"All youth, particularly those out-of-school, acquire the necessary skills and work experience to successfully transition into adulthood, careers, and further education and training."

Key Expectations of the Legislation

The WIA brings new emphasis and substantive reform to how youth are served within the workforce investment system. It presents an opportunity to better prepare our young people and offer them a comprehensive array of services so that they are able to successfully transition to the workforce and to continued education and training. The Department expects that the provision of workforce training and related activities will be driven by youth service needs within individual communities, will redefine current local youth program offerings, and will build upon innovative methodologies and experiences. 

The Act challenges local communities to achieve a level of collaboration that brings together local workforce training providers, schools, community organizations, and others, in an effort to strategically align and leverage resources and to create community youth assistance strategies. Local youth programs will be linked more closely to local labor market needs and will be based on an overall assessment of the strengths and challenges experienced by area youth. The Act's reforms of youth services and activities can be summarized under four major themes: 

the establishment of the local youth council; 
comprehensive services based on individual assessment; 
youth connections and access to the One-Stop delivery system; and 
performance accountability. 

The Youth Council as a Catalyst for Systemic Reform

Central to implementing this new vision for serving youth is the establishment of the local youth council, an integral part of the local Workforce Investment Board. Youth council members are called upon to serve as advocates for local area youth and to ensure the provision and coordination of workforce training activities available to youth in a local area. We envision that the composition of the youth council will bring together individuals from a range of local program and policy areas who can affect the success of young people in the labor market and beyond. Membership will include: members of the local Workforce Investment Board, particularly educators and employers; programmatic and administrative staff of youth service agencies, including juvenile justice and law enforcement; the local public housing authority; parents; former participants; and Job Corps representatives; as well as other key local experts experienced in meeting the needs of area youth, such as representatives of community-based organizations, vocational rehabilitation, and organized labor. Further, we envision that local providers of school-to-work, apprenticeship, and other intervention strategies will play a part in the establishment of local youth councils. 

The membership of the local youth council is intended to positively impact the provision of activities and services to local area youth. Specifically, an inclusive mix of youth council members will join those individuals experienced in providing services to out-of-school youth with local experts familiar with secondary and postsecondary offerings. For youth who attend school, age-appropriate activities should provide career relevant experiences that help to complement skills learned in the classroom. For out-of-school youth, local program operators should emphasize assessment and service strategies that address academic, occupational, and "soft skill" deficiencies. For all youth, both traditional and nontraditional methodologies should be utilized to create community strategies that address differing learning styles, opportunities for contextual learning, and provide assistance to youth with varying needs and learning barriers.

The Act identifies the roles and responsibilities of the youth council, delineated by the local board and its chairperson. One such role is developing the youth portion of the local plan. The youth council strategically maps how existing community resources are used in creating a comprehensive set of services available to youth, and determines how the provisions in the Act will enhance and build upon those services and activities already in existence. The youth council is charged with interacting with the local board to carry out such activities as determining eligible youth service providers. We fully support the idea that youth council members play an active role in tracking the performance of youth participating in specific services, and applying such performance data to local efforts toward continuous improvement. Most importantly, the youth council must ensure that youth needs are addressed within the overall workforce investment system. Such activities include advising the local board on the most appropriate services for youth 18 and older, combining the council's sense of available youth and adult resources with the specific needs and abilities of individuals in this age group. 

Overall, an inclusive youth council will improve the efficiency and quality of youth services by identifying both duplication and gaps in the services and activities offered to area youth. We envision that the youth council will work to address the needs of the youth population as a whole, in-school as well as out-of-school, and will emphasize the importance of continuity of services in appropriately meeting the complex needs of today's youth. 

Youth Services under the Act

Local areas are called upon to create opportunities for youth that move beyond traditional employment and training services, and that infuse such principles as preparation for postsecondary opportunities, linkages between academic and occupational learning, connections to the local job market, and appropriate followup services into their youth systems. In an effort to create an atmosphere that supports the infusion of such principles, the Act emphasizes a high level of both State and local flexibility in providing youth services. 

