Eligibility for Youth Services

20 C.F.R. Part ..., Subpart B
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01

20 C.F.R. § 681.200 Who is eligible for youth services?

Both in-school youth (ISY) and OSY are eligible for youth services.

20 C.F.R. § 681.210 Who is an “out-of-school youth”?

An OSY is an individual who is: (a) Not attending any school (as defined under State law); (b) Not younger than age 16 or older than age 24 at time of enrollment. Because age eligibility is based on age at enrollment, participants may continue to receive services beyond the age of 24 once they are enrolled in the program; and (c) One or more of the following: (1) A school dropout; (2) A youth who is within the age of compulsory school attendance, but has not attended school for at least the most recent complete school year calendar quarter. School year calendar quarter is based on how a local school district defines its school year quarters. In cases where schools do not use quarters, local programs must use calendar year quarters; (3) A recipient of a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent who is a low-income individual and is either basic skills deficient or an English language learner; (4) An offender; (5) A homeless individual aged 16 to 24 who meets the criteria defined in sec. 41403(6) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14043e-2(6)), a homeless child or youth aged 16 to 24 who meets the criteria defined in sec. 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)) or a runaway; (6) An individual in foster care or who has aged out of the foster care system or who has attained 16 years of age and left foster care for kinship guardianship or adoption, a child eligible for assistance under sec. 477 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677), or in an out-of-home placement; (7) An individual who is pregnant or parenting; (8) An individual with a disability; or (9) A low-income individual who requires additional assistance to enter or complete an educational program or to secure or hold employment.

20 C.F.R. § 681.220 Who is an “in-school youth”?

An ISY is an individual who is: (a) Attending school (as defined by State law), including secondary and postsecondary school; (b) Not younger than age 14 or (unless an individual with a disability who is attending school under State law) older than age 21 at time of enrollment. Because age eligibility is based on age at enrollment, participants may continue to receive services beyond the age of 21 once they are enrolled in the program; (c) A low-income individual; and (d) One or more of the following: (1) Basic skills deficient; (2) An English language learner; (3) An offender; (4) A homeless individual aged 14 to 21 who meets the criteria defined in sec. 41403(6) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14043e-2(6)), a homeless child or youth aged 14 to 21 who meets the criteria defined in sec. 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)), or a runaway; (5) An individual in foster care or who has aged out of the foster care system or who has attained 16 years of age and left foster care for kinship guardianship or adoption, a child eligible for assistance under sec. 477 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677), or in an out-of-home placement; (6) An individual who is pregnant or parenting; (7) An individual with a disability; or (8) An individual who requires additional assistance to complete an educational program or to secure or hold employment.

20 C.F.R. § 681.230 What does “school” refer to in the “not attending or attending any school” in the out-of-school and in-school eligibility criteria?

In general, the applicable State law for secondary and postsecondary institutions defines “school.” However, for purposes of WIOA, the Department does not consider providers of adult education under title II of WIOA, YouthBuild programs, the Job Corps program, high school equivalency programs, or dropout re-engagement programs to be schools. Therefore, in all cases except the one provided below, WIOA youth programs may consider a youth to be an OSY for purposes of WIOA youth program eligibility if he or she attend adult education provided under title II of WIOA, YouthBuild, Job Corps, high school equivalency programs, or dropout re-engagement programs regardless of the funding source of those programs. Youth attending high school equivalency programs funded by the public K-12 school system who are classified by the school system as still enrolled in school are an exception; they are considered ISY.

20 C.F.R. § 681.240 When do local youth programs verify dropout status?

Local WIOA youth programs must verify a youth's dropout status at the time of WIOA youth program enrollment. An individual who is out of school at the time of enrollment, and subsequently placed in any school, is an OSY for the purposes of the 75 percent expenditure requirement for OSY throughout his/her participation in the program.

