§ 42 — Youth education, employment and training program

§ 42. Youth education, employment and training program. This program\nshall provide services to economically disadvantaged in-school and\nout-of-school youth fourteen to twenty-one years of age and shall be\nsubject to the following provisions of this section:\n 1. The goals of this program shall be entry into post-secondary\neducation, enrollment in vocational or skills training programs, or the\nattainment of favorable employment and career opportunities. To obtain\nprogram goals, local projects shall include one or more of the following\nobjectives: retention in high school, improvement in basic academic and\nvocational skills and, when attainable, the acquisition of a high school\ndiploma or its equivalent.\n 2. For the purpose of this section, the following terms shall have the\nfollowing meanings: "local project" shall mean the specific plan or\nproposal for support and/or direct client services at the local level as\nspecified in a contractual agreement with employment and training\nproviders pursuant to this section; and "economically disadvantaged"\nshall be defined as set forth in regulations promulgated by the state\neducation department pursuant to sections sixty-four hundred fifty-one\nand sixty-four hundred fifty-two of the education law or as set forth in\nthe federal job training partnership act, public law 97-300 or its\nsuccessor program or in the absence of such, as defined by the\ncommissioner. Moneys to fund the program may be used for projects in\nwhich up to ten percent of the participants enrolled, on a project by\nproject basis, are youth who are not economically disadvantaged if such\nyouth have been identified as at risk of dropping out of school or have\nbarriers to employment.\n 3. Subject to the limits of available moneys for this program and the\napproval of the director of the budget, the commissioner, in\nconsultation with the commissioner of education, shall select and make\ncontracts with preference to employment and training providers who have\ndemonstrated effectiveness in serving disadvantaged youth for the\npurpose of conducting local projects. Such moneys may be used for\ncontractors selected on a competitive basis consistent with executive\norder number one hundred twenty-seven which expedites and simplifies\ncontracting with not-for-profit agencies. Such employment and training\nproviders shall only include not-for-profit community based\norganizations, boards of cooperative educational services,\npost-secondary educational agencies, grant recipients or administrative\nentities of the service delivery areas (hereinafter referred to as\nSDAs), as may be defined by the Federal Job Training Partnership Act\n(hereinafter referred to as JTPA) or its successor program or in the\nabsence of such, as defined by the commissioner, joint apprentice\ncommittees, labor organizations, and public and private employers.\nPreference in selection of such contractors shall be given to qualified\nand experienced community based organizations with proven ability to\nadminister such programs.\n 4. Moneys for this program shall be apportioned in a manner that\nensures a distribution of funds to projects operating in communities\nwhich have high rates of youth unemployment, significant drop-out rates\namong high school-aged youth, large numbers of youth living in poverty,\nand a high proportion of households receiving public assistance\nbenefits.\n 5. Such moneys may not be used for an SDA as an employment and\ntraining provider for local projects for out-of-school youth unless it\nhas been determined by the commissioner that no other employment and\ntraining provider is available in the area which this program is\ndesigned to serve.\n 6. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, the\neducational opportunity centers (hereinafter referred to as EOCs)\noperated by the state university and educational centers operated by the\nunits of the city university of New York are hereby authorized to\ncontract with employment and training providers funded pursuant to this\nsection for provision of services authorized under this section and to\nreceive reimbursement for services provided. For the purpose of this\nprogram, all participants eligible for services pursuant to this section\nshall be deemed to be eligible for services provided by the EOCs.\n 7. Allowable activities under this section may include tutoring, basic\nskills remediation, occupational/vocational training, vocational\nexploration, on-the-job and supervised worksite training, counseling,\nand support services. Local projects shall integrate such allowable\nactivities, as fully as possible.\n 8. Participants in programs under this section may be granted a\nstipend if such youth are not participating in a paid work experience.\nOn an individual participant basis, the local project operator may\nextend tutorial services, basic skills remediation, and counseling\nbeyond one program year, provided the participant continues to meet the\nother eligibility requirements of this program.\n 9. Pursuant to a memorandum of agreement, the education department\nshall be responsible for the approval of the educational component of\nlocal projects under this section predicated upon a review of each local\nproject proposal. Such educational component shall include programs of\ninstruction, remedial activities, and services designed to improve\nparticipants' performance in reading, writing, communication, math, and\nscience. Academic credit may be made available to qualifying\nparticipants for their involvement and performance in this program.\nLocal projects shall be evaluated for credit and recommendations shall\nbe made to local schools by the education department.\n 10. As a condition of participating in programs under this section,\neach employment and training provider shall establish cooperative\nrelationships for improving linkages with local educational agencies and\nSDAs which insure that school-based educational activities are\nintegrated with the educational component of the local project as fully\nas possible.\n 11. Up to ten percent of the program funds allocated to local projects\nfor direct client services may be expended for support services,\nprovided that such support services are not available from other\nfederal, state, local, or private resources. Such support services shall\ninclude day care which meets state standards, transportation, meal\nallowances, and clothing allowances.