California YouthBuild Program

California’s Unemployment Insurance Code contains the California YouthBuild Program in Division 3, Part 1, Chapter 2, Article 4. Section 9800 states that the purposes of the California YouthBuild Program include enabling economically disadvantaged youth, especially youth who have not finished high school, to obtain the education, job skills training, personal counseling, leadership development skills training, job placement assistance, and long-term followup services necessary for them to achieve permanent economic self-sufficiency.

In addition, the Program’s purpose is to provide communities with the opportunity to establish or rebuild neighborhood stability in economically depressed and low-income areas, as well as to allow communities to expand the supply of affordable housing for homeless and other low-income individuals, and to foster the development of leadership skills and a commitment to community development among youth.

Section 9801 authorizes the director to make grants to applicants for the purpose of carrying out programs as authorized by this article. For the purpose of administering and managing the grant-making process, the director may contract with a qualified nonprofit corporation designated by the United States Department of Labor to provide technical assistance to YouthBuild programs. All programs are required to have strong youth and community involvement. This section defines the terms: “YouthBuild Program,” program,” “applicant,” and “participant.”

Section 9802 requires the programs to provide, at a minimum, half a dozen specified services. Each participant must be provided with a training subsidy, living allowance, or stipend of not less than $8 per hour for the time spent at the worksite in construction training. The training subsidy, living allowance, or stipend may be distributed in a manner that offers incentives for good performance.

In addition, full-time participation in a program must be offered for a period of not less than 6 months and not more than 24 months. A concentrated effort is to be made to find construction, construction-related, or nonconstruction jobs for all graduates of the program who have performed well. And, the job training curriculum must provide participants with basic preparation for seeking and maintaining a job.

Section 9802.5 authorizes the department to accept proposals for funding from applicants who establish their eligibility for funding under this article by submitting proof that they have been funded or designated as a federal YouthBuild program by the United States Department of Labor.

Section 9803 specifies that program grants may be used for one of three specified activities. Section 9805 requires eligible participants in a program to be youth between the ages of 17 and 24, inclusive, who are economically disadvantaged, as defined in Section 1503 of Title 29 of the United States Code, and who are in one of the three specified groups.

Section 9806 requires the director to use the existing infrastructure of federally funded YouthBuild programs to the maximum extent possible. Entities eligible for grants under this article are required to be nonprofit private entities and public agencies with experience in operating youth construction skills training, education, job placement, personal development, leadership development, and housing rehabilitation or construction programs.

Section 9807 requires an application for a grant under this article to contain all of the seventeen required items.

Section 9808 requires the term “YouthBuild” to only be used in connection with a program funded pursuant to this article or by the United States Department of Labor, or if the program is an affiliate of YouthBuild U.S.A.

Section 9809 provides that each grant recipient, at the beginning of the grant cycle, must report to the director regarding the number of participants who have done any of seven specified programs.

Section 9809.5 requires each grant recipient to report to the director on other participant outcomes as required by the Governor under federal law.