Connecting Workforce Development to the Juvenile Justice System
A major developmental task of adolescence is preparing for economic self-sufficiency in adulthood. Successfully meeting this challenge requires youth to develop many related skills. First, youth need to learn how to be productive—how to set a goal and devise and implement an action plan for attaining the goal. Second, youth must develop an array of academic, technical, and social skills to be effective in work environments that are increasingly complex and interdependent. Third, youth must connect to the labor market by investigating and planning to pursue possible career paths.
In support of youth developing these three skills, many State juvenile justice agencies provide employment and training services to court-involved youth as treatment activities integrated into the stages of sanctions presented in the previous chapter. Unfortunately, the content and quality of these services vary tremendously within and among State systems. The variation is due, in part, to the disconnection of the juvenile justice system, the State workforce development systems, and the Federal youth employment and training system, administered through the Employment and Training Administration. One mission of the Task Force on Employment and Training for Court-Involved Youth is to bring these two systems closer together and thereby improve the quality of employment and training services for court-involved youth. Other causes of variation in the content and quality of employment and training services include operational challenges that are indigenous to the juvenile justice system—the varied needs of court-involved youth, public safety issues, negative effects of being labeled “a court-involved youth,” and the logistical impediments created by out-of-community residential placements.
Five of the most common initiatives that affect youth who are served through the workforce development system are highlighted in the following sections of this chapter. These include Workforce Investment Act Formula Funds, Youth Opportunity Movement, Job Corps, Youth Apprenticeship, School-to-Work, and One-Stop Centers.
Overview of the Workforce Investment Act
The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) was enacted in August 1998 to develop a more cohesive workforce development system that will provide easy access to services and information for individuals and businesses. State and local jurisdictions were required to fully convert from the existing structure, under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), by July 1, 2000. WIA requires collaboration and systems-level cooperation among diverse, federally funded workforce development initiatives that will result in the following:
At the local and regional levels, four program areas are supported by WIA:
Workforce Investment Act Formula Funds
The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 provides funds each year to all States and localities in the United States for separate adult and youth job training programs. These funds are distributed to States and local areas through a formula based on unemployment and poverty rates. The local recipients of these funds are Workforce Investment Boards, which decide how the funds should be used in their areas. The WIA legislation requires that these local boards establish Youth Councils to oversee formula-funded youth programs. These Youth Councils can include members of the broader Workforce Investment Board, representatives of youth service agencies and the school system, employers, union leaders, parents, and former youth program and Job Corps participants.
The WIA youth formula funds can be used for a variety of activities to serve both in-school and out-of-school youth ages 14 to 21. Each local area must develop a service strategy for each youth participant based on an individual assessment of basic skills, occupational skills, prior work experience, aptitudes, supportive service needs, and developmental needs. The local area must have an array of services available for youth, including tutoring and dropout prevention, alternative schools, summer jobs, work experience, occupational skills training, leadership development, supportive services, adult mentors, followup services for at least 12 months, and counseling that includes drug and alcohol abuse counseling and referral. These services can be provided by a variety of agencies, including the public school system, community colleges, community-based organizations, and trade schools.
Youth ages 18 and older are also eligible for services provided under WIA adult formula funds, including individual training accounts to pay for vocational training. Although applicants to WIA youth programs must meet low-income eligibility criteria, applicants for adult services do not need to show low-income status.
The Workforce Investment Act requires local areas to develop a one-stop delivery system for employment and training services. The goal is to establish One-Stop Centers that provide access to a wide variety of services, including assessment and career counseling, vocational training, job listings and placement, unemployment compensation, vocational rehabilitation, adult education and literacy, trade adjustment assistance, the Job Corps, and other education and training services.
One-Stop Centers are open to both adults and youth, but services to youth who are not from low-income families must be supported by funding sources other than WIA. DOL considers One-Stop Centers an important point of entry for youth to obtain job training services. DOL expects that creative local programs will have youth entering employment and training services through several different points, such as schools, sports programs, Boys & Girls Clubs, and other community-based organizations.
