The Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act Youth Funding is a US Department of Labor formulary grant for youth facing education, training, and employment barriers.
Donor Name: Office of Workforce Development (OWD)
State: Massachusetts
City: Boston
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/07/2025
Size of the Grant: Not Available
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The Office of Workforce Development (OWD) manages WIOA Youth funding in partnership with the Boston MassHire Workforce Board and its Youth Council, and under the supervision of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
Five key principles that will guide the selection of funded programs are summarized below and expanded upon in the following section.
- Programs are framed around a multi-step intervention model;
- Programs have well-defined and robust transition processes to the post-program step;
- Program policies and protocols are evidence-based and appropriate for the population;
- Youth are on a pathway to the attainment of post-secondary credentials needed for employment in high-demand occupations;
- Programs leverage multiple internal and external partnerships to ensure the integration of high-quality, youth-focused services.
The systemwide goals are also as follows:
- Youth are on a pathway to and through post-secondary education or training;
- Youth have access to evidence-based services designed to eliminate barriers to employment and training;
- Youth have access to timely, high-quality, and specialized services representing the required 14 program elements stipulated by WIOA, particularly stabilization services;
- OWD and providers have meaningful and high-quality data to improve services and outcomes for youth;
- OWD invest time, money, and staff resources in building a coordinated system with connections both between organizations and linkages to broader networks of economic opportunity.
Priority Target Populations
- Out-of-school youth between the ages of 18-24 years old.
- Court-involved; homeless or runaway; in foster care or aged out of the foster care system; pregnant or parenting; youth living with a disability; young men of color; documented immigrant youth.
- Low-income youth who are: identified as having foundational skills needed or English Language Learners, residing in Boston Housing Authority (BHA) facilities or utilizing a housing voucher, in post-secondary schools with a GPA less than 2.0, living in a single-parent household, truant, residing in a high-poverty area, or failed the MCAS in the most recent round.
- Individuals with disabilities who need pre-employment transition services, including job exploration, work-based learning experiences, workplace readiness training, self-advocacy instruction, counseling on enrollment opportunities in comprehensive transition or post-secondary education programs, and instruction in self-advocacy to maximize opportunities for competitive, integrated employment.
Out-Of-School Youth Eligibility
- Resident of Boston
- U.S. Right to Work Documentation
- Selective Service registration for males
- Not attending any school (as defined under State law)
- Not younger than 18 or older than age 24 at time of enrollment. Because age eligibility is based on age at enrollment, participants may continue to receive services beyond the age of 24 once they are enrolled in the program; and One or more of the following:
- A school dropout
- A recipient of a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent who is a low-income individual and is either basic skills deficient or an English language learner
- An offender
- A homeless individual, a homeless child or youth, or a runaway
- In foster care or has aged out of the foster care system, a child eligible for assistance under sec. 477 of the Social Security Act
- Pregnant or parenting
- An individual with a disability
- A low-income individual who requires additional assistance to enter or complete an educational program or to secure or hold employment.
For more information, visit OWD.
