    [House Hearing, 117 Congress]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                      WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND OPPORTUNITY
                         ACT REAUTHORIZATION: CREATING
                       OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   before the

                                SUBCOMMITTEE ON
                              HIGHER EDUCATION AND
                              WORKFORCE INVESTMENT

                                     of the

                        COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR
                         U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                        ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                  HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, MAY 13, 2021

                                   __________

                               Serial No. 117-14

                                   __________

          Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and Labor

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

              Available via: edlabor.house.gov or www.govinfo.gov

                                   __________

                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    44-535 PDF             WASHINGTON : 2022

                        COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR

                 ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, Virginia, Chairman

    RAUL M. GRIJALVA, Arizona            VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina,
    JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut              Ranking Member
    GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN,      JOE WILSON, South Carolina
      Northern Mariana Islands           GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania
    FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida         TIM WALBERG, Michigan
    SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon             GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin
    MARK TAKANO, California              ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York
    ALMA S. ADAMS, North Carolina        RICK W. ALLEN, Georgia
    MARK De1ASAULNIER, California        JIM BANKS, Indiana
    DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey          JAMES COMER, Kentucky
    PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington          RUSS FULCHER, Idaho
    JOSEPH D. MORELLE, New York          FRED KELLER, Pennsylvania
    SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania             GREGORY F. MURPHY, North Carolina
    LUCY McBATH, Georgia                 MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS, Iowa
    JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut            BURGESS OWENS, Utah
    ANDY LEVIN, Michigan                 BOB GOOD, Virginia
    ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota                LISA C. McCLAIN, Michigan
    HALEY M. STEVENS, Michigan           DIANA HARSHBARGER, Tennessee
    TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ, New Mexico   MARY E. MILLER, Illinois
    MONDAIRE JONES, New York             VICTORIA SPARTZ, Indiana
    KATHY E. MANNING, North Carolina     SCOTT FITZGERALD, Wisconsin
    FRANK J. MRVAN, Indiana              MADISON CAWTHORN, North Carolina
    JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York, Vice-Chair  MICHELLE STEEL, California
    MARK POCAN, Wisconsin                JULIA LETLOW, Louisiana
    JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas                Vacancy
    MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey
    JOHN A. YARMUTH, Kentucky
    ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York
    KWEISI MFUME, Maryland

                       Veronique Pluviose, Staff Director
                      Cyrus Artz, Minority Staff Director
                                     ------

           SUBCOMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE INVESTMENT

                    FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida, Chairwoman

    MARK TAKANO, California              GREGORY F. MURPHY, North Carolina
    PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington            Ranking Member
    ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota                GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin
    TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ, New Mexico   ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York
    MONDAIRE JONES, New York             JIM BANKS, Indiana
    KATHY E. MANNING, North Carolina     JAMES COMER, Kentucky
    JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York              RUSS FULCHER, Idaho
    MARK POCAN, Wisconsin                MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS, Iowa
    JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas                BOB GOOD, Virginia
    MIKIE SHERRILL, New Jersey           LISA C. McCLAIN, Michigan
    ARIANO ESPAILLAT, New York           DIANA HARSHBARGER, Tennessee
    RAUAE1L M. GRIJALVA, Arizona         VICTORIA SPARTZ, Indiana
    JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut            JULIA LETLOW, Louisiana
    SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon             VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina
    ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, Virginia    (ex officio)
      (ex officio)
                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page

    Hearing held on May 13, 2021.....................................     1

    Statement of Members:
        Wilson, Hon. Frederica S., Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Higher
          Education and Workforce Investment.........................     1
            Prepared statement of....................................     5
         Murphy, Hon. Gregory F., Ranking Member, Subcommittee on
          Higher Education and Workforce Investment..................     6
            Prepared statement of....................................     7

    Statement of Witnesses:
        Fulmore-Townsend, Chekemma, President & CEO, Philadelphia
          Youth Network..............................................     9
            Prepared statement of....................................    11
        Garrett, Byron, President & CEO, National Job Corps
          Association................................................    81
            Prepared statement of....................................    84
        Lindner, Deb, Human Resources Manager, Precor Inc............    76
            Prepared statement of....................................    78
        Showalter, Thomas, Senior Advisor, National Youth Employment
          Coalition..................................................    56
            Prepared statement of....................................    58

    Additional Submissions:
        Chairwoman Wilson:
            NAHB letter dated May 13, 2021...........................   128
        Ranking Member Foxx:
            July 2006, DOL OIG, ``National Park Service Has Not
              Assured the Safety and Health of Students and Staff at
              the Oconaluftee Job Corps Center''.....................   130
            March 2007, DOL OIG, ``Performance Audit of the
              Oconaluftee Job Corps Center for the Period July 1,
              2004, through September 30, 2005''.....................   134
            November 2006, DOL OIG, ``Top Management Challenges
              Facing the Department of Labor: Ensuring the
              Effectiveness of the Job Corps Program''...............   135
            November 2007, DOL OIG, ``Top Management Challenges
              Facing the Department of Labor: Ensuring the
              Effectiveness of the Job Corps Program''...............   144
            November 2008, DOL OIG, ``Top Management Challenges
              Facing the Department of Labor: Ensuring the
              Effectiveness of the Job Corps Program''...............   152
            November 2009, DOL OIG, ``Top Management Challenges
              Facing the Department of Labor: Ensuring the
              Effectiveness of the Job Corps Program''...............   165
            November 2010, DOL OIG, ``Top Management Challenges
              Facing the Department of Labor: Ensuring the
              Effectiveness of the Job Corps Program''...............   178
            November 2011, DOL OIG, ``Top Management Challenges
              Facing the Department of Labor: Ensuring the
              Effectiveness of the Job Corps Program''...............   192
            November 2012, DOL OIG, ``Top Management Challenges
              Facing the Department of Labor: Ensuring the
              Effectiveness of the Job Corps Program''...............   214
            November 2013, DOL OIG, ``Top Management Challenges
              Facing the Department of Labor: Ensuring the
              Effectiveness of the Job Corps Program''...............   225
            November 2014, DOL OIG, ``Top Management and Performance
              Challenges Facing the U.S. Department of Labor:
              Ensuring the Safety of Students and Staff at Job Corps
              Centers''..............................................   236
            November 2015, DOL OIG, ``Top Management and Performance
              Challenges Facing the U.S. Department of Labor''.......   246
            November 2016, DOL OIG, ``Top Management and Performance
              Challenges Facing the U.S. Department of Labor''.......   262
            November 2017, DOL OIG, ``Top Management and Performance
              Challenges Facing the U.S. Department of Labor''.......   278
            November 2018, DOL OIG, ``Top Management and Performance
              Challenges Facing the U.S. Department of Labor''.......   294
            November 2019, DOL OIG, ``Top Management and Performance
              Challenges Facing the U.S. Department of Labor''.......   294
            November 2020, Department of Labor Office of the
              Inspector General (DOL OIG), ``Top Management and
              Performance Challenges Facing the U.S. Department of
              Labor''................................................   295
            March 2010, DOL OIG, ``Performance Audit for ResCare,
              Inc., Job Corps Centers''..............................   295
            March 2010, DOL OIG, ``Performance Audit for Education
              and Training Resources, Job Corps Center Operator''....   295
            August 2010, DOL OIG, ``Performance Audit of MINACT,
              Inc., Job Corps Center Operator''......................   295
            December 2012, DOL OIG, ``Job Corps Needs to Improve
              Timeliness of and Accountability For Maintenance
              Repairs at Its Centers''...............................   295
            February 2015, DOL OIG, ``Job Corps Needs to Improve
              Enforcement and Oversight of Student Disciplinary
              Policies to Better Protect Students and Staff at
              Centers''..............................................   295
            June 2018, U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO),
              ``Job Corps: DOL Could Enhance Safety and Security at
              Centers with Consistent Monitoring and Comprehensive
              Planning''.............................................   295
            August 2019, GAO, ``Actions Needed to Improve Planning
              for Center Operation Contracts''.......................   295
            June 1995, GAO, ``Job Corps: High Costs and Mixed Results
              Raise Questions about Program's Effectiveness''........   295
            November 1998, GAO, ``Job Corps: Links With Labor Market
              Improved but Vocational Training Performance
              Overstated''...........................................   296
            June 2017, GAO, ``Job Corps; Preliminary Observations on
              Student Safety and Security Data''.....................   296
            November 2009, DOL OIG, ``Performance Audit of DEL-JEN,
              Incorporated Job Corps Centers''.......................   296
            March 2017, DOL OIG, ``Review of Job Corps Center Safety
              and Security''.........................................   296
            December 2017, DOL OIG, ``Job Corps Took Action to
              Mitigate Violence, Drugs, and Other Student Misconduct
              at Centers, But More Needs to Be Done''................   296
            March 2018, DOL OIG, ``Job Corps Could Not Demonstrate
              Beneficial Job Training Outcomes''.....................   296
            September 2019, DOL OIG, ``Job Corps Should Do More to
              Prevent Cheating in High School Programs''.............   296
            September 2007, DOL OIG, ``Performance Audit of the
              Laredo Job Corps Center''..............................   296
            March 2009, DOL OIG, ``Performance Audit of Management
              and Training Corporation Job Corps Centers''...........   296
            September 2009, DOL OIG, ``Performance Audit of Adams and
              Associates, Incorporated Job Corps Centers''...........   296
            ``Out of School, Out of Work,'' Washington Monthly, April
              4, 2021................................................   297

                            WORKFORCE INNOVATION AND

                        OPPORTUNITY ACT REAUTHORIZATION:

                           CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR

                                YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

                                  ----------

                             Thursday, May 13, 2021

                      House of Representatives,
                          Subcommittee on Education and
                                  Workforce Investment,
                              Committee on Education and Labor,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:15 a.m.,
    via Zoom, Hon. Frederica S. Wilson (Chairwoman of the
    Subcommittee) presiding.
        Present: Representatives Wilson, Takano, Jayapal, Manning,
    Bowman, Castro, Sherrill, Espaillat, Courtney, Bonamici, Scott,
    Murphy, Grothman, Stefanik, Banks, Fulcher, Miller-Meeks, Good,
    McClain, Harshbarger, and Spartz.
        Staff present: Ilana Brunner, General Counsel; Rashage
    Green, Director of Education Policy; Sheila Havenner, Director
    of Information Technology; Eli Hovland, Policy Associate; Ariel
    Jona, Policy Associate; Katie McClelland, Professional Staff;
    Richard Miller, Director of Labor Policy; Max Moore, Staff
    Assistant; Mariah Mowbray, Clerk/Special Assistant to the Staff
    Director; Udochi Onwubiko, Labor Policy Counsel; Kayla
    Pennebecker, Staff Assistant; Veronique Pluviose, Staff
    Director; Banyon Vassar, Deputy Director of Information
    Technology; Joshua Weisz, Communications Director Cyrus Artz,
    Minority Staff Director; Courtney Butcher, Minority Director of
    Member Services and Coalitions; Amy Raaf Jones, Minority
    Director of Education and Human Resources Policy; Hannah
    Matesic, Minority Director of Operations; Audra McGeorge,
    Minority Communications Director; Jake Middlebrooks, Minority
    Professional Staff Member; and Chance Russell, Minority
    Professional Staff Member.
        Chairwoman Wilson. The Subcommittee on Higher Education and
    Workforce Investment will come to order.
        Welcome, everyone. I note that a quorum is present. The
    Subcommittee is meeting today to hear testimony on, ``Workforce
    Innovation and Opportunity Act Reauthorization: Creating
    Opportunities for Youth Employment.''
        This is an entirely remote hearing. All microphones will be
    kept muted as a general rule to avoid unnecessary background
    noise. Members and witnesses will be responsible for unmuting
    themselves when they are recognized to speak or when they wish
    to seek recognition.
        I also ask that Members please identify themselves before
    they speak. Members should keep their cameras on while in the
    proceeding. Members shall be considered present in the
    proceeding when they are visible on camera, and they will be
    considered not present when they are not visible on camera.
        The only exception to this is if they are experiencing
    difficulty and inform Committee staff of such technical
    difficulty. If any Member experiences technical difficulties
    during the hearing, you should stay connected on the platform.
    Make sure you are muted and use your phone to immediately call
    the Committee's IT director whose number was provided to you in
    advance. Should the Chair experience technical difficulty or
    need to step away to vote on the floor, Mr. Takano or another
    majority Member is hereby authorized to assume the gavel in the
    Chair's absence.
        This is an entirely remote hearing and, as such, the
    Committee's hearing room is officially closed. Members who
    choose to sit with their individual devices in the hearing room
    must wear headphones to avoid feedback, echoes, and distortion
    resulting from more than one person on the software platform
    sitting in the same room.
        Members are also expected to adhere to social distancing
    and safe healthcare guidelines including the use of masks, hand
    sanitizer, and wiping down their areas both before and after
    their presence in the hearing room.
        In order to ensure that the Committee's five-minute rule is
    adhered to, staff will be keeping track of time using the
    Committee's field timer. The field timer will appear on its own
    thumbnail picture and will be named 001_timer. There will be no
    one-minute remaining warping. The field timer will show a
    blinking light when time is up. Members and witnesses are asked
    to wrap up promptly when their time has expired.
        While roll call is not necessary to establish a quorum and
    official proceedings conducted remotely or with remote
    participation, the Committee has made it a practice whenever
    there is an official proceeding with remote participation for
    the Clerk to call the roll to help make clear who is present at
    the start of the proceeding. Members should listen carefully.
    Members should say their name before answering and announcing
    they are present. This helps the Clerk and also helps those
    watching the platform and the livestream who may experience a
    few seconds delay.
        At this time I ask the Clerk to call the roll.
        The Clerk. Chairwoman Wilson?
        Chairwoman Wilson. Congresswoman Wilson, present.
        The Clerk. Mr. Takano?
        Mr. Takano. Congressman Takano, present.
        The Clerk. Ms. Jayapal?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Ms. Omar?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Ms. Leger Fernandez?
        [No response]
        Ms. Jayapal. Jayapal is present. Sorry.
        The Clerk. Mr. Jones?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Ms. Manning?
        Ms. Manning. Present.
        The Clerk. Mr. Bowman?
        Mr. Bowman. Congressman Bowman is present.
        The Clerk. Mr. Pocan?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Mr. Castro?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Ms. Sherrill?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Mr. Espaillat?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Mr. Grijalva?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Mr. Courtney?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Ms. Bonamici?
        Ms. Bonamici. Suzanne Bonamici is present.
        The Clerk. Mr. Scott?
        Mr. Scott. Mr. Scott is present.
        The Clerk. Ranking Member Murphy?
        Mr. Murphy. Dr. Murphy is present.
        The Clerk. Mr. Grothman?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Ms. Stefanik?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Mr. Banks?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Mr. Comer?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Mr. Fulcher?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Mrs. Miller-Meeks?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Mr. Good?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Mrs. McClain?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Mrs. Harshbarger?
        Mrs. Harshbarger. Harshbarger present.
        The Clerk. Mrs. Spartz?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Ms. Letlow?
        Ms. Letlow. Letlow is present.
        The Clerk. Ms. Foxx?
        [No response]
        The Clerk. Chairwoman Wilson, that concludes the roll call.
        Ms. Wilson. Pursuant to Committee Rule 8(c), opening
    statements are limited to the Chair and the Ranking Member.
    This allows us to hear from our witnesses sooner and provides
    all Members with adequate time to ask questions. I recognize
    myself now for the purpose of making an opening statement.
        Today we meet on the first of three bipartisan hearings
    focusing on reauthorizing the Workforce Innovation and
    Opportunity Act. It was last reauthorized in 2014 and is
    commonly referred to as WIOA which is the foundation of our
    Nation's workforce development system.
        The hearing will focus on three youth programs: Youth
    workforce investment activities, YouthBuild, and Job Corps.
    These programs provide low-income, in-school and out-of-school
    young people ages 14 to 24 with job opportunities, pathways to
    further their education or training, and basic support services
    that help them find good-paying jobs.
        This is a timely and important movement. This is a moment
    to invest in our youth-focused initiatives because millions of
    young people in communities across the country are struggling
    to cope with the fallout from the COVID0919 pandemic. Anywhere
    from 6 to 10 million young people were estimated to be
    disconnected from school and work at the height of the
    COVID0919 pandemic, compared to roughly 4 million in 2019.
    WIOA-funded programs are critical tools to create opportunities
    for these young people.
        This bipartisan reauthorization effort is a chance to make
    important improvements to help ensure they can reach their full
    potential. One area of improvement is better allocation of
    youth workforce investments which received just over $920
    million in Fiscal Year 2021. Under current law, no less than 75
    percent of WIOA funds must be used to serve out-of-school
    youth. This effort to target funding to the most vulnerable
    group of young people has unfortunately had an unintended
    consequence. Programs are often forced to wait until a
    struggling student is fully disconnected from schools to offer
    their services. Such a delay creates unnecessary barriers that
    result in missed opportunities to intervene earlier and keep
    students in school.
        Another area for improvement is expanding paid work-based
    learning opportunities. Connecting young people with jobs where
    they can build skills is vital to their long-term success.
    Studies show that teenagers who have a job between the ages of
    16 and 18 are more likely to earn higher wages as adults.
    Increasing the funding for these programs and extending forms
    of work-based learning to include job shadowing, job
    preparation, and youth apprenticeship programs can make a
    meaningful difference in our communities.
        Today we will also explore improvements to Job Corps which
    provides tens of thousands of young people across 50 states
    with residential education, vocational training, and job
    placement services. I have heard from countless community
    leader and residents who credit Job Corps with transforming
    their lives, which is why I have championed this program
    throughout my career in public service. I am extremely proud of
    the Job Corps center in my district, and I have bragging rights
    because it is ranked No. One in the country in programming in
    the 2019 year based on performance indicators.
        Job Corps enjoys widespread bipartisan support, and I hope
    we can find bipartisan agreement to make it even more
    effective. This includes changing the counterproductive zero-
    tolerance language enacted during the Clinton administration
    which requires automatic dismissal of young people for alcohol
    abuse, minor drug offenses, and other infractions that would
    instead be met with more reasonable and helpful interventions
    like counseling and treatment. Blanket drug testing with
    followup tests being required even before the chemicals may
    fully have left a student's body have led to roughly 12,500
    expulsions, 91 percent of which were from marijuana use. Today
    recreational marijuana use is either legal or has been
    decriminalized in nearly half of our states.
        As with any organization, Job Corps' success relies on the
    quality and the stability of the staff. Job Corps has struggled
    to retain its best teachers, counselors, nurses, and managers
    because it cannot pay competitive wages in the locality. For
    that reason we should consider whether to remove the exemption
    for Job Corps contractors from the Service Contract Act which
    would set up a wage floor for Job Corps center employees that
    is pegged to comparable local wages. Without that protection,
    Job Corps centers cannot compete for instructional talent with
    local public school districts, which is needed to reduce staff
    turnover, which undermines the performance of the program.
        Of course, the most important improvement we can make to
    all WIOA programs is to increase their funding. Job Corps has
    been underfunded relative to its authorization level by at
    least $120 million each year for the past 5 years and more than
    $239 million in the last year alone. Youth workforce
    initiatives have been underfunded relative to its authorization
    level by an aggregate $150 million since 2016. We get what we
    pay for. No program can be expected to meet the needs of our
    communities while we consistently underfund it every year.
        Today's hearing kicks off a vital effort to give at-risk
    young people the support they need to lead fulfilling lives and
    will make our communities much, much stronger. I look forward
    to working with my colleagues to reauthorize WIOA, and I now
    recognize the distinguished Ranking Member for the purpose of
    making an opening statement.
        [The prepared statement of Chairwoman Wilson follows:]

