U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan (R-NY) supports full funding in the nation’s fiscal year 2019 budget for YouthBuild USA, a federal job skills, education and counseling program for low-income 16-24 year olds who lack high school diplomas and employment.
“It’s not government’s job to mandate equal outcomes, but it’s our basic responsibility to ensure everybody has a fair shot to make their own success in life,” Rep. Donovan said during an April 5 event in his New York district where he hosted local affiliate Staten Island YouthBuild Program Director Kamillah Hanks and program participants.
“Too many young people are trapped in an endless cycle of poverty because they don’t have the same opportunity as others. YouthBuild breaks that cycle by training participants to build self-sustaining lives premised on the idea that anybody can find success with hard work and perseverance,” Donovan said. “It’s exactly the kind of program we should invest in.”
The congressman’s philosophy is that government-funded programs should aim to provide individuals with tools and training to create their own successes rather than promote their reliance on the federal system.
“Our YouthBuild program is opening doors to young men and women on Staten Island who want to transform their lives, give back to our community, complete their education and go on to become hardworking taxpayers,” said YouthBuild’s Hanks during the event. “Expanding federal YouthBuild funding makes it more likely that we can keep our doors open to the hundreds of motivated young people who need YouthBuild in our community.”
YouthBuild USA, Inc., is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that operates in the United States as YouthBuild USA and in all other countries as YouthBuild International, according to its website. YouthBuild USA has a network of 260 urban and rural YouthBuild programs in 44 states that are sponsored and managed by local nonprofits, community colleges and public agencies. Their primary funding source is the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) through the authorized federal YouthBuild program administered by the Employment and Training Administration at DOL. YouthBuild USA provides training and technical assistance, leadership development, funding for innovative program enhancements, and advocacy for these programs.
According to the central office, 61 percent of YouthBuild USA participants have found jobs or enrolled in post-secondary education at the conclusion of the program. Additionally, since the program launched in 1992, more than 148,000 students in 45 states have performed more than 48 million hours of community service, building 32,000 units of affordable housing, according to a recent letter spearheaded by U.S. Reps. Scott Perry (R-PA) and Donovan.
In their letter, the lawmakers requested that leaders of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee allocate “ample funding for this critical program” in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Bill. They also noted that while construction is a “versatile” skill that can be used in most communities, program graduates pursue careers in other fields like health care, technology and customer service.
“The program is flexible to transform with the needs of the local community so that participants aren’t just learning a skill, they’re learning one that will lead to employment upon completion of the program,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter to U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). “For example, at the Crispus Attucks YouthBuild program in York, Pennsylvania, students receive 120 hours of state certified nursing assistant training taught by a staff member from a local community college, designed to meet the needs of local area hospitals.”
There are currently 147 local YouthBuild USA programs in operation across the country, and there are at least 4.9 million 16-24 year olds without jobs or high school diplomas who would qualify for the program.
“This program removes these individuals from relying on safety net programs that can be extremely costly over the course of their life,” according to the letter. “We believe that adequate funding for YouthBuild to meet the strong demand in thousands of communities nationally is an effective, strategic investment in putting these disconnected youth on a path to success while building an educated, connected, and skilled workforce.”