(1)(a) There is created in the Higher Education Coordinating Commission the Oregon Youth Employment Program, which shall operate subject to the availability of funds, including eligible federal funds, for the purpose of providing meaningful work experience and workforce training for persons between the ages of 14 and 24.

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(b) The commission shall, pursuant to criteria established by the commission, and after allocating a portion of program funds to the Oregon Youth Corps described in ORS § 418.653, provide grants to local workforce development boards. The commission shall award grants in a manner that ensures no less than 20 percent of program funds are available to organizations with direct experience serving communities of color.

(2) The program shall:

(a) Ensure that at least 75 percent of program participants are from communities of color, rural communities, communities that have faced generational poverty or other communities that have been historically underrepresented in youth employment as identified by the commission by rule;

(b) Create an individual development plan for each program participant that outlines work readiness, career and educational goals;

(c) Provide work readiness instruction;

(d) Provide at least five weeks of paid internships, preapprenticeships or other work experience;

(e) Pay at least minimum wage for work performed by program participants while in the program, or, if a program participant is prohibited by other state or federal law or agreement from receiving wages from the program provider, provide an award valued at an amount equal to at least the payment of minimum wage;

(f) Provide academic support for earning high school graduation credit, completion of approved high school equivalency programs such as the General Educational Development (GED) certificate program or earning college credit for work experience or internships provided through the program;

(g) Expose program participants to in-demand occupations and targeted sectors;

(h) Require program providers to submit a community engagement plan that details how the program providers will partner with and serve communities identified in paragraph (a) of this subsection; and

(i) Require program providers to offer English language learner and accessibility services that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.).

(3) The program may provide for public and private sector employment opportunities.

(4)(a) The commission shall collect data on the program, identify successful work experiences and allow for the identification and dissemination of the most promising practices.

(b) The data collected shall be disaggregated by:

(A) The race and ethnicity of program participants;

(B) Whether program participants come from urban or rural areas;

(C) The family income of program participants; and

(D) Any other characteristic of program participants that the commission determines by rule would be useful in evaluating the success of the program.

(c) The data collected shall include:

(A) The number of participants in the program;

(B) The number of participants that complete the program;

(C) The cost of internships and other work experiences provided;

(D) The academic credit earned by participants; and

(E) The number of certificates for passing approved high school equivalency tests such as the General Educational Development (GED) test earned by participants.

(5) The commission shall conduct culturally responsive outreach and engagement and offer technical assistance to prospective program providers.

(6) In a manner determined by the commission by rule, the commission shall assist identified program providers in recruiting program participants across diverse communities by providing:

(a) Translation and accessibility services for marketing materials; and

(b) Training to program providers in culturally responsive, social emotional health and mental health practices.

(7) The commission shall adopt rules necessary for the implementation and operation of the program created under subsection (1) of this section. The rules shall include, but are not limited to, establishing eligibility criteria for persons participating in the program. [2011 c.702 § 4; 2015 c.366 § 67; 2017 c.66 § 25; 2017 c.185 § 39; 2017 c.297 § 17; 2021 c.674 § 1]