Workforce development: Youth at Work Program.

The federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 provides for workforce investment activities, including activities in which states may participate. Existing law establishes the California Workforce Investment Board (CWIB) , and specifies that the CWIB is responsible for assisting the Governor in the development, oversight, and continuous improvement of California's workforce investment system. This bill would require the CWIB, in collaboration with the local workforce investment boards, to establish the California Youth at Work Program for the purpose of providing summer job training, work based learning, and work experience opportunities for youth in the state, in accordance with prescribed requirements. Existing law contains various programs for job training and employment investment, including work incentive programs, as specified, and a local workforce investment board to perform various duties related to the implementation and coordination of local workforce investment activities, including, among other things, the award of grants and contracts to eligible providers of youth activities on a competitive basis, consistent with the federal law. This bill would specify that a local board is to award grants or contracts to eligible providers of youth activities, in a manner consistent with other funding sources and to identify eligible providers in a manner consistent with federal law.