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The YAA Creates a National Youth Policy:

1. The YAA sets forth a policy for youth by laying out things all young people in America should have. In this sense, it creates a broad policy about what it means to be a young person living in America-a kind of policy America has never had before.

2. The YAA establishes an Office for National Youth Policy in the White House. It will serve as a coordinating body that synthesizes each state's program evaluations, and then provides support and disseminates best practices. This will ensure that the outlined core needs of young people are met by the best programs possible.

3. A Federal Council on Youth will be established. This council will provide experience and expertise in the areas of youth development and youth programming. It will discuss ways the five outlined needs of young people can be met more effectively, and amend or revise the needs or the processes by which they are fulfilled as necessary. They will also advise the President and the Office for National Youth Policy on youth issues.

4. In addition, the Office for National Youth Policy will help promote the status of young people and their issues to ones of greater importance in our society.

The YAA Provides $5.75 billion over 5 years:

The flexibility of the YAA allows the money to be used differently by each community, ensuring that the specific needs of local young people are met. Communities will be required to assess their current situation, and provide funds to those organizations that can fill the gaps. The gaps will be unique to each community; therefor the money will be spent differently.

With the exception of the White House Office on National Youth Policy, no other new government agencies are created. All state and local agencies can be existing agencies that are designated "the agency on youth." The funds begin at The Department of Health and Human Services, travel through the state, to a local government agency, and end with the local community council that actually distributes the funds.

The following chart describes how the legislation separates the funds, and the restrictions placed on them.

YAA Funding Chart

The YAA Gives Youth A Voice in Local Councils:

The governor of each state divides the state into different communities (called planning and mobilization areas in the bill) with approximately the same size population. Each community will pick one non-direct service youth agency (such as a United Way or community foundation) to serve as the gathering place and fiscal officer. This agency will convene a council to assess the community, request proposals, and distribute money. Each council consists of 1/3 young people, youth service providers, government officials, business leaders, and parents. This type of youth representation is true youth involvement and youth empowerment.

The YAA supports all youth, but provides targeted funding for those young people most in need.
Each state and local community receives funding in a block grant format, with the funding level determined by a formula that takes into account how large the 10 to 19 population is, and how many of those young people are eligible for the free and reduced school lunch program.

At least 30% of YAA funds at the local level are designated to be used to meet the special developmental needs of youth in these five situations:

1. Correctional facilities and other out of home settings
2. High concentrations of poverty
3. Rural areas
4. At high risk of abuse, neglect, or disconnection from family and community
5. Alternative education settings, or expulsion of suspension from school