Expanding on the successful aspects of earlier workforce legislation, Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in 1998 in order to establish a comprehensive Federal job training program for both youth and adults. But what, exactly, does the WIA mean for young people?

Workforce programs must offer a variety of services for young people that focus on Positive Youth Development and longterm outcomes rather than short-term job attainment.

Services include:

Tutoring, study skills training, instruction leading to completion of high school, including dropout prevention strategies

Alternative high school services

Summer employment linked to academic and occupational learning

Paid and unpaid work experience, including internships and job shadowing

Occupational skills training

Leadership development, which may include community service and peer-centered activities encouraging responsibility

Supportive services (for example, transportation and childcare)

Adult mentoring during program participation

A 12-month followup after program completion

Guidance and counseling, including drug and alcohol abuse counseling, and referral

Core services for youth must be offered all in one place through a network of nearly 3,500 "one-stop" career centers around the country.

"One-stop" centers are intended to be more convenient for and attractive to at-risk, out-of-school, and disconnected youth who may not have the means or motivation to access services in a variety of different locations. For a list of the one-stop centers near a given zip code, visit www.careeronestop.org.

Services are vetted and overseen by a Youth Council made up of community youth experts.

To ensure that youth workforce development programs actually address the issues and concerns of young people, the WIA calls for the creation of Youth Councils that write requests for proposals, solicit bids, recommend applicants, and oversee the contracts of winning bidders. Youth Councils are made up of representatives from Job Corps, the juvenile justice system, local youth programs, and public housing authorities. Parents and youth themselves may also participate.

Source: Taking the Bumpy 'Workforce Investment Act' Path to Connect 'Disconnected' Youth. Author: D. Hamm. Youth Law News, October-December 2003. Available from the National Center for Youth Law at www.youthlaw.org.

Federal WIA Resources

America's CareerOneStop Portal: www.careeronestop.org

America's Career InfoNet: www.acinet.org/acinet

America's Job Bank: www.ajb.org

America's Service Locator: www.servicelocator.org

O*NET (the Occupational Information Network) OnLine: online.onetcenter.org

Workforce Tools of the Trade: www.workforcetools.org