BILL NUMBER: S8073

SPONSOR: MONTGOMERY
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the labor law, in relation to enacting
the "New York state YouthBuild act"; setting program requirements;
authorizing the commissioner of labor to make grants to eligible Youth-
Build programs and to establish application requirements; and expanding
the number of YouthBuild programs in New York state

 
PURPOSE:

Enacting the "New York state YouthBuild act", a comprehensive system for
supporting YouthBuild programs in the state of New York. The Commission-
er of Labor would establish a grant program from amounts provided by
appropriation, and would make grants eligible to applicants who operated
a YouthBuild program compliant with terms established in this bill. Any
not-for-profit private agency or public agency operating a YouthBuild
program or with a plan to incubate a YouthBuild program would be an
eligible agency, provided that such entities are licensed affiliates of
YouthBuild USA or otherwise receive grants from the Department of Labor.
The Commissioner shall require applicants to include various information
on the programs and shall promulgate regulations outlining information
              

to be provided, including additional information provided for under this
bill.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

§ 42-a. 4608. The New York state YouthBuild act; program requirements
services. 1. The commissioner is authorized, subject to amounts made
available by appropriation, to make grants to eligible applicants for
the purpose of carrying out YouthBuild programs as approved under this
section. All programs funded pursuant to the provisions of this section
shall use funds available pursuant to this section to provide the
following services:

a. The training costs for the rehabilitation or construction of housing
and related facilities to be used for the purpose of providing homeown-
ership for disadvantaged persons, residential housing for homeless indi-
viduals, and low-income and very low-income families, or transitional
housing for persons who are homeless, have disabilities, are ill, are
deinstitutionalized, or have special needs, or the rehabilitation or
construction of community facilities owned by not-for-profit public
agencies.

b. The cost of providing training and placement in the growing employ-
ment sectors of healthcare and technology.

c. The cost of integrated education and work experience skills training
services and activities which are evenly divided within the program
shall include the following elements:

(1) An education component which includes: basic skills instruction,
secondary education services, and other activities designed to lead to
the attainment of a high school diploma or its equivalent. The curric-
ulum for this component shall include math, language arts, vocational
education, life skills training, social studies related to the cultural
and community history of the students, leadership skills, and other
topics at the discretion of the programs; and

(2) A work experience and skills training component pre-apprenticeship
program that includes construction and rehabilitation activities
described in paragraph a of this subdivision. The process of
construction must be coupled with work experience skills training and
with close on-site supervision by experienced trainers. The curriculum
for this component shall contain a set of locally agreed upon skills and
competencies that are systematically taught, with students' mastery
assessed individually on a regular, ongoing basis.  The work experience
and skills training component shall be coordinated to the maximum extent
feasible with preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs authorized
under article twenty-three of this chapter.

d. The cost of counseling services designed to assist participants to
positively participate in society, which should include all of the
following if necessary: outreach, assessment, and orientation; individ-
ual and peer counseling; life skills training; drug and alcohol abuse
education and prevention; and referral to appropriate drug rehabili-
tation, medical, mental health, legal, housing, and other services and
resources in the community.

2. A training subsidy, living allowance, or stipend that shall be no
less than minimum wage must be provided to program participants for the
time spent at the worksite in construction training, health care or
information technology services. Stipends and wages may be distributed
in a manner that offers incentives for good performance.  Full time
participation in a YouthBuild program shall be offered for a period of
not less than six months and not more than twenty-four months.

b. A concentrated effort, for those participants who choose not to imme-
diately enroll in an institution of higher education, shall be made to
find construction, construction-related, and nonconstruction jobs as
well as jobs in the fields of healthcare and technology for all gradu-
ates of the program who have performed well. The work experience skills
training curriculum shall provide participants with basic preparation
for seeking and maintaining a job. Follow-up counseling and assistance
in job-seeking shall also be provided to participants for the twelve
months following graduation from the program.

c. All programs serving twenty-eight trainees or more are required to
have a full-time director responsible for the coordination of all
aspects of the YouthBuild program.

