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Here’s five interesting #SocInn links we’re clicking on today:

1. New Profit Blog: President Obama Signs Critical Workforce Legislation America Forward and the America Forward Coalition applaud President Obama and Congress for working together on the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. “Today, President Barack Obama signed into law the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which will help millions of Americans gain the skills they need to be successful in today’s workforce. The legislation will also serve as a model for innovative, performance-based policies that can drive better outcomes and save taxpayer money… We have collaborated closely with Members of Congress, their staff, and the Administration to ensure the innovative ideas of our Coalition partners are reflected in the law and we are thrilled that this is now a reality.”
2. The White House: Ready to Work: Job-Driven Training and American Opportunity The Obama Administration released a job training action plan following Vice President Joseph Biden’s review of the federal workforce programs. “Under the leadership of Vice President Biden, Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the Administration engaged in an intensive review to identify, initiate, and implement actions to make federal employment and training programs and policies more job-driven and effective, consistent with existing statutory authority.” The plan reinforces aspects of the new WIOA and also calls for additional steps to make the nation’s job training programs more integrated, transparent, and effective.
3. New York Times: Obama to Report Widening of Initiative for Black and Latino Boys My Brother’s Keeper Program grows to include more impoverished minorities: “President Obama will announce on Monday that 60 of the nation’s largest school districts are joining his initiative to improve the educational futures of young African-American and Hispanic boys, beginning in preschool and extending through high school graduation. The districts, which represent about 40 percent of all African-American and Hispanic boys living below the poverty line, have committed to expand quality preschool access; track data on black and Hispanic boys so educators can intervene as soon as signs of struggle emerge; increase the number of boys of color who take gifted, honors or Advanced Placement courses and exams; work to reduce the number of minority boys who are suspended or expelled; and increase graduation rates among African-American and Hispanic boys.” Eleven foundations have committed $194-million to the effort, which will also address problems faced by Asian-American and Native American boys. This includes grants and investments from the National Basketball Association, AT&T, and Laurene Powell Jobs’s Emerson Collective.
4. STEM Education Coalition: Coalition Praises House Action on STEM Education Act The STEM Education Coalition applauds the large bipartisan group of members in the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee that passed the STEM Education Act to expand STEM learning: “Our Coalition is pleased that a large and bipartisan group of House members has come together in support of the STEM Education Act. Ensuring that our students have the critical STEM skills they need to succeed in the global economy is essential to U.S. competitiveness – and the federal government plays a vital role in this endeavor. This targeted legislation will broaden the definition of the STEM subjects to include emerging fields like computer science, bolster research at the National Science Foundation to improve how students can learn in STEM subjects in informal and out-of-school settings, and offer more educators in STEM fields a chance to compete for the prestigious Noyce Teacher Fellowship.”
5. WMRA (NPR): Next To Silicon Valley, Nonprofits Draw Youth Of Color Into Tech “Technology companies have a problem when it comes to employee diversity. The workforce at places like Google and Facebook is overwhelmingly white and male. To counter that, a growing number of nonprofits are popping up in Oakland to help young blacks and Latinos break into the industry.”