§3162 State Allotments

Summary

Sets how the Department must split the federal youth workforce money each year. If the yearly appropriation under section 3181(a) is more than $925,000,000, the Department must hold back 4 percent of the amount above $925,000,000 to pay for youth programs for migrant and seasonal farmworkers. From the rest, the Department must set aside up to 1½ percent for Native American youth programs and up to ¼ of 1 percent for the outlying areas. Money for outlying areas is given by competitive grants, with up to 5 percent of those grants allowed to pay the Pacific Region Educational Laboratory’s administrative costs, and the usual grant-consolidation rule does not apply to these funds. The remaining funds are split for States: one-third (33⅓%) based on the number of unemployed people in areas of substantial unemployment, one-third based on the “excess” unemployed in the State, and one-third based on the number of disadvantaged youth. “Area of substantial unemployment” means an area with a 12-month average unemployment rate of at least 6.5 percent. “Disadvantaged youth” means people age 16 through 21 with family income at or below the poverty line or at or below 70 percent of the lower living standard income level. “Excess number” means the count of unemployed people above 4.5 percent of the civilian labor force (measured statewide or in those high-unemployment areas). If a State has a special local area as described in law, the youth count for that area uses the higher of two measures of low-income young people. The law also protects minimum and maximum State shares and sets how unused money is reallocated. No State can get less than the greater of 90 percent of its prior-year allotment percentage or 100 percent of its fiscal year 2014 allotment under the Workforce Investment Act. Subject to that, no State’s allotment percentage for a year can exceed 130 percent of its prior-year percentage. Small-State minimums are set at 3/10 of 1 percent of $1,000,000,000 of the remainder, plus if the remainder is over $1,000,000,000 an extra 2/5 of 1 percent of the excess. If the remainder does not exceed $1,000,000,000, minimums follow the old Workforce Investment Act method. For reallotment, any State whose unobligated balance at the end of the prior program year is more than 20 percent of its allotment must give the excess up. That excess is reallotted to States that do not have such excess, in proportion to their allotments. Governors must set uniform rules to prevent funds from going unused and fair rules for sharing funds if reallotment happens.