34:15F-12 Youth Employment and After School Incentive Pilot Program.

1. a. There is established in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development a Youth Employment and After School Incentive Pilot Program which shall be administered by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, pursuant to the provisions of P.L.2001, c.446 (C.34:15F-12 et seq.). The program shall provide for employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth with private and nonprofit employers. The purpose of the program shall be to enable disadvantaged youth to acquire job knowledge and skills and an understanding of the linkage between the skills, behaviors, and attitudes necessary to function as an adult in the workplace.

As used in P.L.2001, c.446 (C.34:15F-12 et seq.), "disadvantaged youth" means public and nonpublic school students as well as youth who are not students who reside in municipalities where both the rates of unemployment and violent crime significantly exceed the Statewide rates of unemployment and violent crime by percentages which shall be designated by the commissioner. The term shall include youth in these municipalities who are participating in a program of aftercare following their release from juvenile detention or community facilities.

b. There is established in, but not of, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development the Disadvantaged Youth Employment Opportunities Council. Notwithstanding the allocation of the council to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the council shall directly report to the Chairperson of the State Employment and Training Commission established by section 5 of P.L.1989, c.293 (C.34:15C-2). The council shall consist of 18 members: the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, the Commissioner of Education, the Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, the Chief Executive Officer and Secretary of the New Jersey Commerce, Economic Growth and Tourism Commission, the Secretary of State and the Executive Director of the Juvenile Justice Commission, or their designees, who shall serve ex officio and as nonvoting members; and 12 public members appointed by the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the General Assembly. The Governor shall appoint two religious leaders and two representatives of education organizations. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly shall each appoint a leader of the business community, a labor leader, a representative of a county vocational-technical school, and a person representing organizations that have expertise serving the needs of disadvantaged youth. The public members shall serve for terms of three years, may be reappointed and may serve until a successor has been appointed. Of the public members first appointed, six shall be appointed for terms of three years, and six shall be appointed for terms of two years. A vacancy in the membership, occurring other than by expiration of a term, shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment, but for the unexpired term only. The members shall serve without compensation, but the council may, within the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available to it, reimburse members for actual expenses necessarily incurred in the discharge of their official duties.

The council shall organize as soon as its members are appointed and shall select a chairman and vice-chairman from among its members and may select a secretary, who need not be a member of the council. The council shall meet monthly, and at such other times as may be necessary.

The council may employ, prescribe the duties and fix and pay the compensation of such persons it may deem necessary to carry out the duties of the council within the limits of available appropriations.

It shall be the duty of the council to:

(1) Develop a master plan to increase employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth;

(2) Enlist the commitment of the State's business leadership to provide employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth;

(3) Enlist the support of the State's key unions which operate apprenticeship and similar programs;

(4) Develop proposals for innovative efforts to assist economically disadvantaged youth to enroll in and successfully complete employment programs;

(5) Involve all sectors of the community, including high level representatives of business, youth-serving agencies, foundations, local school systems, the communications media, and the religious community in an effort to promote and coordinate employment opportunities for disadvantaged youth; and

(6) In conjunction with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the Commerce, Economic Growth and Tourism Commission, seek to identify and maximize any available federal funding for the purpose of enhancing employment opportunities provided under P.L.2001, c.446 (C.34:15F-12 et seq.).

The council shall be entitled to call to its assistance and avail itself of the services of such employees of any State, county or municipal department, board, bureau, commission, or agency as it may require and as may be available to it for these purposes.

The Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, in consultation with the State Employment and Training Commission and the council, may promulgate rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of P.L.2001, c.446 (C.34:15F-12 et seq.).

L.2001, c.446, s.1; amended 2007, c.189, s.1.