Youth and Young Adult Policy Update 6-18-26

June 18, 2026 |

Key federal and state developments, funding opportunities, grants, and resources impacting workforce development programs and services.

News at NYEC

Registration is Open: NYEC’s DC Summit in Washington, DC – September 21–23! Formerly known as Youth Days, this is our convening that brings together practitioners, youth leaders, and partners to demonstrate the importance of investing in young people and the programs that support them. Early Bird registration ends July 15!

Legislative Branch

  • Bicameral Lawmakers Introduce Child Safety and Well-Being Act:  Senators Edward Markey (D-MA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced S. 4763, the Child Safety and Well-Being Act, to advocate for and protect children in federal policymaking. The legislation would establish an independent commission to promote the interests of children and marginalized youth and ensure that their interests are protected and advanced in federal policy. Representatives Morgan McGarvey (KY-03), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), and Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) introduced a companion bill in the House. 

Executive Branch

  • States That Are Implementing the First Lady’s Fostering Future Accounts: Last week, First Lady Melania Trump launched Fostering the Future Accounts, a new financial resource established to empower foster youth to be fiscally autonomous in adulthood. Developed in partnership with the Department of the Treasury, these accounts will provide eligible youth in foster care with tax-advantaged investment and savings accounts to help build long-term financial stability and expand opportunities for future success. This press release states what states are implementing this initiative and who aren’t.  

From the States

  • California: Home Depot donated $250,000 to Los Angeles Boys and Girls Club. The investment will support a range of initiatives serving local youth, including soccer programming, workforce development opportunities and other community-based Club programs across Southern California.  
  • Iowa: Iowa Workforce Development launched a new Advanced Manufacturing Pathways Development (AMP’D) grant using a $4.7M U.S. Department of Labor award. The program funds employer led training to address manufacturing skill gaps, offering up to 80% reimbursement, $4,000 per employee, and $250,000 per employer. Applications open June 29, with priority for small and mid‑sized manufacturers. Iowa State’s CIRAS will support employers, and the initiative builds on the state’s Manufacturing 4.0 efforts. 
  • Virginia: Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger recently signed a law creating a Virginia State Internship coordinator position, designed to improve how students and recent graduates gain workforce experience through state agencies. The law makes a pandemic‑era pilot permanent, streamlines outreach and applications, improves access for under‑resourced students, and enhances data tracking to support long‑term workforce development. Gov. Spanberger also launched Internships VA to expand paid opportunities, and the new position is funded in the pending state budget. 
  • South Dakota: South Dakota labor official Marcia Hultman, the Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation, sees AI as a potential tool for addressing the state’s persistent worker shortages by helping employees become more productive and assisting businesses with tasks that are difficult to fill.  
  • New York: Rochester Mayor Malik Evans outlined his second-term priorities, one of which focuses on youth development. He emphasized youth workforce development through job training, summer employment programs, and the school-to-Career Opportunity Task Force, arguing that employment opportunities help keep young people engaged and build long-term career skills. 

Resources

  • BlackRock Future Builders RFP: The BlackRock Foundation is offering $500,000–$1,000,000 grants (about 10–15 awards) to support high‑impact innovations that help close the skilled trades labor gap as part of its $100M Future Builders initiative. The grants run for two years and are open to organizations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Applications are due July 10, 2026, 11:59 PM 
  • 2026 Governors’ Health and Human Services Policy Advisors Institute: State HHS advisors met in New Orleans to share priorities and challenges, with H.R. 1 dominating concerns due to major Medicaid, SNAP, and funding impacts. Sessions covered healthcare affordability, rural health, childcare, overdose prevention, SNAP administration, AI/technology modernization, child welfare reforms, direct‑care workforce shortages, and high‑acuity youth mental health needs.  
  • Meta Introduces “America’s Workforce Academy”: Meta is launching America’s Workforce Academy (AWA), a free, nationwide skilled‑trades training program with paid learning, industry credentials, and guaranteed jobs for graduates. Backed by $115M, the program starts in LA, OH, IN, and TX and partners with ABC, CBRE, the National Urban League, and others to train workers for high‑demand roles like electricians, fiber techs, and welders. 

Federal Funding Opportunities

  • HHS Grant: National Training Center for Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP): The National Training Center (NTC) will provide training and technical assistance to strengthen grantees’ ability to deliver high‑quality TPP programs support grant recipients, sub‑recipients, and implementation partners, and ensure all activities align with statutory requirements and the Priorities of the Assistant Secretary for Health. Applications are due July 10, 2026.  
  • ED Grant: Expanding Career Pathways and Workforce Readiness of Special Education Teachers and Early Intervention Personnel Through Registered Apprenticeships: The purpose of the Expanding Career Pathways and Workforce Readiness of Special Education Teachers and Early Intervention Personnel Through Registered Apprenticeships competition is to fund cooperative agreements that support registered apprenticeship programs that attract, prepare, and retain special education teachers or early intervention personnel. Applications are due July 13, 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. 
  • HHS Grant: Community Economic Development Projects: The Office of Community Services (OCS) will award approximately $18.57 million in Community Economic Development (CED) discretionary funds to Community Development Corporations (CDC) to enhance job creation and business development for individuals with low income. Applications are due July 17, 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. 
  • Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) Round 7: A Grant Initiative for the Appalachian, Delta, and Northern Border Regions: Provides $2 million to qualifying organizations including school boards, nonprofits, etc. Within the WORC region of the United States. Funds are coming from the Employment and Training Administration. Applications are due July 23, 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. 
  • Forecasted HHS Grant: FY 2026 Basic Center Program: The Basic Center Program (BCP) provides temporary, emergency shelter; and counseling services to youth who have left home without permission of their parents or guardians, have been forced to leave home, or other homeless youth who might otherwise end up in the law enforcement or in the child welfare, mental health, or juvenile justice systems. 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 providing funding for efforts by providers. Applications are due August 26, 2026 

National Youth Employment Coalition Questions? Contact nathan.hora@nyec.org