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The Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $3.95 billion for Workforce Investment Act (WIA) state formula grants for adult, dislocated worker, and youth job training programs.  The recovery bill includes $1.2 billion in funding for youth employment and training activities through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), with a focus on creating up to 1 million summer jobs for youth ages 16 to 24 (note that the age limit for youth employment programs was increased from 21 to 24). The new legislation also states that the work-readiness indicator will be the only performance measure used to assess the effectiveness of the summer jobs portion of this funding. 

• To see estimates for funds to be provided by state, see http://www.cbpp.org/1-22-09bud-te.pdf
• The Department of Labor has issued guidance on expenditure of  WIA funds in ARRA for youth and other programs. The guidance was sent to state and local workforce boards and agencies.
• The Department of Labor's ARRA site.
• The National Association of State Workforce Agencies has created a page that includes an area called “state success stories.”

 Community Partners that Afterschool Programs Should Contact for WIA partnerships:

Workforce Investment Boards
Afterschool programs can connect with their local Workforce Investment Boards (WIB) to see how best to tap into the new workforce dollars.  You should get acquainted with your local WIB director and their youth council and talk with them about how afterschool and workforce programs can work together toward common goals. You can find your local Workforce Investment Board at: http://www.servicelocator.org/wibcontacts/ 

Community Colleges
Afterschool programs have found that community colleges are the perfect partner for workforce development strategies that use employment in afterschool programs as part of a career pathway. The Career Ladders Project in California has launched special initiatives in California that link community colleges’ career pathway programs with employment in afterschool.  The site also includes a paper called “Building Links and Ladders,” which lays out the many opportunities for partnerships between afterschool and the community college world and provides some key arguments that can be used to build those partnerships.

Basic Facts – tools and materials about the program as it currently operates, how it has been used to support afterschool and its administration and application process. 

• Program Description
• Maximizing Federal Dollars to Support Workforce Development Services for Youth. Funding Tips from the Finance Project.

Make the Case

Talking points to help make the case for tapping workforce funds for afterschool programs:

• Afterschool programs are quite versatile in terms of the employment opportunities they offer for people of all ages and backgrounds, making them a perfect partner for workforce programs funded through the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
• The economic recovery funds for youth workforce development present significant opportunities for summer learning programs, including: the creation of internship and apprenticeship opportunities for summer programs serving older youth; staffing opportunities to employ youth at summer learning programs for younger kids and connecting summer jobs programs with school-based summer programs for older youth.
• Summer employment programs help expose high school graduates to and prepare them for employment opportunities in the afterschool field.  The California School Age Consortium's LA Scholars program is a great example of a summer employment program for older youth.
• Afterschool is a step in the path to a teaching career and has become part of the training ground for future teachers. Afterschool programs offer hands-on professional experience to future teachers and provide an effective strategy to help meet the need for recruiting and retaining new teachers. (See Issue Brief listed below: Afterschool: A Powerful Path to Teacher Recruitment and Retention).

Use these resources to help make the case for tapping youth activity funds in WIA:

Issue Brief - An In-Depth Look Afterschool: A Natural Platform for Career Development

Issue Brief - Helping Kids Compete in Tomorrow's Workforce

Issue Brief - Afterschool: A Powerful Path to Teacher Recruitment and Retention.  Afterschool has become part of the training ground for future teachers. This brief examines the current teacher shortage facing our schools, the impact this shortage is having on our rapidly changing educational system, and ways afterschool programs can help meet the need for recruiting and retaining new teachers. 

Earn, Learn, and Inspire: Afterschool Employment as a Path to Career Opportunities.
Issue Brief from the Next Generation Youth Coalition.

Funding Summer Learning Programs: A Scan of Public Investments in Maryland. 
More information on the use of WIA and other funding sources to fund summer programs from the Center for Summer Learning.

Improving State Coordination of Youth Workforce Development Services
This Resource Note highlights strategies and initiatives that state policy makers, program officials, and other leaders can use to improve the coordination and funding of youth workforce development programs.  By Nanette Relave, The Finance Project, August 2006.

Using the Workforce Investment Act to Support Out-of-School Time Initiatives
By Helene Stebbins, The Finance Project, September 2003.

Questions, Answers and Ideas - Read and share questions and strategies on working with this program at the Afterschool Alliance’s Economic Recovery Wiki