Youth and Young Adult Policy Update 5-01-26

May 1, 2026

• Save The Date: NYEC’s DC Summit in Washington, DC – September 21-23! Formerly known as Youth Days, this convening brings together practitioners, youth leaders, and partners to demonstrate the importance of investing in young people and the programs that support them.

• DHS Shutdown Ends: Congress passed, and President Trump signed, a bipartisan funding bill on April 30 ending the record-long partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which had lasted roughly 11 weeks amid disputes over immigration policy. The agreement restores funding for most DHS agencies, such as TSA, FEMA, and the Secret Service, while leaving funding for immigration enforcement agencies like ICE and Border Patrol to be addressed separately in future legislation.
• Senator Cassidy Introduces Bills to Support Apprenticeships: Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced legislation aiming to expand apprenticeship opportunities. Cassidy and Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced the Apprenticeship Data Value Improvements to Create Employment (ADVICE) Act, which allows states and apprenticeship program sponsors to create pay, retention, and program completion data. Cassidy also introduced the Streamlining Timely Apprenticeship Registration and Transparency (START) Act with Senator Jim Banks (R-IN), which guarantees prospective programs will receive faster responses as they seek registration. Cassidy is also requesting the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study on removing barriers to create new apprenticeship programs. Read the ADVICE Act full bill text here, and the START Act full bill text here.

• US Department of Labor Launches Website to Build Artificial Intelligence Skills, Expand AI-focused Registered Apprenticeship Programs: The U.S. Department of Labor announced the launch of its AI in Registered Apprenticeship Innovation Portal, a one-stop resource for organizations looking to build artificial intelligence literacy and develop AI-focused Registered Apprenticeship programs. The initiative builds on the objectives laid out in the department’s AI Literacy Framework that was released earlier this year.
• President Trump Proclaims May 2026 as National Foster Care Month: President Donald Trump issued a proclamation designating May 2026 as National Foster Care Month, highlighting the administration’s focus on supporting youth in foster care, while First Lady Melania Trump has continued related advocacy efforts centered on child welfare and foster care awareness.
• President Trump Releases Statement on National Apprenticeship Week: President Donald Trump marked National Apprenticeship Week with a presidential message highlighting the administration’s push to expand apprenticeship pathways, including a goal of reaching over one million apprentices.
• US Department of Labor Celebrates National Apprenticeship Week 2026: This year’s 2026 National Apprenticeship Week ran from April 27 – May 2 and featured 2,700 planned apprenticeship events and proclamations nationwide, all under the theme, “America at Work: Making America Skilled Again through Registered Apprenticeship.”

• 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.
• 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.
• Forecasted HHS Grant: The Primary Prevention Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program: This funding opportunity provides funding to identify and implement strategies and services for youth and young adults between ages 12 and 26 in order to prevent homelessness, including strategies designed to serve youth and young adult populations with a high likelihood of experiencing homelessness, housing instability, particularly among youth at risk of human trafficking; struggling with substance abuse or mental health concerns; or transitioning out of foster care, the juvenile justice system, or a residential behavioral health system. Applications are due July 22, 2026.
• HUD Grant: Youth Homelessness Grant for FY2024 and FY2025: This grant opportunity will provide two separate sources of funding under two different programs; 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.

• Massachusetts: Mayor Michelle Wu and the Office of Youth Employment and Opportunity announced that paid youth job applications are open for summer 2026. Boston youth and young adults ages 14–24 can apply now at futureBOS, a centralized hub for all youth employment opportunities in Boston, including opportunities from SuccessLink, the City’s youth jobs program.
• Pennsylvania: Proposed Pennsylvania House Bill 904 would establish a “CareerBound” workforce development initiative focused on expanding school-to-work programs and strengthening connections between education and employment pathways. The proposal also includes a related tax credit program and assigns implementation responsibilities to state agencies, and it has been referred to the House Labor and Industry Committee for consideration.

• National Apprenticeship Resource Hub: This online hub by the Urban Institute offers research, tools, and frameworks to help workforce leaders design and expand high-quality apprenticeship programs, including data on outcomes, employer ROI, and strategies for scaling work-based learning models.
• Youth Resource Connections Newsletter: The U.S. Department of Labor’s monthly Youth Resource Connections newsletter provides updates on federal youth workforce initiatives, new tools, upcoming webinars, and funding opportunities to support practitioners serving young people.