Bill Text: NJ S4255 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes five-year youth workforce readiness grant pilot program; appropriates $5 million.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-05-14 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Labor Committee [S4255 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-S4255-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes five-year youth workforce readiness grant pilot program; appropriates $5 million.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act establishing the "Youth Workforce Readiness Act" and supplementing Title 34 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Youth Workforce Readiness Act."
2. The purpose of this act is to establish or expand activities to:
a. Increase access and opportunities for youth to obtain education and training necessary to succeed in the labor market;
b. Support engagement in and the integration of programs and activities offered during out-of-school time hours through the workforce investment, education, and economic development systems;
c. Improve the quality of the workforce and meet the skill requirements of employers;
d. Engage employers in addressing the training, skill, and employment needs of youth and youth jobseekers, and fostering opportunities for connection and economic mobility; and
e. Include younger youth in the education and workforce investment activities in an age and developmentally appropriate manner.
3. As used in this act:
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development.
"Community-based organization" means a youth-serving private nonprofit organization, which may include a faith-based organization, that:
(1) is representative of a community or a significant segment of a community;
(2) has demonstrated expertise and effectiveness in workforce development; and
(3) has demonstrated expertise:
(a) in the planning and delivery of education, training, and related activities that are included in a career pathway;
(b) in forging coordination and cooperation between educators and other members of the community; and
(c) in the development and implementation of data systems that measure the progress of students and outcomes of career pathways.
"Covered partnership" means a partnership between:
(1) a community-based organization; and
(2) an industry or sector partnership, a local educational agency, and another public entity or private employer, as appropriate.
"Eligible youth" means the same as that term is defined under section 3102 of the "Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act," (29 U.S.C. s.3102) except that the individual involved shall be:
(1) not younger than age 12, except that career awareness programming may be provided to youth not younger than age 10; and
(2) not older than age 18, or age 19 if enrolled in secondary school.
"Industry or sector partnership" means:
(1) the same as that term is defined under section 3102 of the "Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act," (29 U.S.C. s.3102); and
(2) a collaborative that meets the requirements of paragraph (26) under section 3102 of the "Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act," (29 U.S.C. s.3102) but also includes:
(a) an Indian tribe or tribal organization; or
(b) a community-based organization.
"Out-of-school time" means, with respect to a program described in section 6 of this act, a supervised program regularly attended by eligible youth, that fosters learning and development during out-of-school time hours, which includes hours before school, after school, during summer vacation or another school holiday, or on a Saturday or Sunday.
"Workforce readiness program" means an out-of-school time program that:
(1) meets the requirements of section 6 of this act;
(2) is offered by a community-based organization of an eligible entity or a related covered partnership; and
(3) is intended to help prepare eligible youth for the workforce.
For the purposes of this act, the terms "career pathway," "customized training," "in-demand industry sector or occupation," "local area," "local board," "local educational agency," and "recognized postsecondary credential" mean the same as those terms are defined under section 3102 of the "Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act," (29 U.S.C. s.3102).
4. a. Subject to funds made available under section 8 of this act, the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development shall award grants on a competitive basis to entities eligible pursuant to section 5 of this act.
b. The commissioner shall award the grants established pursuant to subsection a. of this section to assist eligible entities in planning, developing, and implementing comprehensive workforce readiness programs, that are:
(1) in out-of-school time programs;
(2) carried out by community-based organizations of the eligible entity or related covered partnerships; and
(3) for eligible youth.
c. Priority in awarding grants shall be given to eligible entities proposing workforce readiness programs that serve youth from low-income households, justice-involved youth, youth at risk of disconnection from school or work, youth in communities with high unemployment rates, and youth in or from underserved communities.
d. Subject to funds made available under section 8 of this act, the commissioner shall award grants over the course of at least three years but not more than five years, provided that no grant shall extend beyond the conclusion of the five-year pilot program established pursuant to this act.
e. Grants awarded pursuant to this section may be renewed pursuant to paragraph (2) of subsection c. of section 7 of this act in a process as determined by the commissioner.
