country. So I think if one says, ``How do I scale it?'' I have to see what jobs do exist. It could be hospitality, they could be logistics, right? A range of jobs. But I can promise you those employers want the exact same thing Microsoft does. So if we start with what incentives will get programs, not just Year Up, to actually do the right thing, Darwin will ultimately take over. Programs that succeed will get more funding. Those that aren't able to get that outcome, a W-2 that grows over time, will get less funding. So rather than choosing winners and losers, let's set the incentive systems based on principles we know work in youth development and youth workforce development. In that context, it will apply to a rural, it will apply to an urban setting. We have looked at that through Year Up. One has to understand what jobs are available, but it is not just the Microsoft. There are many, many other jobs that would be the perfect first job for a young person, but we are not producing folks who are employable. Attitudinal, behavioral, communication skills, that is what employers most want. If you provide that, and you have a willing learner, they will take it from there. And so I think that is what we are often missing is we are not asking folks to really make sure folks are employable and holding them accountable for that outcome and paying them on the result of that outcome. The principles will work, rural and urban. Ms. SEWELL. You know, the other thing I think it is really important that this Committee focuses on, you know, we have jurisdiction over wraparound services that are important to give a hand up to folks like yourself, Ms. Roland. So can you talk a little bit about some of those wraparound services that the Federal Government offers while, you know, you are getting an opportunity from a private partnership that is done through Year Up? I would assume that you needed healthcare. I am assuming that you needed other sorts of social service programs that we have within our jurisdiction. Can you talk a little bit about how we can, public and private, work to support disconnected youth? Ms. ROLAND. Can you define ``wraparound services''? Ms. SEWELL. Sure. Healthcare. While you were--for that 1 year, who provided you with healthcare services for that 1 year? Or did you not have it? Ms. ROLAND. I had healthcare. I had healthcare through the Affordable Healthcare--the Affordable Care Act. Ms. SEWELL. Okay. And so talk to us about whether or not it was affordable for you. You know, I just really want--that is a wraparound service, right? So, yes, this program provided you with training, which is great, and a job opportunity. But we also do programs that are like social service block grant programs, we do TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Those are the kinds of Federal programs that we have jurisdiction over. And I am always interested in seeing how, working in tandem, private and public can uplift and undergirth disconnected youth, such as yourself. Ms. ROLAND. Yeah. So I was the recipient of benefits. I had healthcare, I had food stamps, and it really took a lot of stress off of me, knowing that those were taken care of, that I didn't have to shell money out of pocket that I really didn't have. I know healthcare can be really expensive, too, and knowing that if I did get sick, I could go to the doctor and it won't, like, put me in a financial bind, was critical. Ms. SEWELL. And I think that what your success story really illustrates to all of us is that, you know, those programs are not about trying to breed dependency. Rather, they are programs that can help undergirth, and working with private, give you the hand up that you need in order to be the success that you are today. So I want to thank you for being so brave to come and talk to us about your success, and just want to remind the Committee of how important what we do is as well in undergirthing disconnected youth. Thanks. Ms. ROLAND. Thank you. Chairman SMITH. Thank you, Ms. Sewell. And given the time constraints, we are going to do a 2 to 1 ratio. Next up is Mr. Reichert. Mr. REICHERT. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Well, welcome, and thank you all for your testimony today, and especially thank you all for the hard work that you do. Jameela, you and I have a couple things in common. Did you know that? One is I lived on the street, too. I ran away when I was a senior in high school and lived in an old car. And so I think, you know, eventually you are going to be a congresswoman, so that is, you know---- [Laughter.] Second--maybe not. Chairman SMITH. You may have higher aspirations as well. [Laughter.] Mr. REICHERT. Right. Maybe a senator. I don't know. Secondly, I come from the State of Washington, and I was the sheriff there. So we have a list of partners, and I was happy to see the King County Sheriff's offices on there as one of the partners. It is I think definitely a community effort, and the police--I spent 33 years there, and so I, you know, just saw about--just about everything that you could see. And I know how hard you had to work to get to where you are. But now the responsibility is not just about you; it is about all those friends that you talked about that are all excited. Now you can help share your success with them, right? And I know that you are going to do that because I can tell that by the energy that you have and your personality. So did you bring friends and family today that