[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 219 (Tuesday, November 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66349-66350]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-19177]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Design of Federal YouthBuild Grants

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice of request for public comments and announcement of 
public meetings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: On September 22, 2006, President Bush signed into law the 
YouthBuild Transfer Act (Pub. L. 109-281) which transfers the 
YouthBuild program from the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
(HUD) to the Department of Labor (DOL). YouthBuild provides education 
and occupational skills training for at-risk youth age 16-24. The 
purpose of this Notice is to announce public meetings and a Webinar \1\ 
to discuss the transition of the YouthBuild program to DOL and to 
announce an open comment period for comments on a variety of issues 
about YouthBuild program design. The purposes of the public meetings 
and the Webinar are twofold: To provide basic information on the 
legislative changes to the YouthBuild program and DOL program 
management of YouthBuild; and to collect feedback on several program 
design elements listed below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ A Webinar is an interactive seminar or meeting conducted 
over the Internet.

Key Dates: Submit comments on or before December 15, 2006.
    The public meeting dates are:
    1. November 30, 2006 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Los Angeles, CA.
    2. December 6, 2006 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Pittsburgh, PA.
    3. December 13, 2006 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST, a Webinar.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments by e-mail to [email protected]. 
Comments can also be mailed or hand delivered to the Employment and 
Training Administration, Office of Workforce Investment, Division of 
Youth Services, Room N-4511, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC 20210. A summary of all comments received will be made available to 
the public on the Employment and Training Administration's Web site at 
http://www.doleta.gov.
    The meeting locations are:
    1. Los Angeles--Westin Bonaventure Hotel, 404 South Figueroa 
Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071.
    2. Pittsburgh--Omni William Penn, 530 William Penn Place, 
Pittsburgh, PA 15219.
    3. Webinar--For additional details on the Webinar, please visit 
http://www.workforce3one.org/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anne Stom via e-mail at 
[email protected] or via telephone at (202) 693-3377. This is not a 
toll free number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Meeting Information

    A small block of hotel rooms for both of these events has been 
reserved under DOL YouthBuild. More information on these meetings can 
be found at http://www.doleta.gov/youth_services. These meetings are 
open to the public. However, attendees must register in advance at 
http://www.doleta.gov/youth_services.

B. Background

    In 1978, YouthBuild began in East Harlem, NY, as a program to teach 
youth construction skills while renovating and building homes for low-
income families. It was replicated in five locations in New York City 
during the 1980s. In 1990, YouthBuild USA was founded to implement 
YouthBuild nationally. In 1993, the YouthBuild program was established 
by federal statute and HUD was designated as the agency

[[Page 66350]]

responsible for administering the program.
    In addition to teaching construction skills to youth, YouthBuild is 
an alternative education program that assists youth who are often 
significantly behind in basic skills with obtaining a high school 
diploma or GED credential. The primary target populations for 
YouthBuild are youth offenders, youth in or aging out of foster care, 
and out-of-school youth. There are currently over 200 YouthBuild 
programs operating throughout the United States. YouthBuild grants 
administered by HUD have funded approximately 120 programs through 
annual competitions.
    In 2003, the White House Task Force Report on Disadvantaged Youth 
recommended that the YouthBuild program be transferred from HUD to DOL 
for greater consistency of agency mission and other efficiencies. The 
federal departments agreed and enactment of the YouthBuild Transfer Act 
represents the successful implementation of that recommendation. DOL 
will run its first YouthBuild competition for funds appropriated for 
YouthBuild in Fiscal Year (FY) 2007. This grant competition represents 
the first funding cycle for which DOL assumes full responsibility of 
the YouthBuild program. Grants awarded prior to FY 2007 will continue 
to be administered by HUD until the authority to expend the funds has 
expired. The President's FY 2007 budget request for the YouthBuild 
program is $50 million.
    In administering the YouthBuild program, DOL expects to: (1) 
Increase coordination between YouthBuild sites and the workforce 
investment system; (2) align the program with the Federal Shared Youth 
Vision \2\ which emphasizes strong educational and employment outcomes; 
and (3) promote the YouthBuild model for other youth programs. In order 
to ensure that programs are designed to reach these goals, DOL is 
seeking public input and observations on the YouthBuild program, 
particularly in the following areas:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Information on the Federal Shared Youth Vision is available 
at http://www.doleta.gov/ryf/WhiteHouseReport/VMO.cfm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    1. Awards: As we consider the length and amount of YouthBuild 
awards, we are interested in comments and observations on the optimal 
length of an award (for example one-year grants v. multi-year funding), 
the optimal amount of an award, and the minimal amount of funding 
necessary to sustain a viable local program. As we consider the 
criteria to be applied to the selection of YouthBuild grantees, we are 
interested in comments and observations on the organizational 
attributes required for operating an effective YouthBuild program, 
including prior program experience.
    2. Outcomes: We are interested in comments and observations on ways 
to ensure that YouthBuild programs meet educational and employment 
outcomes and on ways to measure those outcomes. Given the outcomes that 
YouthBuild programs will be required to meet as part of DOL's Common 
Measures for employment and training programs (gains in literacy and 
numeracy skills; successful placement in post-secondary education or 
employment; and diploma and industry recognized certificate 
attainment), we seek public input into the types of DOL technical 
assistance that will support programs in improving these educational 
and career track employment outcomes for YouthBuild participants, and 
in ways to strengthen the connections that YouthBuild programs make 
with apprenticeship programs, construction firms, and other high-
growth, high-demand jobs. We are interested in comments and 
observations on methods to support increased placements of YouthBuild 
participants into apprenticeship programs, construction firms, and 
other high-growth, high-demand jobs.
    3. Capacity Building: In the past, through the HUD Demonstration 
Act of 1993, HUD has awarded a separate set of YouthBuild grants for 
capacity building. We are interested in learning whether the capacity 
building grants awarded by HUD helped to strengthen YouthBuild 
programs. In addition, we are interested in comments and observations 
on ways that capacity building grants can be used to support shifting 
YouthBuild programs to diploma granting programs, or adding new career 
tracks in industries other than construction, and are interested in 
other ideas for uses of capacity building grants.
    4. Other Comments: DOL welcomes comments and suggestions on 
improving any other aspects of the federal YouthBuild program.

    Signed at Washington, DC, this 6th day of November, 2006.
Emily Stover DeRocco,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-19177 Filed 11-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-P