The Employment and Training Administration (ETA), U. S. Department of Labor (the Department or DOL), announces the availability of approximately $58 million in grant funds authorized by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Section 166 for the Indian and Native American Program (INAP) to fund approximately
170 grants$46 million to fund the Comprehensive Service Program (CSP) serving adult participants and $12 million to fund Supplemental Youth Service Program (SYSP) serving summer youth participants.
Awards under the CSP are anticipated to range from approximately $13,000 to $5 million.
Awards for the SYSP are anticipated to range from approximately $1,000 to $ 2. 6 million.
American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiians are the most impoverished group in the United States, with acutely high unemployment rates in rural and isolated reservations and villages, and often challenged by multiple barriers to employment.
One in every four (2 5. 3 percent) Native Americans live in poverty, and these individuals are three times as likely to receive public assistance compared to the total population.
Reducing the education and employment inequality between Indian and Native Americans requires a concentrated effort to enhance education and employment opportunities, create pathways to careers and skilled employment, help Indian and Native Americans to enter and remain in the middle class, and respond to the needs of employers in the local economies.
The WIA Section 166 program provides training and employment services specifically targeted to Indian and Native Americans.
The WIA Section 166 program is the only Federal employment and job training program that serves American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiians who reside both on and off reservations.
Section 166 of WIA authorizes programs to serve the employment and training needs of Indian and Native American adults and youth through competitive two-year grant awards to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, Alaska Native entities, Indian-controlled organizations serving Indians, and Native Hawaiian organizations (see WIA Section 166, Public Law 105-220 as amended, codified at 29 U.S.C.
2911).
The terms Indian, Indian tribe, and tribal organization have the meanings given such terms in subsections (d), (e), and (l), respectively, of section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.
450b).
This SGA contains the procedures by which the Department will designate grantees for Program Years (PY) 2014 and 2015 to operate Indian and Native American Employment and Training Programs under WIA Section 166 within specified geographic service areas.
Grantees must provide services to all eligible applicants and ensure equitable access to employment and training services within the geographic service area.
The Department waived the previous competitive round of WIA Section 166 awards for PY 2012-2013, and has determined that no waivers of competition under WIA Section 166(c)(2) will be available for the next two-year designation cycle.