      Statement of Hon. Frederica S. Wilson, Chairwoman, Subcommittee on
                   Higher Education and Workforce Investment

        Today, we meet for the first of three bipartisan hearings focusing
    on reauthorizing the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. It was
    last reauthorized in 2014 and is commonly referred to as WIOA, which is
    the foundation for our Nation's workforce development system.
        This hearing will focus on three youth programs: Youth workforce
    investment activities, YouthBuild, and Job Corps. These programs
    provide low-income, in-school and out-of-school young people--ages 14
    to 24--with job opportunities, pathways to further their education or
    training, and basic support services that help them find good-paying
    jobs.
        This is a timely and important moment to invest in our youth-
    focused initiatives because millions of young people--in communities
    across the country--are struggling to cope with the fallout from the
    COVID-19 pandemic.
        Anywhere from 6 to 10 million young people were estimated to be
    disconnected from school and work at the height of the COVID-19
    pandemic, compared to roughly 4 million in 2019.
        WIOA-funded programs are a critical tool to create opportunities
    for these young people. This bipartisan reauthorization effort is a
    chance to make important improvements to help ensure they can reach
    their full potential.
        One area for improvement is better allocation of youth workforce
    investments, which received just over $920 million in Fiscal Year 2021.
    Under current law, no less than 75 percent of WIOA funds must be used
    to serve out-of-school youth. This effort to target funding to the most
    vulnerable group of young people has unfortunately had an unintended
    consequence. Programs are often forced to wait until a struggling
    student is fully disconnected from school to offer their services. Such
    a delay creates unnecessary barriers that result in missed
    opportunities to intervene earlier and keep students in school.
        Another area for improvement is expanding paid work-based learning
    opportunities. Connecting young people with jobs where they can build
    skills is vital to their long-term success. Studies show that teenagers
    who have a job between the ages of 16 and 18 are more likely to earn
    higher wages as adults. Increasing the funding for these programs and
    expanding forms of work-based learning to include job shadowing, job
    preparation, and youth apprenticeship programs could make a meaningful
    difference in our communities.
        Today, we will also explore improvements to Job Corps, which
    provides tens of thousands of young people across all 50 states with
    residential education, vocational training, and job placement services.
        I have heard from countless community leaders and residents who
    credit Job Corps with transforming their lives, which is why I have
    championed this program throughout my career in public service. I am
    extremely proud of the Jobs Corps Center in my district-and I have
    bragging rights-because it was ranked No. 1 in the country in program
    year 2019 based on performance indicators.
        Job Corps enjoys widespread bipartisan support, and I hope we can
    find bipartisan agreement to make it even more effective. This includes
    changing the counterproductive ``zero tolerance'' language enacted
    during the Clinton administration, which requires automatic dismissal
    of young people for alcohol abuse, minor drug offenses, and other
    infractions that, should instead be met with more reasonable and
    helpful interventions like counseling and treatment.
        Blanket drug testing, with followup tests being required even
    before the chemicals may have fully left a student's body, have led to
    roughly 12,500 expulsions, 91 percent of which were for marijuana use.
    Today, recreational marijuana use is either legal or has been
    decriminalized in nearly half of our states.
        As with any organization, Job Corps' success relies on the quality
    and stability of the staff. Job Corps has struggled to retain its best
    teachers, counselors, nurses, and managers because it cannot pay
    competitive wages in the locality. For that reason, we should consider
    whether to remove the exemption for Job Corps contractors from the
    Service Contract Act, which would set a wage floor for Job Corps center
    employees that is pegged to comparable local wages. Without that
    protection, Job Corps centers cannot compete for instructional talent
    with local public school districts, which is needed to reduce staff
    turnover-which undermines the performance of the program.
        Of course, the most important improvement we can make to all WIOA
    programs is to increase their funding. Job Corps has been underfunded
    relative to its authorization level by at least $129 million each year
    for the past 5 years-and more than $239 million in the last year,
    alone. Youth workforce activities have been underfunded relative to its
    authorization level by an aggregate $150 million since 2016.
        We get what we pay for. No program can be expected to meet the
    needs of our communities while we consistently underfund it every year.
        Today's hearing kicks off a vital effort to give at-risk young
    people the support they need to lead fulfilling lives that will make
    our communities much, much stronger.
        I look forward to working with my colleagues to reauthorize WIOA,
    and I now recognize the distinguished Ranking Member for the purpose of
    making an opening statement.
                                     ______

        Mr. Murphy. Thank you, Chairwoman Wilson. Congratulations
    on your program's Number One ranking. That is fantastic. That
    is fantastic.
        Our conversation today could not be timelier as we know
    that young people ages 16 to 24 are experiencing a decline in
    employment and labor force participation. In fact, last year in
    July, the labor force participation rate for the ages was the
    lowest going back to July 1948 when the Bureau of Statistics
    first began reporting the statistic.
        The aim of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act,
    the WIOA Youth Programs, is to prepare young adults to embark
    on successful, fulfilling careers and is necessary for a
    prosperous workforce. As such, I am thankful that reevaluating
    these important programs is a task that House Republicans and
    Democrats are tackling together. Before we jump into
    reauthorizing these programs, we should also carefully examine
    where they can better serve youth, as it appears there is room
    for improvement to live up to the promise of the last
    reauthorization.
        For example, Job Corps is it--Job Corps exists to assist
    disadvantaged youth, providing them with career and technical
    education, and connecting them with the labor force. This
    program was allocated $1.7 billion in fiscal 2021 but has faced
    significant difficulty in the path both in maintaining safety
    and security for program participants and improving their job
    prospects.
        For this program to serve its purpose, we must reevaluate
    where the program has failed in the past and increase
    accountability to ensure that these programs do not persist and
    that the youth who take part in Job Corps are put on a course
    that is successful to their pursuing their years. More broadly,
    the workforce system is too often siloed and disconnected from
    regional economic development needs and is not agile enough to
    adapt to emerging demands from businesses.
        How we allocate money always matters. But when it comes to
    the programs that are preparing our kids for their future, it
    is also much more about dollar signs. For the economy to
    flourish, it is imperative that our Nation's youth are well-
    prepared to enter the workforce. For the sake of our taxpayers
    and our children, we cannot blindly funnel money into programs
    without first considering what works best and what is needed by
    employers in the region where the children live. However, if we
    ensure that employers are at the table and the system is
    focused on meeting the needs of America's youth and young
    people, House Republicans believe that the WIOA's youth
    programs will fulfill their promise to our Nation's kids.
        As we begin conversations on a bipartisan reauthorization
    of WIOA, I am asking that my Democratic colleagues continue to
    work with us to ensure that these programs not only are well-
    funded but they meet their primary goal of preparing American's
    youth for meaningful years before we figure out if these
    programs need to grow. I know that we all have the best
    interest of America's children at heart, and that gives me
    great hope as we work together to optimize these programs.
        Thank you, Madam Chairman. I will yield back.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Murphy follows:]

     Statement of Hon. Gregory F. Murphy, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on
                   Higher Education and Workforce Investment

        Our conversation today could not be timelier as we know young
    people ages 16 to 24 are experiencing a decline in employment and labor
    force participation. In fact, last year in July, the labor force
    participation rate for these ages was the lowest rate for July dating
    back to 1948, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics first began reporting
    the statistic.
        The aim of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)
    youth programs--to prepare young adults to embark on successful,
    fulfilling careers--is necessary for a prosperous workforce. As such, I
    am thankful that reevaluating these important programs is a task that
    House Republicans and Democrats are tackling together.
        Before we jump to reauthorizing these programs, we should carefully
    examine how they can better serve youth, as it appears there is room
    for improvement to live up to the promise of the last reauthorization.
        For example, Job Corps exists to assist disadvantaged youth by
    providing them with career and technical education and connecting them
    with the labor force. This program was allocated 1.7 billion dollars in
    Fiscal Year 2021 but has faced significant difficulties in the past
    both in maintaining safety and security for program participants and in
    improving their job prospects.
        For this program to serve its purpose, we must reevaluate where the
    program has failed in the past and increase accountability to ensure
    that these problems do not persist and that the youth who take part in
    Job Corps are put on the course to successful careers.
        More broadly, the workforce system is too often siloed and
    disconnected from regional economic development needs and not agile
    enough to adapt to emerging demands from businesses.
        How we allocate money always matters. But when it comes to programs
    that are preparing our kids for the future, it's about so much more
    than dollar signs. For our economy to flourish, it is imperative that
    our Nation's youth are well-prepared to enter the workforce. For the
    sake of our taxpayers and our children, we cannot blindly funnel money
    into programs without first considering what works best and is needed
    by employers in the region.
        However, if we ensure employers are at the table and the system is
    focused on meeting the needs of America's young people, House
    Republicans believe that the WIOA youth programs will fulfill their
    promise to our Nation's kids.
        As we begin conversations on a bipartisan reauthorization of WIOA,
    I'm asking my Democrat colleagues to work with us to ensure these
    programs can meet their primary goal of preparing America's youth for
    meaningful careers before we figure out if the programs need to grow.
        I know that we all have the best interest of America's children at
    heart and that gives me great hope as we work together to optimize
    these programs.
                                     ______

        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you, Representative Murphy.
        And without objection, all of the Members who wish to
    insert written statements into the record may do so by
    submitting them to the Committee Clerk electronically in
    Microsoft Word format by 5 o'clock p.m. on Thursday, May 27,
    2021.
        I would like to enter for the record a letter from the
    National Association of Home Builders in support of
    strengthening Job Corps and YouthBuild without objection.
        Chairwoman Wilson. I will now introduce the witnesses. Ms.
    Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend. Ms. Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend is the
    President and CEO of the Philadelphia Youth Network. In this
    role she draws on her experience and research, social work, and
    systems change to lead the creation of coordinated systems than
    promote academic achievement, economic opportunity, and
    personal success.
        Mr. Thomas Showalter is a senior advisor at the National
    Youth Employment Coalition where he leads work on education and
    workforce policy and related areas including disability policy,
    juvenile justice, and poverty programs, as well as Federal
    policy development.
        Ms. Deb Lindner. Ms. Deb Lindner is the human resources
    manager for Precor in Whitsett, North Carolina, where she leads
    the workforce planning and development, organizational
    development, employment relations and leadership development
    for the company.
        Mr. Byron Garrett is the president and CEO of the National
    Job Corps Association, a national organization representing the
    121 active Job Corps campuses and their staff, the youth
    service providers who manage the campuses, and the thousands of
    students who Job Corps annually serves.
        Welcome to every one of you. Thank you so much for joining
    us on this most important forum. We appreciate your taking the
    time to be with us today and to lend all of your knowledge and
    advice to our Committee.
        I want to remind the witnesses that we have you--and all of
    us on our Committee have read your written statements and then
    written statements will appear in full in the hearing record.
        Pursuant to Committee Rule 8(d) and Committee practice,
    each of you is asked to limit your oral presentation to a five-
    minute summary of your written statement.
        Before you begin your testimony, please remember to unmute
    your microphone during. During your testimony, staff will be
    keeping track of time. And a light will blink when the time is
    up. Please be attentive to the time. Wrap up when your time is
    over, and then remute your microphone.
        If you experience any technical difficulties during your
    testimony or later in the hearing, you should stay connected on
    the platform, make sure you are muted, and use your phone to
    immediately call the Committee's IT director whose number was
    provided to you in advance.
        We will let all the witnesses make their presentations
    before we move to Member questions. And remember, when
    answering a question, please remember to unmute your
    microphone. The witnesses are aware of their responsibility to
    provide accurate information to the Subcommittee and,
    therefore, we will proceed with their testimony.
        I will now recognize Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. Welcome.

                STATEMENT OF CHEKEMMA FULMORE-TOWNSEND,
             PRESIDENT & CEO, PHILADELPHIA YOUTH NETWORK,
                            PHILADELPHIA, PA

        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. Chairwoman Wilson, Ranking Member
    Murphy, and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the
    opportunity to speak today.
        My name is Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend, and I am the
    president and CEO of the Philadelphia Youth Network, known as
    PYN. Our vision is to use education and employment experiences
    to interrupt the cycle of poverty. We connect young people 12
    to 24 years old to the skills and mindsets needed to thrive in
    school, career, and ultimately life.
        Our work promotes equity in access and outcomes especially
    for the most vulnerable in Philadelphia. We value youth voice
    and seek to empower young people to shape their destiny. We use
    collective impact to drive results and are not shy about our
    beliefs that all young people are full of potential, powerful,
    and capable of great progress.
        At PYN, we do not work in a silo. Together with our
    partners, PYN has provided more than 225,000 opportunities. We
    have learned a lot about sustaining scalable results.
        Madam Chair, life has been very difficult over the past 15
    months for all of us including young people. The expectations
    of work have changed which means our strategies and approaches
    must advance to meet the needs of the next generation.
    Disruptive events like the global pandemic, economic and health
    disparities, and the racial awakening we are all facing forces
    us to confront systemic and institutional bias with swift
    action to close gaps in educational achievement and economic
    earnings for vulnerable youth.
        Across the Nation local workforce boards and youth-serving
    organizations are employing new strategies and strengthening
    partnerships. I know from personal experience the courage it
    takes to be a cycle breaker in your family. I am a social
    worker today because at 14 in my first job I learned that
    helping was actually a career. For many young people the first
    step to a prosperous future lies in the programs that WIOA
    supports. I am truly humbled to share my thoughts here today.
        My first, communities are unique, and policy works better
    with flexibility. Reconsider the requirement of 75 percent
    funding threshold required for disconnected youth. Holding to
    this ratio means we must wait until youth are disconnected to
    serve them, rather than take preventative measures to keep them
    engaged and on track to meet their education and employment
    goals. Let's simplify the enrollment process by using a set of
    risk indicators for disconnection. Youth served should meet at
    least one of the risk indicators, rather than overemphasizing
    in-school or out-of-school status because the needs are
    similar, despite the definitions.
        Prioritize quality and continuous improvement. Consider
    incentivizing approaches that imbed literacy and numeracy
    skills, along with industry-specific instruction. Research
    shows this strategy connects classroom learning to the demands
    of the workplace.
        Professional development for youth workers is a priority.
    Too often the adults who are responsible for coaching students
    do not receive the professional development needed to truly
    prepare young people for the future of work. Employ innovative
    strategies like our Opportunity Youth Fund to address barriers
    including physical and mental health, housing stability,
    transportation and childcare assistance, and food insecurity.
    You cannot learn or grow when your basic needs are not met.
        During the pandemic our Youth Opportunity Fund helped
    nearly 1,000 young people stay connected to their programs. We
    intentionally simplified the process to ensure emergency funds
    were received in a way that best fit young people.
        Invest more and followup services in early work
    experiences, especially summer jobs. Adequate funding for
    followup provides sustained employment for young people. WIOA
    investments have declined since 2014. Current funding levels
    will not be adequate to keep pace with the rapidly changing
    world of work. Summer jobs needs specific attention. While WIOA
    allows for summer youth employment, it is not enough. Since
    1998, there has been no direct Federal support for summer jobs
    other than the ARRA funding in 2009 and the Summer Jobs+
    initiative in 2016. Summer comes every year, and so should the
    support. We applaud Congressman Scott's Opening Doors for Youth
    Act that would have authorized support for summer jobs which
    has numerous benefits for young people, employers, and the
    local community.
        Philadelphia has invested more than $7 million annually for
    summer and year-round jobs. Even during the pandemic, PYN with
    our network of local policymakers provided more than 6,100
    young people with summer jobs. Imagine what we could do with
    consistent funding.
        Everywhere youth workers are helping young people to
    succeeds. Effective data collection, payment systems, are
    career framework, and virtual intern toolkit have been
    replicated in other cities.
        Thank you to the Subcommittee Members for your interest and
    bipartisan leadership in this work. Together we can create
    high-quality opportunities that young people need and, more
    importantly, deserve.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Fulmore-Townsend follows:]

                Prepared Statement of Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Ms. Wilson. Thank you, Ms. Fulmore-Townsend.
        And we will now hear from Mr. Showalter.
        Mr. Showalter.

