Rep. William Davis

Filed: 3/10/2010

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1826

2     AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1826 by replacing
3 everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4     "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Afterschool Youth Development Project Act.
 
6     Section 5. Purpose and findings. The General Assembly
7 declares that it is the policy of this State to provide all
8 young people between the ages of 6 and 19 with access to
9 quality afterschool programs through a State commitment to
10 sufficient and sustainable funding for programs that promote
11 positive youth development. The need for this policy is based
12 on a series of facts:
13     The General Assembly finds that youth who are engaged in
14 quality afterschool activities are more likely to succeed in
15 academics, employment, and civic affairs than youth who do not
16 participate in afterschool activities. Youth with high levels

 

 

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1 of participation in quality afterschool programs miss fewer
2 days of school, have lower drop-out rates, and higher rates of
3 graduation.
4     The General Assembly also finds that youth in Illinois face
5 greater barriers to success than ever before:
6         (1) Statewide demand for quality afterschool
7     activities far outpaces the current supply, with shortfall
8     estimates between 60 and 70 percent.
9         (2) Illinois youth spend fewer hours in school than in
10     most other states and approximately 45% of all children in
11     grades K-12 are either responsible for themselves or are in
12     the care of a sibling during after school hours.
13         (3) On school days, the hours between 3:00 P.M. and
14     6:00 P.M. are the peak hours for juvenile crime and
15     experimentation with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and sex.
16     The General Assembly also finds that the State of Illinois,
17 having demonstrated national leadership in advancing toward
18 universal early childhood education, must also expand youth
19 development programming in order to realize the full, continued
20 benefits of public investment in Illinois' young people.
21     The policy established by this Act will be developed
22 through an afterschool demonstration program the results of
23 which will be used to establish standards and policies to
24 design and fund a statewide system of quality afterschool
25 programs accessible to all youth between the ages of 6 and 19
26 that promote positive outcomes in such areas as education,

 

 

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1 employment, and civic success.
 
2     Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
3      "Afterschool program" means positive youth development
4 activities provided to youth between the ages of 6 and 19
5 during the hours before or after school, during summer recess
6 from school, or during the weekends. These activities may
7 include, but are not limited to, the following activity areas:
8 academic support; arts, music, sports, cultural enrichment,
9 and other recreation; health promotion and diseases
10 prevention; life skills and work and career development; and
11 youth leadership development. For the purposes of this Act,
12 "afterschool program" also means a program funded under the
13 Afterschool Demonstration Program.
14     "Demonstration" or "Demonstration Program" means the
15 Afterschool Demonstration Program as established under this
16 Act.
17     "Council" means the Illinois Youth Development Council.
18     "Community advisory group" means a group of key local
19 stakeholders convened to help ensure effective program
20 delivery through increased collaboration. This group is
21 required as a condition of participating in the demonstration
22 period.
 
23     Section 15. Illinois Youth Development Council.
24     (a) Creation. In order to effectively achieve the policy

 

 

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1 established in this Act, the Illinois Youth Development Council
2 shall be created. The purpose of the Council is to provide
3 oversight and coordination to the State's public funds
4 currently invested to support positive youth development
5 programs and activities and to set system-wide policies and
6 priorities to accomplish the following 5 major objectives: (i)
7 Set afterschool program expansion priorities, such as
8 addressing gaps in programming for specific ages and
9 populations; (ii) Create outcome measures and require all
10 afterschool programs to be evaluated to ensure that outcomes
11 are being met; (iii) Oversee the establishment of a statewide
12 program improvement system that provides technical assistance
13 and capacity building to increase program participation and
14 quality system-wide; (iv) Monitor and assess afterschool
15 program quality through outcome measures; and (v) Establish
16 State policy to support the attainment of outcomes. The Council
17 shall be created within the Department of Human Services.
18     (b) Governance. The Illinois Youth Development Council
19 shall reflect the regional, racial, socio-economic, and
20 cultural diversity of the State to ensure representation of the
21 needs of all Illinois youth. The Council shall be composed of
22 no less than 28 and no more than 32 members. The Council may
23 establish a defined length of term for membership on the
24 Council.
25         (1) Membership. The Council shall include
26     representation from both public and private organizations

