The Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act (SFOAA), 2022 (Div. K, P.L.117-103) directed that $50 million should be made available for a program in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras which shall be referred to as the Central America Youth Empowerment Program (CAYEP). The goal of the CAYEP is to create measurable reductions in migration from targeted communities in such countries by recruiting young people to engage in COVID–19 response, hurricane preparedness and recovery, and other community projects, while having secondary impacts by channeling additional income into local economies and providing needed skills training for future employment in local businesses. Funds made available to support the CAYEP should be matched with contributions from private donors and local governments.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) submits this report pursuant to Section 7019(e) of the SFOAA which incorporates by reference the requirements of the FY 2022 Joint Explanatory Statement (JES). This report follows Report 2 completed in October 2022, and Report 1 in July 2022.
Since Vice President Harris announced the Central American Service Corps (CASC) at the Summit of the Americas, USAID has continued to make progress on the design and implementation of the overall initiative. The CASC initiative is funded through the CAYEP directive. With the FY 2022 CAYEP funding, programming under this initiative will offer youth in areas of high out-migration in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras opportunities to work in their own communities on local priorities such as educational support and tutoring, climate action, food security, green jobs, health education and services, violence prevention, and other civic-engagement activities.
Once fully designed and launched, CASC will help address the drivers of irregular migration among those most likely to migrate by engaging youth in service opportunities, mentorships and internships, providing a modest stipend, offering work and life skills acquisition, and enhancing young people’s sense of rootedness and commitment to their communities.
