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IntroductionIncome and education are more closely linked than in any time in our history. 90% of the fastest growing jobs require education and training beyond high school. College students earn on average 70 percent more than high school students. High school dropouts are four times more likely than college graduates to be unemployed. Low income Americans have far higher rates of dropping out of high school and far lower rates of enrolling in college and obtaining a post-secondary credential than their middle or higher income peers. The earning power of high school drop-outs has been in almost continuous decline over the past three decades; in 2002, the earnings of male dropouts declined 32%. Female dropouts experienced a 14% decline. The YouthBuild Initiative represents a tremendous opportunity to re-connect young people to the education they need to become valuable participants in the 21st century knowledge-based economy. The YouthBuild Initiative hopes to serve 85-95 grantees within the first year. To support this, ETA’s technical assistance strategy will include various efforts to improve the academic programming at individual sites as well as efforts to increase successful transitions to post-secondary educational opportunities, particularly community colleges. Ensuring that youth are placed in jobs with defined career ladders or pathways is the primary goal of the YouthBuild Initiative. Developing these types of placements and helping youth to retain these jobs is difficult work, requiring the skills of both a sales person and a case manager/career counselor. To support DOL grantee sites in creating strong job connections for youth, the YouthBuild technical assistance strategy must focus on job development, placement, and retention programs. In an effort to effectively oversee, implement, manage and report on the performance and financial activities funded by this initiative, ETA’s Office of Youth Services (OYS) has identified the need to develop an information system that will automate its YouthBuild business processes. The proposed YouthBuild Initiative System will provide advanced capabilities to support the business needs and procedures of the OYS and the YouthBuild grantees.
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