A number of programmatic elements included in the Act will foster inclusionary strategies for integrating workforce training, education, and other community offerings to local youth. Several of the program elements identified in the Act focus on providing young people assistance in achieving a secondary school diploma or its equivalent. These elements include: tutoring, study skills training, dropout prevention strategies, and alternative secondary school services. Other program elements outlined in the Act--summer employment opportunities, paid and unpaid work experiences, and occupational skill training--seek to encourage exposing youth to the work world and to allow youth to apply what they learn in school or other training settings to various workplace experiences. Still other program elements serve to ensure that participating youth have adequate support in completing the learning and employment goals they have helped to set. These elements include: the provision of supportive services, such as assistive technology for youth with disabilities; adult mentoring; appropriate followup services; and comprehensive guidance and counseling. Lastly, the Act introduces the concept of leadership development that, while not new to youth program operators, recognizes all of the information that must be conveyed to youth so that they are indeed "work-ready" and able to make the most of their opportunities.

The various program elements listed in the Act are based upon the experiences of local program operators and performance data demonstrating what is effective in helping youth acquire the skills and abilities needed to succeed in the workplace. Volumes of data exist, for example, that point to the necessity for comprehensive followup services to meet the needs of those youth most difficult to serve. Such evidence has resulted in the Act's and the interim final rule's requirement that any youth served under the WIA must receive some form of followup services for at least twelve months. While all other program elements must be made available as options for youth participation, the individual assessment of each youth will require that local program operators tailor services and activities to effectively meet each youth's specific needs. We envision the provision of activities tied to the age and maturity level of each individual youth. Further, it is important to emphasize local flexibility to bring positive social behaviors and soft skills training into the mix of services provided to each youth. Such skills, including appropriate attitudinal development and self esteem building, will help to enable even the hardest to serve young person to succeed in achieving his or her career goals. 

Lastly, the Act's reforms build upon the idea of a single funding stream for youth services and activities. This strategy relies upon the abundance of data that demonstrates the need for youth programs to move from one-time, short-term interventions to a systematic offering of services connected to individual goals for serving a particular youth. Summer employment opportunities, for example, are to be viewed as one of many ways in which the workforce and employability needs of youth may be met, but by no means the sole strategy for exposing young people to the work world. We envision that this single funding stream approach will not only serve to administratively connect what were formerly termed "year-round" and "summer" activities, but will encourage the integration of other youth funding streams in order to create the most complete menu of services and activities available to youth in a local area. 

Youth Services within the One-Stop System

The One-Stop service delivery system envisioned in the Act will effectively connect the broad range of workforce services available in a local area. Many existing One-Stops throughout the country already utilize strategies aimed at establishing a One-Stop system that is positioned to become a place for youth, as well as adults, to begin to navigate their way into the world of work. Such strategies for serving youth include: creating employer and provider linkages among local youth-serving agencies and other agencies, working to support the sharing of service strategies between youth program operators and other One-Stop partners, and providing needed services to youth depending upon individual needs assessments. 

The Act envisions One-Stops that provide services to youth based upon local determination of not whether, but to what extent, One-Stops will reach out to their youth customers. 

We believe that it is important that youth who have begun to think about their careers, youth who are still in school but need additional support to remain there, and youth who have dropped out of school all see the value of One-Stop services and be able to access them. Eligible youth may access various One-Stop offerings and, after they reach age 18, participate in either youth or adult program offerings or both, depending upon individual assessments. Youth may then begin to tap into the services of a One-Stop that will be available throughout their working lives. While the Act does underscore focusing WIA youth funds on serving eligible youth, particularly those most in need, it does not prohibit local program operators from encouraging any area youth to access the One-Stop's self-service tools and to receive such assistance as basic labor market information.

