Pre-Apprenticeship Wrap-Around Support Services Fund Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8776 To direct the Secretary of Labor to make grants to eligible applicants to provide stipends to individuals enrolled in a pre-apprenticeship program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 18, 2020 Mr. SMITH of Washington (for himself and Mr. LANGEVIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To direct the Secretary of Labor to make grants to eligible applicants to provide stipends to individuals enrolled in a pre-apprenticeship program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pre-Apprenticeship 4 Wrap-Around Support Services Fund Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:49 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8776.IH H8776 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8776 IH SEC. 2. GRANTS TO PROVIDE STIPENDS TO INDIVIDUALS 1 ENROLLED IN A PRE-APPRENTICESHIP PRO- 2 GRAM. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Labor may 4 make grants to eligible applicants to provide stipends to 5 individuals enrolled in a pre-apprenticeship program in ac- 6 cordance with the requirements under this Act. 7 (b) PRE-APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM DEFINED.— 8 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘pre-apprenticeship 9 program’’ means a program, initiative, or set of strategies 10 that— 11 (1) is designed to prepare individuals to enroll 12 in a registered apprenticeship program, including 13 preparing individuals with the skills and com- 14 petencies necessary to succeed in such program; 15 (2) is carried out by an eligible applicant that 16 has entered into a formal agreement with one or 17 more sponsors of a registered apprenticeship pro- 18 gram; and 19 (3) includes— 20 (A) theoretical education (including the use 21 of curricula); and 22 (B) training (including hands-on train- 23 ing)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:49 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8776.IH H8776 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8776 IH (i) aligned with the industry stand- 1 ards of a registered apprenticeship pro- 2 gram; and 3 (ii) that does not displace an employee 4 where such training takes place. 5 (c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 6 under this Act, an eligible applicant shall submit an appli- 7 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 8 containing such information as the Secretary may require. 9 (d) GRANT REQUIREMENT.—Each grantee shall— 10 (1) establish primary indicators of performance 11 with respect to individuals enrolled in a pre-appren- 12 ticeship program, which shall include— 13 (A) the percentage of such individuals who 14 are enrolled in a registered apprenticeship pro- 15 gram within 6 months after completing a pre- 16 apprenticeship; 17 (B) the percentage of such individuals who 18 are enrolled in a registered apprenticeship pro- 19 gram within 12 months after completing a pre- 20 apprenticeship; 21 (C) the median earnings of such individ- 22 uals who are enrolled in a registered apprentice- 23 ship program within 6 months after completing 24 a pre-apprenticeship; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:49 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8776.IH H8776 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8776 IH (D) the percentage of such individuals who 1 obtain a recognized postsecondary credential or 2 a secondary school diploma (or the recognized 3 equivalent of such diploma) while enrolled in a 4 pre-apprenticeship or within one year after 5 completing a pre-apprenticeship; and 6 (2) on an annual basis, collect data with respect 7 to— 8 (A) the primary indicators of performance 9 under paragraph (1); 10 (B) the number of stipends provided 11 through grants funds under this Act; and 12 (C) the amount of each such stipend. 13 (e) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Each grantee shall 14 prioritize the provision of stipends to individuals enrolled 15 in a pre-apprenticeship program who are also individuals 16 with a barrier to employment. 17 (f) USE OF STIPEND.—Each grantee shall ensure 18 that a stipend awarded pursuant to this section is used 19 only to reimburse for— 20 (1) necessary transportation costs with respect 21 to a pre-apprenticeship program, including vehicle 22 mileage and public transportation costs; 23 (2) lost hourly wages of an individual enrolled 24 in a pre-apprenticeship program, in the case that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:49 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8776.IH H8776 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8776 IH participation in such program causes a reduction of 1 hours at the place of employment of such individual; 2 and 3 (3) financial costs of an individual enrolled in 4 a pre-apprenticeship program with respect to obtain- 5 ing industry-based certifications during the period of 6 enrollment in such program. 7 (g) REPORT.— 8 (1) REPORT TO SECRETARY.—Not later than 1 9 year after receiving a grant under this Act, and an- 10 nually thereafter, each grantee shall submit to the 11 Secretary a report that includes the data collected 12 pursuant to subsection (d)(2). 13 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 14 TEES.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the 15 enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 16 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Edu- 17 cation and Labor of the House of Representatives 18 and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 19 and Pensions of the Senate a report on the progress 20 and outcomes with respect to each grant awarded 21 under this Act. 22 (h) ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 23 (1) ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘eligible 24 applicant’’ means an entity that currently operates 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:49 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8776.IH H8776 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8776 IH or sponsors a pre-apprenticeship program, including 1 a joint labor-management partnership, an industry 2 partnership, a local educational agency, a secondary 3 school, an area career and technical education 4 school, a State board, a local board, or a commu- 5 nity-based organization. 6 (2) GRANTEE.—The term ‘‘grantee’’ means an 7 eligible applicant that receives a grant under this 8 Act. 9 (3) INDIVIDUAL WITH A BARRIER TO EMPLOY- 10 MENT.—The term ‘‘individual with a barrier to em- 11 ployment’’ has the meaning given the term under 12 section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor- 13 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102). 14 (4) FORMAL AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘formal 15 agreement’’ means an agreement between an eligible 16 applicant and one or more sponsors of a registered 17 apprenticeship program that includes the following: 18 (A) Enables individuals who successfully 19 complete a pre-apprenticeship program— 20 (i) to enter into a registered appren- 21 ticeship program (dependent on availability 22 and whether such individual meets the 23 qualifications of such program); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:49 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8776.IH H8776 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8776 IH (ii) to earn credit toward a registered 1 apprenticeship program. 2 (B) Provides for a sponsor to review and 3 approve the training referred to in subsection 4 (b)(3), on an annual basis. 5 (5) RECOGNIZED POSTSECONDARY CREDEN- 6 TIAL.—The term ‘‘recognized postsecondary creden- 7 tial’’ has the meaning given the term under section 8 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act 9 (29 U.S.C. 3102). 10 (6) REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.— 11 The term ‘‘registered apprenticeship program’’ 12 means an apprenticeship program that— 13 (A) is registered with the Department of 14 Labor pursuant to the Act of August 16, 1937 15 (commonly known as the ‘‘National Apprentice- 16 ship Act’’; 29 U.S.C. 50 et seq.), or is recog- 17 nized by the Department of Labor as a State 18 apprenticeship agency; and 19 (B) complies with the requirements of sub- 20 part A of part 29 and subpart A of part 30 of 21 title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc- 22 cessor regulations). 23 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 24 the Secretary of Labor. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:49 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8776.IH H8776 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8776 IH (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 1 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 2 necessary to carry out this Act. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:49 Nov 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8776.IH H8776 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS