Youth and Young Adult Policy Update 4-24-26

April 23, 2026

• Join us during National Apprenticeship Week: NYEC will be hosting a Virtual Workshop on April 30: Apprenticeship Today — The Landscape and Opportunity, featuring the Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship (PAYA) within New America’s Center on Education & Labor.

• House Education and Workforce Committee Passes A Stronger Workforce for America Act of 2026: The Education and Workforce Committee passed H.R. 8210, A Stronger Workforce for America Act of 2026, which would reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). As we shared last week, there are a number of opportunity youth provisions that NYEC supported in ASWA 2024 that remained in this bill. NYEC will be tracking the bill closely and providing updates.

• Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer Stepping Down: U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned on April 20, 2026, amid an ongoing federal misconduct investigation. Her departure marks the third Cabinet-level exit in recent weeks, with Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling stepping in as acting secretary. 

• DOL/ED Grant: ETA Talent Search Program: The purpose of the Talent Search Program is to identify qualified individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds with potential for education at the postsecondary level and encourage them to complete secondary school and undertake postsecondary education. Applications are due May 1, 2026.
• DOJ Grant: FY25 Second Chance Act Improving Reentry Education and Employment Outcomes: This funding opportunity supports state, local, and tribal governments and community-based organizations to provide education and employment programs for people leaving jail and prison. The goal of the program is to improve academic and vocational/trade programs available to people in prisons and jails and expand workforce development and career pathways that result in improved job readiness, employment attainment, and retention thereby improving employment prospects and reducing recidivism. Applications are due May 4, 2026.
• DOJ Grant: FY25 Second Chance Act Community-based Reentry Program: This funding opportunity will support community-based organizations and tribal governments to provide mentoring and transitional services for adults returning to communities after a period of incarceration in a prison or a jail and who are assessed as moderate to high risk for recidivism. Applications are due May 4, 2026.
• DOJ Grant: FY25 Expanding Youth Access to Community-Based Treatment: This funding opportunity supports community-based treatment programs serving justice-involved youth under the age of 18 with substance use disorder (SUD) and co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder (MHSUD) needs. Applications are due May 4, 2026.
• DOL Grant: Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants (Round 6): Round 6 of the Strengthening Community Colleges (SCC or SCC6) grants will fund community colleges, with a singular focus on building program and system capacity for implementing and scaling access to short-term training opportunities through Workforce Pell Grants—i.e., promoting industry-driven strategies, worker mobility, and integration with the larger state workforce system (e.g., Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) partners) for statewide impact. Applications are due May 20, 2026.
• DOL Grant: State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula (Round 4): The fourth round of State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula grants provides direct funding to states and territories based on a new performance-based formula. This formula rewards states for recent growth in active and new apprentices and encourages strategies that increase employer participation. Applications are due May 26, 2026.
• DOL Grant: State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula (Round 4): The fourth round of State Apprenticeship Expansion Formula grants provides direct funding to states and territories based on a new performance-based formula. This formula rewards states for recent growth in active and new apprentices and encourages strategies that increase employer participation. Applications are due May 26, 2026. 
• HHS Grant: Foster Parents Network Analytics Hub (HUB): To support the Administration for Children and Families’ initiative, A Home for Every Child, the Children’s Bureau will award one grant to establish the Foster Parents Network Analytics Hub (HUB) to achieve a foster home-to-child ratio of more than 1:1 in every state by 2029. The HUB will advance the goal by providing states with advanced analytics tools and intensive technical assistance to optimize their foster parent networks. Applications are due July 14, 2026. 
• HUD Grant: Youth Homelessness Grant for FY2024 and FY2025: This grant opportunity will provide two separate sources of funding under two different program; YHSI grants (CFDA number 14.277) and YHDP (CFDA number 14.276). Both sets of funds were appropriated by Congress “to demonstrate how a comprehensive approach to serving homeless youth, age 24 and under … can dramatically reduce youth homelessness.” Applications are due July 29, 2026. 
• HHS Grant: FY2026 Runaway Homeless Youth Training, Technical Assistance, and Capacity Building Center (RHYTTAC): The Runaway and Homeless Youth Training, Technical Assistance, and Capacity Building Center (RHYTTAC) provides direct training and technical assistance to existing RHY award recipients and subrecipients to enhance their efforts to successfully implement FYSB-funded projects. Applications are due August 3, 2026. 
• HUD Grant: FY 2026 Continuum of Care Competition and Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program Grants: The Continuum of Care (CoC) Program is designed to promote a community-wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness and provide funding for efforts by providers. Applications are due August 26, 2026. 

• Michigan: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), has awarded $4 million in State Apprenticeship Expansion grant funding to 13 workforce development partners. This investment will directly benefit 606 Michiganders by providing access to earn-as-you-learn Registered Apprenticeship programs that offer life-changing career opportunities and pathways to high-demand, good-paying jobs. 
• Ohio: Ohio’s Senate Bill 328 aims to expand career-connected learning statewide by requiring students to develop individualized academic and career plans beginning in middle school and update them throughout their education. The legislation would also increase access to career exploration opportunities, such as job shadowing and career advising, to better align K–12 education with workforce needs and postsecondary pathways. 

• JobsFirstNYC Green Economy Policy Recommendations: JobsFirstNYC has released updated policy recommendations from its Green Economy Network outlining a roadmap to better align climate investments with workforce development and expand access to green jobs. The recommendations emphasize stronger coordination across education, workforce, and economic systems, along with clearer career pathways and increased public investment. 
• Clearing Up Dual Enrollment Misconceptions Brief: A new Jobs for the Future brief debunks 10 common myths, clarifying who dual enrollment serves and why it matters for student success.