            STATEMENT OF THOMAS SHOWALTER, SENIOR ADVISOR,
                 NATIONAL YOUTH EMPLOYMENT COALITION,
                             WASHINGTON, DC

        Mr. Showalter. Good morning.
        I am going to begin with the voices of young adults and a
    practitioner connected to programs authorized by the Workforce
    Innovation and Opportunity Act.
        ``Being part of this program really changed how I saw
    myself. Just having support from other people made me want--
    made me feel more important and more worthy of success.'' --
    Bethany.
        ``Staff give us opportunities for jobs. They tell us who is
    hiring. They talk directly with employers at real jobs. This is
    just a steppingstone really.'' --De'Mauria.
        ``During the pandemic we strive to keep engaged with the
    youth who are able to participate. We were very fortunate to
    identify a few tribes able to work with youth and provide safe
    work sites, allowing youth to gain basic skills and work
    experience.'' --Christina.
        As Members consider updating this legislation, now is a
    good time to consider the job prospects of today's young
    people. Chairwoman Wilson, Ranking Member Murphy, and Members
    of the Subcommittee, I am so grateful to be here with you
    today. My name is Thomas Showalter. As the Chairwoman said, I
    am a senior advisor at the National Youth Employment Coalition.
    I am also and a senior fellow at the American Youth Policy
    Forum and a consultant. In the past, I served Chairman Edward
    M. Kennedy and Tom Harkin on the staff of the Senate Health,
    Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
        I am from Stillwater, Oklahoma, where I benefited from a
    wide array of jobs in my teenage years: Scooping ice cream,
    walking dogs, plating seeds in a botany laboratory, plus
    numerous work study jobs and externships while I was in
    college. These are the kind of early work experiences that all
    young people need and that we can work together to make
    possible.
        As a Nation, we desperately need a new vision for the
    transition to adulthood. In the years following World War II,
    public policies mapped such a vision. Radical disparities
    largely based on race were always present. But these policies
    defined a path into the middle class and beyond for millions,
    including my parents who grew up in those postwar years.
        Most Americans are millennials, like yours truly,
    Generation Z, or younger. We face a long-term decrease in good
    jobs, a scarcity of career pathways for people without
    bachelor's degrees, and a youth labor market that no longer
    bounces back from recessions. In short, we need more good jobs
    and more pathways to good jobs, and we need them now. Today as
    many as one in three 16-to0924 year olds are disconnected from
    education or employment. That is 10 million people. I
    appreciate the Ranking Member for alluding to how low labor
    force participation rates are now.
        These opportunity youth, as they are often called, are
    seeking opportunities and offer an opportunity to our Nation.
    Many have already been touched by schools, the child welfare
    and juvenile justice systems, or behavioral health programs but
    they need a little more help getting connected to education or
    employment. These are the young people targeted by WIOA
    programs. Research tells us that opportunity youth want to
    work, wish to attain higher education, and take responsibility
    for their future achievement.
        Even before the pandemic, there were huge gaps in who
    becomes disconnected by race, by geography, by socioeconomic
    status. The good news is that it is possible to prevent and
    repair youth disconnection in the United States because some
    places are doing it. WIOA reauthorization can begin to
    articulate a new vision for the transition to adulthood. From
    decades of research and practice, we know what strategies are
    effective for connecting all kinds of young people to school
    and work. Chekemma alluded to many of these.
        In my written testimony I propose an alternative way to
    think about the WIOA youth in-school youth, out-of-school youth
    distinction and I agree with the Chairwoman we need better pay
    and education for youth workers across the system.
        In a knowledge economy, social capital, access to mentors,
    executive skills, and an entrepreneurial mindset are critical
    for upward mobility, but programs funded by WIOA and other
    Federal programs do not prioritize. The law can also do more to
    drive equity by race, by gender, by ability and to ensure that
    lawmakers target resources to those who most need services. We
    can do this. We have done this before. We can do it again.
        I will close with some words from Emmanuel. I call
    YouthBuild my stepping stool, the biggest step I have ever
    taken in a positive direction. YouthBuild helped me realize
    that my neighborhood, my community is more than just where I
    live. My community is the world.
        Thank you. I look forward to your questions.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Showalter follows:]

                     Prepared Statement of Thomas Showalter

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you, Mr. Showalter. Thank you very
    much.
        Next, we will hear from Ms. Lindner.

      STATEMENT OF DEB LINDNER, HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER, PRECOR,
                              WHITSETT, NC

        Ms. Lindner. Chairwoman Wilson, Ranking Member Murphy, and
    distinguished Members of the Higher Education and Workforce
    Investment Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to speak
    with you all today.
        My name is Deb Lindner, and I am the H.R. manager and at
    Precor, located in North Carolina. I have served as the
    executive board Members with both NC local and State workforce
    boards. I am also a part of the National Skills Coalition and
    Business Leaders United Manufacturing Industry Recovery Panel.
        Companies like Precor are actively engaging in efforts to
    build a skilled pipeline of young workers in our industry. I am
    urging Congress to support industry or sector partnerships that
    bring together education and industry partners to support on-
    the-job learning and incumbent worker training that helps us
    upskill existing workers and create entry-level positions for
    the next-generation workers appeared to support costs
    associated with transportation and childcare that too often
    serve as barriers to young people's success.
        Today the workforce landscape has changed, and we have lost
    a year of developing the next-generation workers. Workers that
    we furloughed were forced to find jobs in other industries or
    manufacturing subsectors or have left the area. Partnerships
    that were the foundation of our hiring pipeline, those with
    workforce boards, high schools, community organizations are not
    producing the number of candidates we are used to.
        We invest in workforce partnerships for two key reasons.
    First, public investments in the infrastructure that bring
    together small- and mid-sized companies enable us to scale our
    impact. No single company can succeed alone, but the
    infrastructure of these partnerships make it possible. Many
    workers will need short-term training at the local community
    college to get back up to speed on skills necessary to be
    successful on the job, but Precor alone does not hire enough
    workers for the community college to run a dedicated program
    for our needs. We rely on organizations within these
    partnerships including the local workforce board, Triad
    Goodwill, and the community college to identify potential
    applicants and help us hire young people who will be our
    workforce of the future.
        At Precor, consistently the most challenging aspect of
    hiring new workers, especially young workers, is their access
    to reliable transportation. Our plant is off any public
    transportation routes. We have young adults who do not have
    reliable transportation and must rely on others to get to and
    from work.
        For example, I hired a great candidate as a welder. Within
    the first week, he started having attendance problems. In
    speaking with him, he revealed that a family Member promised to
    get him to and from work, decided all of a sudden to stop
    providing the ride. So we as a company, we decided to book and
    pay for a hotel room close to within walking distance so that
    he could get at least two paychecks and purchase a vehicle.
        I applaud the Committee's bipartisan efforts to modernize
    the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and for taking
    time to identify the diverse strategies necessary to ensure our
    public workforce system serves both businesses like Precor and
    youth, people of color, and people without a high school
    diploma who have been the hardest hit by the current crisis.
    Job training will not solve our current crisis, but it is part
    of the solution and critical to ensuring an inclusive economic
    recovery.
        First, ensuring public support for partnerships that bring
    together small- and mid-sized companies like Precor and our
    partners in the manufacturing council and community and
    technical college and the public workforce system would make a
    huge impact in our community. WIOA currently supports these
    industry and sector partnerships but provides no dedicated
    resources to empower states and local areas to invest in this
    strategy.
        For Precor, dedicated resources to support industry
    partnership through WIOA reauthorization, National
    Apprenticeship Act reauthorization, and any response or
    recovery to the current crisis is critical to our ability to
    support the infrastructure we already have established. These
    partnerships should bring together employers, as well as
    community organizations, that have historically served youth,
    in particular opportunity youth, who are not connected to
    school or employment.
        We are making the investment in our workers and can invest
    leverage and scale investments like ours when matched with
    robust public investment. These investments would also support
    costs of providing incumbent worker training of helping our
    workers develop digital skills and upskilling on the job
    training opportunities for young people.
        Finally, to effectively reach the most robust and diverse
    pipeline of young people in our communities, Precor needs
    Congress to support investments in transportation and support
    services as part of WIOA reauthorization.
        Thank you for the opportunity to speak today, and I look
    forward to answering any questions.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Lindner follows:]

                       Prepared Statement of Deb Lindner

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you. Thank you so much, Ms.
    Lindner.
        And now we will hear from Mr. Garrett.

    STATEMENT OF BYRON GARRETT, PRESIDENT & CEO, NATIONAL JOB CORPS
                      ASSOCIATION, WASHINGTON, DC

        Mr. Garrett. Thank you, Chairwoman Wilson, Ranking Member
    Murphy, and all the Members of the Subcommittee for inviting me
    to testify today.
        My name is Byron Garrett, and I serve as president and CEO
    of the National Job Corps Association. As a long-life education
    advocate including prior stints as a former school principal,
    education commissioner for the city of Phoenix, CEO of the
    National Parent Teacher Association, and co-convener of the
    Helping America's Youth Initiative led by former First Lady
    Laura Bush, it is a distinct honor to contribute to
    conversations that will impact the lives of millions of our
    Nation's youth.
        I joined the Job Corps community in the summer of 2019,
    motivated by the program's mission: To offer opportunity to our
    Nation's most marginalized youth.
        A little more than 6 months into my tenure, the COVID0919
    pandemic made clear the importance of that mission. Millions of
    Americans lost jobs, faced eviction, and turned to food banks
    to fend off hunger. Congress created the Job Corps program
    specifically to serve these students who are most impacted and
    affected, the one in three who are disconnected in the ages of
    16 to 24 who lack ample education and employment opportunities.
        At over 120 campuses including one in every State, Job
    Corps has the capacity to support tens of thousands of young
    Americans. Job Corps provides opportunities to earn a diploma
    or equivalency, career preparation for over 100 high-demand
    professions, earn industry-recognized credentials, participate
    in pre-apprenticeships and work-based learning, and the
    opportunity to dually enroll in college. We do a lot. Some
    programs such as the Benjamin L. Hooks campus in Memphis,
    Tennessee, that Secretary Walsh and Second Gentleman Emhoff
    visited last week, Job Corps even offers childcare and Head
    Start programs.
        And we have seen the proof in Job Corps. From homelessness
    to Harvard, from a child of an incarcerated father and high
    school dropout to celebrated tech entrepreneur and investor on
    Shark Tank, from dropout to two-time heavyweight champion of
    the world, and from the homeless child of farm-working
    immigrants to become the chief judge on the Idaho State Court
    of Appeals, these stories share the beginnings as millions of
    disadvantaged youth whose futures can be brighter because of
    Job Corps.
        While most of our students did not go to Harvard or become
    heavyweight champion of the world, by and large our students
    achieve incredible outcomes under the guidance of our dedicated
    educators and staff. The average Job Corps enrollee enters the
    program reading below the eighth-grade level but advances two-
    and-a-half grade levels after less than a year in the program.
    In the last complete year before COVID, 92 percent of our
    enrollees earned an industry-recognized credential with more
    than 85 percent of graduates transitioning into employment,
    post-secondary education, or enlisting in the military.
        We are proud of the success of our students and what they
    achieve in Job Corps and their lives after the program. But
    they are also opportunities, some highlighted by the COVID
    pandemic, to better orient our program to meet the needs of
    marginalized youth and the employers who need skilled workers
    to grow the American economy and our communities.
        In recent years Job Corps has consistently had empty beds
    and classroom seats across the country, while homeless shelters
    were full and millions of young Americans were out of work and
    out of school. Each year we expel thousands of students for
    behaviors such as marijuana use that can instead be addressed
    by our staff and enable those students to grow and become
    productive Members of society.
        Our staff are frontline essential workers who house, feed,
    education, and care for young people during this pandemic who
    had nowhere else to go. We have seen their wages fail to keep
    pace with local school districts and even decrease in some
    cases, making it impossible to retain our best staff. I would
    offer the following four recommendations and priorities for Job
    Corps reauthorization to help more socially and economic
    disadvantaged young Americans.
        One, reduce barriers to enrollment so that we can ease the
    documentation process for entry. Two, allow a system of
    positive behavioral interventions and supports and a
    progressive disciplinary system to maintain campus safety,
    while enabling more students to become responsible, employable
    citizens. Three, enable flexibility to take a student and
    employer-centered approach to Job Corps campus operations. And,
    four, ensure that Job Corps teachers and staff are compensated
    appropriately.
        The COVID0919 pandemic has made clear the extraordinary
    need for Job Corps. Since the start of the pandemic, about
    20,000 struggling young Americans have applied to enroll. And
    the stories that we see on public forums like Reddit are
    absolutely heartbreaking. They are pleading for our support.
    Many are homeless, hungry, or concerned about how to support
    their children and Job Corps offers hope in a desert of
    desperation and we consider this an investment in the future.
    Any young person should be able to walk through the door of a
    one-stop center or engage in the homeless support services and
    be immediately referred to a Job Corps admissions counselor.
        We look forward to engaging in this robust discussion. And
    as I tell people all the time, if the mind can conceive and the
    heart can believe it, then the hands can achieve it, because it
    all begins in the mind.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Garrett follows:]