3. a. Eligible participants are youth between the ages of sixteen and
twenty-four who are economically disadvantaged as defined in 29 United
States Code 1503, and who are part of one of the following groups:

(1). Persons who are not attending any school and have not received a
secondary school diploma or its equivalent; or

(2). Persons currently enrolled in a traditional or alternative school
setting or a HSE/TASC (high school equivalency/test assessing secondary
completion) program and who are in danger of dropping out of school; or

(3). Very low-income persons whose incomes are at or less than fifty
percent of the area median income area, adjusted for family size, as
estimated by the department of housing and urban development.


b. An exception may be made for individuals not meeting income or educa-
tional need requirements. Not more than twenty-five percent of the
participants in such program may be individuals who do not meet the
requirements of subdivision three of this section, but who have educa-
tional needs despite the attainment of a high school diploma.

4. Priority in the awarding of funds under this section shall be given
to applicants with experience in operating YouthBuild programs and
implementing the YouthBuild model, including but not limited to, housing
construction skills training, education, leadership development, life
skills training, and counseling services. Priority shall also be given
to those who meet the program standards of YouthBuild USA, Inc.

5. Any not-for-profit private agencies, or public agencies with experi-
ence operating a YouthBuild program or with a plan to incubate a Youth-
Build program until it can be established as a not-for-profit private
agency are eligible entities. Only not-for-profit private agencies or
public agencies that are licensed affiliates of YouthBuild USA, Inc. or
currently receive a department of labor YouthBuild award, are eligible
to use the term YouthBuild or eligible to apply for these funds.

6. The commissioner shall require that an application for YouthBuild
funds to include various information on the applicant's programs and
shall promulgate regulations outlining information required on such
applicant. Provided, however, that at a minimum such application shall
include:

a. A request for an implementation grant, specifying the amount of the
grant requested and its proposed uses;

b. A description of the applicant and a statement of its qualifications,
including a description of the applicant's past experience running a
YouthBuild program, and its experience with housing rehabilitation or
construction and with youth and youth education, youth leadership devel-
opment and work experience skills training programs, and its relation-
ship with local unions and youth apprenticeship programs, and other
community groups; and

c. A description of the educational and work experience skills training
activities, work opportunities, and other services that shall be
provided to participants.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

YouthBuild is a comprehensive program that focuses on education, job
training, leadership development, community service and life skills.
YouthBuild has been working with at-risk young, people in New York State
since 1978, when the program first started in East Harlem. It was
expanded to the rest of the country with the passage of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1992.

Youthbuild engages low-income, out-of-school youth for a two-year, all-
inclusive process to earn high school equivalency (HSE), acquire job
skills, certifications, and leadership competencies. YouthBuild provides
opportunities for follow-up, placement services and stipends to out-of-
school, out-of-work youth, aged 16-24, as well as ongoing placement
services and support for thousands of YouthBuild alumni.

Currently, there are 226 YouthBuild programs in the United States; 18 in
New York State. The increase in competition for these much-needed
grants, coupled with the federal government's decision to cut back on
the total pot of monies available, has fostered a funding environment
that is increasingly difficult for New York's Youthbuild programs to
survive.

Since 1994, 41,000 units of affordable housing have been produced or
upgraded by 150,000 YouthBuild students across the US. Over 5,000 of
those students have been New Yorkers. YouthBuild is not just about
creating affordable housing.

Youthbuild is also one of the most effective and successful youth diver-
sion programs in New York State. It is about giving troubled adolescents
an opportunity to turn their lives around. Most participants in the
program are teens who have been expelled from school or have made
repeated appearances in our juvenile court system for actions directly
or indirectly related to drug abuse. Instead of allowing these youths to
burden our criminal justice and social services systems years on end,
YouthBuild turns them into productive contributors to society.

Many states nationwide have recognized the meaningful work of YouthBuild
programs, and it is the intent of this legislation to fund the New York
State programs, independent of federal funding. The appropriation asso-
ciated with this project seeks to provide the means necessary to demon-
strate the value of funding YouthBuild on a state level in comparison to
the lifetime of costs spared to state and local governments with each
individual who succeeds in their program.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Based on amounts provided by appropriation. SFY 2017-18 included
$900,000 in funding for statewide YouthBuild programs, which would be
subject to award based on the provisions of this legislation.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect a year after it has become a law.