 

 

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1     comprised of the following:
2             (A) Four members of the General Assembly: one
3         appointed by the President of the Senate, one appointed
4         by the Minority Leader of the Senate, one appointed by
5         the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and one
6         appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
7         Representatives.
8             (B) The chief administrators of the following
9         State agencies: the Department of Human Services; the
10         Illinois State Board of Education; the Department of
11         Children and Family Services; the Department of Public
12         Health; the Department of Juvenile Justice; the
13         Department of Healthcare and Family Services; the
14         Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; the
15         Illinois Board of Higher Education; and the Illinois
16         Community College Board.
17             (C) The Chair of the Illinois Workforce Investment
18         Board and the Executive Director of the Illinois
19         Violence Prevention Authority.
20         The following Council members shall be appointed by the
21     Governor:
22             (D) Two officials from a unit of local government.
23             (E) At least 3 representatives of direct youth
24         service providers and faith-based providers.
25             (F) Three young people who are between the ages of
26         16 and 21 and who are members of the Youth Advisory

 

 

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1         Group as established in paragraph (2) of this
2         subsection.
3             (G) Two parents of children between the ages of 6
4         and 19.
5             (H) One academic researcher in the field of youth
6         development.
7             (I) Additional public members that include local
8         government stakeholders and nongovernmental
9         stakeholders with an interest in youth development and
10         afterschool programs, including representation from
11         the following private sector fields and
12         constituencies: child and youth advocacy; children and
13         youth with special needs; child and adolescent health;
14         business; and law enforcement.
15         Persons may be nominated by organizations representing
16     the fields outlined in this Section. The Governor shall
17     designate one of the Council members who is a nongovernment
18     stakeholder to serve as co-chairperson. The Council shall
19     create a sub-committee of additional direct youth service
20     providers as well as other sub-committees as deemed
21     necessary.
22         (2) Youth Advisory Group. To ensure that the Council is
23     responsive to the needs and priorities of Illinois' young
24     people, the Council shall establish an independent Youth
25     Advisory Group, which shall be composed of a diverse body
26     of 15 youths between the ages of 14 and 19 from across the

 

 

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1     State. Members that surpass the age of 19 while serving on
2     the Youth Advisory Group may complete the term of the
3     appointment. The Youth Advisory Group shall be charged
4     with: (i) presenting recommendations to the Council 4 times
5     per year on issues related to afterschool and youth
6     development programming and policy; and (ii) reviewing key
7     programmatic, funding, and policy decisions made by the
8     Council. To develop priorities and recommendations, the
9     Youth Advisory Group may engage students from across the
10     State via focus groups, on-line surveys, and other means.
11     The Youth Advisory Group shall be administered by the
12     Department of Human Services and facilitated by an
13     independent, established youth organization with expertise
14     in youth civic engagement. This youth civic engagement
15     organization shall administer the application requirements
16     and process and shall nominate 30 youth. The Department of
17     Human Services shall select 15 of the nominees for the
18     Youth Advisory Group, 3 of whom shall serve on the Council.
19     (c) Activities. The major objectives of the Council shall
20 be accomplished through the following activities:
21         (1) Publishing an annual plan that sets system goals
22     for Illinois' afterschool funding that include key
23     indicators, performance standards, and outcome measures
24     and that outlines funding evaluation and reporting
25     requirements.
26         (2) Developing and maintaining a system and processes

 

 