are supporting you, or are they supporting you from---- Ms. ROLAND. Yeah. Everyone is supporting me from home. I came solo on this trip because it was a little last minute, but I am pretty sure everyone who is willing to be awake this early on west coast time is watching right now. [Laughter.] Mr. REICHERT. Well, say, ``Hi, Mom.'' Ms. ROLAND. Hi, Mom. [Laughter.] Mr. REICHERT. So here is the bottom line. We can--you know, the stats are good. I really like the way that all of you are approaching, you know, your each individual piece of this, and collecting the data is absolutely critical to success in figuring out which programs work. The Federal Government--like I have been here--this is my 13th year here, and I still can't figure out how the heck they do things, and it is just--it is complicated, it is convoluted, it is sometimes not based on fact, it is based on politics. My belief is the best work is coming from all of you. You are in the trenches, and you are working with people that are day in and day out knocking on your door, and you know the best ways to reach people. When we talk about, Mr. Manuel, 2,500 in Chicago per year that don't graduate, and we talk about these disconnected youth, and we need to have these programs to reach these young people. We are losing smart, young people every day. How do we--my question is, and maybe, you know, your organizations haven't delved that deeply into it yet, but how do we prevent the disconnect from happening in the first place? I mean, that is really the question that we need to ask. Prevention, of course, in law enforcement is our number one goal, to prevent crime and keep people safe from crime before it even happens. So does anyone--I am going to ask the entire panel this question. What are we going to do to stop this disconnect in the first place? What are we doing? How can we work to help young people start out with a strong foundation to begin with? What is the answer to that one? That is the million dollar question. Mr. CHERTAVIAN. I know this isn't an education committee, but humbly I think if we can do a couple of things, first of which is ensure our children are ready to read when they get to school, probably one of the best things we can do for our children in this country. The second is we talk about high school. When we know that 50 percent of every college-goer in America today works full- time, we have to ensure you leave high school knowing how to work as well as how to consume postsecondary education. And we talk about career readiness in the United States, but there aren't standards and assessments that actually drive someone being employable. And what happens is you have graduated high school, you don't have those skills, you are working 80 hours to just get by, college, postsecondary, is a dream. So I think there is a lot we can do in high school, not only dropout prevention but proper preparation for the world of today, coupled with early childhood literacy, kind of a barbell structure, could be effective. Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Manuel. Mr. MANUEL. Thank you. The approach that we are trying to go into is both a combination of prevention and intervention, because there is a reason that a lot of---- Mr. REICHERT. Families? Mr. MANUEL. Yes. We work with the--we are getting to that point where we are working with the families because a lot of those youth, as I stated earlier, their parents may have been incarcerated, their parents may have been unemployed, and so we want to try to break that cycle. Mr. REICHERT. There you go. Mr. MANUEL. The other thing that we look at is trauma. We use a trauma-based approach in working with the youth. But not only the youth, the staff that work with our youth. We do realize that it takes a toll on the staff dealing and being faced with all of the different trauma, the events that these youth bring to them on a daily basis. And so monthly we take the staff through vicarious trauma, and so we give them an outlet. And so then they are refreshed and able to go and meet with those youth and then talk to those families again. Mr. REICHERT. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, if I may indulge just one quick question. Jameela, what high school did you go to? Ms. ROLAND. I graduated from Federal Way High School. Mr. REICHERT. Federal Way High School. Ms. ROLAND. Yes. Mr. REICHERT. Go---- Ms. ROLAND. Go Eagles. Mr. REICHERT. Yes. [Laughter.] Chairman SMITH. All right. Thank you. Next up will be Mr. Bishop, followed by Ms. Chu and Mr. Curbelo. Mr. Bishop. Mr. BISHOP. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to the Committee, and thank you to the panel. It is a great discussion. I wish we had more time. Mr. Chertavian, thank you for what you do. It is amazing what we can do when we operate in such a logical way. I really do appreciate the way you have approached this and the way you present this because it is very logical. I am thrilled to see Ms. Roland and how well you are doing. I am wondering, what percentage of your graduates--I don't know, maybe we should call them those that have succeeded through your system--are actually employed? How many actually get a job and matriculate through the system? Mr. CHERTAVIAN. Sure. So 91 percent of our graduates within 4 months, and we have a very clear window that comes down, will be full-time employed. A small percentage are going to college full-time and working part-time. But 91 percent of those graduates; average