\n 12. No moneys shall be allocated to the department for support and/or\ndirect client services unless the following conditions have been met: a\nmemorandum of agreement has been signed with the education department\npursuant to this section; and, regulations governing the selection and\nimplementation of local projects have been issued. Further, no\nliabilities shall be assumed or moneys expended for support and/or\ndirect client services unless such funding is specified in a contractual\nagreement with employment and training providers and the educational\ncomponent of such contract has been approved by the education\ndepartment.\n 13. Of the total funds made available for the payment of local\nprojects for in-school youth and out-of-school youth, no more than one\nmillion three hundred forty-nine thousand dollars shall be allocated for\nlocal projects administered by service delivery areas. Provided further\nthat as a condition of funding under such appropriation, a fifty percent\nmatch for the amount made available for local projects for in-school\nyouth shall be required from employment and training providers out of\nin-kind services or moneys received through other local, private, or\nfederal resources; except that a match of those funds designated for\npayment of participant wages and fringe benefits shall not be required.\nHowever, fifty percent of the payment of wages and fringe benefits to\nparticipants in approved vocational exploration or trial work experience\nin local projects for in-school youth administered by SDAs and funded\nunder such appropriations shall be subsidized by the SDA out of moneys\nreceived through JTPA or its successor program, except that no JTPA or\nsuccessor program subsidization of trial work experience shall be\nrequired if the SDA shall have otherwise obligated all moneys received\nthrough JTPA or its successor program, in which case the SDA may meet\nits obligation to subsidize from moneys received from any available\nsource other than such appropriation. Further, no more than twenty-five\npercent of the payment of wages and fringe benefits to participants in\non-the-job training in local projects for in-school youth administered\nby SDAs shall be paid from funds made available pursuant to such\nappropriation and any such funds so used shall be matched by the SDA out\nof moneys received through JTPA or its successor program, unless the SDA\nshall have otherwise obligated all moneys received through JTPA or its\nsuccessor program.\n 14. As a condition of receipt of moneys for payments for local\nprojects for in-school youth and out-of-school youth local projects for\nout-of-school youth shall give preference to youth who are homeless and\nto adolescent parents, provided such youth meet other eligibility\nrequirements of this program. Employment and training providers under\nthis appropriation shall not be required to match moneys made available\nfor local projects for out-of-school youth.\n 15. Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary,\nthe department shall prepare and submit to the governor, the temporary\npresident of the senate, the speaker of the assembly and the chair of\nthe legislative commission on skills development and vocational\neducation, an annual evaluation report of this program no later than\nOctober thirty-first following the end of the program year. The report\nshall include a statement of program objectives which identifies\noutcomes and indicators of the effectiveness of the program. It shall\nrepresent the extent to which program activities meet program objectives\nincluding, but not limited to, improvements in participants' educational\ncompetencies and employability skills as measured by accepted testing\ntools. The basic measures of performance for projects for in-school\nyouth shall be: high school retention, attainment of a high school\ndiploma, enrollment in a post-secondary educational program or\nvocational skills training program, or attainment of unsubsidized\nemployment. The basic measure of performance for projects for\nout-of-school youth shall be: improvement in basic academic and\nvocational skills, return to high school, attainment of a high school\nequivalency diploma, enrollment in a post-secondary educational program\nor vocational skills training program, or attainment of unsubsidized\nemployment. The report shall include a separate count of participants\nwho have participated in the same program model through more than one\nprogram cycle. A methodology shall be prescribed which requires\ncollection of post-program information on program participants\nincluding, but not limited to, whether a participant receives a high\nschool degree or its equivalent and subsequent labor market experience\nfor one year following termination from the program, and the extent to\nwhich the participant achieved outcomes as defined by the certified\nprogram model. The report shall also describe the types of support\nservices provided, levels of expenditure, and demonstrate how such\nsupport services improve participant involvement in local projects.\n 16. Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or regulation to the\ncontrary, including the provisions of the social services law, wages and\nincome earned by the participants of this program who are receiving\nassistance under the temporary assistance for needy families block grant\nshall be exempt and disregarded when determining the need for such\nassistance in accordance with federal law and regulations or pursuant to\nwaiver of such law and regulations. Wages and income earned by\nparticipants in this program, who are receiving assistance pursuant to\nthe safety net assistance program, or under the temporary assistance for\nneedy families block grant, or the veterans assistance program, shall be\nexempt and disregarded when determining the need for such assistance.\nSuch income and wage exemptions and disregards shall be allowed, if, and\nas long as, federal financial participation is available.\n 17. Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary,\nemployment and training providers funded through this program shall be\ndesignated no later than June first of each year. Failure of providers\nto submit required monthly or fiscal reports to the department without\nwaiver for reasonable or unanticipated circumstances shall cause forfeit\nof the program contract effective after sixty days notification to\nproviders.\n