One-Stop Centers are important resources for youth seeking employment. However, youth require a menu of support and services different from those typically provided to adult job seekers. In response to the unique needs of youth, many jurisdictions have established One-Stop Centers focused exclusively on youth workforce needs and involved with the Youth Opportunity Movement. A unified workforce development system that offers universal access via One-Stop Center systems should both provide customized services for each job seeker and reflect standard youth development principles.
The Youth Opportunity Movement offers a way to bridge gaps in services and break cycles that lead to poverty and despair. Youth Opportunity grants are available to qualifying communities (Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Community-designated areas and tribal/State-designated high-poverty areas). This funding allows communities to establish one-stop service centers where youth can access a wide range of services and resources with an emphasis on building strong, communitywide, system-level partnerships. Although all youth between the ages of 14 and 21 are expected to benefit from this initiative, most of the funds are intended to serve out-of-school youth and other at-risk or high-risk youth populations.
Funds allocated under the Youth Opportunity Movement are expected to complement the Job Corps, School-to-Work, and formula-funded youth programs. The goal is to decrease the high unemployment rates of youth residing in impoverished communities, thereby helping these communities to reduce crime, youth gangs, illegal drug use, and welfare dependency.
Youth Offender Demonstration grants are also included as part of the Youth Opportunity Movement. Funds have been made available to Workforce Investment Boards in selected areas of the country, juvenile correctional facilities, and community-based organizations to improve services for at-risk and court-involved youth.
Job Corps is a national residential education and training program for severely disadvantaged youth ages 16 to 24.7 The program prepares youth for stable, productive employment and entrance into vocational/technical schools, junior colleges, military service, or other institutions for further education and training.
Job Corps targets the most disadvantaged youth, who face multiple barriers to employment. The program provides a comprehensive mix of services in an integrated and coordinated manner. Students spend about half of their time in basic education and about half in vocational skills training.
Those who remain enrolled in Job Corps for longer periods of time are more likely to earn a high school equivalency diploma, finish skills training, and find employment at higher wages than early dropouts. During program year 1997, 80 percent of all Job Corps students were placed in jobs or enrolled in education programs. In 1997, more than 65,000 new students entered the Job Corps.
Private and nonprofit sector organizations operate 87 Job Corps centers under contract with the U.S. Department of Labor. The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and the Interior operate 28 additional job centers on public lands under interagency agreements with DOL.
Job Corps is offered as an open entry, open exit program and allows youth to receive education; training, including community service projects; and job placement throughout the year. Although Job Corps services are not available in every community, the program offers substantial opportunities for early intervention/diversion and aftercare referrals based on a residential work-preparation model. The Job Corps program has received significant attention at the national level for having components that benefit court-involved youth. The 1994 Crime Bill provides a funding avenue for States wishing to replicate the Job Corps model for court-involved youth.8 Significant features of the program are listed below:
 | Job Corps is the only residential job training program that has childcare services and single-parent dormitories so enrollees and their children can receive concurrent services. |
| Job Corps involves business and industry through mandated local advisory boards, national industry support, and regular review and evaluation to ensure that programs reflect current industry practices and requirements. |
| Job Corps assists youth who have completed the program to find jobs in locations with strong markets or back in their home communities through national training and placement contractors, thus placing youth according to labor market needs. National volunteer organizations support youth during the admissions process and provide mentors during both enrollment and the adjustment period following program completion. |
| Job Corps has a zero-tolerance policy for violence and drugs. |
| Job Corps provides a readjustment allowance to each youth who successfully completes the program. The allowance can be applied to rent, transportation, or other essentials for independent living. |