wage is $38,000 per year, immediate taxpayers for this country. Mr. BISHOP. Amazing. Excellent. Ms. Roland, when you finished with the program and you found your job at Microsoft, did you have to relocate? And how did you make ends meet in between, in your transition period? Where did you live, and how did that work? Ms. ROLAND. So I didn't have to relocate. I live in Federal Way still, and I commute to Redmond every day. Not for long, hopefully. And with employment, I was hired directly after my internship with no gaps because they needed me. So I didn't really have much of a transition from being a student intern to an employee. Mr. BISHOP. That is great. Good. And, Mr. Chertavian, do you help with it? Does the program help with transition period type stuff, relocation and gas? Mr. CHERTAVIAN. Absolutely. In fact, you know, our only outcome we focus on is that young person to get the W-2 that grows over time. So whatever we need to do to ensure that happens. We also have now, you know, 11,000 graduates. We will have 30,000 grads in the next 5 years. We have a whole alumni association across the country. So if you needed additional financial literacy support now that you are getting a mortgage or a car, if you--we have an EAP program for graduates, employee assistance program. If they had a crisis that could come up, additional college counseling, to say, ``How do I finish that degree?'' Through Year Up, you get 1 year of the degree under your belt. How do I finish that now that I am gainfully employed? So we have a national alumni association across the whole country that is very scalable and very cost effective because it is accessed through Skype and, you know, is a very easy means as opposed to trying to replicate that in 21 locations in America. Mr. BISHOP. Thank you. Mr. Manuel, I was involved--I am from the Michigan, Detroit, area. I was involved in Covenant House, which is a very similar organization to the organization that you are with, and I can tell that our mission is very simple--very similar. How do you--and when you are out there, you are looking for that demographic of folks that you are focusing on. How do you attract them? What gets them into the program? They have probably known about it. They have tried different programs. What brings them into your program? How do you reach out and grab them and pull them in? Mr. MANUEL. Well, a big part of our recruitment, I should say, is their peers. And so we allow their peers to have an opportunity to be able to talk and recruit and talk about some of the things that they have experienced, because it is easily--we can lay everything out, have a conversation about the internships, what it means to have a high school diploma. But if that is not a practice that they are used to, or that the family has embraced, then they are not going to buy into it. And so we try to set up what we call a trial period, a pending period, so we allow that youth to be able to come into the school, experience everything that any other student would experience, and then that decision is made by that youth to see if that is a fit for them. We are not schools that feel as though we want the elite youth. We make sure that our recruiters, whether it is the youth or paid staff, that they go into those areas that no one would ideally go into, to try to bring those youth back off the streets, enroll them back into school, and letting them know that they do have a promising future. Mr. BISHOP. Interesting. I know that the two missions are the same, the organization that I was speaking of, the Covenant House, and if we could get all of the organizations together and figure out how to reach out and to really connect with these--the youth out there, I think it would make a big difference if we could do that. Thank you all very much, and I yield back. Chairman SMITH. Thank you. Next up, Ms. Chu, followed by Mr. Curbelo. Ms. Chu. Ms. CHU. Mr. Chertavian, your program is so impressive, and, Jameela Roland, your story is so inspirational. And, Mr. Chertavian, your program incorporates so many different approaches to helping youth and young adults gain the skills that they need, including training, mentoring, and providing internships with private sector employers. And, in your testimony, you stated that education and training systems are increasingly out of touch with employers' needs and out of reach for young adults. You also indicated that you would like to see assistance programs such as TANF and the social services block grant more closely aligned with the demands of the labor market. TANF, for example, puts States at risk of Federal penalties if they enroll too many people in programs that combine job training with work. And, in many cases, programs like yours that produce successful outcomes do indeed try to align them. So, in your opinion, what would be an ideal form of TANF that would allow for greater employability for good middle class jobs for young people? Mr. CHERTAVIAN. Thank you for the question. I think what we see is funding programs to try to help someone we know isn't working. So if we say to the folks who are in the business of training talent, actually, we will pay you upon a result, right, when you achieve milestones. So the incentive has to be based on that outcome I think, first and foremost. For the individual, as Jameela said, we started with, where is she right now as we met her at the door, right? What was her personal situation? How do we