                      Prepared Statement of Byron Garrett

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Chairwoman Wilson. Well, thank you so much, Mr. Garrett.
        And I just want to stay that in my respective community,
    the president of the NAACP is a product of Job Corps and she
    actually said to me that if it were not for Job Corps, she
    would either be dead or she would be in prison because she was
    a rebellious teenager and immigrant from Haiti and rebelled
    against the grandparents that were raising her and Job Corps
    saved her life. Thank you so much.
        Under Committee Rule 9(a) we will now question witnesses
    under the five-minute rule. I tell be recognizing Subcommittee
    Members in seniority order. Again, to ensure that the Members'
    five-minute rule is adhered to, staff will be keeping track of
    time and the timer will show a blinking light when time has
    expired. Please be attentive to the time. Wrap up when your
    time is over, and remute your microphone. And as Chair of the
    Committee; I now recognize myself for 5 minutes.
        Mr. Garrett, how have the 2016 updates to the Job Corps
    zero-tolerance policy impacted student retention in Job Corps?
    And what reforms would you recommend to this policy to help
    students stay connected to the Job Corps program?
        Mr. Garrett. Thank you for that question, Chairwoman
    Wilson, and thank you for that example.
        We hear stories of students just like your NAACP present
    who recognize the value of having benefited from the program.
    We see that one in four Job Corps students are mandatorily
    expelled. This accounts for the majority of students who don't
    graduate. Many of those expulsions are for substance use or
    minor behavioral infractions.
        I was visiting the Milwaukee center 2 years ago and when I
    was there on the ground, visiting a center, a student broke a
    glass because they threw a ball. They broke a window. And that
    was considered a major infraction, even though of us there saw
    what happened. Had we not engaged at that point in time, the
    way the policy is designed, that student could have been
    immediately expelled.
        And so the zero-tolerance policy, we ask that in
    legislation that we have greater flexibility. We understand the
    need for greater accountability, but we need greater
    flexibility.
        One final example is that each year over 6,000 students
    enroll, test positive for marijuana use and, as a result, drop
    out or they are expelled in less than 1091/2 months. But we
    also find that when students go through our full program, we
    are able to support them in getting the right behavioral
    supports they need to change their behavior and, therefore, in
    getting their academic needs met, as well as their
    employability. And so we recognize that there are major changes
    that need to shift within the way the current ZT policy, or
    zero-tolerance policy, is structured.
        Chairwoman Wilson. OK. It is my understanding that, as a
    result of COVID0919, Job Corps now only has about 15,000
    students enrolled, when they have the capacity of 60,000. What
    challenges does Job Corps face in enrolling more students, and
    what are some ways that we could address the eligibility
    challenges Job Corps faces as a Congress?
        Mr. Garrett. Thanks for that question as well, and you are
    correct. The capacity is right around 60,000. And actually in
    2012, it was lowered due to budgetary concerns about 18
    percent. And even if we were at full capacity, because of that
    lowering, there would still be additional space in many centers
    across the country. And during the pandemic there was a slow
    shift to move to virtual and distance learning. Distribution of
    laptops took greater time than anticipated. Because of the
    Federal process, the Department of Labor had to officially
    procure those programs versus the actual youth service provider
    being able to do that onsite. And we believe we could have
    expedited getting more students engaged and connected from a
    distance perspective.
        I think the second piece, as you think about this
    particular work and how we look where students need to be going
    forward, we have a different type of responsibility in this day
    and age. When we look at our population and we know who they
    are, they oftentimes, Chairwoman Wilson, it is more difficult
    for a Job Corps student or a student wanting to be in Job Corps
    to apply for this program, because of the burden of paperwork,
    than it is to apply for college. And we know that this process
    must be streamlined to become much more efficient so that a
    student can walk in 1 day, be referred the next, and not have
    to wait weeks or months to officially enter the program. So we
    strongly recommend really streamlining the applications and
    admissions process to make it more readily available.
        The last thing I would say is that many of our students, as
    you know, coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, the health
    information, finance information, being homeless or transient,
    they don't even have the documentation required. And we know
    that Congress has already designated opportunity zones which
    tells us their economic condition. So if a student came from
    that environment or were homeless, they should automatically be
    eligible without having this additional hurdle to prove or
    overcome that they belong in the program.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you so much.
        Mr. Showalter, I am concerned about youth who have become
    disconnected during the pandemic. How can we ensure that this
    population does not fall between the tracks--the cracks?
        Mr. Showalter. Chairwoman, I really appreciate that
    question.
        In our field we have been doing a lot to try to keep track
    of adaptations and innovations that have been happening during
    the pandemic. My organization, the National Youth Employment
    Coalition, as well as the Aspen Institute Opportunity Youth
    Forum, have done some great jobs in documenting some of the
    adaptations that programs have made.
        Unfortunately, there are still a lot of young people that
    the disconnection rate has increased markedly and at this
    point, you know, WIOA-funded programs only serve a little over
    200,000 people each year out of, as several of us have alluded
    to, the 10 million that are out there and, as I think you are
    alluding to, the number of young people who school districts
    may not even have counted as dropouts yet.
        So programs are doing everything they can to find young
    people, and for most programs they have a waiting line of young
    people who want to get into the program.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you so much.
        And now I am going to recognize Ranking Member, Dr. Foxx.
        Ms. Foxx. Thank you, Madam Chairman. I appreciate this, and
    I thank all our witnesses for being with us.
        Mr. Garrett, you have painted a very, very rosy picture of
    Job Corps but reports like these paint a very different picture
    of Job Corps and show it at being almost totally dysfunctional.
        We have over 30 different government reports and audits
    raising concerns over the safety and security of Job Corps
    participants. While the program is meant to be an outlet to
    help disadvantaged youth gain the skills necessary to achieve a
    good education, the past failures of the program do a
    disservice to students, staff, and hardworking taxpayers who
    fund these programs.
        And I am very concerned about your saying you are at 25
    percent capacity right now, and I am wondering how much of that
    money is going to be recovered for the hardworking taxpayers
    who continue to work during COVID and receive nothing from the
    money they are giving to Job Corps.
        A 2017 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office
    found that Job Corps centers reported 61 deaths of students on
    Job Corps campuses, another 204 that occurred offsite, a
    quarter of which were reported as homicides. In 2018, GAO
    reported there had been 13,673 incidents involving students in
    just 1 year in which over 2,500 were reported cases of assault.
    That same year the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector
    General reported that of randomly sampled participants with a
    documented employment history, over 50 percent were placed in
    jobs similar to those they held prior to their participation in
    the program and a number even returned to the same employer.
        I would also like to submit for the record these reports,
    along with the recent article in Washington Monthly, outlining
    many of these same concerns.
        Madam Chair.
        Chairwoman Wilson. So noted.
        Ms. Foxx. While I understand there are Job Corps students
    who find some benefits to the program, there is clearly room
    for substantial improvement. As we begin discussions about a
    reauthorization of WIOA and the Job Corps program, how can we
    increase accountability for center contractors and ensure that
    performance improves going forward to better serve students and
    we don't rely just on anecdotal stories from you?
        Mr. Garrett. Thank you, Dr. Foxx, for that question and the
    additional commentary. And I am well acquainted, as we all are
    now, with both the OIG and the GAO reports.
        What I would tell you is that, given the student population
    we serve, what you identified, most of those deaths or centers
    were actually medical. Almost all homicides and suicides were
    off-center.
        Our students, what we know, given their background, the
    situation and circumstances that they come from, they are safer
    in our care and on campus then they are in their respective
    homes, even right now in the middle of the pandemic. We know
    for a fact, as we have talked with students, as we have talked
    with their families, the environments that they come from. Many
    of them are literally homeless at this particular point in
    time, just trying to get back into a center.
        And so while there is room for improvement and there always
    will be, as we see on college campuses that have incidents that
    are similar and also quite alarming, we know for a fact that
    the opportunities that we are providing young people to get
    back to where it is they need to be, we know for a fact that
    the program is highly effective and highly successful.
        As it relates to what we can do with the youth service
    providers in shifting their approach and their greater
    accountability, we, too, share your concern in terms of
    accountability and flexibility. We believe our Members and the
    youth service providers need a greater flexibility for how they
    operate their program, while at the same time the Federal
    department, the Department of Labor, continues to offer the
    level of accountability that is necessary. So this dual idea of
    flexibility but also greater accountability is necessary.
        The last thing I would say is this. As we think about young
    people in this particular day and age in society as it has
    adjusted and it has changed and the growing needs of our young
    folks, the healthcare issues they have, the mental health
    issues that go unaddressed, the Job Corps program meets the
    total needs of those young people. And, again, while there is
    room for improvement, we know for a fact that they are better
    off in this particular program as we see from the successes
    than if they were not.
        Ms. Foxx. Well, I think we keep trying to put Band-aids on
    programs. And until we look at what is causing these young
    people to be in the situations they are in, then I think we are
    doing nothing to improve our culture.
        And, Mr. Showalter, we have run out of time. But I will
    submit a question to you for a response relative to comments
    that you made in your testimony.
        This is a deeply trouble situation that we have here with
    Job Corps. And it is unacceptable to the taxpayers, as well as
    to the people who are participating in the programs and the
    expectations that we have for it.
        With that, Madam Chairman, I apologize for going over. And
    I yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you, Dr. Foxx.
        And the last statement you made, you said that we needed to
    look at what happens and causes children to be eligible for Job
    Corps. And you and I started on a quest like this my first year
    on the Committee. So I am saying to you in the public arena
    that we are going to be having conversations, Dr. Foxx, about
    what you said and that we are on the same path. And I
    appreciate your comments.
        And now we are going to have questions from Mr. Takano.
        Mr. Takano. Thank you, Madam Chair.
        I appreciate a hearing on this very important topic for our
    youth.
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend, from your experience at the
    Philadelphia Youth Network, how have you seen work-based
    learning programs such as internships, pre-apprenticeships, or
    youth apprenticeship programs support student success?
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. Thank you so much for that question?
        There are several ways in which we have seen internships,
    pre-apprenticeships and youth work experience programs support
    student success. First and foremost, it expands the world of
    thinking for young people, and so they are able to make real-
    world connections to what they are learning in the classroom.
        Second, it exposes them to a greater social capital. They
    actually connect with adults who support their goals. Our data
    shows that 90 percent--almost 90 percent of the young people
    who participate in our summer jobs program respond that they
    feel more prepared for school and more prepared for a future
    career after participating in our program.
        Additionally, young people earn real dollars when they work
    in the summer. And guess what they do with that money? They
    reinvest it right back into the community. They use that money
    to support their basic needs and prepare to return back to
    school. And so we have seen students' success be bolstered by
    employment experiences.
        Mr. Takano. So, Ms. Fulmore-Townsend, let's unpack that
    word ``social capital.'' It has been used several times by
    witnesses. It simply just means these young people make
    connections to contacts, adult contacts, or other contacts,
    that will connect them to other opportunities. Is that the way
    we think of social capital?
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. I think about it a little bit more
    deeply than that. So not just contacts but understanding the
    behaviors and the expectations of the workplace, understanding
    how relationships can be maximized to advance your goals,
    becoming more comfortable with asking questions and seeking
    help which are critical to any person's success. None of us
    here today got to where we are alone and our young people need
    an army, a village of adults to help them achieve their goals
    as well. So it is more than contacts. It is about relationship
    and true engagement.
        Mr. Takano. Relationships that will often persist and
    become a part of that young person.
        Tell me, why is it so important that these opportunities be
    paid?
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. It is critical that the opportunities
    be compensated. Young people have to learn the value of their
    talents. And it is important because, again, as I share, young
    people invest those dollars back into the community. And so we
    are teaching them, by compensation, that not only is their
    talent valued but what to expect from the workplace and how to
    use that money to change community.
        Mr. Takano. Well, thank you.
        From your experience as the president and CEO of
    Philadelphia Youth Network, as well as your role on the board
    of the Community College of Philadelphia--I was a community
    college trustee for 22years before I became a Member of
    Congress--what insights or recommendations could you provide on
    strengthening alignment between the workforce system and the
    K0912 education system as well as community colleges?
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. Sure. I am proud to be a trustee at
    the Community College of Philadelphia, where Dr. Guy Generals
    is the president. And there are a few strategies that we are
    employing locally that I think are worth mentioning.
        The first is that we ensure support through our Catto
    Scholarships so that young people can have early exposure to
    the academic content for college.
        We have dual enrollment programs, which are common across
    the country. And I urge you to consider funding that adequately
    so that young people are able to prepare for college while they
    are still in high school--and not just prepare, but to acquire
    credits during that time.
        We also see opportunities for alignment with teachers and
    college professors around math curriculum, literature skills,
    as well as exposing both K0912 and college professors to the
    industry needs.
        And so there is great opportunity to close the gaps between
    those systems by creating more early college programs, like our
    Middle College--which, this year, we graduated our first class
    of 90 students, who will not just graduate with a high school
    diploma but will also have an associate's degree. That type of
    innovation can be commonplace in America if we choose to invest
    in it.
        Mr. Takano. Thank you so much for that answer.
        Madam Chair, I am such a big fan of dual enrollment and
    middle colleges. And I know that my colleague Suzanne Bonamici
    and the Ranking Member of the Committee, the full committee--I
    hope that we are able to get some resources to have Members go
    and visit these programs. And Philadelphia is so nearby; I hope
    we can do that.
        I yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you, Mr. Takano. And that whole
    dual enrollment is such a wonderful phenomenon that we are
    experiencing all over the Nation.
        And now we will hear from our Ranking Member, Dr. Murphy.
        Mr. Murphy. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
        Let me just echo Representative Takano's statement. I think
    dual enrollment has been a game-changer for young adults, that
    they can actually pursue two different lines of education in a
    much more efficient and productive manner. So I agree with him
    completely.
        Let me just turn my question to Ms. Lindner at first.
        Ms. Lindner, your story is one that I hear over and over
    again from employers in my district and from across the Nation,
    that there is a disconnect between the need to get individuals
    back to work and the skills that businesses like yours are
    looking for in their future employees.
        So it is one thing to give our youth a skill, but it is
    quite another thing that it actually is a skill that local
    employers need. But it seems far too often that businesses are
    either not aware of the services that are provided by the
    workforce system or that the system itself doesn't fit their
    particular needs.
        So tell me, what benefits has your company seen in
    partnering with the workforce system to engage young people and
    provide them with the experience to work?
        Ms. Lindner. That is a great question.
        Pre-COVID, you know, we had successful partnerships with
    the workforce boards, Triad Goodwill, and a few others. But I
    think, ultimately, I am seeing more challenges post-COVID,
    meaning that I don't think that the workforce boards and some
    of the partnerships out there--they are struggling just as well
    as we are struggling, and I don't think they have a good
    understanding of what a company like mine needs. And I think
    that it might be that they are not tasked, or they are not
    federally funded or what have you.
        But, at the same respect, when you talk about the
    successes: on-the-job training. Precor was one of six founding
    companies for the Guilford Apprenticeship Program for high
    school students. While it is very successful today, for me at
    Precor, we struggled because a lot of the high school students
    did not have transportation to come to my side of the county.
    So that was a problem. So we ended up just doing our own
    incumbent workforce upskilling training and just taking it on
    ourselves.
        And I think that is where I sit today, unfortunately. You
    know, I have a lot of questions. Where do I need to go? I have
    reached out to my business partners, and they are struggling.
        So, while I don't know if I am actually answering your
    question about success, I know it is out there, and I am
    actually restarting everything. Because you have to remember,
    we downsized, we furloughed last year, and now we are just
    trying to build back better again. And so it is like I have to
    restart all of my programs again with my community partners.
        Mr. Murphy. Right. Well, thank you, Ms. Lindner. I do think
    that the American businesses are struggling now because of the
    effect of COVID, and even more so now because there seems to be
    a large propensity of folks that are needed in the workforce
    who are staying home--an entirely different thing that we are
    dealing with and something that I think, with training, will
    take a long time to pick back up.
        In my time remaining, I am going to ask Ms. Townsend just a
    question.
        I appreciate you sharing your experience that your
    organization does to support youth in and around Philadelphia.
    And I hear the constant disconnect between employers and
    individuals looking for work due to the vast and growing skills
    gap, and obviously which has been exacerbated by COVID.
        How have you developed relationships with the employers in
    your area? And what do you think those businesses value when
    bringing young people on board through your program?
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. Thank you so much, Congressman
    Murphy.
        With our employers, we learn quite a bit. First, employers
    value ease, and they value options. So, when you are creating
    an employer engagement system, you have to have a tiered and
    customized approach to building relationships, understanding
    their talent needs, ensuring that training is well-connected to
    those talent needs, giving them space and voice in the
    curriculum development, and building strong partnerships
    between the youth-serving agencies and the organizations.
        For us, our employers, it is more than just being civically
    responsible; it is about building the next generation of
    talent. And so we work together to create solutions like our
    Career Development Framework, which is endorsed by our
    employers, which translate the employer expectations to basic
    skills that anyone can understand--a young person, a family
    Member, an educator--so that we are all on the same page,
    working together.
        When employers told us they needed help with virtual
    internships, we responded. We created a Virtual Internship
    Toolkit. We provide coaching for their staff so that they can
    be effective supervisors with young people.
        We will stop at nothing in order to ensure our employers
    are successful, because we know that helping them be successful
    is the gateway to ensuring young people are employed.
        Mr. Murphy. Great. Thank you so much. I think my time is
    up. Thank you very much for your response.
        Madam Chairman, I will yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you so much, Dr. Murphy.
        We will now hear from Representative Jayapal.
        Ms. Jayapal. Thank you, Madam Chair, for this very
    important hearing.
        The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act is a powerful
    tool to equip working people with the education and training
    services that they need for today's labor market. As we
    approach reauthorization recovering from the pandemic, we have
    to address unique barriers to employment that are faced by
    young people of color in this country. That means grappling
    with the reality of systemic racism in today's labor market and
    prioritizing support for jobs that pay people a living wage.
        In my home State of Washington, lawmakers and civil society
    organizations have long highlighted the specific issues facing
    young people that are disconnected from education and the
    workforce. Research shows that young people of color are less
    likely to be employed between the ages of 16 and 29 and that
    these early impediments leave Black, Latinx, and indigenous
    students worse off when it comes to long-term career prospects
    and economic security.
        Despite the fact that racial discrimination claims are
    among the most commonly filed claims with the EEOC, they have
    the lowest rates of success, with only 15percent of cases
    resulting in some form of relief in 2019.
        Ms. Townsend, how can this Subcommittee use WIOA
    reauthorization to address barriers to employment for young
    people of color, such as employment discrimination?
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. Thank you so much for that question.
        I alluded to some of the areas that I think are really
    critical. The first is, we have to make sure that young people
    of color are connected to training that is connected to a
    sustainable wage. So we have to focus on growing industries, we
    have to be very cognizant of STEM-related fields, and we have
    to support any gaps in education and academic attainment that
    will allow them to be successful.
        But it is not just on the part of programs and young
    people. We have to work with our employers to address hiring
    standards, to uncover bias, and to support them in thinking
    through what is actually needed for the position and how young
    people can demonstrate competence for those positions.
        Succinctly said, there is a bar on the hiring side that
    every employee must clear, and we have to put the supports in
    place so that our young people who have been traditionally
    disadvantaged are able to clear that bar.
        Ms. Jayapal. Thank you. Very helpful.
        And as we think about the youth opportunity funds and the
    importance of those funds, are there specific features of the
    programs that we should be focused on improving to address the
    unique needs of youth that have left the traditional classroom?
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. Certainly. I think focusing on
    outcomes and being very specific--because what works for some
    will not work for all, and we have to employ flexibility when
    we think about how we measure success. Progress is equally as
    important as the ultimate goals. And we often measure the
    success of a program only by the end game, and there is a lot
    of work in between the outcome, and that should be valued as
    well.
        I think, additionally, rethinking that 75 percent set-
    aside. It really forces restrictions and, as Chairwoman Wilson
    said earlier, unintended consequences. Intervention, prevention
    is cheaper.
        So we should be prudent with the economic resources that we
    have and allow communities the ability to decide which strategy
