DC Youth and Young Adult Update 02-07-2025

By NYEC | February 7, 2025

 

 

 

News at NYEC:   

 

  • NYEC Kicks off New Congress on the Hill: NYEC’s Federal Policy Team has been busy meeting with Congressional offices to share our federal priorities for the new Congress, which includes WIOA authorization, FY25 appropriations, and the Bipartisan Opportunity Youth Caucus. We have met with 12 offices thus far and have plans to meet with many more in the coming months. If you would like to meet with your members of Congress with NYEC staff, please reach out to our Policy Coordinator, Lindsey Smith ([email protected])! We are happy to provide talking points, set up a prep call, and arrange the meeting so you don’t have to!  
  • 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!   
  • OMB Federal Funding Freeze: Experiencing Issues or Have Questions? Contact us! On January 27th, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo requiring all agencies to temporarily pause disbursement of federal assistance and submit to OMB information on impacted programs by February 10. By January 29th, the memo was rescinded after a federal judge temporarily blocked the action. The National Council for Nonprofits has since filed a lawsuit against the OMB over the guidance, as have State Attorneys General. The White House released a Q&A sheet to clarify confusion surrounding the guidance, which can be found here. If your program has been impacted, we encourage you to reach out to [email protected] to share any information, and NYEC will continue to provide new information as we receive it.

 

Legislative Branch:   

  • 119th Congressional Committee Updates:  
  • Nomination Hearing – Secretary of Labor: The Senate HELP Committee announced a confirmation hearing for Lori Chavez-DeRemer, President Trump’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. The hearing is scheduled for 10:00am on February 12, 2025 in G50 Dirksen Senate Office Building. NYEC will virtually attend this hearing and will report out on any questions or responses related to opportunity youth.   
  • Nomination Hearing – Secretary of Education: The Senate HELP Committee announced a confirmation hearing for Linda McMahon, President Trump’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Education. The hearing is scheduled for 10:00am on February 13, 2025 in 562 Dirksen Senate Office Building.  
  • House Appropriations Committee: The committee will hold a hearing on “Career Ready Students: Innovations From Community Colleges and the Private Sector”. It is scheduled at 10:00am on February 12th, 2025 in Capitol Complex, 2358C RHOB.  
  • Representative Juan Ciscomani Introduces H.R.1055: Rep. Ciscomani (R-AZ-6) introduced H.R.1055, a resolution to amend the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to expand the capacity of junior or community colleges and area career and technical education schools to conduct training services, education, and outreach activities for careers in the residential construction industry. The bill text has not been released yet.   
  • Senator Cory Booker Introduces S.375: Sen. Booker (D-NJ) introduced S.375, a bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to award grants to eligible entities to establish, expand, or support school-based mentoring programs to assist at-risk middle school students with the transition from middle school to high school. The bill text has not been released yet.  
  • Senator Tim Kaine Introduces S.383: Sen. Kaine (D-VA) introduced S.383, a bill to extend Federal Pell Grant eligibility of certain short-term programs. The bill text has not been released yet.  
  • Thompson, Bonamici Lead Resolution Recognizing Career and Technical Education Month: U.S. Representatives Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) along with Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ted Budd (R-NC), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Todd Young (R-IN), co-chairs of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus, today introduced a resolution recognizing National CTE Month, which is observed every February. Find the full resolution text here.  

 

Executive Branch:   

 

 

Federal Funding Opportunities with upcoming deadlines:  

 

No new federal funding opportunities  

 

Previously Shared   

 

