DC Youth and Young Adult Update 8-15-2025

News at NYEC: 

• NYEC Annual Youth Days Event Early Bird Pricing Ends TODAY! Registration is open for NYEC’s annual Youth Days Event in Washington, D.C., from November 5-7, 2025. Grab your tickets before Early Bird pricing ends today, August 15th! NYEC is inviting practitioners, community and organization leaders, and young people to join us to bring a voice for opportunity youth to Congress. Whether you are new to policy and advocacy or a skilled advocate, we will provide the tools and training so you can join us in calling for increased investments and new policies that will benefit young people across the nation. We hope to see you there!  

Legislative Branch:  

Congress is on recess during the month of August, so there will be less Legislative Branch content this month. 

• Senators Sanders, Padilla, Schumer, and Colleagues Urge Trump Administration to Ensure Americans Can Access Safety Net and Public Assistance Programs: Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) led a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Attorney General Pam Bondi calling on them to reverse departmental guidance over vital programs and services related to education, public health, job training and safety by requiring states, local governments and communities to verify immigration or citizenship status. Read the letter here. 

Executive Branch:  

• Departments of Labor, Commerce, Education Release Workforce Development Strategy: On August 12, the Departments of Labor, Commerce, and Education released their report, America’s Talent Strategy: Equipping American Workers for the Golden Age, which offers actions to “transform the federal government’s approach to workforce development.” The strategy is based on five pillars: Demand-Driven Strategies, Worker Mobility, Integrated Systems, Accountability, and Flexibility and Innovation. The strategy has several implications for programs that serve opportunity youth and for opportunity youth themselves. NYEC generated this summary following an initial read of the strategy memo, which highlights sections related to opportunity youth. The press release of the strategy can be found here, and the full report can be found here. NYEC’s policy team will continue to identify areas in this strategy that implicate opportunity youth and will share opportunities to engage.   

• Secretary McMahon Announces “Returning Education to the States” 50-State Tour: U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced the “Returning Education to the States” Tour. Secretary McMahon will visit all 50 U.S. states to hear from students, teachers, and school leaders about education models that are accelerating learning outcomes and are meeting the needs of families and local communities. Click here to view the video announcement. 

• US Department of Labor Launches Performance Dashboard for Workforce Development Programs: The U.S. Department of Labor announced the launch of a performance dashboard that provides information on the effectiveness of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Adult, Youth, and Dislocated Worker programs. The dashboard includes data from over 550 local workforce development boards nationwide. 

• US Department of Labor Announces Availability of $30M in Grants to Train Workers: The U.S. Department of Labor announced the availability of up to $30 million in funding in the Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund grant program. Administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA), these grants will provide outcome-based reimbursements to employers for providing training in industries that align with President Trump’s Executive Order 14278, Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future, Executive Order 14629, Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance, and America’s AI Action Plan. This fund also echoes the President’s proposal to Make America Skilled Again.  

Federal Funding Opportunities with upcoming deadlines: 

• DOL Grant: Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund Grant Program: Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund grants of up to $8 million will be awarded to State Workforce Agencies to establish and administer training funds that encourage businesses to create and expand innovative training programs. Priority industries for the grants include artificial intelligence infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, nuclear energy, domestic mineral production, and information technology. Additionally, the department intends to award at least $5 million to build a pipeline of skilled American workers in the shipbuilding industry. Applications are due September 5, 2025. 

• HHS Grant: Grants to Support New Investigators in Conducting Research Related to Preventing Interpersonal Violence Impacting Children and Youth: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) helps researchers develop skills in violence prevention research. The goal is to support scientists in becoming independent researchers. Applicants must propose a research project that focuses on at least one of the following NCIPC research priorities related to interpersonal violence and suicide affecting children and youth (birth to age 17). These research priorities include adverse childhood experiences, child abuse and neglect, youth violence, intimate partner violence (including teen dating violence), sexual violence, suicide, and cross-cutting preventions (i.e. examining two or more of these priority topics). Find more information here. Applicants are encouraged to explore multiple forms of interpersonal violence and/or suicide among children or youth, community factors that increase the risk of interpersonal violence and/or suicide, and the practical relevance of the research for prevention and intervention efforts. Applications are due December 1, 2025. 

Previously Shared: 

• DOJ Grant: Emergency and Transitional Pet Shelter and Housing Assistance for Victims of Domestic Violence: Under this notice of funding opportunity, OVC will provide funding for shelter and transitional housing and other assistance to victims of domestic violence and their companion animals. Applications are due August 15, 2025. 

• USDA Grant: Rural Housing Preservation Grant: The HPG program is a grant program which provides qualified public agencies, private nonprofit organizations, which may include but not be limited to, Faith-Based and Community Organizations, and other eligible entities grant funds to assist very low- and low-income homeowners in repairing and rehabilitating their homes in rural areas. Applications are due September 4, 2025. 

• DOL Grant: Industry-Driven Skills Training Fund Grant Program: The purpose of this grant initiative is to fund demonstration grants to states to support businesses in creating or expanding training programs that provide workers with the critical industry skills needed to fill in-demand jobs in those states and advance national economic priorities. Eligible lead applicants for this funding opportunity are limited to State Workforce Agencies, defined as state agencies responsible for developing statewide workforce policy and administering the state’s WIOA title I programs. Applications are due September 5, 2025. 

• HHS Grant: National Center on Head Start Early Learning, Health and Family Engagement: The Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start announces the availability of approximately $15,000,000 to be competitively awarded for the purpose of operating the Head Start National Center on Early Learning, Health, and Family Engagement. This NC will provide training and technical assistance that reflects current evidence, is research-informed, and promotes best practices. Applications are due December 15, 2025. 

From the States: 

• Mississippi: A first-of-its-kind mental health initiative in Mississippi will provide hope to the state’s youth in low- and moderate-income households by utilizing a partnership with Canopy Children’s Solutions and the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA). To kick off the program, MDA will utilize $16 million in Community Development Block Grant funding to allow Canopy Children’s Services to provide mental health screening through a service called Canopy Anywhere. 

• California: Through an initiative by the Prebys Foundation, 17 local nonprofits will get money to go toward providing paid internships, apprenticeships and more for people between the ages of 18-26. The funded programs will support youth professional and financial goals and employment in industries such as health care, medical research, skilled trades and others. 

Resources:  

• Urban Institute Report on the Impact of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” on Medicaid: OBBBA leaves roughly 3 in 10 young adults ages 18 to 24 insured through Medicaid vulnerable to losing coverage. Notably, many of the changes target the Medicaid expansion population. This report goes over the five ways the changes to Medicaid in OBBBA will likely affect young adults in the short and long terms. 

• Urban Institute Report on the Impact of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” on SNAP: OBBBA leaves the nearly 3 million young adults ages 18 to 24 who receive SNAP vulnerable to losing that assistance. This report goes over the three ways the changes to SNAP in OBBBA will likely affect young adults in the short and long terms.