    is going to be most effective. They are closer to the problem;
    they have the better solutions.
        Ms. Jayapal. And last question for you: What difference
    does it make for the long-term earnings potential of young
    people of color when they are matched with jobs that pay a
    living wage?
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. Significant difference.
        And so what we have seen from the work that we have done in
    surveying our alumni and collecting qualitative research as
    well as quantitative research is that what young people--the
    skills that they acquire they continue to apply. They are more
    likely to keep their jobs. They are more likely to earn not
    just a self-sustaining wage, they have better connections with
    their family. They tend to be more civically engaged.
        And so, in short, what we are building is more civic-
    minded, prepared young people when they engage in WIOA
    programming and succeed. It is important for us to reinforce
    the things that work so that young people have a greater
    opportunity to connect to the workforce but, more importantly,
    to live their very best life.
        Ms. Jayapal. That is a beautiful way to end. I think if we
    want to truly serve young people, we have to equip them with
    the skills and the resources that they need to flourish over
    the course of their lives. And, you know, that is everything
    from the counseling, the intervention that you talked about,
    the counseling, the case management services, and the unique
    employment barriers that young people of color face.
        So I look forward to working with all of my colleagues to
    meet the needs of all young people, including young people of
    color, as we work to reauthorize WIOA this year.
        Thank you, Madam Chair. I yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you. Thank you so much.
        I would like to remind everyone that, pursuant to the
    Office of the Attending Physician and Committee RuleTwo,
    everyone, every single person in the Committee room, whether on
    camera or not, is required to wear a mask, pursuant to the
    instructions distributed by the Office of the Attending
    Physician. If it is not your turn to speak, please wear your
    mask for the health and safety of everyone else in the room,
    including yourselves. Thank you.
        If you are in the Committee room, please put on a mask so
    that we can continue the meeting.
        I now recognize Representative Grothman.
        Mr. Grothman. OK. Can you all hear me? Thank you.
        My first comment is just really a comment for Mr.
    Showalter. He said something I was a little bit disturbed
    about. ``Those without bachelor's degrees face a scarcity of
    career pathways for young people without such credentials.''
        At least in my district, and I think nationwide, there is a
    plethora of people with bachelor's degrees who wind up deeply
    in debt and don't have any skills that make them any more
    employable. Meanwhile, whether you talk to the medical
    community, the manufacturing community, the construction
    community, there are so many great jobs out there that don't
    require a 4-year bachelor's degree.
        And I am a little bit concerned because you apparently are
    in the area of employment. This advice, the ``bachelor's
    degree, bachelor's degree, bachelor's degree,'' has allowed so
    many people to wind up so in debt. And, frequently, they find
    themselves--they go back and get a skill when they are 28 or
    29years old.
        I think some of this is driven by snobbery of people who do
    have a college degree and think somehow their job makes them
    better than people without a college degree. But I encourage
    you to go to some construction sites, go to some medical
    facilities, go to some manufacturers, and you will find great
    jobs and, quite frankly, a lot more employment security than
    people who have some vague degree in social work or something.
        So now I want to switch over to Mr. Garrett.
        Mr. Garrett, I had the privilege of visiting one of the
    Milwaukee Job Corps centers outside my district with former
    Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia prior to the pandemic. It was
    very illuminating.
        But, in addition to technical skills, what can we do to
    better prepare young workers to meet employers' expectations
    and to give employers confidence that these youth will be
    responsible workers?
        Mr. Garrett. Thank you, Congressman. First and foremost,
    thank you, certainly, for visiting the center with Secretary
    Scalia. We always try to tell folks, when you get to visit and
    engage with students and also talk with staff, oftentimes their
    perspective changes when you hear the real-life stories of how
    the program benefits young people.
        But, specifically to your question, there are a number of
    things that we currently do and additional things that need to
    be done.
        So the whole notion as we talk about having positive
    behavioral interventions and support in helping young people,
    outside of their technical skill for their trade, gain the
    actual soft skills, as some people refer to them, in business
    that are still necessary. What does it mean to be responsible,
    to show up on time, to dress and be prepared, to have
    conversation and be able to engage, and follow and see things
    through?
        Many young people, as you know, especially coming from the
    Milwaukee area or other areas across the country, oftentimes
    they lack that type of structure and discipline and really rely
    upon the program to allow them to be in a structured, safe
    environment.
        The other piece specific to employers is, they value the
    soft-skills piece in addition to the trades and certifications,
    because it creates a more well-rounded employee that comes to
    work, and they understand that they are capable. That is why we
    support work-based learning opportunities, to really show and
    not just tell employers that students are capable.
        Mr. Grothman. OK.
        I have a general question for you. And this is kind of a
    followup on what Representative Foxx said.
        We talk about priority populations and people who come to
    Job Corps without structure and discipline in their lives. What
    type of background causes somebody to grow up without structure
    and discipline in their life?
        Mr. Garrett. Well, sir, I would say there are a host of
    factors that come into that. I wouldn't say that there is some
    broad, stereotypical generalization that I would make.
        Oftentimes, economic conditions certainly exacerbate
    challenges. If you come from an impoverished background or if
    you are a 16-or 17-year-old young person who is literally
    homeless and transient, you lack the structure, because you are
    trying to figure out how do I just simply navigate day-to-day
    living, literally hand-to-mouth every single day. Or if you
    have--
        Mr. Grothman. I guess what I am trying to get at, what type
    of family background would lead someone to be homeless or lead
    someone to not have any structure in their home? What type of
    family background would--
        Mr. Garrett. Well, there are a variety of family
    backgrounds. And I would say, as one of the Members just
    alluded to, systemic racism has created significant issues
    geographically, depending on where you live.
        But what we see is that students in our programs hail from
    rural communities, urban communities, suburban communities,
    come from a zero-parent household because they have lost family
    Members. We see students who come from a dual-parent household.
    We even see students that come from an educated household.
        So folks want to say that you can cast this wide net and
    then minimize it to say, this is the only factor that
    contributed to this particular student's behavior or for them
    to become so marginalized. And there are a number of factors,
    depending upon where you are geographically in the country.
        I would say, as the research shows, poverty is usually the
    leading indicator, because you don't have access to the same
    level of supports and resources, whether that is mental health
    issues, whether it is education opportunities.
        So there are a number of contributing factors that really
    allow someone to end up in a position that they really need the
    benefit of Job Corps.
        The last thing I would tell you is that, also, our
    traditional educational system, the way it is designed and
    structured, does not meet the needs of every single young
    person, and some people need an opportunity that they can just
    focus. ``I want to focus on my academic career so I can
    complete that.'' Or some say, ``I just really need to focus on
    getting a great trade or a great certification so I can earn a
    higher wage,'' and they want to be in a program that is really
    going to position them to do that.
        And if they are in a residential center, they don't need
    the additional distractions and noise of the environment that
    could allow them to be grouped with someone else, where they
    can really focus on their trajectory and their dedicated
    success.
        And so there are a number of factors that contribute to how
    a young person ends up at a Job Corps center.
        Mr. Grothman. Either for you or anyone else, if I have a
    couple seconds: Are we doing things to make sure that people,
    when they have children themselves, have a more structured
    environment for their children? Does anybody deal with that?
        Chairwoman Wilson. You are over time.
        Mr. Grothman. I am over time. Well, OK. That is OK. Thank
    you.
        Chairwoman Wilson. We will now go to Ms. Manning,
    Representative Manning.
        Ms. Manning. Thank you, Madam Chair.
        My first question I will direct to my fellow North
    Carolinian, Ms. Lindner.
        In your testimony, you discuss the challenges that youth,
    especially low-income youth, face in accessing employment
    opportunities. And we have talked about that a little bit. But
    I was struck by your example of how youth couldn't access
    employment opportunities if they didn't have access to
    transportation. And I appreciate your recommendation that we
    expand access to supportive services for youth.
        What additional supports do you see youth needing to come
    prepared for the employment opportunities that your company
    provides?
        Ms. Lindner. You know, there is probably a lot of barriers
    that I probably can't even begin to touch on. But, for me
    personally, in my organization, besides transportation,
    childcare. I would love to do youth apprentice programs, but,
    you know, the dedicated staff that they require at my
    organization, you know, is burdensome to a certain extent.
        But, at the same respect, I think soft skills, tech skills,
    access to technology. You know, as an employer whose
    application process is done online, that is huge. I know one
    thing that--you know, they may have a smartphone, they may be
    able to do everything, but they may not have a computer. I know
    that is--when I do get potential candidates, I send them to
    Triad Goodwill, I send them to a lot of my workforce partners
    that I know have the access or give them the training. But,
    again, they have to be able to get there.
        Most recently, due to COVID, Triad Goodwill that had a
    career center right by our office, or our location, had to
    downsize, and now it is 20miles away.
        So I think you have to get a buy-in with employers. I think
    you have to engage, you know--we have to kind of just redo it,
    because it is different post-COVID, if that makes any sense. A
    lot of things pre-COVID, you know, were working well, but this
    has just changed. I don't know where everybody has gone, from a
    candidate perspective.
        Ms. Manning. Thank you.
        Mr. Garrett, one of the criticisms of Job Corps is that
    there is a wide variation in performance of programs across the
    country, with some programs providing life-and career-changing
    opportunities for individuals, with the performance of others
    indicating that some students just go back to similar jobs they
    have had before they started the program.
        What can be done to improve performance across all centers?
    And what are current barriers to improving performance?
        Mr. Garrett. Ms. Manning, thank you for that question. And
    I also wanted to share with you, I am a fellow North
    Carolinian, hometown of Greensboro, from Guilford, and graduate
    of formerly High Point College, now High Point University. Go
    Panthers.
        Ms. Manning. Well, I am from Greensboro as well, so glad to
    have that connection.
        Mr. Garrett. And we look forward to having you visit the
    Kittrell Center if you have time.
        I think, in relation to your question, as it relates to
    performance across the board and across the country, we favor
    the idea--and there are a number of challenges, right? So you
    have students who have to complete a certain amount of academic
    requirement, whether that is what they signed up for or whether
    they came to the program, coupled with their career. And so we
    believe that we need to have a more personalized experience for
    each student regarding what their particular career outcomes
    are and the desires for them to be engaged in the program.
        And, also, on the youth service provider end, those who
    actually operate the campuses across the country, we want to
    ensure that we have a performance-based contracting process so
    that we are ensuring that we are hiring the best staff that are
    available and that folks who are operating campuses are those
    who have the strongest track record for performance. And so we
    continue to work with the Department of Labor, who issues
    continuous guidance and great insight around how do we improve
    those performance metrics.
        But I will tell you, at the end of the day, just like a
    K0912 system or higher-education system, it really involves us
    more personalizing the experience for the student on what their
    needs and goals are to really direct them on the right pathway
    and not burden them with things that they don't find the
    necessary priority.
        If I dropped out of high school, the last thing I want to
    hear, necessarily, is that you are telling me I need to
    complete this 60-hour academic component, when I am really
    saying, ``Look, I have two kids, I may be getting ready to get
    married or not, and I am 20 or 19. I need a skill and trade
    that will allow me to do better and perform better and make a
    higher wage than if I just went to apply to a local employer
    without actually having a recognized industry-level credential
    or certification.''
        Ms. Manning. Thank you, Mr. Garrett. And the Kittrell
    center is now on my list for my next district visit.
        Mr. Garrett. Outstanding. We will see you there.
        Chairwoman Wilson. That is great. Thank you so much.
        And now Mr. Fulcher.
        Mr. Fulcher. Thank you, Madam Chair.
        I wanted to just acknowledge what Mr. Garrett said just a
    little bit ago. He acknowledged Sergio Gutierrez, who went
    through a Job Corps program. He was a justice in the Idaho
    Court of Appeals. And so we are proud of him.
        And, Mr. Garrett, thank you for that acknowledgement.
        Also, Job Corps is a major pathway to help young people
    connect in the labor workforce in my State--forestry
    management, wildfire management, other jobs. And so I want to
    leverage that to make my sales pitch. I am a sponsor of the
    Forestry Education and Workforce Development Act, which is a
    $20million discretionary grant program to provide degrees or
    certificates in forestry and forestry-related fields. So I
    wanted to just leverage that talking point with my sales pitch
    on that bill.
        But, anyway, thank you, Mr. Garrett. I do have a question
    for you. You talked about the need for Job Corps to be flexible
    enough to adapt to the skills offered for emerging industries.
    How and what can be done to engage the business community more?
    Can you speak to that, Mr. Garrett?
        Mr. Garrett. Yes. And great question and thank you for
    that.
        And I will just highlight, just for a moment, the Job Corps
    Civilian Conservation Centers. As we know, students through
    those programs, for example, have earned over $6million in
    wages in recent years fighting wildland fires and preserving
    Federal lands. And we see those dollars going directly back in
    the community. And, as we know, these aren't just opportunities
    to learn skills, but those earnings are crucial to graduates as
    they successfully make the transition from being housed and fed
    and transported by Job Corps.
        On each center, or on each campus, you will find that there
    is usually a business community liaison position who is working
    hand-in-hand with the local business community, the local
    workforce investment board, to really determine how not only do
    they place students but how do they identify opportunities, but
    also what are the emerging career opportunities or trades that
    are being projected, so that we could then align our program
    and certifications to be able to produce graduates who could
    move seamlessly into that.
        And we see great partnerships like that across the country.
    We want to see more of those replicated and certainly enhanced,
    because we know that the demand is great and that we have
    individuals who are willing to do that.
        I will say, we have also been working with the Department
    of Labor on trying to figure out how we shorten the timeline
    for, when a new trade is introduced that may be market-specific
    that is not nationwide, how can we accelerate the approval of
    that to really meet the local needs of the local workforce
    investment board in that particular emerging market.
        Mr. Fulcher. Thank you for that, Mr. Garrett.
        And I would like to also ask a question of Ms. Chekemma
    Fulmore-Townsend.
        And, in your comments, you talked about how your
    partnerships with local workforce boards and employers have
    assisted you in preparing young people for future careers.
        How do you get the word out? How do you advertise what you
    do? How are those programs known? Promotional, if you could
    speak to that, please.
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. Sure. Thank you, Representative
    Fulcher.
        We do a couple of things to ensure that the program is
    well-known in the community. The first is that we partner with
    other nonprofit organizations that are housed in various
    communities throughout Philadelphia. We support those
    organizations in recruiting young people. We ensure that they
    have adequate data collection. And we make sure that they have
    all of the laws and regulations required for youth employment.
    And so our nonprofit partners are a critical component.
        We also partner with our local city government. And so we
    are part of a larger initiative. It is not just summer jobs; it
    is summer jobs connected to our Office of Children and Family
    Services, and we are a part of a nexus to surround families in
    need.
        Third, we use social media very effectively in order to
    inform parents. We have created videos so that young people
    would understand what is needed for the world of work. We have
    a call center so that if families are struggling to get through
    the process, they can reach out to someone who can help
    navigate them.
        And we have also employed technology. We have a program
    locator so that if you are in a community, you can find the
    organizations that are providing those services for you.
        All of those things help us get the word out. And then we
    have 22years of performance and a track record of outcomes, and
    the community knows us for delivering on our promises to young
    people.
        Mr. Fulcher. Great. Thank you.
        And thank you to those who provided information today.
        Madam Chair, I yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Well, thank you so much.
        And now Mr. Bowman, the vice Chair of our Committee, of the
    entire Education and Labor Committee.
        Mr. Bowman. Thank you, Chairwoman Wilson.
        And thank you to our witnesses for your testimony. This
    hearing has been very informative and very powerful.
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend, can you speak to how you make
    connections and build relationships with the K0912 system, if
    at all? How are those relationships created, built, and
    strengthened so there could be a streamlined effect from the
    K0912 system into your program? Can you speak to that a bit?
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. Absolutely. We have a thriving
    relationship with our local K0912 system, where Dr. William
    Hite is the superintendent.
        So it starts at the top. First, we look at partnership on
    multiple levels. So not only am I in direct contact
    consistently with the superintendent, but my staff have
    multiple points of connection in the research office, in the
    high school planning office, and we work intentionally to
    design interventions and maximize local policy.
        An example of that: Young people who are engaged in career
    and technical education programs are supported through our Work
    Ready Summer Program, and we help to connect them to employers
    in the industries in which they are studying. So it makes the
    classroom learning more important to the young people, and it
    also gives employers a chance to advance curriculum.
        We also provide school-year internships, and we could not
    do that if we did not have good partnerships with our K0912
    system.
        We also, with our Career Development Framework, educators
    were a huge part of developing a common framework so that we
    could all approach career preparation in the same way. And so
    they helped us build that framework, and, in turn, they apply
    that framework to their approach to career readiness and
    thinking through, what are the expectations of a high school
    graduate?
        We also monitor data together. So, when the information
    indicates that there is a challenge, it is not one person's
    problem; it is our problem collectively. And we use data to
    inform and instruct rather than to criticize and convict. And
    that has made us all more willing to work together, to be
    vulnerable, and to plan for innovation.
        Mr. Bowman. That is amazing. I would love to connect with
    your office and learn more about that curriculum that you speak
    of, because it seems like a really necessary and powerful,
    powerful tool.
        Mr. Garrett, can you respond to the same question, just
    your relationship and connection to the K0912 system?
        Mr. Garrett. Yes. Thank you, sir. And, you know, we do
    great work in the South Bronx, just as an FYI. And we look
    forward to you--I am going to always extend the invitation to
    come to a center, given the number of students we serve--about
    700 or so just in the last 2 years prior to COVID, as an FYI
    for you.
        As it relates to our connection to the K0912 system, that
    varies across the board from campus to campus, but, in most
    cases, again, our business community liaison, the center
    directors, and many of the staff have robust partnerships with
    the school districts.
        So where we find that a student is not making their way
    through the traditional K0912 system and they are looking for
    an opportunity, how can they be placed directly in our program?
    But we have to, again, streamline the process, because, again,
    as you can imagine, if you are a student who is at your wits'
    end in the K0912 system and you are looking for an immediate
    opportunity, you don't have months to capture that student's
    attention. The fact that they even expressed interest in the
    first place or they were referred by their guidance counselor
    or social worker or case management, depending upon their
    status, we need a more expeditious process to get them directly
    enrolled in days, not weeks or months.
        And so we partner with school districts, we partner with,
    again, local workforce investment boards and community partners
    to ensure that they have a full understanding that Job Corps is
    still relevant, the nature of the work that we do, the types of
    opportunities that are available for students, and really work
    with them ongoing, from beginning to end, what is the process
    to get them in the door from their current situation to being
    on campus.
        Because we know, when a student successfully completes the
    program, it doesn't just change the trajectory of their life,
    but it really changes the trajectory of the lives of all of
    those that they are connected to.
        Mr. Showalter. Congressman could I also respond to that
    question?
        Mr. Bowman. Uh-huh.
        Prior to coming to Congress, I worked in education for
    20years as a teacher, school counselor, and middle school
    principal. And what I have seen is a disconnect between what we
    are teaching and how we are teaching and what we expect of
    young people when it comes to post-secondary opportunities. And
    it just seems like the work that you all are doing--and I will
    focus on workforce development--needs to be not just an
    intervention but needs to be part of core curriculum within the
    K0912 system.
        I think we can be doing a lot more in that space than we
    are currently doing. And, you know, your testimony is really
    important, and I think we need to continue to think about what
    it looks like in our K0912 spaces. So thank you all for sharing
    that.
        Madam Chair, I yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you, Mr. Bowman.
        I had that exact conversation with the Committee staff
    yesterday on an issue just as you referenced. There is a huge
    line of demarcation that should not be there between K0912 and
    post-secondary. It should be a smooth transition. And there are
    so many issues that we need to address to make sure that that
    transition is much smoother. And we have to educate our K0912
    curriculum and superintendents and State legislators as to what
    they need to be teaching to make it smoother.
        So we will get to that in our Committee and thank you
    again.
        And now we go to Representative Miller-Meeks.
        Welcome.
        Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Thank you so much, Madam Chair, Ranking
    Member Dr. Murphy, and all the panelists presenting here today.
        My congressional district is very fortunate to have the
    Ottumwa Job Corps Center in my home community, which is one of
    the newest and highest-performing centers in the country and
    enjoys a very productive relationship with nearby Indian Hills
    Community College. And as Dr. Murphy alluded to in his opening
    remarks, this relationship and partnership does not exist
    adjacent to or with every Job Corps center.
        This partnership allows my constituents and the students at
    a time when there is a study that has a plethora of trades
    available at Indian Hills, such as advanced manufacturing,
    while still benefiting from the wraparound support services and
