The Employment and Training Administration’s New Youth Vision stresses transforming some of the nation's neediest youth into candidates for new jobs in a demand-driven economy.

Education programs, particularly alternative education programs, have taken on new importance for workforce system efforts to create a skilled, well-trained and demand-driven workforce. Workforce Investment Act-funded youth programs serve as a catalyst to connect youth with quality secondary and post-secondary educational opportunities and high-growth and other employment opportunities.

For many of our nation’s youth, alternative education programs have become the connection through which they can become a valuable part of the workforce supply line in a demand-driven system.

In an effort to be more strategic and build our knowledge about alternative education, ETA has commissioned three papers that explore the following topics:

1. An Overview of Alternative Education;
2. The State of Academic Programs in Alternative Education; and
3. The Current Policy and Funding Environment for Alternative Education at the Federal, State, and Local Level.