help her? If she needed to get a part-time job in addition to what we are doing in training, that is great. If she needed some assistance, you mentioned before on transportation to get to that internship, how would we be thoughtful about doing that? So we are flexible around the human being and what their needs are, and that often is harder to implement in a program that has very rigid requirements as to who you can serve, do they lose certain benefits if they are gaining certain benefits. So we would increase flexibility for sure, have the incentives follow the outcomes we want primarily, and I think you have to start with the employer and work backward as to what the employer needs, which is skilled talent. And if they are happy--I mean, you have to imagine, employers are contributing $25,000 per Year Up intern to gain access to talent. They would never do that unless it was in their economic interest. We know employers are craving talent that is loyal. Our folks stay 3 to 4 times longer than the average employee. So companies are seeing this as a better source of talent. So it is really understanding, what does the employer need? They have the money to augment the investment the Federal Government makes and to lever, leverage the Federal investment through the corporate need. I think we could do quite a lot there, to use TANF as a lever, but expect corporations to have skin in the game as well, because if they don't have skin in the game, they don't value what they are getting in terms of talent. Ms. CHU. So I like your idea of going backward and seeing what the employer needs. TANF has this limit of 1 year of education and training. Is that enough for employers in your experience? Mr. CHERTAVIAN. Yes. Yes, it is. One year is enough to get started. Many of our companies will say to us, ``We expect your graduate to continue to complete their education.'' In fact, American Express, they start at $37,500. AmEx will pay for them to complete their associate's degree. As soon as they complete it, they move to $55,000. So companies are increasingly getting in the business of education. We are seeing that all over the country. But if we can leverage, not pay for everything from the Federal Government, but encourage with incentives for the employee to do the right thing, I think we could get more from our Federal dollars in this space. Ms. CHU. And, Mr. Manuel, you mentioned in your testimony a number of challenges facing disconnected foster youth, such as mental illness and lack of parental support. And there is one reason why it is so important that we make sure that we don't make deep cuts to Medicaid, and that is that could undercut the health benefits for these youth who are struggling so much. If Medicaid were block granted, capped, or cut in such a way to make it more difficult for foster youth to access healthcare, how would that impact the youth and young people enrolled in your program? Especially those who need mental health services or substance abuse counseling or just basic healthcare. Mr. MANUEL. It would greatly impact because we have two different populations that we work with. One is youth in care who would--you know, while they are in care, they receive some health benefits while being in care. But a great majority of our youth are not in care, and so they need those health services to be able to address some diagnosed or misdiagnosed mental illnesses. We talk about the teen parents. They need the healthcare for themselves and for their children. So any bit of a cut to healthcare would greatly impact and--because a lot of those issues affect the youth from attending school. A lot of our youth, if their attendance drops, it is because of, you know, healthcare issues. Ms. CHU. Thank you. Chairman SMITH. Thank you, Ms. Chu. Next we have Mr. Curbelo, followed by Mr. Renacci. Mr. Curbelo. Mr. CURBELO. Mr. Chairman, thank you for this opportunity. Thank you for taking some time to focus on these 5.5 million young Americans, people who are so full of potential, yet have obviously given up hope because they are not employed and they are doing nothing to educate themselves to become employable. So I think this is a wonderful opportunity, and it says a lot about this Subcommittee, about Ways and Means, and about how Republicans and Democrats can work together. And thank you to all of the witnesses, especially to the superstar, Jameela. I want to ask you a question because I think a lot about the messages we send children in this country, and as they grow up and become adolescents, that message I think gets reemphasized. You mentioned that you immediately wrote off Year Up because you felt like a college degree was the only path to success. Can you talk a little bit about why you felt that way and what helped you realize that wasn't the case? Ms. ROLAND. So pretty much the dialogue from sophomore year of high school onward is, after you finish high school, you have to go get a college degree, so you can get a job, buy a house, be successful. And the only alternatives that were pretty much offered up were you can either join a trade school, learn to be a carpenter or a nurse, or you can join the military. None of those really appealed to me, so I was like, okay, I will go to college, learn something. And after years of--I have gone to college, three different colleges, three different programs, and they just never really worked out because there were external factors that meant that I couldn't give it