5. a. To be eligible to receive a grant under section 4 of this act, an entity shall:
(1) be a youth-serving organization that provides youth workforce readiness programming through out-of-school time programs that are community-based organizations; and
(2) obtain approval of an application pursuant to subsection b. of this section.
b. To be eligible to receive a grant under section 4 of this act, an entity shall submit an application to the commissioner at a time, in a manner, and containing information as the commissioner may require, including:
(1) a description of how the entity will implement a youth workforce readiness program in a manner that ensures an equitable geographic distribution of program activities, including an equitable distribution between urban and rural communities;
(2) a description of the proposed program activities to be funded and their locations;
(3) a description of populations of eligible youth to be served, including if the eligible youth live in or are from underserved communities or communities with employment disparities;
(4) a description of the effective strategies, best practices, or evidence-based practices the workforce readiness program will use;
(5) an assurance that the program will take place in safe and easily accessible facilities;
(6) a demonstration of how, in implementing the proposed program activities, the entity will coordinate activities with federal, State, and local programs and make the most effective use of public resources;
(7) a description of:
(a) the community-based organizations or the covered partnerships through which the entity will implement the program; and
(b) if a covered partnership will assist in implementing the program, the collaboration and coordination activities that the community-based organization in the partnership has carried out or will carry out with other entities in the partnership, related to that implementation;
(8) if the program includes an opportunity to earn a recognized postsecondary credential, a description of the activities leading to the credential;
(9) an assurance that funds provided under this act will be used to supplement, and not supplant, other federal, State, or local funds expended to provide youth programs or workforce readiness programs; and
(10) a budget detailing program activities and administrative costs.
6. a. An eligible entity that receives a grant under section 4 of this act shall use the grant funds, if the entity seeks to implement the workforce readiness program through a covered partnership, to establish the partnership and to carry out the development and implementation of a youth workforce readiness program that:
(1) includes services to help prepare eligible youth who are not younger than age 15 for the workforce, which services shall include:
(a) support for the use of career pathways;
(b) paid and unpaid work experiences that have as a component academic and occupational education, which may include:
(i) summer employment opportunities and other employment opportunities available throughout the school year;
(ii) pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs registered under the "National Apprenticeship Act of 1937" (29 U.S.C. s.50);
(iii) internships and job shadowing; and
(iv) on-the-job training opportunities;
(c) work-based learning, as that term is defined in section 2302 of the "Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006," (20 U.S.C. s.2302) that provides opportunities for the application of employability skills, and hands-on work experiences through covered partnerships;
(d) occupational skill training, which shall include priority consideration for training programs that lead to recognized postsecondary credentials that are aligned with in-demand industry sectors or occupations in the local area involved, if the local board determines that the programs meet the quality criteria described in section 3153 of the "Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act," (29 U.S.C. s.3153);
(e) the provision of customized training;
(f) education offered concurrently with and in the same context as workforce readiness activities and training for a specific occupation or occupational cluster; and
(g) activities that help youth prepare for and transition to postsecondary education and training;
(2) includes services to help prepare eligible youth for the workforce, which services shall include:
(a) leadership development opportunities, which may include community service and peer-centered activities encouraging responsibility and other positive social and civic behaviors, as appropriate;
(b) workforce or workforce readiness opportunities;
(c) supportive services;
(d) adult mentoring for the period of participation and a subsequent period, for a total of not less than 12 months;
(e) comprehensive guidance and counseling, which may include drug and alcohol abuse, prevention services, counseling and referral, as appropriate;
(f) financial literacy education;
(g) entrepreneurial skills training;
(h) services that provide labor market and employment information about in-demand industry sectors or occupations available in the local area, such as career awareness, career counseling, and career exploration services;
(i) activities to develop fundamental workforce readiness skills, or to develop employability skills, such as communication, creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking, that support social-emotional development through every developmental stage, in both formal and informal learning experiences;
(j) academic counseling to support workforce readiness; and
(k) career exposure, through mentoring and targeted programming, offered by local industry or sector partnerships, to provide career assessments and education and career planning; and
(3) may also include:
(a) the provision of professional development, as defined in section 2302 of the "Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006," (20 U.S.C. s.2302) for training educators and other providers of educational services who participate in the workforce readiness program; and
(b) developing assets and resources that assist an employer or groups of employers or sectors in working with eligible youth.
