Office of Youth Development

Minnesota's Workforce Investment Act Youth Formula Grant

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Youth Formula Grant provides economically disadvantaged youth between the ages of 14 and 21 with year-round employment and training services. WIA youth participants must be economically disadvantaged and must have at least one of the following barriers to employment in order to be eligible for services:

• Basic skills deficient
• School dropout
• Homeless, runaway or foster child
• Pregnant or parenting
• Offender
• Requires additional assistance to complete educational program or secure and hold employment

WIA youth services are provided by a network of 16 Workforce Service Areas (WSAs), serving all 87 counties in Minnesota. LWIBs and Youth Councils make the following ten required youth program elements available:

• Paid and unpaid work experiences, internships
• Adult mentors
• Leadership development
• Occupational skills training
• Alternative secondary school services
• Comprehensive guidance and counseling
• Support services
• Summer employment opportunities
• Tutoring, study skills training / dropout prevention strategies
• Follow-up services

A list of youth service providers providing services to youth by each WSA is provided below:

For a Fact Sheet on the WIA Youth Formula Grant, click here.

For Workplace Readiness Skills: How WIA Youth Services Prepare Youth for Work, click here.

For Minnesota's Cooperative Youth Service Strategies and Best Practices, click here.

For the PY 2006 Minnesota Workforce Investment Act Annual Report, click here.

For Minnesota's Unified Plan for the Workforce Investment Act (July 2007 to June 2010), click here.

For the report on "The Collapse of the National Teen Job Market and the Case for An Immediate Youth Jobs Creation Program" prepared by the Center for Labor Market Studies (Northeastern University, February 2008), click here.

For the report on "The Continued Collapse of the Nation's Teen Job Market and the Dismal Outlook for the 2008 Summer Youth Labor Market for Teens: Does Anybody Care?" (Northeastern University, April 2008), click here.

Forms and Other Documents:

• For Administrative Forms (Cash Requests, FSRs, etc.), click here.
• 2008 Youth Monitoring Guide
  

Websites:

• DEED Youth: http://www.positivelyminnesota.com/youth
• Minnesota Shared Youth Vision: http://www.positivelyminnesota.com/youth/syv/syv.htm
  

For additional information on WIA Youth Services, contact:

Kay Tracy, Director
Office of Youth Development
Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development
First National Bank Building, Suite E200
332 Minnesota Street
St. Paul, Minnesota 55101-1351

(651) 259-7555
E-Mail: kay.tracy@state.mn.us

Last Updated: 8/12/2008