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"PARTICIPANT ELIGIBILITY FOR TITLE IV PROGRAMS

SEC. 402. (a)(1) To be eligible for programs under part 3 A, a youth must be 16 to 21 years of age (inclusive), and 4 have a family income at or below 85 percent of the lower 5 living standard income level, except that (A) 10 percent of 6 each recipient's funds may be used for youths age 16 to 21 7 (inclusive) who do not meet such income requirement but 8 who otherwise demonstrate the need for such services, and 9 (B) youths shall be eligible who are age 16 to 21 (inclusive) 10 and (i) who are economically disadvantaged as defined in sec11 tion 3(8) of this Act, or (ii) in accordance with standards pre12 scribed by the Secretary, who are handicapped individuals, 13 youths under the supervision or jurisdiction of the juvenile or 14 criminal justice system, pregnant teenagers or teenage moth15 ers, or youths attending target schools under the basic skills. 16 program under the Youth Education and Training Act.

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"(2) Youths otherwise eligible under paragraph (1) of 18 this subsection but who are age 14 and 15 (inclusive) may 19 receive counseling, occupational information, and other tran20 sition services either on an individual or group basis.

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"(b) The Secretary shall issue regulations which, as a 22 condition of participation in programs under part A, shall re23 quire (1) a specific period of joblessness, during which a 24 youth must not have been employed prior to application for 25 the program, or (2) a specific initial period which shall be

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1 unstipended, during which a participating youth may receive 2 only counseling, occupational information, career assessment, 3 job referrals, and other transitional services.

4 “(c) The Secretary shall, by regulation, assure that pro5 grams under part A will give priority to youths who are ex6 periencing the most severe handicaps in obtaining employ7 ment, such as to those who lack a high school diploma or 8 other credentials, those who require substantial basic and re9 medial skill development, those out-of-school youths who 10 have been jobless for a long period of time, those who lack 11 equal opportunity due to sex, ethnic group, or handicap, 12 those who are veterans of military service who are facing 13 problems of readjustment to the civilian labor market, those 14 who are under the supervision or jurisdiction of the juvenile 15 or criminal justice system, those who are handicapped indi16 viduals, those who have dependents, or those who have 17 otherwise demonstrated special need, as determined by 18 the Secretary.

19 "(d) To be eligible for summer youth employment pro20 grams under part C, a youth must meet the eligibility re21 quirements in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this section, 22 except that otherwise eligible youths who are age 14 and 15 23 (inclusive) may participate if the program includes an educa24 tional component.

"SEC. 405. (a) Congress finds and declares that:

"(1) Youth unemployment accounts for a major share of aggregate unemployment and is a problem of increasing concern.

"(2) Youth unemployment problems are all the more critical because they are inequitably distributed among ethnic groups and economic levels.

"(3) The hardship related to youth joblessness is significant.

"(4) Joblessness among youths has significant social costs and consequences.

"(5) Intensive remedial employment, training, employment-related services, and supportive services, designed to lead to career entry, provide social benefits by enabling youths thereafter to apply their skills throughout their careers.

"(6) Occupational stereotypes based on ethnic group or sex can best be counteracted before career

limiting patterns are set.

"(7) Efforts to effectively prepare disadvantaged youths for unsubsidized employment in the private

sector must be correlated with the needs and require

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ments of private employers, who must be recognized as

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partners in the planning and implementation of youth training and employment programs.

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"(b) Congress further finds and declares that the prob5 lem of youth joblessness should be addressed not only with a 6 view toward addressing the immediate employment problems, 7 but more particularly in a developmental framework with a 8 view toward moving jobless youths step-by-step into long9 term productive careers in the public and private sectors of 10 the economy. Accordingly, training and employment pro11 grams for youths should be designed in a manner which par12 allels the natural development of youths as they progress 13 toward the adult world of work.

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"(c) It is therefore the purpose of this part to provide

15 support for youth training and employment programs, along 16 with ancillary employment-related services and supportive 17 services, which

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"(1) will develop the skills and competencies of youths to enable them to obtain unsubsidized employ

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22 needed for entry into the world of work; (B) develop

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the skills and ability to perform competently in entry level work; (C) provide an awareness of, and introduc

tion to, the world of work; and (D) provide the ad

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vanced skills, training, and job search assistance needed by older youths seeking career employment;

“(2) provide for assessment of each youth to determine his or her need for employability development; for employment and other services to be afforded to such youths in accordance with such assessed needs; and for employment-related competencies gained by such youths to be documented and recognized in accordance with standards developed in the community;

"(3) provide for performance standards for prime sponsors and service deliverers, and benchmarks for youth participants;

"(4) provide for extensive coordination and cooperation in the planning and operation of the programs with local educational agencies, especially with respect

to activities on behalf of in-school youths, and for the involvement of the business community, labor organizations, and community-based organizations; and

"(5) assure to youths freedom from the limitations of occupational stereotypes based on sex, ethnic group, or handicap.

"FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR EACH SUBPART

"SEC. 406. (a) From the sums available for this part,

24 the Secretary shall make available