US Department of Labor announces availability of grants to improve employment prospects of young adult offenders

PHILADELPHIA – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced the availability of approximately $17 million in funds for two grants to support the employment prospects of young offenders, ages 16 to 24, in high-poverty, high-crime communities.

"Our nation's young people are one of our greatest resources," said Secretary Solis. "Helping to improve the job prospects of young offenders is one of the best ways to reduce recidivism while strengthening America's future."

The grants will be awarded through a competitive process open to national and regional intermediaries with experience in conducting multi-site projects and serving young adult offenders. The Labor Department expects to award two grants of $8.5 million each. Grantees will be required to competitively select local subgrantees to operate the programs in a minimum of five high-poverty, high-crime communities across at least two states.

Each year, juvenile courts in the United States handle approximately 1.6 million delinquency cases, and an estimated 144,000 youth are placed in juvenile correctional facilities, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Young people placed in these facilities face severe educational and labor market barriers.

A notice of the solicitation for grant applications will be published in the March 1 edition of the Federal Register. To view the full solicitation online, visit http://www.doleta.gov/grants/find_grants.cfm or http://www.grants.gov.

For information on the range of Department of Labor employment and training programs, visit http://www.doleta.gov.