Youth Build

Federally funded education and job training programs for low-income youth.
Since the Great Depression, the federal government has been funding programs that provide low-income, out-of-school, and unemployed youth with education, job training, and supportive services (Fernandes, 2011). Although the names of the programs have changed over time, as have the models on which they are based, their primary goal remains the same. Specifically, the programs are designed to address the multiple barriers to employment faced by these young people and put them on a path towards economic self-sufficiency.
This article focuses on three of the largest and longest running education and job training programs for low-income, at-risk youth that the federal
The program was replicated, first in other New York City neighborhoods with public funding and then in other cities across the country with support from private foundations (YouthBuild USA, n.d.).
The Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 established YouthBuild as a national program, with administrative responsibility given to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Congress transferred oversight of the program to the Department of Labor (DOL) in 2006 because it was more closely aligned with the DOL 's focus on workforce development.
There are now 273 local YouthBuild programs in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands. Grants are awarded on a competitive basis to public or private nonprofit agencies. Local programs raise matching funds from other public and private sources and receive training, technical assistance, and help with data management from YouthBuild USA, a nonprofit support center for local YouthBuild programs
(2010). Trends in High School Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 1972-2008: Compendium Report. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Cullinan, M., Eaves, J., McCurdy, D., & McCain, J. (1992). Forging a Military Youth Corps: A Military-Youth Service Partnership for High School Dropouts. The Final Report of the CSIS National Community Service for Out-of-School Youth Project. Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Fernandes, A. (2011). Vulnerable Youth: issues in the Reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service
Government Accountability Office. (2011). Multiple Employment and Training Programs: Providing Information on Colocating Services and Consolidating Administrative Structures Could Promote Efficiencies. Washington, DC: GAO.
Heckman, J.J., & Rubinstein, Y. (2001). The importance of noncognitive skills: Lessons from the GED resting program. American Economic Review, 9112), 145-149.
MDRC (n.d.) YouthBuild Evaluation. Retrieved August 9,2011 from http://www.mdrc.org/ project_32_103.html
Millenky, M., Bloom, D..& Dillon, C. (2010). Making the Transition: Interim Results of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Evaluation. New York: