Mar 27 Newsletter — OY Federal Updates
Let's Catch Up...
Deadlines Today in FY27 House Appropriations Process
Programmatic and language requests from members of Congress are due to committee by the end of the day, today March 27th, and guidance can be viewed here. Community Project Funding (CPF) requests – previously referred to as earmarks – are due to committee by 6:00 PM EST, today, March 27th, and members of Congress must post CPF request on their websites by 6:00pm EST on April 17th. Guidance for submission can be viewed here. In FY27 for Labor-HHS-Ed, CPF requests will only be accepted for the Department of Health and Human Services—Health Resources and Services Administration—HRSA-Wide Activities and Program Support.
Ways to Get Involved in Advocacy
Use this link to send an action alert directly to your representatives asking them to protect education and workforce funding this fiscal year.
By the end of the day today March 27, sign on to this letter led by the Reconnecting Youth Campaign asking Congress to match the requested funding levels for many of the key OY federal programs.
Deadlines Coming Up in Senate FY27 Appropriations Process
The Senate Appropriations Committee issued its guidance for FY27. Programmatic requests, language requests, and Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS, previously referred to as earmarks) for Labor-HHS-Ed are all due by April 21.
Look at your Senators’ websites to find the link to submit an FY27 programmatic funding or language request.
Check out this helpful step-by-step guide from the National Network for Youth (NN4Y) to learn how to request CDS/earmark funding.
A Reminder of the Final FY26 Appropriations Bill
The FY26 Labor-HHS-Ed bill could have been much, much worse. However, federal support for youth employment and training continues to die by a thousand cuts.
It changed little about programs serving Opportunity Youth (OY), rejecting proposals in President Trump’s budget that would have eliminated Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth, Adult Education, Job Corps, and AmeriCorps funding.
The bill included targeted language to protect existing programs, such as a prohibition on unilateral closure by the executive branch of Civilian Conservation Centers and Job Corps Centers – unless they meet existing statutory and regulatory requirements for closure.
Congressional Bipartisan Opportunity Youth Caucus
National Opportunity Youth Coalition (NOYC)
THE NATIONAL OPPORTUNITY YOUTH COALITION (NOYC) is a new coalition made up of national, state, and regional organizations dedicated to advancing equitable federal policies to improve workforce and economic mobility outcomes for young people aged 16-24 who are disconnected from school and work, including those impacted by homelessness, child welfare, or the criminal legal system. Through collective advocacy, strategic policy development, and consensus recommendations, the coalition seeks to drive systemic change that ensures all young people have pathways to thrive economically.
You may remember in 2025 we asked for your support for a letter to the House and Senate Education and Workforce Committee’s urging them to take up a WIOA reauthorization bill that included key pieces of OY policy in A Stronger Workforce for America Act (ASWA), the WIOA reauthorization that almost passed at the end of 2024.
While many of your organizations signed on to that letter, we didn’t end up sending it to Congress as we were waiting to see if there would be any movement on reauthorization in this Congress (119th 2025/2026). We have learned the House Education and Workforce Committee is likely to move forward a WIOA reauthorization before August, and we now need to send our letter and weigh in with the committees and Members of Congress to ensure Opportunity Youth policy remains a focus of reauthorization.
If your organization previously signed on, you’re still on the list! If not, please sign on with this form. We also ask that you send this letter out to your networks (partner orgs, unions, businesses, chambers of commerce, funders, employers etc.) so we can get even more organizations signed on!
Deadline to sign on is March 27.
Take Action: Sign-On Today!
Now that Fiscal Year 2026 is ALMOST complete, our coalition is moving full steam ahead with our FY27 ask for workforce and education programming. We have already sent a letter to the hill urging them to focus on FY27 appropriations and to increase funding streams that assist Opportunity Youth.
You can view the full letter here: You can access the full coalition letter by clicking here.
The appropriations session is just getting started so there is still time to add your name to the list. Please feel free to share the letter with your networks.
The funding we seek for fiscal year 2027 (FY27) takes into account inflation, need, and federal budget limitations. We need YOUR help to urge Congressional members to fortify investments for all education and labor programs to provide more opportunities for young people to engage in economic advancement in FY27. Some of the key programs include:
WIOA Youth Activities
Apprenticeship
Adult Education State Grants
AmeriCorps State and National
AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps
McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program
Reentry Employment Opportunities (REO)
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act Program
YouthBuild
Job Corps
You can sign on to the letter using this link: OY Sign-On Letter
You can read the full letter here: RYC FY27 Appropriations Request Letter
The Deadline to Sign On is TODAY!