  • USDA Grant: Youth Farm Safety Education and Certification: Youth Farm Safety Education and Certification (YFSEC) Program for Fiscal Year 2025 supports national efforts to deliver timely, pertinent, and appropriate farm safety education to youth seeking employment or already employed in agricultural production. Applications are due March 20, 2025.  
  • DOJ Grant: OJJDP FY25 Strategies To Support Children Exposed to Violence: This funding opportunity seeks to provide funding to communities to develop coordinated and comprehensive community-based approaches to help children and their families who are exposed to violence (CEV) build resilience, restore their safety, heal their social and emotional wounds, and prevent future violence and delinquency. Applications are due March 10, 2025.   
  • DOJ Grant: OJJDP FY25 Regional Children’s Advocacy Centers Program: This program furthers DOJ’s mission by supporting and strengthening four regional children’s advocacy centers (CACs) that will deliver coordinated training and technical assistance within and across the regions to CACs, members of multidisciplinary teams, programs, and organizations to improve the investigation and prosecution of child abuse and neglect and the provision of children’s advocacy center services to child victims and their families. Applications are due March 12, 2025.  
  • DOJ Grant: BJA FY25 STOP School Violence Program: This funding opportunity aims to support school safety by implementing solutions to enhance school climate, establish school-based behavioral threat assessment and intervention teams to identify violence risks, introduce technologies like anonymous reporting tools, and apply other evidence-based strategies to prevent violence. Applications are due March 27, 2025.  
  • DOJ Grant: OJJDP FY25 National Mentoring Programs: This funding opportunity seeks to enhance and expand mentoring services for youth who are at risk or high risk for juvenile delinquency, victimization, and juvenile justice system involvement. Applications due March 5, 2025.  
  • DOJ Grant: OJJDP FY25 Juvenile Justice System Reform and Reinvestment Initiative: This funding opportunity seeks to support states’ implementation of innovative and/or research-based, data-informed policies to improve juvenile justice system outcomes and sustainable strategies for reinvesting resulting costs saved or averted into effective juvenile justice prevention and intervention programs. Applications due March 3, 2025.  
  • HHS Grant: Statewide Family Network: The purpose of this program is to provide resources to enhance the capacity of statewide mental health family-controlled organizations to support, train, and mentor family members/primary caregivers who are raising children, youth, and young adults with serious emotional disturbance (SED) and/or co-occurring disorders (COD). Applications due March 17, 2025.  
  • DOJ Grant: OJJDP FY25 National Mentoring Resource Center: This funding opportunity seeks to build on OJJDP’s history and leadership in mentoring by providing the mentoring field and practitioners with comprehensive resources and training materials on the OJJDP National Mentoring Resource Center website. Applications due March 3, 2025.  
  • USDA Grant: Community Connect Grant Program: The Community Connect Grant Program provides financial assistance to eligible applicants that will provide service at or above the Broadband Grant Speed (100 Mbps down and 20 Mbps up) to all premises in rural, economically-challenged communities where broadband service (10 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up) does not exist. Applications due April 21, 2025.  
  • DOJ Grant: BJA FY25 Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program: This funding opportunity seeks to fund programs that support collaborations to improve public safety responses and outcomes for people with mental health disorders (MHDs) or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders (MHSUDs). The goal is to improve safety and well-being for adults with MHDs (including people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)) or MHSUDs who come into contact with the criminal justice system. Applications are due April 3, 2025.  
  • DOJ Grant: OVW Fiscal Year 2025 Grants to Indian Tribal Governments Program: The Grants to Indian Tribal Governments Program, referred to as the Tribal Governments Program, assists Tribal governments (or their authorized designees) to respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sex trafficking, and stalking in Tribal communities. Applications are due April 8, 2025.   
  • DOJ Grant: NIJ FY25 Graduate Research Fellowship: This funding opportunity seeks to support doctoral students whose dissertation research is relevant to preventing and controlling crime, advancing knowledge of victimization and effective victim services, or ensuring the fair and impartial administration of criminal or juvenile justice in the United States. Applications are due April 15, 2025.   
  • FY25 U.S. Department of Justice Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation: This Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation (CTAS) funding opportunity seeks to provide funding to improve public safety and victim services in tribal communities. CTAS provides federally recognized tribes and tribal consortia an opportunity to apply for funding to aid in developing a comprehensive and coordinated approach to public safety. Applications are due March 18, 2025.   
  • DOJ Grant: Building a Community of Practice for Women in Strategic Trade: This grant exists to create a professional network and community of practice to advance women working in strategic trade through sustained mentorship. Experienced international strategic trade experts and practitioners will guide early- or mid-career women in the strategic trade field through a sustained six-month mentorship. Applications are due March 25, 2025.  

From The States: 

  • Oregon: A group of elected officials and health experts convened at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend for a presentation on emergency services for youth experiencing mental health crises in Central Oregon. The briefing revealed a concerning situation: emergency departments across all St. Charles hospitals in Central Oregon are witnessing a surge in young people with mental health crises. While ED staff can ensure patients’ safety from physical harm, the departments lack the resources for long-term treatment.  
  • Maine: Maine’s Department of Corrections has proposed legislation (LD 42) that would allow teens accused of serious crimes to remain in juvenile detention even after turning 18. Currently, Maine law mandates that juveniles tried as adults be moved to an adult jail upon reaching their 18th birthday, even if they are appealing their adult convictions. This proposed bill would permit the department to petition the court to keep these individuals at Long Creek Youth Development Center until their appeals process is finished, potentially until they reach 21. 

For The Youth: 

  • Hurford Youth Fellows (for young people up to the age of 30): The World Movement for Democracy and the International Forum for Democratic Studies at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) are accepting applications for the Hurford Youth Fellows Program in Washington, DC. This program offers two four-month fellowships throughout the year to young leaders from around the world. Each fellow will have the opportunity to enhance their leadership and organizational skills while contributing to the development of both the World Movement for Democracy and, specifically, the World Youth Movement. 

Resources:  

  • Fellowships In Service (For Transition-Age Youth): The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has awarded a grant to fund STAY, a program that trains master’s-level mental health practitioners. This training prepares them for careers dedicated to improving the mental health and well-being of transition-age youth (ages 16-25) and their families. 
  • Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Opportunity Passport: Data released on February 5th, 2025, shows that youth participating in the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Opportunity Passport® financial learning program saved over $895,000 towards their life, education, and career goals in 2023. The Opportunity Passport, created by the Foundation’s Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative® in 2001 and launched in 2003, serves youth aged 14-26 who are currently in or transitioning out of foster care. The program provides a dollar-for-dollar match for participants’ savings when used for approved expenses like education, job training, housing, and transportation. 

 

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