the focus I needed, or just I didn't know what I was supposed to do next, and I didn't really know who to ask or how to ask for it. And so a lot of the times when the only options you have are, okay, just go to college, you don't really get any more information, more relevant information, on how to finish college, how to pay for college, what is needed to make sure you are successful. You just get the whole ``go for it.'' Mr. CURBELO. So, Mr. Chertavian, do you think that we, the government, are complicit in trapping a lot of young people into believing that only by getting a traditional college degree they can be successful? Do we also send those messages in the way we invest public dollars and in the messages we send? Mr. CHERTAVIAN. Yes. We do, unfortunately, reinforce that belief system. In part, we think about how Pell grants flow. Yeah, you have to be going how many credits before you get access to a Pell grant? The average age of a bachelor of arts in America is 28 years old. That means you are probably doing it part-time, so that gives up your Pell eligibility. Even to get financial aid, I could not complete the forms for our students. You know, I didn't know how to do it. So just the ease with which one can access that; also the expectation. If we changed the word to ``postsecondary'' for all, and truly believed in valued multiple pathways into the mainstream, we could fundamentally I think change this country in a powerful way. But the word ``college'' assumes 4-year, fixed-term, residential. That is only 8 out of 100 adults in America have a 4-year degree that they got between the ages of 18 and 22; 92 adults of 100 do not have a BA that they got between the ages of 18 and 22. And often, to the folks thinking about policy, what was our lived experience? And is that with which we are creating the idea of what we want? As opposed to 92 out of 100 Americans don't do 4 years between 18 and 22. Mr. CURBELO. And yet we disproportionately fund that---- Mr. CHERTAVIAN. Correct. Mr. CURBELO [continuing]. Eight out of 100, you said? Mr. CHERTAVIAN. That is correct. Mr. CURBELO. Eight percent. Mr. CHERTAVIAN. Right. Mr. CURBELO. Ms. Oldham, do you have any ideas as to how we can send the message that there are other ways to becoming a successful citizen in our country? Perhaps in the way we allocate resources, perhaps by making some of our policies more flexible? Ms. OLDHAM. Right. Thank you. I think, absolutely, and I would echo what Gerald said. I think one of the most important things we can do is provide information. I mean, the comment about, you know, the message from sophomore year on was college, college, college, I mean, our K through 12 system and our high schools, the people that are giving that information don't know employers, don't know careers, don't know what is available, what are the growing jobs in that region, who is hiring. There is a really robust conversation I think now taking place after the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, and all States are really struggling with, what is career readiness, and how do we measure it, and what do we do in high schools to ensure that we are really looking at that. And that career development piece is critical, and there is, obviously, a real issue with, you know, stretching thin of sort of counselors and high school and that kind of thing, but really thinking about a career development focus and providing that information and really good data about what the successful pathways are for young people, so they can make better decisions. Mr. CURBELO. Thank you, Ms. Oldham. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Chairman SMITH. Thank you. And wrapping up is Mr. Renacci. Mr. RENACCI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank the witnesses. I appreciate, Mr. Chairman, you allowing me to be here, even though I am not on the Subcommittee, because this is really an issue for me that is very passionate. I started a program in Cleveland, Ohio, called Opportunity Cleveland where we are looking at youth from age 14 to 24. So I love to hear these stories because I think the theme--and it is always good to be the last person--here is what I got out of what I have listened to, and I hope I have a message. First off, high school education or a GED is vitally important because, Ms. Oldham, as you say in your testimony, there are a quarter of Americans with no high school diploma who live in poverty. And I will bet you that a majority of Americans without high school diplomas do not have a good- paying job. So that is one thing. The second thing is we have to break the cycle of poverty. I think that is extremely important. And the third is that a 4- year degree does not always make sense. And, Ms. Roland, you are a witness to that. So I have said all along that the answer--and I am trying to figure out how to get there--is we have to go back and look at the high schools, and we have to look at skill sets versus test sets. And you will hear me say that all the time back in Ohio. How do we take youth that are going through high school and make sure that they are looking at skill sets and opportunities early on? I came from a very poor family, and the only thing that helped me is, number 1, I had mentors, and I had job opportunities, and I saw skill sets in high school that said I can be a plumber, I can be anything I want to be. We lack that. I was at a high school recently, 1,300 students, and only 30 were going to