093_HR0176 LRB093 11370 NHT 13651 r 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION 2 WHEREAS, The 92nd General Assembly directed the creation 3 of the Illinois After-school Initiative in House Resolution 4 63 to identify the number of school-age children and youth in 5 the State who are in need of out-of-school-time programs and 6 to develop a plan for coordinating resources to achieve a 7 goal of providing out-of-school-time services to every 8 school-age child and youth in the State; and 9 WHEREAS, The Illinois After-school Initiative found that 10 1.6 million school-age children and youth in Illinois are 11 potentially in need of programs during the hours they are not 12 in school; and 13 WHEREAS, Sixty-four percent of all Illinois children 14 between the ages of 6 and 17 live in families where the sole 15 parent or both parents work; and being unsupervised during 16 the non-school hours puts children and youth at greater risk 17 of truancy, performing poorly in school, depression, 18 substance abuse, and becoming a victim of crime; and 19 WHEREAS, The Illinois After-school Initiative found that 20 41% of Illinois eighth-grade students were home alone more 21 than 10 hours a week, and research shows that the likelihood 22 of high-risk behaviors increases when youth are home alone 10 23 or more hours a week; and 24 WHEREAS, Research indicates that children who attend 25 high-quality, out-of-school-time programs have better peer 26 relations, emotional adjustment, conflict resolution skills, 27 grades, and conduct in school compared to their peers who are 28 not in out-of-school-time programs; and 29 WHEREAS, Children who attend quality out-of-school-time 30 programs spend more time in learning opportunities, academic 31 activities, and enrichment activities and spend less time -2- LRB093 11370 NHT 13651 r 1 watching television than their peers; and 2 WHEREAS, Parents and youth interviewed for the Illinois 3 After-school Initiative detailed time and time again the 4 positive difference out-of-school-time programs made in their 5 lives and the lives of their families; and 6 WHEREAS, The 2002 task force report issued by the 7 Illinois After-school Initiative at the request of the 92nd 8 General Assembly focused on actions that would strengthen the 9 State's ability to support high-quality, affordable, 10 out-of-school-time programs and recommended policy changes in 11 the areas of State-level interagency collaboration, capacity 12 building, community collaboration, evaluation, and funding; 13 and implementing these recommendations will require the 14 continued collaboration, focus, and commitment of the State 15 Board of Education and the Department of Human Services; and 16 WHEREAS, The recommendations of the Illinois After-school 17 Initiative reflect the expertise of parents and over 60 18 representatives from State agencies, public institutions, and 19 private non-profit organizations with extensive experience in 20 education, youth development, research, violence prevention, 21 juvenile justice, child care, volunteerism, and social work, 22 and it is imperative for Illinois' school-age children and 23 youth that the collaboration that produced this shared vision 24 for out-of-school-time programming continue; and 25 WHEREAS, Hundreds of thousands of Illinois children and 26 youth will be denied the opportunity to participate in 27 activities that can help them reach their fullest potential 28 and avoid the negative choices that are costly and 29 detrimental to society if the State fails to enact the 30 recommendations of the Illinois After-school Initiative to 31 reduce duplication, streamline program requirements, maximize 32 funding opportunities, train program staff, involve community -3- LRB093 11370 NHT 13651 r 1 institutions in designing and implementing programs, promote 2 research-supported best practices, measure program outcomes, 3 and evaluate the effectiveness of out-of-school-time 4 interventions; and 5 WHEREAS, The Illinois After-school Initiative's task 6 force report recommended that the General Assembly extend the 7 duration of the Initiative and expand its membership and 8 responsibilities to oversee the implementation of the 9 Initiative's recommendations; and 10 WHEREAS, In December 2002, Illinois was one of 8 states 11 recognized by a national foundation committed to building 12 strong statewide after-school networks for its efforts to 13 coordinate services and reach all interested children and 14 youth with after-school programs, and the foundation has 15 provided financial support to build upon the work begun by 16 the Illinois After-school Initiative; therefore, be it 17 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 18 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 19 the State Board of Education and the Department of Human 20 Services are directed to extend the duration of the Illinois 21 After-school Initiative, to be renamed the Illinois 22 After-school Partnership, until 2006, and that these agencies 23 continue to co-chair the Partnership and oversee its efforts 24 to implement the policy recommendations and strategic next 25 steps identified in the Illinois After-school Initiative's 26 task force report; and be it further 27 RESOLVED, That participation in the Illinois After-school 28 Partnership be expanded beyond the membership of the initial 29 Illinois After-school Initiative to increase the 30 representation of parents, youth, foundations, employers, and 31 others with experience in education, child care, after-school 32 and youth development services, and crime and violence -4- LRB093 11370 NHT 13651 r 1 prevention; and be it further 2 RESOLVED, That the Partnership work diligently with the 3 private sector to understand the out-of-school-time needs of 4 employed parents and their families, and that the Partnership 5 engage the public and private sectors in building and 6 sustaining high quality out-of-school-time programs; and be 7 it further 8 RESOLVED, That each year, on or before December 31, the 9 Illinois After-school Partnership report its progress in 10 reaching the recommendations set forth in the Illinois 11 After-school Initiative's task force report to the General 12 Assembly and the Governor; and be it further 13 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution shall 14 be delivered to the State Board of Education and the 15 Department of Human Services.