1. The community services and conservation program for young adults shall consist of projects offering participants paid work experience integrated with educational activities which may include, but is not limited to, employability skills training and educational remediation activities.
2. Participants who are high school dropouts shall work toward the completion of their graduate equivalency diploma and shall be excused from work according to a planned work schedule proposed by the project sponsor and approved by the division of workforce development in its review of a project application, to allow them to attend classes or gain instruction. The division of workforce development shall work with the department of elementary and secondary education to establish criteria for determining participants who may be at risk of not earning a high school diploma. Participants who meet these criteria shall be required to attend remediation classes designed to assist in the retention and successful completion of high school according to a planned work schedule proposed by the project sponsor and approved by the division in its review of a project application. All participants shall be paid a wage according to a work plan approved by the division, and commensurate with the number of hours worked by the participant. During the last three weeks of employment, all participants may be granted eight hours of paid time each week to search for permanent employment.