DC Youth and Young Adult Update 5-9-2025

News at NYEC:  

• 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!  

• White House Releases Skinny Budget Request, Threatening Public Workforce System: As we shared last week, the White House released a “skinny” budget request, kickstarting the FY2026 appropriations process. We expect the President’s full budget to be released later this month, where we will have more detailed information about his proposed funding levels. Rather than provide program-by-program level funding recommendations, skinny budgets provide high-level recommendations to Congress. The budget request calls for drastic changes to education and workforce development programs that support opportunity youth – including eliminating and consolidating crucial programs. These cuts threaten the existence of our public workforce system and youth workforce programs. It is more important now than ever to contact your Members of Congress TODAY to advocate for programs that impact opportunity youth. Use this email template to contact your Member ASAP. 

• Youth Policy Summit Opportunity: Attend the third annual Youth Policy Summit Events on June 10th and 11th 2025, at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law. CLICK TO REGISTER HERE. From planning to execution, this truly is a youth-led event where young leaders from across the nation gather in Utah to evaluate five policy presentations from various other state legislatures, nonprofits, and government entities. The Policy Summit is built by youth, for youth, with the goal of empowering the next generation of changemakers to drive meaningful conversations and implement policies that will shape their future. 

DATE: Tuesday, June 10 2025 – Wednesday, June 11 2025 

TIME: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm MST 

LOCATION: College of Law and Virtual Event 

• AmeriCorps Update from Outdoors Alliance for Kids (OAK): AmeriCorps came under threat in the last few weeks as administrative actions severely cut funding and staffing levels. That is why OAK is urging Congress to encourage leadership and the Administration to reinstate AmeriCorps funding and rehire this critical workforce. Not only are these positions crucial to maintaining our public lands, disaster relief projects and clean energy infrastructure, but they are also crucial in teaching a new generation critical skills to create a new generation of environmental stewards. Sign on here to OAK’s letter to Congress urging them to reverse course by reinstating AmeriCorps funding and rehiring this critical workforce by EOD May 16th.  

Legislative Branch:  

• 119th Congressional Committee Updates: 

• House Education and Workforce Committee: Kiley Announces Charter School Hearing: Wednesday, May 14th at 10:15 a.m., the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, chaired by Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA), will hold a hearing titled “Reimagining Education: How Charter Schools Are Closing Gaps and Opening Doors.” 

• Senator Budd Introduces PELL Act: Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) introduced the Promoting Employment and Lifelong Learning (PELL) Act, to expand Pell Grant eligibility for high-quality, short-term workforce programs. The bill benefits individuals seeking to advance their careers without long-term debt while also providing American businesses with a broader, better-prepared talent pool ready to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving economy. The full bill text can be found here. 

Executive Branch:  

• First Lady Melania Trump Seeks $25 Million Investment in President’s FY26 Budget for Foster Youth: First Lady Melania Trump is seeking a $25 million investment in President Trump’s FY26 budget to provide housing and support for youth transitioning out of foster care through the Foster Youth to Independence Program (FYI). The FYI program, led by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and supported by public housing authorities across the country, offers housing assistance to eligible individuals under the age of 25 who are transitioning out of foster care. The program is designed to prevent homelessness and provide a foundation for young adults to pursue education, employment, and long-term independence. 

• HUD Provides $1.8 million to Support Youth Aging Out of Foster Care on Anniversary of First Lady Melania Trump’s BE BEST Initiative: HUD Secretary Scott Turner, in collaboration with First Lady of the United States Melania Trump, today announced a $1.8 million dollar investment in HUD’s Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) program to assist more than 100 young Americans aging out of the foster care system with temporary, supportive funding to prevent homelessness for a duration of 36 months. In alignment with President Trump’s proclamation of May as National Foster Care Month, the FYI program offers housing vouchers to local public housing authorities (PHAs) for young adults under the age of 25 who are in, or have recently left, the foster care system.  

Federal Funding Opportunities with upcoming deadlines: 

No new federal funding opportunities 

Previously Shared  

• ED Grant: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program: The purpose of the OSP is to provide low-income parents residing in the District of Columbia, particularly parents of students who attend an elementary school or secondary school identified as one of the lowest performing schools under the District of Columbia’s accountability system, with expanded opportunities for enrolling their children in private schools in the District of Columbia. Applications are due July 7, 2025. 

From The States 

• Minnesota: Drawing from her own impactful firsthand experience, Representative Samantha Sencer-Mura (DFL-Minneapolis) is a strong proponent for increased investment in youth employment programs. As a high school intern participating in Minneapolis’s Step Up program, she not only learned essential employment skills, such as how to write a compelling resume, but also experienced a pivotal moment of career discovery—realizing a corporate environment wasn’t her path—and even received a timeless piece of advice about always flossing before an interview. This foundational experience fuels her sponsorship of HF2039. On Tuesday, this bill was reviewed by the House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Finance and Policy Committee, which opted to set it aside for potential integration into a more comprehensive budget measure. 

• Minnesota (x2): Addressing significant challenges in youth engagement and preparedness, BrookLynk was launched in 2015 as a dedicated workforce development program for young people in Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center. Its inception was driven by the discovery that 60% of local youth were not participating in summer programming, and that many middle and high school students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds lacked the necessary skills or networks for post-secondary advancement. To bolster this vital initiative, Senator Susan Pha (DFL-Brooklyn Park) presented Senate File 1187 on Monday, February 17, 2025, a bill seeking a $2,000,000 appropriation to further BrookLynk’s mission. 

For The Youth: 

• ACE Mentoring Program: Minneapolis-area high school students can now explore a multitude of career paths in architecture, construction, engineering (ACE), and the wider building design and construction industry through an engaging nationwide program. Each week, student teams collaborate directly with dedicated professionals from top local firms who volunteer as mentors. These sessions involve designing hypothetical projects, touring active construction sites for firsthand insights, and visiting established architectural, engineering, and construction offices. This immersive experience offers students a unique opportunity to discover and hone new skills, solidify their future ambitions, build a network of industry contacts, and set a clear course toward exciting and rewarding careers. 
• MENTOR Minnesota: MENTOR Minnesota believes that all youth possess inherent agency and power within their homes, schools, communities, and workplaces. The organization is dedicated to fueling both the quality and quantity of equitable and inclusive developmental relationships for Minnesota’s young people. It achieves this by strategically building and elevating the capacity of the programs, systems, and policies that shape youth experiences and opportunities.

Resources 

• Building Community Resiliency Through Social Capital (Webinar from ISCA):  This presentation delves into the significant value of social capital, highlighting how these interpersonal and inter-organizational networks function as key assets in disaster preparedness and response. By analyzing specific case studies, it will illuminate the intricate and multifaceted dynamics of these relationships in action. 

• Social Capital & How To Measure Economic Well-Being: The Center of the American Experiment has issued a first-of-its-kind report examining how social capital influences Minnesota’s economic well-being and whether state policies can strengthen it. Authored by economist John Phelan and titled ‘The X-Factor? Social capital and economic well-being: A quantitative analysis,’ the research utilizes new data from the congressional Joint Economic Committee’s Social Capital Project. The study addresses a key puzzle: why Minnesota and its neighboring states maintain similar employment levels despite implementing different economic policies. The report concludes that social capital plays a significant role in explaining this phenomenon.