    residential environment at the Job Corps campus.
        For Indian Hills, it allows them to send more remedial
    students to Job Corps who might not be ready for a community-
    college environment and to get the needed education, training,
    and support services before they eventually matriculate back to
    college.
        Mr. Garrett, it is my understanding that these types of
    community-college partnerships exist elsewhere, and Job Corps,
    but may not be to the same degree as this one. How might we
    improve the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act so that
    these types of partnerships are easier to build and to
    encourage more innovation at the local level?
        Mr. Garrett. Thanks for that, Congresswoman Miller-Meeks.
    And you are exactly right; the Ottumwa Job Corps Center is a
    true beacon of hope, I think, for the entire country. The
    partnership between Ottumwa and the Indian Hills Community
    College represents the gold standard for the Job Corps-
    community college partnership across the country, and we are
    figuring out ways to really replicate that quickly.
        As some may know, our former board Chair, Dr. Jim
    Lindenmayer, was president of Indian Hills Community College.
    And he really sought to help replicate the model, because he
    was able to forecast and say, this is what is going to be
    necessary, that we should be working in tandem and in
    partnership.
        And just to go a little further, for those that may not be
    familiar, the Job Corps Scholars Demonstration Program, which
    Indian Hills is currently participating in, it demonstrates
    that the model works best when there is this unique partnership
    between the Job Corps center and Indian Hills. And a prime
    example is that it allows students to transfer not only from
    the Job Corps center to Indian Hills, but it also allows for
    students from Indian Hills who have remedial issues or
    challenges to be referred to a Job Corps program where those
    student's career goals could also be met.
        And so the statute right now in the Department of Labor
    should really be structured in a way that it encourages these
    partnerships, but not separate grants in isolation. And we have
    seen over recent years that we have seen funding come out or
    opportunities come out that are separate and apart, and we all
    need to do a better job to make sure that they are better
    integrated.
        The last thing I would say is just this notion of credit
    transferability and credit for prior learning. College
    partnerships really give our students access to college
    credits. Similar to a high school student that is dually
    enrolled, students in Job Corps centers also have that unique
    opportunity. And then it lowers the barrier for college
    completion by improving that credit transferability and the
    credit for prior learning.
        So we look forward to figuring out how we continue to
    advance that partnership and showcase that, for others to then
    also take advantage and follow in your stead in the State of
    Iowa.
        Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Well, thank you for that. And I have had
    the opportunity to visit the center, and so I would encourage
    others to do the same thing.
        And, with that, you know, one of the policies--and I think
    you discussed this, Mr. Garrett, in your remarks--is the impact
    of the Job Corps' zero-tolerance drug policy. And you
    recommended moving to a more positive behavioral intervention
    model.
        And I understand that there may be some nuances, you know,
    that are not allowed in a zero-tolerance model. But I also
    believe that we cannot lose track of accountability and that
    there must be consequences for poor decisions.
        How do you recommend we strike a balance so that we can
    truly improve outcomes for these young individuals?
        Mr. Garrett. Yes. Make no mistake about it, and you are
    exactly right: Students will still be expelled who don't rise
    to the occasion, who cause harm, or put the overall program or
    other students in jeopardy.
        And so no one is saying that, because we shift the zero-
    tolerance policy, that we negate the notion of accountability.
    In fact, you will find that students on campus and staff on
    campus are all in agreement that we need to ensure that folks
    who really want to be in this environment are doing their very
    level-best, because no one wants the program to be jeopardized
    in that way.
        But when you think about positive behavioral interventions,
    we look at our success rate for students that have tested
    positive for marijuana use or substance use that go through the
    program. Four out of five of them end up with a negative test
    when they test the second time. So we know for a fact that,
    once staff have the opportunity to work with students to change
    their behavior, to help them understand why they need to shift,
    that we see a significant outcome and a significant turn.
        And so, in this process, our campuses are fully aware of
    the need for accountability but also acutely aware that we need
    a different approach than just simply saying, ``Oh, you tested
    positive.''
        I will use this quick example. If I were going to a center
    next weekend and I was in an area where I may have used
    marijuana or whatever I was doing that weekend, like any
    student who would go to college, we would end up having a great
    time that particular weekend, and then you show up on Monday
    and all of the things you did you are now paying for in that
    test, and we say, ``I am so sorry. This no longer works for
    you.''
        We have to think differently about the approach, which I
    believe folks are in agreement with. It is a matter of how do
    we nuance the language in a way that protects the
    accountability but also provides flexibility, accounting for
    who our students truly are and the backgrounds that they come
    from.
        Mrs. Miller-Meeks. Thank you so much.
        And I yield back my time, Madam Chair.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you so much, Mrs. Miller-Meeks.
        And now Representative Castro.
        Mr. Castro. Thank you, Chairwoman.
        I wanted to ask you all how you help students navigate,
    those who are trying to attain a degree, a credential, what
    often is a work-school tug-of-war, particularly for low-income
    students who come from backgrounds where their families can't
    just pay the full bill for them to go to college and yet
    financial aid is not enough, so they are having to work,
    sometimes many hours at a time, and that work is sometimes
    interfering with their ability to complete their schooling.
        And how do we navigate that? How do we help them navigate
    that? And what should we do about it?
        Mr. Showalter. Congressman, if I could jump in here, I
    think one thing that we are lacking in this country is a real
    continuum of work-based learning opportunities.
        Apprenticeship is a very familiar model of an earn-and-
    learn model. Summer youth employment is another way that we
    think about it.
        But we need a much more integrated continuum, starting in
    middle school, that includes our higher-ed system, that
    includes our workforce system, that gives young people agency
    in choosing the kind of program where they can earn, where they
    can learn, where they can take care of family Members.
        There are lots of examples of this in another countries,
    and there are some cities that are doing this well. So we just
    need to replicate those kind of models.
        Mr. Castro. Because we never--you know, for folks that are
    trying to complete their degree, for example, you don't want
    them to be so engaged in work that work becomes a distraction
    from the goal that they are trying to achieve, right, which is
    ultimately to get their 2-year degree or their 4-year degree
    and then go into their career field.
        But in my hometown of San Antonio over the years, I have
    seen many people who have been stuck in this work-school tug-
    of-war for quite a while, and ultimately work ends up winning
    out, and they give up on their ultimate dream of being a nurse
    or a doctor or an engineer or whatever it is, because they were
    never able to get out of that work-school tug-of-war. And so I
    raise that issue just because I have seen a lot of students who
    are stuck in it.
        I believe, for example, that we ought to expand Pell
    grants, as I think a lot of us on this Zoom call believe; that,
    also, we should make things like community college free, that
    we should cancel some student debt, and so forth. But, you
    know, we are not there yet on those policies.
        And so I wanted to get you all's perspective on how we deal
    with that very real situation that so many students are facing.
        Mr. Garrett. And, Congressman Castro, if I could--and thank
    you for being a caucus Member for us for Job Corps. I realize
    you are speaking about it in the context of post-secondary and
    going on to higher ed.
        Mr. Castro. Sure.
        Mr. Garrett. I just want to call out a clear example, too,
    for students who are on the other end of the spectrum, who are
    not quite there yet. That is one of the reasons we see that our
    centers provide childcare and, like, Head Start programs, so
    that the student is able to focus on their academic
    requirement, whether that is getting their credential or their
    GED or diploma, while at the same time getting their career
    piece.
        And we have seen that model work really well because
    students grapple, to your point, with so many different issues
    in trying to navigate the space. On our end and for the
    students that we really serve, we have found that being able to
    look at the totality of the students and trying to figure out
    how do you support their needs across the board, it makes a
    fundamental difference for them to stay focused on what they
    need to do academically while they are also pursuing their
    career opportunity.
        I just wanted to add that for folks who may not have that
    level of awareness. And we certainly appreciate your continued
    support.
        Mr. Castro. No, absolutely--
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. Congressman Castro, I would also like
    to--
        Mr. Castro. Please.
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. I would like to offer an example from
    the community college that I think could be particularly
    instructive.
        We have a single-stop model, where students are able to get
    multiple needs met and also maximize public benefits toward
    their education. So I do think that one strategy to managing
    this tension is to make students more aware of the resources
    that are available with them to help alleviate some of those
    burdens so that they can navigate their basic needs while they
    pursue their education.
        And, additionally, as a student who worked two part-time
    jobs and graduated a year early from an Ivy League institution,
    I understand how challenging it can be. We have to empower
    students and help them plan and navigate toward the end game,
    which is achieving the diploma.
        So enhanced case management, support for professional
    development--those are the types of recommendations that will
    equip adults to support students very differently as they
    travel along this path.
        Mr. Castro. No, well, thank you all. I am a caucus Member
    and thank you for all the work that you all are doing for folks
    around the country.
        Ms. Lindner. Could I speak as an employer, if you don't
    mind, real quick?
        Mr. Castro. Yes, of course.
        Ms. Lindner. This is where short-term Pell grants come into
    play.
        We, as an employer, have most recently started some part-
    time work. That is nontraditional. We stepped out of the
    regular, you know, 40910 schedule. We went to the community
    college when we needed skilled welders, and we said, ``You are
    in school. What is your school schedule? What can we do to work
    around it?''
        Mr. Castro. That is great.
        Ms. Lindner. So we just thought out of the box.
        So short-term Pell grants, definitely, that has to be
    expanded.
        Thank you.
        Mr. Castro. No, thank you. Wonderful.
        I yield back, Chairwoman.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you. Thank you so much.
        And now Representative Good.
        Mr. Good. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
        And thank you to all of our witnesses. It is a privilege to
    engage with you all today on these topics.
        We obviously have issues, as a country, with youth
    unemployment, especially among those most disadvantaged, most
    at risk, and most vulnerable. We also have major issues, as a
    country, with out-of-control government spending that is
    excessive, to say the least, poorly targeted to address real
    issues, terribly mismanaged, and, at best, so often shows
    little to no positive results.
        The real issue plaguing our society is the breakdown of the
    traditional family structure, which is the number-one cause of
    poverty and other social ills. More government spending does
    nothing to improve this and often incentivizes the wrong
    things, the wrong behaviors, and, therefore, makes things
    worse. So many government policies undermine marriage, the
    family, our founding Judeo-Christian values, and even important
    fundamentals such as work ethic, self-reliance, and personal
    responsibility.
        I have people close to me who work as employment
    consultants for disadvantaged and at-risk individuals, and they
    are extremely inhibited in their ability to help those who
    won't take a job as long as Democrats keep giving them enhanced
    unemployment. This is just another example of Democrat spending
    that makes the problem worse instead of better. Business owners
    will tell you, along with the ``help wanted'' signs that we see
    posted everywhere and the nationwide backlog in manufacturing--
    all tell us that this enhanced unemployment is making things
    worse and keeping people from taking jobs.
        The Democrat policies that caused our $30trillion deficit,
    runaway inflation that we are starting to experience,
    including, specifically, soaring education and healthcare
    costs, and energy costs that are skyrocketing because of
    reduced American energy production, these crazy climate and
    environmental restrictions on the industry--and this is all
    before the recent cyber-attacks on our infrastructure. All of
    this increased cost, increased inflation, increased energy,
    healthcare, and education costs, this all disproportionately
    impacts these lower-income youths who we say that we want to
    help.
        Of course, my friends across the aisle have the same answer
    for everything: more money, taken from the hardworking-
    taxpayer-money tree, regardless of the lack of evidence of
    results achieved other than isolated, anecdotal examples. I
    share Ranking Member Foxx's already-expressed concerns about
    the problems with these programs and the lack of demonstrated
    results achieved.
        The aforementioned by Representative Foxx, the 2018 GAO
    report, which showed that Job Corps had nearly 14,000 safety
    and security incidents in 1year. That breaks down to an average
    of more than 100 per 120 centers throughout the country. So
    more than 100, on average, for each of the 120 centers
    throughout the country, with half of those being drug-related
    incidents and assaults.
        Of course, the Democrats want to therefore make the drug
    offenses legal. And I hope they won't also make the assaults
    legal too, after they eliminate our police and our correctional
    facilities.
        Furthermore, in a 2018 Department of Labor evaluation,
    YouthBuild was shown to have a negligible effect on obtaining a
    college degree or work participation despite $100million in
    annual funding.
        Of course, Democrats will say, ``We just need to spend more
    money,'' since that is their measure of success. ``The more
    money we spend, the more successful we are. Look what we are
    doing for people. We are spending more money.''
        I do have a question for Mr. Garrett, because the Old
    Dominion Job Corps Center is just outside my district, and they
    have highlighted some of their successes with my staff.
        But I know how difficult, Mr. Garrett, it can be for a Job
    Corps center to be nimble and shift trade offerings to respond
    to employer needs. Often, bureaucrats in Washington are making
    those decisions.
        Can you speak to how we can help in Washington your ability
    to shift trade offerings and training offerings to meet the
    needs of employers?
        Mr. Garrett. Thanks for that, Congressman Good.
        And you are exactly right; the Old Dominion Job Corps
    Center just outside of Lynchburg, as you know, has a phenomenal
    relationship. And many employers that--you talk about folks
    going back to work--like McLaren Corporation and Winnbo
    Electric, directly in the area, they have already expressed the
    need for highly skilled and motivated employees, which
    oftentimes they receive from the Old Dominion Job Corps Center.
        And this notion, how we can become more flexible, agile,
    and nimble so that we can meet the needs of those employers in
    our market, are one of the things we hope that the Subcommittee
    and the ultimate Committee will tackle to lessen that
    requirement of how DOL has to make the final authority and
    offer the local campus that ability to really make the
    adjustment, working in tandem with the local employer to meet
    their needs, where students are ultimately going to be placed.
        And I used this example earlier, and I will cite it again
    for reference. We know that if a corporation approaches a
    center, we shouldn't wait 9months to get an approval for an
    official trade when we know that jobs are going to be available
    in 6 to 9 or 12months. Instead, that local campus should have
    the authority and autonomy and then be judged based upon their
    performance, right?
        But they are doing that in partnership to meet the local
    demands in the communities so that those students, when they
    complete their program, can go directly to work and be a
    valuable, contributing citizen in that respective market.
        Mr. Good. My time has expired. Thank you for your answer.
        And I yield back, Chairman.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you. Thank you so much.
        Mr. Courtney? Representative Courtney?
        Mr. Courtney. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
        And, again, I think the kickoff of the reauthorization of
    WIOA today is, again, a really exciting opportunity for good
    bipartisan support. And I don't just say that, you know, as a
    sentiment. I was around in 2014 when we had the bill-signing
    ceremony at the Executive Office Building when the last WIOA
    was authorized. And we had Virginia Foxx and we had John Kline,
    the Republican Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee,
    and we had Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and it was a bipartisan
    lovefest when that bill was signed into law.
        And, you know--but it was not the Ten Commandments. We
    certainly need to revisit some of the provisions. And I want to
    thank all the witnesses today for their really thoughtful
    input, because, you know, I am very optimistic that we move
    forward.
        By the way, with the job numbers that came out last week, I
    think it is important to drill down a little bit deeper into
    the data. And, actually, if you look, it was low-wage workers
    where had the highest number of job growth in that report.
        In fact, the cohort which was where I think the biggest
    sort of frustration was, and I think all of us was frustrated,
    was actually more higher-skilled, higher-wage jobs that were
    not filled in the economy.
        And that is precisely what we are talking about today,
    which is trying to close that gap with a job-training system
    that will get people the skills they need to succeed at a
    higher level.
        Madam Chairwoman, you have talked a little bit about the
    well-intentioned language which was in the 2014 bill to
    allocate 75 percent for out-of-school youth. Again, it was
    well-intentioned. I think, you know, we thought that that was
    really where the need was the greatest.
        But, obviously, I am hearing from my workforce board that
    that really has been pretty clunky, in terms of trying to get
    the help out to, you know, the broadest number of people that
    could benefit from the workforce programs that they have.
        And, Mr. Showalter, maybe--you know, I know you talked
    about it a little bit in your testimony as well. But, I mean,
    at some point, we actually do have to put pen to paper. I mean,
    can you give us a little more, sort of, input about how you
    would fix that problem?
        Mr. Showalter. Congressman, I would love to help you put
    pen to paper.
        As you may know, I was on the staff for Chairmen Kennedy
    and Harkin when we were initially negotiating what became WIOA.
    And the in-school-youth/out-of-school-youth distinction is a
    carryover from previous laws. That was the framework within
    which we could move at the time.
        And I do think it is critically important that we stay
    focused on the fact that this is one of the only Federal
    funding streams designed to connect young people with barriers
    to employment, to education, and work. So I think the most
    important thing is to maintain that intent.
        In my written testimony, I provide a way of kind of getting
    past the in-school-youth/out-of-school distinction, which is
    clunky and makes eligibility too complicated. We propose a
    simpler ``priority populations framework,'' is what we called
    it, where it is purely based on types of young people.
        And the other critical part of that is allowing for self-
    attestation, which DOL has already issued guidance on, many
    States allow. Allowing young people to say, ``I am experiencing
    homelessness,'' ``I am connected to the justice system,''
    without having to bring 15 documents with them, would also make
    work so much easier for providers and workforce boards to
    implement this law.
        Mr. Courtney. Great. Well, thank you.
        And, Ms. Fulmore-Townsend, I don't know if you maybe wanted
    to comment on that, about how we can make this, you know,
    again, a much more flexible sort of program to get, you know,
    the furthest success.
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. We definitely support Mr. Showalter's
    recommendations regarding the priority population, but also
    simplifying eligibility. It is triggering and traumatizing to
    constantly relive your pain in order to get help. And I think
    that we could do a better job of making services more available
    to young people faster by having less eligibility restrictions
    for the use of the services. And self-attestation would help
    when they have challenges to secure some of the documentation
    that is currently required.
        Mr. Courtney. Great.
        And one quick question for you. Again, our workforce board,
    which just got an award last year as a pioneer for their
    manufacturing pipeline program for the shipyard, they work with
    unions. The metal trade unions were part of the curriculum that
    was developed that has been so successful.
        I mean, can you talk about the value of reaching out to
    unions as we sort of, you know, develop--yes.
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. Absolutely.
        Congratulations on your award. I think innovative
    partnerships like the one you described is a firm step forward
    in making sure that young people are prepared for jobs.
        It is important to look at the requirements of an industry
    and to engage those industry leaders in the process to prepare
    young people, in terms of training, in terms of opportunities
    for work, and especially in the advanced space. And so I do
    think that it is a critical strategy that we should see more of
    throughout this country.
        Mr. Courtney. Great. Thank you.
        I yield back, Madam Chairwoman.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you so much.
        Now Mrs. McClain of Michigan.
        Mrs. McClain. Good morning or I should say good afternoon
    to everyone.
        Thank you so much, Madam Chair, and I do have to tell you I
    love your hat. It always make me happy.
        A couple of comments. First is, as you know, I am new to
    Congress but it is so refreshing to hear the business
    community, as well as the young people's program, actually
    working together and having a partnership of togetherness with
    the youth community programs, as well as the businesses. So
    often I think we look as businesses as our enemy as opposed to
    these are the people and the entities that actually provide the
    opportunities.
        So I can't tell you how refreshing that is, as well as it
    is very refreshing to hear, again, how important it is we are
    focusing on what outcomes do we need for our youth, because as
    a former business owner, it is very important to make sure that
    when we get people, employees, that their skills match our
    needs. So, again, I am happy to hear this.
        My biggest question is for you, Mr. Garrett, is coming out
    of this pandemic, there is thousands of young Americans who can
    benefit from Job Corps right now and need meaningful
    employment. Many are likely single parents from whom there is
    as desperate urgency to be able to enroll in Job Corps so they
    can be housed and begin their career development. I am
    questioning is: Have you resumed in-person learning? Are you
    open for in-person development?
        Mr. Garrett. Yes, and great question, Congresswoman
    McClain.
        So Job Corps centers have resumed operations at most sites
    and returned many of our existing students. In some cases we
    are awaiting approval from the Department of Labor to
    officially enroll new students, but I am understanding we are
    almost about to turn that particular corner.
        The other thing you should know is that every Job Corps
    center has also submitted a plan to begin virtual enrollment,
    expediting that process to help students who were not already
    on the books but new students begin to transition into in-
    person learning as well.
        I would just tell you that, you know, the Federal
    Government's policy approval process though, it can be
    laborious and slow moving at times. And you know as a former
    business owner, that doesn't help anyone when you got a student
    saying, I don't have months to wait. I need an immediate
    solution now. And you have a bed and space. We shouldn't have a
    Federal process in place that prevents that student from
    getting to where they need to be.
        But, yes, resumption has begun in most cases. And many of
    the students have returned.
        Mrs. McClain. Good. It is so refreshing, again, and I keep
    using that word, and hopeful, in terms of we can figure out how
    to keep everyone safe and--and that is the operative word--and
    be productive.
        Mr. Showalter, I have a question for you as well. As one of