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Reconnecting Youth Campaign National Partners:
Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) — Lauren Reliford - lreliford@childrensdefense.org
The Corps Network (TCN) — Danielle Owen - dowen@corpsnetwork.org
The Forum for Youth Investment (Forum) — Gerod Blue - gerod@forumfyi.org
Jobs For the Future (JFF) — Taylor Maag - tmaag@jff.org
National Collaborative for Transformative Youth Policy (TYP Collaborative) — Noel Tieszen - ntieszen@typcollaborative.org
National Network for Youth (NN4Y) — Darla Bardine - darla.bardine@nn4youth.org
National Skills Coalition (NSC) — Caroline Treschitta - Caroline@nationalskillscoalition.org
National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC) — Nathan Hora - nathan.hora@nyec.org
Young Invincibles — Alex Lundrigan - alexander.lundrigan@younginvincibles.org
YouthBuild Global — Jeremy Hanson-Gutiérrez - jhansongutierrez@youthbuild.org
Opportunity Youth Congressional Liaison DC Fly-In (March 22 - 26)
The Opportunity Youth Congressional Liaison (OYCL) Fly-In is finally over and our young leaders are back at home! This week, we had 14 young people from across the U.S. in key campaign state/districts came to DC to meet directly with their members of congress and their staff. These young people voiced their concerns about Opportunity Youth and the barriers they face to employment and education. Some OYCLs amplified issues related to indigenous communities, juvenile justice, foster care, youth experiencing homelessness, access to health care, Palestine, and much more!
We’re extremely proud of these young leaders and the work that they will continue to do within their home states and the advocacy journeys they’ll continue to lead.
Learn more about the program here: Opportunity Youth Congressional Liaison Program
Learn about our liaisons here: Meet the Opportunity Youth Congressional Liaisons
Opportunity in Action at the Louisiana State Capitol
In this blog, Opportunity Youth Congressional Liaison Samarah Bentley reflects on recently attending Opportunity in Action Day at the Louisiana State Capitol and how that experience is shaping her approach to national advocacy.
Resource Center
This guide from the National Network for Youth (NN4Y) provides step-by-step instructions to submit a Community Project Funding – also called earmark – request.
Watch The Video Here: FY 2027 Earmarks Webinar: Secure Funding to Prevent and End Youth Homelessness
Getting Workforce Pell Right for Young People – What We’ve Learned from Career Technical Education
Advance CTE and the National Skills Coalition (NSC) discuss the movement of Workforce Pell from policy to practice, and how new opportunities for learners and workers can lead to high quality education and training programs. This blog explores how policymakers can draw from learnings in Career Technical Education (CTE) to ensure that Workforce Pell is a meaningful bridge to new college and career possibilities for young people – not a detour that constrains their futures.
Economic Bill of RYTS (Real Youth Troubles & Solutions)
MyPath’s Youth Economic Bill of RYTS (Real Youth Troubles and Solutions) is a document created by and for youth that identifies the most pressing financial issues young people around the country face and offers policy-based youth-centered solutions. The current version was created in 2019 and reflects the needs of youth navigating a global pandemic. The current 2025-2026 POWER Leaders cohort is working to ‘refresh’ the document to reflect the current realities and needs of young people.
As the group creates a first draft, we want to gather input from as many voices and policy perspectives as possible. We invite you to review the current Bill of RYTS and share your feedback — what feels most relevant, what may be missing, and what should be reconsidered as we shape the next iteration of this important youth-centered policy tool.
Why New SNAP Work Requirements Undermine Workers and States
The National Skills Coalition (NSC) writes about the new federal work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through the “Big Beautiful Bill” (H.R. 1) that was passed earlier this year. This article discusses how the work requirements are actually barriers to workers finding and keeping good jobs, and will ultimately block people from food assistance during the process.
The Anne E. Casey Foundation invests in efforts to equip OY with the skills, credentials, and experiences needed to prepare for placement in their first job, gain experience, and grow their careers. This report highlights key strategies that Casey and its partners have implemented to help young people navigate transitions from school to work.
Monthly Opportunity Youth Policy Stakeholders Meeting
For all those with important perspectives to share and a willingness to engage in federal advocacy and implementation, but for whom weekly meetings would be overkill, we will host monthly meetings that cover the content from both meetings above (advocacy and implementation), briefing participants on key developments, soliciting views and priorities, and providing meaningful opportunities to engage.
These meetings are designed particularly for organizations whose work is not primarily federal advocacy, but whose voices are critical to ensure federal efforts meet their needs, for example, Aspen Opportunity Youth Forum sites, LEAP sites, and NLC Reengagement Network participants.
Meetings are held on the last Monday of each month at 4pm (EST)
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