; and (bb) a demonstrated capacity to improve employment or earnings outcomes for program participants. (II) The program component provides services that have already been evaluated and found to positively affect employment or earnings outcomes for employment or training program participants, with a methodology that has a high or moderate causal evidence rating (as defined by the Secretary as described in subclause (I)(aa)). (III) (aa) Subject to items (bb) and (cc), the State agency uses at least 20 percent of the funding allocated under this paragraph to the employment and training program component to enter into a performance or outcomes contract to pay for— (AA) measurable improvements in outcomes related to improved employment or earnings; (BB) credential attainment; or (CC) measurable attainment of new vocational skills for participants of the employment and training program, which shall include any reporting measures related to those outcomes that State agencies must track and report annually under regulations promulgated pursuant to this Act or any benchmarks demonstrated by credible research to be highly correlated with those outcomes if those outcomes are measured using administrative data validated by a third-party evaluator. (bb) Activities carried out under a performance or outcomes contract described in item (aa) ensure that the population served by the performance or outcomes contract in an area, as demonstrated by the State agency— (AA) is similar to the population in that area that participates in the supplemental nutrition assistance program with respect to demographics and barriers to employment; and (BB) is not selected for purposes of excluding participants in that area that are perceived as harder-to-serve . (cc) The State agency submits each request for reimbursement for payments made for activities carried out under a performance or outcomes contract described in item (aa)— (AA) not later than 60 months after the effective date of the performance or outcomes contract