Murray Statement on States Devoting More Resources to Underserved Students Through Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

Government Accountability Office study found that states and local communities are devoting more resources to the students who need the most support

Approximately 4.6 million youth ages 16 to 24 were neither in school nor employed in 2016

In 2014, Murray passed the bipartisan Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to update nation’s federal workforce programs and help students, workers, and businesses compete

Murray: “I’m pleased that states and local communities are taking strong steps to support students who have previously struggled by allowing them to continue their education and get the skills they need to find good-paying jobs”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement on the Government Accountability Office (GOA) report on the progress states and local areas are making the meet the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act’s (WIOA) youth program requirements. The report found that states are helping more at-risk and out-of-school youth continue their education and get good jobs by spending more on the students who need the most support.

“When Republicans and Democrats came together to pass the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act in 2014, one of our goals was to help students who have been underserved get the education and training they need to get good jobs and lift themselves into the middle class,” said Senator Murray. “While this report makes it clear that there’s more work to be done, I’m pleased that states and local communities are taking strong steps to support students who have previously struggled by allowing them to continue their education and get the skills they need to find good-paying jobs. I’ll continue to keep fighting for increased investments for students, workers, and businesses—and I will keep holding states and communities accountable to ensure they are using taxpayer dollars efficiently.”

The report found that states are shifting resources to serve more out-of-school youth, devoting more funds to the students who need it the most—including the approximately 4.6 million youth ages 16 to 24 who were neither in school nor employed in 2016. The largest challenges states and local communities face with serving out-of-school youth include barriers to transportation, locating out-of-school youth, retaining out-of-school youth in programs, and addressing students’ personal barriers to continuing their education and training, including experiencing homelessness or being a single parent.

To further address these challenges, states and local governments have created new partnerships with community based organizations, such as child welfare, juvenile justice, vocational rehabilitation, community colleges, and adult education programs.

Read the GAO’s report HERE.

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