[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 18, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S5069]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KAINE:
  S. 3234. A bill to provide at-risk and disconnected youth with 
subsidized summer and year-round employment and to assist local 
community partnerships in improving high school graduation and youth 
employment rates, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, nearly 5 million young people ages 16 to 
24, or 1 in 9 youth, are disconnected from both school and work. These 
disconnected youth often face significant barriers; they are three 
times more likely than other youth to have a disability, twice as 
likely to live below the federal poverty threshold, and significantly 
more likely to live in racially segregated neighborhoods. Disconnection 
can leave young people without the entry-level work experience and 
post-secondary credentials they need to succeed in the workforce and 
with significantly less lifetime earnings than the typical worker.
  Disconnection also imposes significant costs on affected young 
people, their communities, and the overall economy. According to 
Measure of America, in 2013, youth disconnection resulted in $26.8 
billion in public expenditures, including spending on health care, 
public assistance, and incarceration.
  Dedicated Federal funding to support summer and year-long employment 
for youth can help to mitigate and prevent disconnection, as well as 
help young people, their communities, and the economy to flourish and 
develop our future workforce. Twenty years ago, dedicated Federal 
funding supported an estimated 500,000 summer jobs for youth. However, 
when the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) eliminated Federal 
stand-alone funding, participation in summer youth employment programs 
dropped by 50 to 90 percent in most local areas. Through targeted 
resources and supports, including funding for summer and year-long 
employment and comprehensive supports for youth, we can move closer as 
a country toward reconnecting the millions of young people who have 
slipped through the cracks and prevent disconnection from occurring in 
the first place.
  This is why I am pleased to introduce today The Opening Doors for 
Youth Act. The Opening Doors for Youth Act aims to assist the 5 million 
at-risk young people who are disconnected from both school and work 
find summer or year-long jobs that help them to succeed in future 
careers. The bill provides, Federal funding so local communities can 
create partnerships with businesses, mentoring, financial literacy 
planning, and other supportive services. Through the partnerships, 
workforce boards can use funds to cover up to 75 percent of wages for 
each eligible young person participating in the program.
  Young people play a critical role in our economy and communities and 
we must ensure that they have the resources and skills to find and 
maintain jobs that set them up for future success. With the right 
resources, city governments, local workforce boards, school districts, 
and employers can work together to help us close the employment gap 
we're seeing for at-risk young people. I hope that my colleagues on 
both sides of the aisle consider The Opening Doors for Youth Act 
commonsense legislation that moves the needle forward on promoting 
access for all youth to meaningful employment.

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