Serving all youth within the One-Stop system is neither a new nor a revolutionary concept. After all, a full 60% of youth aged 16 to 18 are already in the labor market. Many such youth are already accessing job information through the local One-Stop or through its partner agency, the Employment Service. Local entities across the country have already gone well beyond basic job finding services to promote access to the One-Stop system by: 

establishing linkages with schools, community-based youth serving organizations, and school-to-work systems; 
conducting outreach efforts targeting out-of-school youth; 
conducting youth tours of One-Stop centers; and 
creating separate youth resource areas and designating specific staff to work with youth. 

The local Workforce Investment Board, working with its youth council, has the opportunity to create a One-Stop delivery system that acts as a career resource for local area youth and that helps them prepare for adult life. In addition, the provision of comprehensive One-Stop services for youth most in need, coupled with the provision of career awareness and labor market information to any youth seeking such assistance, will allow local workforce training operators to bring "more to the table" as they work with local schools, school districts, and other local entities. 

A Performance-Driven System

The Act allows greater flexibility for States and localities in exchange for accountability for program performance. Youth performance indicators for individuals aged 14 though 18 are: attaining basic skills, as well as work readiness and occupational skills; obtaining a high school diploma or its equivalent; placement and retention in postsecondary education or advanced training, military, employment, and apprenticeship opportunities; and customer satisfaction for both participating youth and their employers. For youth aged 19 through 21, measures similar to the adult measures apply, and focus on employment entry, retention, and earnings, as well as attaining credentials that include a high school diploma and customer satisfaction. We encourage States to establish additional performance indicators to measure State and local performance goals. As the Act becomes fully implemented, we will work with States, as States work with their local areas, to establish appropriate levels of performance for each of these indicators on a State-by-State basis. One of our key goals is to effectively consult with State and local representatives, including those who have chosen to implement early, as the WIA performance measurement system is instituted. 

Key to the success of the performance accountability system is the extent to which the data derived from performance measurement is built into an ongoing process for continuously improving the provision of services and activities to both youth and adults. Further, States and local areas must effectively utilize the information derived from followup data that must be gathered for all youth participants. The experience of youth council members will play a large role in assessing the data and determining how it will affect adjustments and corrections in the provision of local youth services. Such adjustments and corrections should focus not only on placing individuals in jobs and increasing numbers of placements, but also providing support to individuals to ensure their retention in those jobs. 

We will facilitate and foster the Act's overarching premise that individuals at varying levels of need will connect with the workforce training system throughout their working lives, and that the system will effectively respond. The foundation for progress towards this system lies in the strategic provision of services to youth. The youth service principles of the Act, as they are shaped by the input of local concepts and methodologies, lay the groundwork for that foundation. The challenge, then, becomes discovering the means by which good ideas, performance, and effective leveraging of resources come together to produce a workforce investment system truly positioned to expand the opportunities of young people today. 

Subpart A--Youth Councils

1.This subpart explains the purpose of youth councils. The youth council is a new feature of the workforce investment system that helps develop youth employment and training policy, brings a youth development perspective to the establishment of such policy, establishes linkages with other local youth services organizations, and takes into account a range of issues that can have an impact on the success of youth in the labor market. Working with the youth council, the Local Board has responsibility for oversight of youth programs. It may be advantageous for Local Boards to delegate responsibility for oversight of youth programs to youth councils which have expertise in youth issues, as is permitted by Sec. 664.110.

Sec. 661.335  What is a youth council, and what is its relationship to 
the Local Board?
(a) A youth council must be established as a subgroup within each Local Board.
(b) The membership of each youth council must include:
    (1) Members of the Local Board, such as educators, employers, and representatives of human service agencies, who have special interest or expertise in youth policy;
    (2) Members who represent service agencies, such as juvenile justice and local law enforcement agencies;
    (3) Members who represent local public housing authorities;
    (4) Parents of eligible youth seeking assistance under subtitle B 
of title I of WIA;
    (5) Individuals, including former participants, and members who represent organizations, that have experience relating to youth activities; and
    (6) Members who represent the Job Corps, if a Job Corps Center is 
located in the local area represented by the council.
(c) Youth councils may include other individuals, who the chair of 
the Local Board, in cooperation with the chief elected official, 
determines to be appropriate.
(d) Members of the youth council who are not members of the Local Board must be voting members of the youth council and nonvoting members of the Local Board.

