The White House has announced the launch of a $50 million initiative as part of a public-private program to provide young people in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras with paid community service opportunities, mentorship, and a path to future employment.

The Central American Service Corps (CASC) was developed in support of the U.S. strategy to address the root causes of migration in northern Central America, which Vice President Kamala Harris announced last July. To help stem illegal border crossings, CASC will work to address the drivers of irregular migration by engaging youth in locally driven service opportunities, providing a modest stipend, offering work and life skills acquisition, and enhancing young people’s sense of community. To be administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the program will provide youth with opportunities to work 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.

CASC builds on a collaboration between USAID, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and Salvadoran NGO Glasswing International on a youth service pilot program launched in 2021 with $13.2 million provided exclusively by the Buffett Foundation as well as on a collaborative effort between the Partnership for Central America (PCA) and Glasswing International to implement a community service program for young adults in the region.

Funded in part through FY 2022 appropriations, the new initiative will benefit from technical and financial support provided by a wide range of stakeholders in the public, private, and philanthropic sectors, including the Peace Corps, Glasswing International, and the Inter-American Foundation.

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Joel Aguilar)