technical school. That tells you something right there; 30 out of 1,300. Because, as I have heard some of my colleagues say, we are putting all our resources toward you have to go to college. And the answer is, you have to get a skill set. And sometimes a skill set doesn't mean going to college. So it is interesting that you can be a plumber and own your own company and make a lot more money than somebody who goes to college. Or you can graduate in Ohio with a degree and make $25- to $30,000, or go become a welder and make $75,000. I mean, these are the opportunities that we need to talk about early on. So I appreciate that. I am assuming you are all agreeing that these are some of the issues, but I guess my question is, how do we change it? How do we fix this? And what can we do as Federal legislators to change the system? Because it sounds like, what I just said, you are all talking about our problems. So how do we fix it? I did hear--and tell me--maybe we need to redirect resources. Maybe the Pell grant issue drives people to college versus high school. Any thoughts from any of the panelists? Ms. OLDHAM. Yes. No, thank you. Absolutely, I think there are some things in terms of redirecting resources. I think really, I mean, we have talked a little bit about this, but how do we focus on outcomes in the programs that you do fund and really measure? We value what we measure; we measure what we value. And instead of really focusing on the inputs, focusing on the outcomes, and what are those important outcomes? Do you have a job? Do you have a sustaining wage? And what are the programs that are leading young people into those paths? And get rid of the ones that don't. Mr. RENACCI. Sure. Ms. Roland, it sounded like you found your way after high school. I almost want to think back, in high school, did you think you were missing something, you didn't see it? I mean, I hate to pick on your high school because I do think what we have done in high schools is we have directed everybody to college as well. Ms. ROLAND. It did take me a long time after high school to kind of figure out that kind of I didn't really know what I was doing. I thought I knew what I was doing because I did what they told me I should, and that was aspire to college, apply, do what you can to get into college and get a degree. But I didn't really know what the realities of that really entailed, like financial aid, filling out all of the paperwork, getting loans. I have gotten some terrible student loans before. So a lot of it is knowing exactly what the expectations of life are, really, and then being able to find opportunities to get to where you want to be with knowing those expectations. Mr. RENACCI. Mr. Chertavian, your program actually gave me the thought that some of that could be done in a high school. Mr. CHERTAVIAN. Yes. Mr. RENACCI. And you are really the subset after high school, and you are doing some of the things we could do. Mr. CHERTAVIAN. Yeah. I think it is fair to say that Year Up exists because of systemic failure elsewhere. I think that is, you know, broadly true. So what we really want is high school students having the guidance and the counseling that they need, as you expressed, Jameela, to understand there is not one pathway, whether it is a good trade in vocation, whether it is a 2-year degree, to perhaps then go to a 4-year degree, whether it is straight into 4-year, whether it is working and getting stable first, so that you can consume higher ed. We don't value multiple pathways in this country. It is almost culturally seen as a stepchild if you don't do the accepted rhetoric of 4 years, and it is up to us to think about how we are incenting that with even just how Pell grants flow. When you think of Year Up not having an access to Pell grants in our core program, yet we probably produce good results for this country. So how restrictive are some of those funding sources that could actually be directed to things that have verifiable results for young people? Mr. RENACCI. I had one person--and I know I am running out of time, or I have probably ran out--one last question. I had an individual back in my district say to me, ``You know what? High school kids should just go to school until 2:00, and then they should have three paths between 2:00 and 5:00. They should either go to a work opportunity where they learn a skill set, they should go and become part of an athletic program where they learn teamwork, you know, or the third thing is that they get an educational skill set as well.'' So I don't know if anybody--I mean, I thought that was pretty interesting, that, you know, we fail because that high school student doesn't have those paths of opportunity after their basic education. Thank you. I yield back. Chairman SMITH. Thank you, Mr. Renacci. I want to say thanks to everyone on our panel. Again, thank you for sharing your story, Jameela, and all of you for sharing your insight and expertise. And those of you also in the gallery, so to speak, thank you for taking your time to be here and participate today. Please be advised that Members will have 2 weeks to submit written questions to be answered later in writing. Those questions, and your answers, will be made part of the formal hearing record. With that, the Subcommittee stands adjourned. [Whereupon, at 11:25 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.] [Submissions for the Record follow:] [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] [all]