5874628 Resolution 21-401, Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Expansion Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2016

A RESOLUTION

                                                        

21-401

 

IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

 

February 2, 2016        

 

 

To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Youth Employment Act of 1979 to authorize the Mayor to provide employment or work readiness training for participants 14 through 24 years of age.

 

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the “Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Expansion Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2016”.

 

Sec. 2.(a) In 2015, the Council enacted the Youth Employment and Work Readiness Training Emergency Amendment Act of 2015, effective May 26, 2015 (D.C. Act 21-73; 62 DCR 6884) (“emergency legislation”), which provided the Mayor with the authority to allow up to 1,000 youth 22 to 24 years of age to participate in the Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program (“MBSYEP”). The emergency legislation expired on August 24, 2015.

            (b) In 2015, the Department of Employment Services (“DOES”) received 2,526 applications for participation in MBSYEP from youth 22 to 24 years of age. Due to the high interest from this age group, permanent legislation allowing up to 1,000 youths in this group to participate in MBSYEP is currently under Council review.

            (c) Forty percent of the District’s unemployed residents have less than a Bachelor’s degree, while 61% of jobs in the District require a Bachelor’s degree or higher. Consequently, it is imperative that older youths who lack the necessary education to obtain the majority of jobs in the District be given the opportunity to gain meaningful work experience to prepare them for long-term careers in the future.

            (d) The start date for MBSYEP is January 29, 2016. To provide the 1,000 spots for youth 22 to 24 years of age in 2016, as well as provide those participants with the full experience of MBSYEP, this emergency is necessary to provide the Mayor with the authority to accept applications from this age group at the start of the application process.

            (e) To allow the DOES to provide this older age group with the services and experiences they need, it is crucial that youths 22 to 24 years of age be able to participate in MBSYEP as well as gain access to the pre-program assistance available to the other participants in the program by providing the Mayor with the authority to expand the program to include youth 22 to 24 years of age.

            (f) Further, this legislation will align the District with the federal programs of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, approved July 22, 2014 (Pub. L. No 113-128; 128 Stat. 1425), which have expanded youth programming to include youth up to 24 years of age. The expansion of MBSYEP will provide the older youth who participate in MBSYEP an entrée to federal training and employment readiness programs and year-round support. 

 

Sec. 3.  The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Expansion Emergency Amendment Act of 2016 be adopted after a single reading.

 

            Sec.  4.  This resolution shall take effect immediately.