Sec. 661.340  What are the responsibilities of the youth council?

    The youth council is responsible for:
    (a) Coordinating youth activities in a local area;
    (b) Developing portions of the local plan related to eligible youth, as determined by the chairperson of the Local Board;
    (c) Recommending eligible youth service providers in accordance with WIA section 123, subject to the approval of the Local Board;
    (d) Conducting oversight with respect to eligible providers of youth activities in the local area, subject to the approval of the Local Board; and
    (e) Carrying out other duties, as authorized by the chairperson of the Local Board, such as establishing linkages with educational agencies and other youth entities.

PART 664--YOUTH ACTIVITIES UNDER TITLE I OF THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT

Subpart A--Youth Councils

Sec. 664.100  What is the youth council?
(a) The duties and membership requirements of the youth council are described in WIA section 117(h) and 20 CFR 661.335 and 661.340.
    (b) The purpose of the youth council is to provide expertise in youth policy and to assist the Local Board in:
          (1) Developing and recommending local youth employment and training policy and practice;
         (2) Broadening the youth employment and training focus in the community to incorporate a youth development perspective;
         (3) Establishing linkages with other organizations serving youth in the local area; and
         (4) Taking into account a range issues that can have an impact on the
success of youth in the labor market. (WIA sec. 117(h).)

Sec. 664.110  Who is responsible for oversight of youth programs in the 
local area?
    (a) The Local Board, working with the youth council, is responsible for conducting oversight of local youth programs operated under the Act, to ensure both fiscal and programmatic accountability.
    (b) Local program oversight is conducted in consultation with the local area's chief elected official.
    (c) The Local Board may delegate its responsibility for oversight of eligible youth providers, as well as other oversight responsibilities, to the youth council, recognizing the advantage of delegating such responsibilities to the youth council whose members have expertise in youth issues. (WIA sec. 117(h)(4).)

This is an agreement between the Region 4 Workforce Investment Board, and Community Services Consortium. 

The Region 4 Workforce Investment Board (hereafter known as the R4WIB) is required to provide Youth Services to its three county region (Linn, Benton and Lincoln) and through this agreement

Community Services Consortium  (hereafter known as CSC), has been awarded the responsibility    to provide these services.

1. TERMS OF AGREEMENT:  This  shall become effective upon signature, and shall terminate June 30th, 2007 with a provision for three, one year extensions,  based on successful performance and the recommendation of the Region 4 Youth Council.

2.SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED BY CSC:

1.      tutoring and similar services, including dropout prevention strategies, leading to a high school diploma
2.      alternative education services
3.      summer employment linked to academic and occupational learning
4.      paid and unpaid work experience
5.      occupational skill training
6.      leadership development, including community service
7.      supportive services
8.      comprehensive guidance and counseling, including drug and alcohol abuse
9.      follow-up services for at least 12 months
10.  adult mentoring during program participation

3.  PAYMENT:  The total cost for CSC'S services shall not exceed ($1,046,018.00???) or the final allotment authorized for expenditures by the Office of Community Colleges and Workforce development.

4. CSC warrants that all  work will be performed in accordance with generally accepted professional practices and standards as well as the requirements of applicable federal, state and local laws.

5. CSC shall hold harmless, indemnify and defend the R4WIB, its officers and agents from any and all liability, actions, claims, losses, damages or other costs including attorney's fees and witness costs (at both trial and appeal level, whether or not a trial or appeal ever takes place) that may be asserted by any person or entity arising from, during or in connection with the performance of the work described in this contract, except liability arising out of the sole negligence of the R4WIB and its employees.  Such indemnification shall also cover claims brought against the R4WIB under state or federal workers' compensation laws.  If any aspect of this indemnity shall be found to be illegal or invalid for any reason whatsoever, such illegality or invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this indemnification.

6. INSURANCE:  CSC and any subcontractors shall maintain insurance in full force and effect throughout the term of this agreement.