b. An eligible entity may use the grant funds, with the approval of the commissioner, to award subgrants to eligible organizations to carry out activities through a youth workforce readiness program.
c. An eligible entity shall, to the extent practicable, coordinate with local school districts and other relevant educational entities to avoid the duplication of services.
d. Not more than 10 percent
of the grant funds awarded pursuant to section 4 of this act shall be used by
an eligible entity for administrative costs.
7. a. An eligible entity that implements a youth workforce readiness program under this act shall ensure that the program:
(1) is based upon an assessment of objective data regarding the need for such a program in the communities served;
(2) is evaluated on an established set of performance measures aimed at ensuring the availability of high-quality opportunities by measuring eligible youth success; and
(3) collects the data necessary for the measures of eligible youth success described in paragraph (2) of this subsection.
b. The performance measures, including indicators, used to evaluate the youth workforce readiness programs shall:
(1) align with the regular academic program of the school and the academic needs of participating eligible youth;
(2) include performance measures that:
(a) are able to track the success, such as improvement over time, of eligible youth; and
(b) include assessment results and other indicators of eligible youth success, such as improved attendance during the school day, better classroom grades, regular or consistent program attendance, and on-time advancement to the next grade level;
(3) for high school students, include indicators such as achievement of career competencies, or successful completion of internships, apprenticeships, or work-based learning opportunities, or high school graduation; and
(4) include, where applicable, measures of job placement rates, internship completion rates, credential attainment, and post-program earnings.
c. The commissioner shall conduct a periodic evaluation of the eligible entity, to assess the progress of the entity's youth workforce readiness program toward ensuring high-quality opportunities by measuring eligible youth success. The results of evaluations under this subsection shall be:
(1) used to refine, improve, and strengthen the program, and to refine the performance measures; and
(2) used by the commissioner to determine whether a grant for a program is eligible to be renewed under section 4 of this act.
d. The commissioner shall, no later than six months following the conclusion of the five-year pilot program established pursuant to this act, submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1), evaluating the effectiveness of the program and providing recommendations regarding the continuation, expansion, or modification of the program, and make the report available to the public.
8. a. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development the sum of $5,000,000 to effectuate the provisions of this act.
b. The funds appropriated pursuant to this section shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other federal, State, or local funds expended to provide youth programs or workforce readiness programs.
9. This act shall take effect immediately except that the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes a five-year youth workforce readiness grant pilot program.
Under the bill, the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development is to award grants on a competitive basis to support out-of-school time youth workforce readiness programs, providing employability skills development, career exploration, employment readiness training, mentoring, work-based learning, and workforce opportunities for eligible youth.
The bill defines "eligible youth" as the same as that term is defined under the "Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act," except that the individual involved may not be younger than age 12, except that career awareness programming may be provided to youth not younger than age 10, and not older than age 18, or age 19 if enrolled in secondary school.
To be eligible to receive a grant under the bill, an entity is required to be a youth-serving organization that provides youth workforce readiness programming through out-of-school time programs that are community-based organizations and to obtain approval of an application submitted to the commissioner.
Further, this bill requires an eligible entity implementing a youth workforce readiness program to include certain project activities, and establishes evaluation and reporting requirements to assess individual program effectiveness.
The bill requires the commissioner to submit a report no later than six months following the conclusion of the five-year pilot program evaluating the effectiveness of the program and providing recommendations regarding the continuation, expansion, or modification of the program, and make the report available to the public.
This bill appropriates $5 million from the General Fund to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Funds appropriated under the bill are to be used to supplement, and not supplant, other federal, State, or local funds expended to provide youth programs or workforce readiness programs.
