The Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act: A Better Approach to Serving Youth Facing Barriers to Employment

This brief, published in November 2015, is one of a series in the Heartland Alliance’s National Initiatives on Poverty and Economic Opportunity’s WIOA Planning and Implementation Toolkit. WIOA prioritizes services to older and out-of-school youth, as these youth will likely face additional barriers to employment and have different services needs as compared to younger and in-school youth. As TANF agencies consider their role in summer jobs programming and other opportunities for youth, this brief provides lessons learned around practical program design and recommendations for serving this priority population in the context of WIOA.