7. If CSC employs one or more workers as defined in ORS 656.027 and such workers are subject to the provisions of ORS Chapter 656, CSC shall maintain currently valid workers' compensation insurance covering all such workers.  CSC shall maintain this insurance throughout the period of this contract.

8. MERGER:  This writing is intended both as the final expression of the agreement between the parties with respect to the included terms and as a complete and exclusive statement of the terms of the agreement.  No modification of this agreement shall be effective unless and until it is made in writing and signed by both parties.

9. TERMINATION WITHOUT CAUSE:  At any time and without cause, the R4WIB shall have the right in its sole discretion to terminate this agreement by giving written notice to CSC.  If the R4WIB terminates the contract pursuant to this paragraph, it shall pay CSC for services rendered to the date of termination.

10. TERMINATION WITH CAUSE:  If CSC fails to perform any of its obligations under this agreement, within the time and in the manner provided, or otherwise violates any of the terms of this agreement, the R4WIB may terminate the agreement by giving CSC written notice stating the reason for the termination.  If the R4WIB  terminates pursuant to this paragraph, CSC shall be entitled to receive as full payment for all services satisfactorily rendered and expenses incurred, an amount which bears the same ratio to the total fees specified in the agreement and the services satisfactorily rendered by CSC  bear to the total services otherwise required to be performed for such total fee; provided that there shall be deducted from such amount the amount of damage, if any, sustained by CSC due to the breach of the agreement by the R4WIB.

 11. NONDISCRIMINATION:  CSC shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations on nondiscrimination in employment because of race, gender, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, marital status, age, mental condition or disability.

 CSC shall comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Pub. Law No. 101-336), ORS 30.670 to ORS 30.685, ORS 659.425, ORS 659.430 and all regulations and administrative rules established pursuant to those laws, in the construction, remodeling, maintenance and operation of any structures and facilities, and in the conduct of all programs, services, and training, educational or otherwise.

 12. CONFIDENTIALITY:  CSC shall protect the confidentiality of all information concerning applicants for, and recipients of, services funded by this agreement and shall not release or disclose any such information except as directly connected with the administration of the particular  program(s) or as authorized in writing by the applicant or recipient.  All records and files shall be appropriately secured to prevent access by unauthorized persons.  Further, CSC ensures all subcontractors, employees and agents are aware of, and comply with, this confidentiality requirement.

13. SEVERABILITY:  The parties agree if any term or provision of this contract is declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be illegal or in conflict with any law, the validity of the remaining terms and provisions shall not be affected, and the rights and obligations of the parties shall be construed and enforced as if the contract did not contain the particular term or provision held to be invalid.

14. CONFLICT OF INTEREST:  CSC covenants that it presently has no interest and shall not acquire any interest, direct or indirect, which would conflict in any manner or degree with the performance of  services.  CSC further covenants that in the performance of this contract no person having any such interest shall be employed.

15. AUDIT:  CSC shall maintain records to ensure conformance with the terms and conditions of this agreement, and to ensure adequate performance and accurate expenditures within the contract period.  CSC agrees to permit the R4WIB, the State of Oregon, the federal government or their duly authorized representatives to audit all records pertaining to this agreement to ensure the accurate expenditure of funds.

16. CSC shall abide by the provisions of ORS 279, incorporated by this reference.  It is expressly understood that this contract in all things shall be governed by the laws of the State of Oregon.

17. DISPUTE  RESOLUTION:  If a dispute arises under this agreement, the parties agree to try to resolve it through mediation, prior to resorting to the courts.

COMMUNITY SERVICES CONSORTIUM

_______________________________                                             ______________________
                     , CSC Governing Board Chair                                                                          Date

 _________________________________                                         ______________________
Tom Clancey-Burns, Executive Director                                                                                Date

THE REGION 4 WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD


________________________________                                             ______________________
Michelle Payne, Chair                                                                       Date                                                    

 ________________________________                                            ________________________
Chuck Crowe, Treasurer                                                                Date
 

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