On March 10, the Senate passed an omnibus spending bill (full text here) for the remainder of FY22. This included modest increases in funding across many priority programs for the Reconnecting Youth Campaign, including increases for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act State Grants, Reentry Employment Opportunities, and AmeriCorps State and National Grants.

The increased investments are a positive sign that Congress and the administration recognize the importance of these investments. However, greater investment is still needed for an inclusive recovery that will enable reconnecting at least 1 million Opportunity Youth to education, training, national service and employment opportunities.

The Reconnecting Youth Campaign is continuing to advocate for an equitable economic package that includes investments in education, youth subsidized employment and other paid work experience models moving forward (take action here).

See below for a breakdown of the amounts allocated for programs that impact Opportunity Youth, and changes over the FY21 budget numbers.