    the problems you discussed earlier was the--in your testimony
    was that of rural opportunity deserts where the disconnection
    rates among young people, they are almost four times greater.
    What are the primary drivers of this rural urban divide?
    Because I am very much a rural community in my district. And
    how can we improve it? How can we help?
        Mr. Showalter. Thank you for the question, Congresswoman.
        As you might or might not know, I am actually from a small
    town in Oklahoma. When I was a kid there, one of the biggest
    employers was Mercury Marine which makes motorboat engines.
    They left when I was a kid, and I've seen what has happened to
    a lot of our rural communities.
        As a side note, I think, like a lot of us, we will all be
    very interested to see kind of what happens as remote work
    picks up and whether that results in kind of some increases in
    population in some rural parts of our country.
        But something to underline that a quote that sticks with me
    is one of my former board Members who is a youth director at a
    workforce board, who works in a large city. She said we talk
    about this system like it is a system. But once you get outside
    the large systems in a lot of our states, it is not a system.
    There is a patchwork of programs, but there aren't a lot of
    opportunities.
        And the workforce board, there isn't enough funding for it
    to act as that convener that is really needed to knit together
    all the different kinds of service offerings to build strong
    relationships with employers, to work with economic
    development, to bring in new employers.
        So there is really a lack of infrastructure in a lot of
    areas. We have over 500 workforce boards. A lot of those are
    operating with one, $2 million, $3 million budget.
        Mrs. McClain. Is it more of an employer issue where we need
    to bring more employers to those rural areas?
        Mr. Showalter. Yes. And I think we can do that, especially
    with the rise of remote working. I would love to see that.
        Mrs. McClain. Thank you.
        With my time, I yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. OK. Thank you so much.
        And now Representative Bonamici.
        Ms. Bonamici. Thank you. Thank you, Chair Wilson. Thank
    you, Ranking Member Murphy, but truly thank you to our
    witnesses for this important conversation today.
        It has been a really tough year and during, throughout, in
    fact, this economic turmoil our workforce system has been
    nimble and important and a way to support workers. I have had
    many conversations with local workforce boards, community
    colleges, labor unions, community-based organizations from
    across northwest Oregon. You know, they are working on
    supporting displaced and underemployed workers and getting them
    the skills they need.
        And they are striving to provide those workers,
    particularly those with barriers to employment, with the skills
    they need for meaningful employment. But we know that far too
    many workers including many opportunity youth really lack
    adequate housing, childcare, transportation, and other
    supportive services they need to succeed to get through the
    training but also these--once they get into these good-paying
    jobs.
        So we know that our workforce system has been chronically
    underfunded and I don't know if Mr. Courtney is still with us
    but I was there as well on that day, the bipartisan day in July
    2014 when the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act was
    signed into law. And as we reauthorize it, finding these
    investments in workforce programs and the support services will
    be--will help us truly build back better.
        So I want to ask Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. You were talking
    about this in your response to Mr. Courtney's question. But
    what barriers do the students typically face in the WIOA youth
    programs, and how does Philadelphia Youth Network help the
    students overcome these barriers?
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. Thank you for that question.
        In our experience the barriers range, depending on
    circumstances, but some that we see are lack of childcare
    assistance. Sometimes they need approval for the childcare
    substance and that approval doesn't come in time for the
    enrollment courses. Courses operate in 6, 8, or 12-week
    increments. And you might in is the start of a next class
    because you don't have the adequate childcare.
        We definitely see insecure housing and so what we see is
    not necessarily what you would define as traditional
    homelessness but really a lot of couch surfing and it takes a
    little while to discover that. Right?
        Ms. Bonamici. Right.
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. ``I am staying with my friends.'' You
    don't have a problem until your friend's parents say you can't
    stay here any longer. ``I am staying with my cousin.'' So it is
    a pattern of behavior that the professionals have to be really
    keen to observe in order to understand that this housing
    insecurity is really a challenge.
        One of the things that I am proud of is that the Community
    College of Philadelphia, they are working with our housing
    authority to provide housing for those students. And we also
    see independent living programs through our Department of Human
    Services be really helpful in this space.
        Additionally, we do see the need for enhancements of health
    services and sometimes emotional supports and so being able to
    connect young people with substance abuse treatment and support
    for their mental health needs is another thing that we see.
        Ms. Bonamici. So important
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. And how do we close the gap between,
    you know, behavioral health entities and their requirements and
    the requirements of the program? We should--
        Ms. Bonamici. I appreciate that and I don't mean to really
    cut you off, but I want to get a question in for Mr. Garrett
    and my time is running out.
        Mr. Garrett, I represent Tongue Point Job Corps in Astoria,
    as well as the PIVOT, Partners in Vocational Opportunity
    Training, in northwest Portland. And at these centers we know
    students who have faced challenges in the traditional education
    system can really thrive academically and earn credentials and
    practical skills, welding, seamanship, which is really
    important on the coast, landscaping, and others.
        On the Committee we frequently hear about the need to
    prepare for the future of work and technological changes in our
    workplaces likely require the majority of workers including
    youth to reskill or upskill to remain competitive. What
    resources would Job Corps centers need to better help students
    prepare for the future of work, and what are the current
    barriers to Job Corps programs offering opportunities for the
    sort of in-demand skills?
        Mr. Garrett. Great question. Thank you for your continued
    support, Congresswoman Bonamici.
        And as you know, the students in Tongue Point and from the
    Pivot satellite center, we have seen about almost a little less
    than 80 percent of them have success rate being placed in
    employment and higher education--
        Ms. Bonamici. Right.
        Mr. Garrett [continuing]. going into the military.
        Ms. Bonamici. And they are very supported by the
    communities.
        Mr. Garrett. Yes. And I was going to say so at the local
    level we really believe that the partnership with the business
    community, trying to determine what are the future needs and
    trends and then working with the center to then identify what
    trades need to be structured to meet that projection.
        Again, I will just reiterate this notion that at times the
    slowdown process at the Department of Labor and getting the
    approval for a new trade or a new opportunity sometimes can
    pose a barrier. They work through it, but sometimes we miss the
    window. Right? You miss the curve, because the employer is
    going say either I need to pick another market, or I need to
    pick another partner to help deliver this.
        And so our students recognize it as well because they, too,
    want the new in-demand jobs that are also high-wage and so we
    continue to work in partnership and hope the Committee
    continues to urge the notion of figuring out how we streamline
    that approval process for new trades and opportunities.
        Ms. Bonamici. Thank you, Mr. Garrett.
        My time has expired, but I know that we are all willing to
    work on breaking down those barriers. So I yield back.
        Thank you, Madam Chair.
        Chairwoman Wilson. OK. Thank you.
        Mrs. Harshbarger of Tennessee.
        Mrs. Harshbarger. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Madam
    Chair and Ranking Member Murphy and all the witnesses.
        It is a big deal, and I am very involved in workforce
    development and getting these young people trained. That is
    most imperative, especially those that don't have an
    opportunity.
        We want to give them an opportunity to be contributing to
    the workforce. I mean, we need them. And, you know, these
    programs will do that if employers are on board and at the
    table and the system is focused on meeting those young people's
    needs.
        While we are discussing the WIOA youth programs, I would
    like to bring attention to the importance of occupational
    licensing reform. There is this licensing requirements affect
    approximately 25 percent of employees nationwide, and that
    number is far higher for wage occupations. Many of these
    professions are taught at programs like Job Corps and they
    require an occupational license and the burden of acquiring
    that license keeps a lot of those people out of the workforce.
        Since these licensing requirements is a barrier for
    entrance into the workforce, we are spending money on programs
    to get Americans to work without fighting these licensing
    requirements. We are really kicking ourself in the foot.
        And I do have a bill, I want you to know. It is called the
    Freedom to Work Act. It is H.R. 3145 that amends WIOA by
    requiring states to include their plan to reduce and how to
    reduce occupational licensing burdens as part of the WIOA State
    plan. Any WIOA reauthorization bill should include those
    provisions to reduce occupational licensing burdens on those
    workers.
        And I do have a question for Ms. Lindner. I know that one
    of the challenges, as we have already spoken about, is many
    employers are faced with school closures and it has forced
    parents, who would otherwise be looking to reenter the
    workforce, they have to stay at home and take care of that
    child or their children. In particular, this has adversely
    impacted women.
        Has your company faced difficulties with recruiting those
    women workers, because they have been forced to home school
    their children or stay at home with those children?
        Ms. Lindner. Good question. Good point.
        Currently I am not seeing it per se but I know that when--
    back in 2020, when we were coming back from, you know, we were
    ramping back up after furloughing a majority of our workforce,
    we knew that we would have, whether it be men, women, father,
    mothers, or what have you, that they may not be able to come
    back. So we put out a program, you know, asking: Do you have an
    issue working full time? And we had several people come forth,
    and so we worked around part-time work. We worked around to
    make it work.
        Now that we are actually full-scaling back up, there are
    technically probably I would say less females and some single
    fathers on top of it coming back--not coming back to the
    workforce and we are recognizing that.
        That is why I think I have said I have got to be out-of-
    the-box thinking when it comes to hiring future candidates into
    our workforce. The traditional isn't working. I am reaching out
    to my workforce partners, asking for help. I don't know if I
    have the exact one answer, but I know that what I was doing
    pre-COVID isn't working and I have got to change as an
    employer. I have got to think differently. Hopefully that
    helps.
        Mrs. Harshbarger. Yes, absolutely. It is not just you. It's
    everybody. We are looking for people. It doesn't matter what
    profession you are in either and, you know, we are trying to
    get people into the workforce to teach them a skill, to make
    them productive, to give them a future in a trade and something
    they can carry on and it is hard. I mean, I am pharmacist. And
    it is hard to get people to work in the pharmacy because in
    some instances with certain jobs, you know, they are staying
    out so--and especially women because they do have to take care
    of those children. But it is an ongoing need and it is good
    that you are thinking differently and when you find that
    answer, please report back to us. That would be fantastic and
    know we are working for you, too.
        OK. Thank you. Madam Chair, I yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you. Thank you so much.
        And now we will hear from the distinguished Chair of our
    entire Committee, the Education and Labor Committee, Dr. Scott.
        Mr. Scott. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair, and Ranking
    Member Murphy.
        I would like to start my questions with Mr. Garrett. Mr.
    Garrett, the Ranking Member of the full Committee asked you
    about all the deaths that were happening on campus and in the
    Job Corps program. And I am looking at a chart that confirms,
    in fact, people do die.
        Per 100,000 people on a Job Corps site, who live on a Job
    Corps site, about 4.26 per 100,000 die. If you are at the Job
    Corps program but not onsite, it is 25.5. But the national
    average--this is mortality rate--is 74.9, which suggests that
    you are 6 percent--you are 6 percent as likely to die if you
    are on campus than if you are just in the community. And the--
    and the homicide rate, if you are in a Job Corps program, this
    chart says it is 4 per 100,000 but 11.9, almost 12, almost
    three times more in the community.
        Is that what you meant by Job Corps is one of the safest
    places you could be?
        Mr. Garrett. Thank you, Chairman Scott.
        And you are exactly right. And I appreciate the additional
    statistics because you are right. A person is three times more
    likely to potentially die from a homicide by not being on-
    center.
        We know for a fact the severity of the situations that many
    of our students face who are either homeless, transient, or
    their immediate family environment and going from pillar to
    post that they are safer being on our campus. That does not
    mean we don't have issues and challenges like programs do.
        But what we know not only from anecdote but from the data,
    as you just shared, the students not only are safe and secure
    but they are also getting the education needs that they have,
    the behavioral management in place so that they can then be an
    employable citizen and we see significant differences as the
    student matriculates throughout our program.
        Mr. Scott. Thank you. And, Mr. Garrett, the appropriations,
    the program is getting about $200 million less each year than
    is authorized under WIOA. How does the shortfall affect your
    ability to fulfill your mission?
        Mr. Garrett. Well, sir, we have a number of issues.
        As I talked about getting trade approval or new materials
    and requirements or equipment as required, that is one piece of
    it.
        One of the more alarming pieces that affects almost every
    campus in this country is the continued underfunding from a
    construction perspective in terms of the requirements that are
    needed to either update centers or to upskill them so that our
    students cannot only continue to be safe, if it is fencing that
    is required, but also have access to the appropriate equipment
    they need. And so it has gone for a period of time.
        The other piece of that conversation is also, because of
    the enrollment pause or freeze in 2012 where we lowered the
    number of available slots by 18 percent, even if we were at
    full capacity, meaning we meet the DOL number, we still have
    space and so there is still an opportunity for us to figure out
    a better solution for that to actually get back to our original
    numbers so that we can fulfill the mission and have more
    students actually available and avail themselves of the
    opportunity.
        Mr. Scott. Thank you.
        And Ms. Fulmore-Townsend, do you have any statistics about
    the impact summer youth employment has on violent crime rates?
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. Yes, we do. We just recently received
    a report from Dr. Heller about our work in 2017 and 2018. And
    the research is showing that it not only encourages productive
    behavior, it decreases incidents of violent crime and exposure
    to risk factors for violence in Philadelphia.
        Mr. Scott. Is it significant enough to show cost savings?
    The one study in Chicago said they saved so much with the
    summer jobs program, that they reduced crimes so much, that
    they saved so much in future prison and whatnot that they paid
    for the whole program.
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. We don't quite boast those statistics
    as Chicago because our sample size was a little bit smaller and
    our strategy is a little bit different than Chicago. However,
    we are working with Dr. Heller to estimate the cost savings of
    our approach.
        Mr. Scott. You showed--thank you for mentioning the Opening
    Doors for Youth Act. We are about to introduce that in a few
    days. But you indicated a little frustration about the 75
    percent being required for out-of-school, out-of-work rather
    than for prevention. Can you say a word about that?
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. Sure. We endorse the priority
    population format that Mr. Showalter talked about which would
    allow us to look at different groups of young people and make
    them eligible, rather than forcing communities to limit their
    approach based on the 75 percent funding split.
        Mr. Scott. Thank you.
        And thank you, Madam Chairman. My time has expired.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you.
        Now we will hear questions from Ms. Letlow of Louisiana.
    Welcome.
        Ms. Letlow. Chairwoman Wilson, Ranking Member Murphy,
    Members of the Subcommittee, and witnesses, thank you for
    taking the time to discuss opportunities for youth employment
    under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
        It is important that WIOA has dedicated resources aimed at
    preparing young adults for fulfilling years. Programs like
    YouthBuild are benefiting individuals in my district, providing
    education and workforce development for out-of-school youth.
    Northshore Technical Community College in Bogalusa hosts a
    YouthBuild program that focuses on teaching carpentry skills.
    Students are able to gain two industry-recognized
    certifications. While participating in the programs, students
    obtain a GED and have the opportunity to learn important life
    and leadership skills.
        Congress should ensure our youth are well-prepared to enter
    the workforce. I believe that employers must be part of the
    discussion when it comes to workforce education. Having input
    from businesses on their needs creates meaningful workforce
    development which will lead to higher employment rates.
        My question is for Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. You mention that
    Philadelphia Youth Network's career development framework was
    designed to translate the expectations of employers into
    attainable skills and incorporate it into other organizations'
    programming. PYN chose not to make this framework industry-
    specific and instead focused on providing skills that all
    employers are looking for when hiring young people.
        What feedback have you gotten from employers on what those
    general skills include? Is there a particular model you use to
    impart those skills to young people? Is this a model that other
    programs beyond Philadelphia could adopt?
        Ms. Fulmore-Townsend. Thank you so much for your questions.
        So the first answer is, yes, our career development
    framework can be applied in other communities and has been. We
    took our approach and our cues from employers directly who
    consistently told us we will teach our employees our employer-
    specific skills. We will teach them how to it our way. We need
    them to show up, ready to learn those things. And the things
    that they wanted them to show up with are self-direction and
    initiative, the ability to communicate with others, the ability
    to work in a team, the ability to negotiate and be persuasive.
        And so with that feedback, we looked at it and said every
    industry is willing to teach you how to be the best employee
    for company X. What they want you to do is show up ready to be
    that. And we focus on what are the skills to show up ready to
    do that.
        Additionally, with the framework I will add it is divided
    into developmentally appropriate strategies. So we
    differentiate between early work experience, intermediate level
    work experience, and advance training and work experiences for
    young people so that we can match the activity to the
    developmental needs and that leads to higher result itself.
        Ms. Letlow. Great. Thank you so much for your comments.
        Chairwoman, I yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you. Thank you so much.
        I believe we have exhausted all of our questioning. And so
    I want to remind my colleagues that, pursuant to Committee
    practice, materials for submission for the hearing record must
    be submitted to the Committee Clerk within 14 days following
    the last day of the hearing, so by close of business on May 27,
    2021, preferably in Microsoft Word format. The materials
    submitted must address the subject matter of the hearing. Only
    a Member of the Subcommittee or an invited witness may submit
    materials for inclusion in the hearing record.
        Documents are limited to fifty pages each. Documents longer
    than fifty pages will be incorporated into the record by way of
    an internet link that you must provide to the Committee Clerk
    within the required timeframe, but please recognize that in the
    future that link may no longer work.
        Pursuant to House rules and regulations, items for the
    record should be submitted to the Clerk electronically by
    emailing submission to
    educationandlabor.hearings@mail.house.gov.
        Again, I want to thank our fabulous witnesses. I mean, this
    has been a very informative Committee hearing. I want to thank
    each of you for your participation today. Members of the
    Subcommittee may have some additional questions for you, and we
    ask the witnesses to please respond to those questions in
    writing. The hearing record will be held open for 14 days in
    order to receive these reports.
        I remind my colleagues that, pursuant to the Committee
    practice, witnesses' questions for the hearing record must be
    submitted to the Majority Committee Staff or Committee Clerk
    within seven days. The questions submitted must address the
    subject matter of the hearing.
        I now recognize the distinguished Member, Representative
    Murphy, for a closing statement.
        Dr. Murphy, are you still with us?
        Mr. Murphy. I am right here. I am right here.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you.
        Mr. Murphy. Thank you so much. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
        And I want to thank all the Committee Members and our
    witnesses again for sharing more about the wonderful and hard
    work that you are doing and offering recommendations on how we
    can best serve our Nation's youth through the workforce system.
    There is clearly an issue that has been problematic and worse
    and even made worse by COVID with closures of businesses and
    schools across the country.
        Let me take this off because then I can actually speak.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Dr. Murphy is a medical doctor. You all
    must know that.
        Mr. Murphy. Sorry for that delay.
        I am encouraged that the conversation today was done in a
    wholly bipartisan manner that we discuss the reauthorization of
    WIOA. However, there clearly remains work that needs to be done
    improving the operation of these programs so that we can keep
    our youth safe and begin them on pathways for successful
    careers. I appreciate that we will discuss this with the need
    for increased employer engagement so that our Federal dollars
    are going toward programs that actually meet the needs of
    industry partners.
        The business engagement and voice, along with the renewed
    focus on accountability and performance for taxpayer dollars,
    will serve our young people well. We cannot simply just pour
    money after programs that are not accountable, that are not
    working, and improve. There is always room for improvement and
    refinement in getting these programs successful.
        Thank you again to our witnesses and to the Chair for
    convening this very wonderful and very productive bipartisan
    hearing. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
        And I will yield back.
        Chairwoman Wilson. Thank you, Dr. Murphy.
        I now recognize myself for the purposes of making my
    closing statement.
        I want to thank you again to all of our wonderful witnesses
    for your testimonies and for helping launch a series of
    bipartisan hearings on reauthorizing the Workforce Innovation
    and Opportunity Act.
        As we discussed today, WIOA is the foundation of our
    Nation's workforce development programs, particularly for young
    people. In communities across the Nation, these programs play a
    critical role in creating opportunities for young people to
    succeed both in the workforce and throughout their life.
        But as we heard from our expert witness today, many of
    these programs face chronic underfunding and structural
    obstacles that prevent them from achieving their full
    potential. Now is the time for us to build on the broad support
    of the WIOA and strengthen these critical services for the
    millions of young people who urgently need them, particularly
    now during this pandemic.
        To that end I am grateful to my colleagues for contributing
    to a productive and fruitful hearing. Today we not only
    established that WIOA reauthorization must include investments
    in youth workforce activities, YouthBuild, and Job Corps but we
    also laid a strong foundation for our forthcoming hearings to
    discuss principles for this reauthorization.
        I look forward to continuing today's discussion with all of
    my colleagues as we work toward providing all young people with
    the support, they need to lead fulfilling lives and strengthen
    our communities.
        If there is no further business, without objection, the
    Subcommittee stands adjourned. And thank you.
        [Additional submission by Chairwoman Wilson follows:]

