Sponsors (3)
Introduced February 18, 2025 by Mikie Sherrill · Last progress February 18, 2025
This bill expands paid summer jobs, training, and wrap‑around supports for underserved youth and invests in evidence and oversight to scale what works, but does so at modest federal cost and with added administrative, evaluation, and competitive effects that may favor larger providers and create short‑term trade‑offs in funding flexibility and program access.
Young people (especially low‑income youth in high‑unemployment or high‑crime areas) will gain access to paid summer jobs and workforce training that increase short‑term income, work experience, and employment prospects.
Taxpayers and program participants benefit from stronger evaluation, evidence generation, and publishing of results so effective program models can be identified and scaled nationally.
Low‑income youth can receive wrap‑around supports (transportation, food, shelter, mental‑health supports, coaching/mentoring) that reduce barriers to participation and improve retention and outcomes.
Taxpayers face increased federal spending (authorized at roughly $1.1 billion over five years plus administrative costs), which could raise deficits or require spending offsets.
Grant applicants, providers, and governments will face substantial administrative, reporting, and evaluation burdens that can divert staff time and funds away from direct services.
Prioritization for evaluated or higher‑rigor programs and alignment with existing definitions may favor established providers and larger organizations, making it harder for small or community‑based groups to compete for funds.
Based on analysis of 7 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a federal summer youth employment grant program with $200M–$240M/year (FY2026–FY2030) to fund program expansion, innovation, evaluations, and an Advisory Board.
Creates a federal program to expand and improve summer youth employment by authorizing $200 million in FY2026 rising to $240 million in FY2030 and directing the Labor Department to award competitive grants for program expansion, innovation, evaluation, and an Advisory Board. Grants must fund paid summer work for youth under 25, include wraparound supports and employer engagement, prioritize areas with high youth unemployment and violent crime, and require rigorous performance measurement and impact evaluations.