DC Youth and Young Adult Update 12-20-2024

By NYEC | December 20, 2024

 

 

 

News at NYEC: 

  • Join the National Youth Employment Coalition’s 2025 Annual Forum- Empowering Youth, Transforming Communities, in Minneapolis, MN, from May 12-14, 2025! This event will gather practitioners, youth advocates, and community leaders to explore key topics like youth leadership, holistic supports, living wage employment, and policy & advocacy.  
  • Fill out a 6-month Federal Advocacy Calendar!: Interested in being more engaged in federal advocacy? The hyperlinked title will direct you to a JotForm that lists concrete steps that you can take in the first 6 months of the year to build a relationship with your Members of Congress! NYEC will make it easy to complete each goal of every month by sharing support, reminders, and more!  

Legislative Branch: 

  • Congressional Leaders Scramble to Finalize a Funding Deal ahead of Dec. 20 Shutdown Date, WIOA Reauthorization Prospects Begin to Dwindle: At the time of this writing, Congressional leaders have still not reached a final agreement to fund the federal government, which is set to shut down at midnight on December 20. In an initial bipartisan, bicameral deal to fund the government, Congressional leadership included the bipartisan, bicameral WIOA agreement that NYEC has been tracking. President-elect Trump called for the funding deal to be pared down, resulting in the House of Representatives to propose a funding deal that did not include the WIOA reauthorization. That measure failed to pass the House, so Congressional leaders are working to reach an agreement to fund the government. At the time of this writing, it is unclear whether the funding deal will include the WIOA reauthorization agreement that NYEC supports.  

Executive Branch: 

  • US Department of Labor Announces Latest Actions to Secure Sustainability of Job Corps Program: The Department of Labor announced new actions to secure the long-term stability of the Job Corps program and that it operates within Congressionally appropriated funding levels. Specifically, the department will enter into negotiations with contractors who operate the non-federally operated Job Corps Centers nationwide in order to achieve savings that minimally impact services to students at those centers.   

Federal Funding Opportunities: 

  • OJJDP Grant: Enhancing Youth Defense: This funding opportunity seeks to implement youth defense system efforts that strengthen and improve the representation of youth involved in the juvenile justice system. This program supports organizations providing public defense services through a combination of direct grants and national training and technical assistance to implement sustainable system improvements that result in improved youth outcomes, reduced recidivism, safer communities, cost savings, and increased public confidence in the juvenile justice system. Applications are due on February 5, 2025.  

 

Previously Shared 

  • DOS Grant: Youth Coalitions for Drug Demand Reduction: Applicants will use funds to carry out a project to improve youth engagement in drug demand reduction interventions, expanding access to community mental health services, and supporting drug prevention through school-based in underserved communities. The project should plan for implementation in at least 10 communities, including at least three communities each in Peru’s coast, Andean, and Amazonian regions. Applications are due January 10, 2025. 
  • Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 AmeriCorps State and National Competitive Grants: AmeriCorps grants are awarded to eligible organizations that engage AmeriCorps members in evidence-based or evidence-informed interventions to strengthen communities. AmeriCorps members may receive a living allowance and other benefits. After successful completion of their service, members earn a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award they can use to pay for higher education expenses or apply to qualified student loans. Applications are due by January 23, 2025. 
  • FY 2025 National Infrastructure Investments: The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 authorized and appropriated $1.5 billion to be awarded by the Department of Transportation for Local and Regional Project Assistance Program Grants under National Infrastructure Investments. This notice of funding opportunity solicits applications for projects funded under the Local and Regional Project Assistance Program, known as the RAISE Grants program. Applications are due January 30, 2025. 
  • Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): Student Support Service: Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) Partnership Grants: The GEAR UP program is a discretionary grant program that encourages eligible entities to provide support, and maintain a commitment, to eligible students from low-income backgrounds, including students with disabilities, to assist the students in obtaining a secondary school diploma (or its recognized equivalent) and to prepare for and succeed in postsecondary education. Under the GEAR UP program, the Department awards grants to two types of entities: (1) States and (2) Partnerships consisting of at least one degree-granting institution of higher education (IHE) and at least one local educational agency (LEA). Applications are due on February 3, 2025. 
  • IMLS Grant: Native American Library Services Basic Grant: The Native American Basic Grants (NAB) program assists Native American Tribes in establishing, sustaining, and improving library services and operations with their communities. As information needs change, Tribal libraries must be able to serve as knowledge and resource centers to benefit their users and the wellness of their communities. The NAB program supports Tribes across the country to address their individual information needs and priorities. Applications are due February 4, 2025. 
  • Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Program: The purpose of the PROTECT Program is to provide grants on a competitive basis for projects that seek to strengthen surface transportation to be more resilient to natural hazards, including climate change, sea level rise, heat waves, flooding, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters through support of planning activities, resilience improvements, community resilience and evacuation routes, and at-risk costal infrastructure. Applications are due February 24, 2025. 
  • SAMHSA Grant: National Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth and Family Mental Health: The purpose of this program is to provide training and technical assistance to increase the access to, effectiveness of, and dissemination of evidence-based mental health services for children, youth, and young adults (through age 21) with Serious Emotional Disturbances/Serious Mental Illness and their families and to promote the coordination of these services. Applications are due on March 15, 2024.   
  • Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant: The Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant programs provide funding for rural projects through local utility organizations. USDA provides zero-interest loans to local utilities which they in turn, pass through to local businesses (ultimate recipients) for projects that will create and retain employment in rural areas. Applications are due June 30, 2025. 

From The States: 

  • Maryland: Governor Wes Moore has announced the recipients of the inaugural grants from Maryland’s groundbreaking Engaging Neighborhoods, Organizations, Unions, Governments, and Households (ENOUGH) initiative. This pioneering program is designed to combat child poverty by allocating $13.1 million to 27 organizations across 12 counties. These grants, part of a larger historic $20 million funding commitment, are intended to empower communities to develop and implement their own solutions to the systemic challenges of poverty. 
  • Oregon: Project Youth+ has been awarded over $1 million in Workforce Readiness Grants to broaden its innovative training programs in the healthcare and technology fields. These grants, funded by the state initiative Future Ready Oregon, are designed to alleviate workforce shortages while simultaneously creating pathways to high-demand careers for historically underserved communities. 

For The Youth:  

  • Climate Change Fellowship: The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is thrilled to unveil its new Generation of Environmental Leaders Program (GELP), designed to empower the next generation of environmental champions. This dynamic program will equip young leaders with essential skills and seed funding to drive impactful change within their communities and on a larger scale. Participants selected for the GELP will engage in a year-long mentorship program, gain access to valuable networking opportunities across North America, receive C$15,000 in seed funding, and have the unique opportunity to display their innovative solutions to North American environment ministers at the CEC’s annual Council Session. 

Resources:  

  • From Our Partners at ND4Y & The TYP Collaborative: NYEC partners New Deal 4 Youth, a part of the TYP Collaborative, released their year-end review video. If you could not join them in DC, you really do not want to miss this. And for those who were with ND4Y in DC, we hope this takes you back to the wonderful work that was done this year.  
  • Public Library Association (Webinar): Discover programs, offered in both traditional and non-traditional learning settings, that equip young people with the crucial skills and experiences needed to thrive in their chosen fields. These programs encompass a wide range of opportunities, including work-based learning, apprenticeships, and other initiatives designed to help youth pursue their interests and develop their talents. 
Posted in Uncategorized