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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 10

 
2    WHEREAS, Youth and young adults, ages 16 to 24, who fall
3into two groups need opportunities to become successful adults:
4(1) those who are neither working nor in school, including
5those without a high school diploma, and (2) those who are
6low-attending, jobless high school students; these individuals
7are in need of opportunities to succeed as adults; according to
8a recent study by the Great Cities Institute at the University
9of Illinois at Chicago, in 2014, there were 190,945 youth and
10young adults (16 to 24 years old) who were jobless and
11out-of-school in Illinois; of those, 46,501 were between 16 and
1219 years of age and 144,444 between the ages of 20 and 24; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Of these 190,945 jobless and out-of-school youth
14and young adults, 73,130 were white, 39,712 Hispanic, and
1578,103 were African American; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The vast majority of these youth and young adults
17who are neither working nor in school, including those without
18a high school diploma and those who are low-attending jobless
19high school students, come from low-income areas in both
20Chicago and downstate; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Many of these youth and young adults need
22opportunities to become successful adults and would benefit

 

 

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1from education and employment opportunities if these
2opportunities are structured using evidence based/best program
3practices of smaller, more flexible, and more structured
4comprehensive programming to address their education, work,
5and social development needs; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Illinois currently has a shortage of skilled
7workers; provided with the right opportunities, these youth and
8young adults could be trained to fill those vacancies for the
9benefit of the employers, the Illinois economy, and their own
10futures; and
 
11    WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Department of
12Corrections Fiscal Report for 2014, only 19.7% of inmates in
13Illinois prisons completed high school, and only 19.2%
14completed a GED program, leaving 62% of inmates in Illinois
15without an education higher than 11th grade; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Youth without a high school diploma earn $516,000
17less over their lifetimes than those with high school diplomas
18and some college education; and
 
19    WHEREAS, The benefit to Illinois taxpayers is over $290,000
20in tax revenue over the lifetime of a youth who earns a high
21school diploma versus a youth who does not earn a high school
22diploma; there is also a savings to taxpayers in terms of youth

 

 

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1with a high school diploma requiring less expenditures for
2social services such as welfare, mental health and dependency
3services, and reduced risk of imprisonment or other criminal
4justice related costs; and
 
5    WHEREAS, There is significant research and program
6experience to draw upon to assist in the development of
7successful programs to support out-of-school and jobless youth
8to improve their education and find employment; therefore, be
9it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL
11ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
12CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Statewide Task
13Force on Developing Opportunities for Youth and Young Adults
14Who Are Jobless and Out-of-School within the Department of
15Human Services in order to examine and develop programs to
16address the growing numbers of out-of-school and jobless youth
17in Illinois, including those without a high school diploma, who
18are neither working nor in school, and low-attending jobless
19high school students; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That the purpose of the Task Force is to examine
21policies, programs, and other issues related to developing a
22variety of successful approaches using best program practices
23for out-of-school and jobless youth students, with the goal of

 

 

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1improving their education, work-related, and social
2development skills, so that they can successfully enter the
3workforce and become productive adults; and be it further
 
4    RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall be composed of the
5following members:
 
6        (1) Eight legislators, two appointed by the President
7    of the Senate, two appointed by the Speaker of the House,
8    two appointed by the House Minority Leader, and two
9    appointed by the Senate Minority Leader;
 
10        (2) One representative from the Governor's office
11    appointed by the Governor;
 
12        (3) One representative of the State Board of Education
13    appointed by the State Superintendent of Education;
 
14        (4) One representative of the Department of Human
15    Services appointed by the Secretary of the Department of
16    Human Services;
 
17        (5) One representative of the Department of Children
18    and Family Services appointed by its Director;
 
19        (6) One representative of the Illinois Department of

 

 

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1    Juvenile Justice appointed by its Director;
 
2        (7) One representative of the Department of Commerce
3    and Economic Opportunity appointed by its Director;
 
4        (8) One representative of the Illinois Community
5    College Board appointed by its Executive Director; and
 
6        (9) One representative of the Illinois Board of Higher
7    Education appointed by its Executive Director;
 
8        (10) One representative of the Illinois Department of
9    Corrections appointed by its Director;
 
10        (11) 15 representatives of organizations with
11    successful experience working with jobless youth without a
12    high school diploma and low-attending high school
13    students, three appointed by the President of the Senate,
14    three appointed by the Speaker of the House, three
15    appointed by the House Minority Leader, three appointed by
16    the Senate Minority Leader, and three appointed by the
17    Governor, with one of these public representatives serving
18    as the Chairperson of the Task Force; and
 
19        (12) The Lieutenant Governor or his or her designee;
20    and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That the duties of the Task Force shall include
2conducting a series of public hearings and listening sessions
3throughout the State to discuss the issues of jobless and
4out-of-school youth including youth without a high school
5diploma and low-attending high school students who need
6opportunities to become successful adults; the Task Force will
7examine their impact on various regions of the State and
8complete a review of data regarding out-of-school and jobless
9youth comparing Illinois with other states in the region and
10nationally, including a review of various financing and funding
11mechanisms used by other states, counties, cities,
12foundations, and other financial funding sources; the Task
13Force will submit a final report with recommendations to the
14Governor and the General Assembly on ways to address these
15challenges; and be it further
 
16    RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall issue an interim report
17of its findings to the Governor and the General Assembly no
18later than January 31, 2018; and be it further
 
19    RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall issue a final report by
20December 31, 2018; and be it further
 
21    RESOLVED, That upon the filing of the final report the Task
22Force is dissolved.