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        [Additional submissions by Ranking Member Foxx follow:]

    July 2006, DOL OIG, ``National Park Service Has Not Assured the Safety
     and Health of Students and Staff at the Oconaluftee Job Corps Center''

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                    ------

     March 2007, DOL OIG, ``Performance Audit of the Oconaluftee Job Corps
        Center for the Period July 1, 2004, through September 30, 2005''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add19.pdf

        November 2006, DOL OIG, ``Top Management Challenges Facing the
       Department of Labor: Ensuring the Effectiveness of the Job Corps
                                   Program''

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        November 2007, DOL OIG, ``Top Management Challenges Facing the
       Department of Labor: Ensuring the Effectiveness of the Job Corps
                                   Program''

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        November 2008, DOL OIG, ``Top Management Challenges Facing the
       Department of Labor: Ensuring the Effectiveness of the Job Corps
                                   Program''

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        November 2009, DOL OIG, ``Top Management Challenges Facing the
       Department of Labor: Ensuring the Effectiveness of the Job Corps
                                   Program''

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        November 2010, DOL OIG, ``Top Management Challenges Facing the
       Department of Labor: Ensuring the Effectiveness of the Job Corps
                                   Program''

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        November 2011, DOL OIG, ``Top Management Challenges Facing the
       Department of Labor: Ensuring the Effectiveness of the Job Corps
                                   Program''

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        November 2012, DOL OIG, ``Top Management Challenges Facing the
       Department of Labor: Ensuring the Effectiveness of the Job Corps
                                   Program''

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        November 2013, DOL OIG, ``Top Management Challenges Facing the
       Department of Labor: Ensuring the Effectiveness of the Job Corps
                                   Program''

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

    <

      November 2014, DOL OIG, ``Top Management and Performance Challenges
     Facing the U.S. Department of Labor: Ensuring the Safety of Students
                        and Staff at Job Corps Centers''

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

      November 2015, DOL OIG, ``Top Management and Performance Challenges
                     Facing the U.S. Department of Labor''

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

      November 2016, DOL OIG, ``Top Management and Performance Challenges
                     Facing the U.S. Department of Labor''

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

      November 2017, DOL OIG, ``Top Management and Performance Challenges
                     Facing the U.S. Department of Labor''

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                                    ------

      November 2018, DOL OIG, ``Top Management and Performance Challenges
                     Facing the U.S. Department of Labor''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add9.pdf
                                    ------

      November 2019, DOL OIG, ``Top Management and Performance Challenges
                     Facing the U.S. Department of Labor''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add10.pdf
                                    ------

      November 2020, DOL OIG, ``Top Management and Performance Challenges
                     Facing the U.S. Department of Labor''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add11.pdf
                                    ------

     March 2010, DOL OIG, ``Performance Audit for ResCare, Inc., Job Corps
                                   Centers''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add1.pdf
                                    ------

      March 2010, DOL OIG, ``Performance Audit for Education and Training
                     Resources, Job Corps Center Operator''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add2.pdf
                                    ------

     August 2010, DOL OIG, ``Performance Audit of MINACT, Inc., Job Corps
                               Center Operator''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add3.pdf
                                    ------

    December 2012, DOL OIG, ``Job Corps Needs to Improve Timeliness of and
            Accountability for Maintenance Repairs at Its Centers''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add4.pdf
                                    ------

     February 2015, DOL OIG, ``Job Corps Needs to Improve Enforcement and
     Oversight of Student Disciplinary Policies to Better Protect Students
                             and Staff at Centers''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add5.pdf
                                    ------

     June 2018, U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), ``Job Corps:
       DOL Could Enhance Safety and Security at Centers with Consistent
                    Monitoring and Comprehensive Planning''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add6.pdf
                                    ------

       August 2019, GAO, ``Actions Needed to Improve Planning for Center
                             Operation Contracts''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add7.pdf
                                    ------

        June 1995, GAO, ``Job Corps: High Costs and Mixed Results Raise
                   Questions about Program's Effectiveness''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add8.pdf
                                    ------

     November 1998, GAO, ``Job Corps: Links With Labor Market Improved but
                  Vocational Training Performance Overstated''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add12.pdf
                                    ------

    June 2017, GAO, ``Job Corps: Preliminary Observations on Student Safety
                              and Security Data''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add13.pdf
                                    ------

     November 2009, DOL OIG, ``Performance Audit of DEL-JEN, Incorporated
                              Job Corps Centers''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add14.pdf
                                    ------

    March 2017, DOL OIG, ``Review of Job Corps Center Safety and Security''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add15.pdf
                                    ------

     December 2017, DOL OIG, ``Job Corps Took Action to Mitigate Violence,
     Drugs, and Other Student Misconduct at Centers, But More Needs to Be
                                     Done''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add16.pdf
                                    ------

     March 2018, DOL OIG, ``Job Corps Could Not Demonstrate Beneficial Job
                              Training Outcomes''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add17.pdf
                                    ------

    September 2019, DOL OIG, ``Job Corps Should Do More to Prevent Cheating
                           in High School Programs''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add18.pdf
                                    ------

     September 2007, DOL OIG, ``Performance Audit of the Laredo Job Corps
                                    Center''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add20.pdf
                                    ------

      March 2009, DOL OIG, ``Performance Audit of Management and Training
                        Corporation Job Corps Centers''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add21.pdf
                                    ------

     September 2009, DOL OIG, ``Performance Audit of Adams and Associates,
                        Incorporated Job Corps Centers''

        https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-117hhrg44535/pdf/
    CHRG-117hhrg44535-add22.pdf

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        [Whereupon, at 12:45 p.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]