20 C.F.R. § 681.250 Who does the low-income eligibility requirement apply to?

(a) For OSY, only those youth who are the recipient of a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent and are either basic skills deficient or an English language learner, and youth who require additional assistance to enter or complete an educational program or to secure or hold employment, must be low-income. All other OSY meeting OSY eligibility under § 681.210(c)(1), (2), (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8) are not required to be low-income. (b) All ISY must be low-income to meet the ISY eligibility criteria, except those that fall under the low-income exception. (c) WIOA allows a low-income exception where five percent of WIOA youth may be participants who ordinarily would be required to be low-income for eligibility purposes and meet all other eligibility criteria for WIOA youth except the low-income criteria. A program must calculate the five percent based on the percent of newly enrolled youth in the local area's WIOA youth program in a given program year who would ordinarily be required to meet the low-income criteria. (d) In addition to the criteria in the definition of “low-income individual” in WIOA sec. 3(36), a youth is low-income if he or she receives or is eligible to receive a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq. or if he or she lives in a high poverty area.

20 C.F.R. § 681.260 How does the Department define “high poverty area” for the purposes of the special regulation for low-income youth in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act?

A youth who lives in a high poverty area is automatically considered to be a low-income individual. A high poverty area is a Census tract, a set of contiguous Census tracts, an American Indian Reservation, Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Area (as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau), Alaska Native Village Statistical Area or Alaska Native Regional Corporation Area, Native Hawaiian Homeland Area, or other tribal land as defined by the Secretary in guidance or county that has a poverty rate of at least 25 percent as set every 5 years using American Community Survey 5-Year data.

20 C.F.R. § 681.270 May a local program use eligibility for free or reduced price lunches under the National School Lunch Program as a substitute for the income eligibility criteria under title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act?

Yes, WIOA sec. 3(36) defines a low-income individual to include an individual who receives (or is eligible to receive) a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.

20 C.F.R. § 681.280 Is a youth with a disability eligible for youth services under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act if his or her family income exceeds the income eligibility criteria?

Yes, for an individual with a disability, income level for eligibility purposes is based on the individual's own income rather than his or her family's income. WIOA sec. 3(36)(A)(vi) states that an individual with a disability whose own income meets the low-income definition in clause (ii) (income that does not exceed the higher of the poverty line or 70 percent of the lower living standard income level), but who is a member of a family whose income exceeds this income requirement is eligible for youth services. Furthermore, only ISY with a disability must be low income. OSY with a disability are not required to be low-income.

20 C.F.R. § 681.290 How does the Department define the “basic skills deficient” criterion in this part?

(a) As used in § 681.210(c)(3), a youth is “basic skills deficient” if he or she: (1) Have English reading, writing, or computing skills at or below the 8th grade level on a generally accepted standardized test; or (2) Are unable to compute or solve problems, or read, write, or speak English at a level necessary to function on the job, in the individual's family, or in society. (b) The State or Local WDB must establish its policy on paragraph (a)(2) of this section in its respective State or local plan. (c) In assessing basic skills, local programs must use assessment instruments that are valid and appropriate for the target population, and must provide reasonable accommodation in the assessment process, if necessary, for individuals with disabilities.

20 C.F.R. § 681.300 How does the Department define the “requires additional assistance to enter or complete an educational program, or to secure and hold employment” criterion in this part for OSY?

Either the State or the local level may establish definitions and eligibility documentation requirements for the “requires additional assistance to enter or complete an educational program, or to secure and hold employment” criterion of § 681.210(c)(9). In cases where the State WDB establishes State policy on this criterion, the State WDB must include the definition in the State Plan. In cases where the State WDB does not establish a policy, the Local WDB must establish a policy in its local plan if using this criterion.

20 C.F.R. § 681.310 How does the Department define the “requires additional assistance to complete an educational program, or to secure and hold employment” criterion in this part for ISY?

(a) Either the State or the local level may establish definitions and eligibility documentation requirements for the “requires additional assistance to complete an educational program, or to secure and hold employment” criterion of § 681.220(d)(8). In cases where the State WDB establishes State policy on this criterion, the State WDB must include the definition in the State Plan. In cases where the State WDB does not establish a policy, the Local WDB must establish a policy in its local plan if using this criterion. (b) In each local area, not more than five percent of the ISY newly enrolled in a given program year may be eligible based on the “requires additional assistance to complete an educational program or to secure or hold employment” criterion.

20 C.F.R. § 681.320 Must youth participants enroll to participate in the youth program?

(a) Yes, to participate in youth programs, participants must enroll in the WIOA youth program. (b) In order to be a participant in the WIOA youth program, all of the following must occur: (1) An eligibility determination; (2) The provision of an objective assessment; (3) Development of an individual service strategy; and (4) Participation in any of the 14 WIOA youth program elements.

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