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Youth Apprenticeship programs engage young people in work and learning settings with training by skilled workers that may promote youth entry into apprenticeship programs. Although the original definition of an apprentice is one who enters into a work agreement with an employer and works under a master of a trade, apprenticeship has grown to include new definitions that are designed to strengthen on-the-job training (OJT) for young, unskilled workers. Apprenticeship programs benefit court-involved youth by replacing unhealthy peer attachments with attachments to employers and coworker apprentices. DOL defines apprenticeship as a training strategy with the following possible characteristics:9
| Employers and others who can hire and train individuals in the workplace may sponsor apprenticeships that combine hands-on worksite training with related instruction. |
| Needs of the workplace and industry dictate the content and length of apprenticeship training. |
| Federal and State regulations govern formal apprenticeships. |
| Credentials, such as certificates of completion and/or journey-level status (indicating that one has learned a trade), can result from apprenticeship. |
| Apprentices learn by working directly under master workers in their occupations. |
Enacted in 1994, the Federal School-to-Work (STW) Opportunities Act seeks to reduce the number of youth who drop out of school or graduate from high school without career direction, marketable skills, and knowledge about workplace expectations. STW is a joint effort of DOL and the U.S. Department of Education.10 To receive Federal or State funds for STW programs, local communities must form partnerships among employers, schools, and other community institutions, including local private industry councils (PIC’s) and/or workforce development boards, public employment agencies, and youth development and community-based organizations. The local partnerships must seek to build comprehensive school-to-work systems for all youth, including those who are college bound, at risk, or dropouts or who have disabilities. While promoted as a worker preparation program and considered integral to the workforce development system, STW is also an important element of recent school reform movements that focus on high academic standards and improved graduation outcomes, including enrollment in post-secondary education and employment. STW is closely aligned with the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, which focuses on high academic performance and supports State accountability and assessment goals.
STW represents a new approach to learning, based on the proven concept that education works best and is most useful when students are able to apply classroom learning to real work situations. STW participants are expected to meet high academic standards and, through an integrated program of school- and work-based learning, to be prepared to enter college and/or the labor market upon completion of high school.
The STW system includes three core elements:
| School-based learning that includes blended academic and vocational training based on high academic expectations and industry-defined occupational skill standards. |
| Work-based learning that involves youth in work-place settings for career exploration, work experience, structured training, and mentoring. |
| Connected activities that identify work-based learning opportunities, match students with employers, train mentors, and build other bridges between school and work. |
The STW legislation provides seed money for development of STW systems by States and local partnerships. The legislation allows States and their partners to link education reform, worker preparation, and economic development into a comprehensive system of workforce development. STW intends to enhance existing efforts to prepare youth for high-wage, high-skill careers that are responsive to current and future economic conditions. As of September 30, 1998, all States had received funds to implement statewide STW reform initiatives.
Although STW legislation does not provide for a continuous funding stream, Federal STW funds can be used by States and local partners to develop curriculums, support employer outreach, provide professional development opportunities for teachers, purchase career exploration materials, and fund employer-sponsored STW initiatives.
Successful STW initiatives exist in Oregon and Wisconsin. In Oregon, students must achieve a Certificate of Initial Mastery by the end of the 10th grade, after which they begin either a college preparatory program or one of a number of vocational or professional curriculums that emphasize applied academics, apprenticeships, or other School-to-Work, experience-based education models.
In Wisconsin, 10th graders receive a gateway assessment of core competencies that are multidisciplinary (i.e., reading, writing, science, and computation) and performance based (i.e., problem solving, analytical skills, and critical reasoning). School districts establish the technical preparation programs, whereas youth apprenticeship is authorized through the Wisconsin State Department of Industry, Labor, and Human Relations.
7 For more information about Job Corps, contact the U.S. Department of Labor. See appendix H for contact information.
8 Crime Bill, Part R: Certain Punishment for Young Offenders, 1994.
9 DOL’s Federal committee on apprenticeship, 1992.
10 For more information about STW, contact the U.S. Department of Labor. See appendix H for contact information.