Sneak Preview: WIOA Youth Guidance Supports Equity, Job Quality
(The following was excerpted from a recent Federal Grants Compliance Expert article.) The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) requested state and local workforce agencies administering Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Title I Youth (WIOA Youth) formula programs to review their policies and procedures to ensure they comply with a recent federal guidance calling for the integration of equity and job quality principles, as well as youth mental health assessments, into program design and service delivery.
“The overarching vision is to achieve a no-wrong-door workforce system with critical partners committed to quality career pathways and paid work experiences,” ETA, an agency within the Department of Labor (DOL), explained in Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 09-22. “States and local workforce boards are encouraged to incorporate this vision and priorities in their planning and implementation of programs. Additionally, local programs should work to incorporate youth voice into decisions about programming that ultimately impact the young people they serve. Youth, as partners and co-designers of programs, can provide critical insights and recommend strategies to improve outreach, recruitment and other service delivery strategies.”
ETA defines equity as the “consistent and systemic, fair, just and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment.” The agency emphasized that it is prioritizing the advancement of equity to ensure youth have equal access to high-quality education and training. The guidance listed several resources that WIOA Youth program recipients can use to learn more about integrating equity into workforce development programming.
“Equity must be integrated into everything programs do; from outreach and recruitment to service delivery strategies to partnership development and to using data to inform decisionmaking,” according to ETA. “Equity in the WIOA Youth program means that not only do youth have equitable access to services and supports, but also that youth are achieving equitable outcomes.”
ETA added in the guidance that workforce agencies should ensure that youth have access to quality jobs that can lead to successful careers. It touted DOL’s Good Jobs Initiative, which focuses on job quality by providing “critical information to workers, employers and the government as [these entities] work to improve job quality and create access to good jobs free from discrimination and harassment.” The guidance referred to a previous ETA guidance (TEGL Letter 07-22), which provided a “good job” definition; explained why job quality is important; outlined how the workforce system integrates good job strategies into its employer relationships and workforce training; and clarified the workforce system’s role as supporter and developer of good jobs.
(The full version of this story has now been made available to all for a limited time here.)
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