Youth Employment

When President Obama took office in 2009, he faced the worst recession since the Great Depression. As a direct response to the economic crisis, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) introduced a series of coordinated investments in the economy with the goals of spurring job creation, increasing economic spending, and creating a new foundation for long-term prosperity for all working families. The Recovery Act increased funding for health care, education and entitlement programs by $224 billion.1 Specifically, states received $1.2 billion through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) youth funds to provide employment and training services targeted to disadvantaged youth. At a recent White House Briefing organized by the Office of Public Engagement, the administration announced a number of ARRA-funded job creation initiatives. Officials identified two promising priorities for future job-related investments: • The TANF Emergency Contingency Fund • The Summer Youth Employment Initiativ