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1     to collect and report consistent program and outcome data
2     on all afterschool programs funded by State and local
3     government.
4         (3) Developing linkages between afterschool data
5     systems and other statewide youth program outcome data
6     systems (e.g. schools, post-secondary education, juvenile
7     justice, etc.).
8         (4) Developing procedures for implementing an
9     evaluation of the statewide system of program providers,
10     including programs established by this Act.
11         (5) Reviewing evaluation results and data reports to
12     inform future investments and allocations and to shape
13     State policy.
14         (6) Developing technical assistance and
15     capacity-building infrastructure and ensuring appropriate
16     workforce development strategies across agencies for those
17     who will be working in afterschool programs.
18         (7) Reviewing and making public recommendations to the
19     Governor and the General Assembly with respect to the
20     budgets for State youth services to ensure the adequacy of
21     those budgets and alignment to system goals outlined in the
22     plan described in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
23         (8) Developing and overseeing execution of a research
24     agenda to inform future program planning.
25         (9) Providing strategic advice to other State
26     agencies, the Illinois General Assembly, and Illinois'

 

 

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1     Constitutional Officers on afterschool-related activities
2     statewide.
3         (10) Approving awards of grants to demonstration
4     projects as outlined in Section 20 of this Act.
5     (d) Accountability. The Council shall annually report to
6 the Governor and the General Assembly on the Council's progress
7 towards its goals and objectives. The Department of Human
8 Services shall provide resources to the Council, including
9 administrative services and data collection and shall be
10 responsible for conducting procurement processes required by
11 the Act. The Department may contract with vendors to provide
12 all or a portion of any necessary resources.
 
13     Section 20. Afterschool Demonstration Program.
14     (a) Program. The Department of Human Services, in
15 coordination with the Council, shall establish and administer a
16 3-year statewide, quality Afterschool Demonstration Program
17 with an evaluation and outcome-based expansion model. The
18 ultimate goal of the Demonstration shall be to develop and
19 evaluate the costs, impact, and quality outcomes of afterschool
20 programs in order to establish an effective expansion toward
21 universal access.
22     (b) Eligible activity areas. Afterschool programs created
23 under the Demonstration Program shall serve youths in Illinois
24 by promoting one or more of the following:
25         (1) Academic support activities, including but not

 

 

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1     limited to remediation, tutoring, homework assistance,
2     advocacy with teachers, college preparatory guidance,
3     college tours, application assistance, and college
4     counseling.
5         (2) Arts, music, sports, recreation, and cultural
6     enrichment, including structured, ongoing activities such
7     as theatre groups, development of exhibits, graphic
8     design, cultural activities, and sports and athletic
9     teams.
10         (3) Health promotion and disease prevention, including
11     activities and tools for increasing knowledge and practice
12     of healthy behavior, drug, alcohol, tobacco and pregnancy
13     prevention, conflict resolution, and violence prevention.
14         (4) Life skills and work and career development
15     activities that prepare youth for a successful transition
16     to the workplace, including career awareness, job fairs,
17     career exploration, job shadowing, work readiness skills,
18     interview skills, resume building and work experience, and
19     paid internships and summer jobs.
20         (5) Youth leadership development activities aimed at
21     increasing youths' communication skills and ability to
22     help a group make decisions, to facilitate or lead a group
23     discussion, and to initiate and direct projects involving
24     other people including civic engagement, service learning,
25     and other activities that promote youth leadership.
26     (c) Eligible entities. Currently funded or new entities,

 

 

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1 including but not limited to the following, shall be eligible
2 to apply for funding:
3         (1) Schools or school districts.
4         (2) Community-based organizations.
5         (3) Faith-based organizations.
6         (4) Park districts.
7         (5) Libraries.
8         (6) Cultural institutions.
9     Priority for participation in the Demonstration Program
10 shall be given to entities with experience in providing
11 afterschool programs in Illinois.
12     (d) Program criteria. New or existing applicants shall
13 demonstrate the capacity to achieve the goals of this Act and
14 meet the deadlines set forth by the Council through:
15             (1) The promotion of the development of those items
16         outlined in subsection (b) of this Section.
17             (2) Evidence of community need and collaboration
18         to avoid duplicating or supplanting existing services,
19         which shall be shown through the creation of or
20         reliance on an appropriate, existing community
21         advisory group composed of a diverse makeup of members
22         that may include, but is not limited to, educators,
23         afterschool providers, local government officials,
24         local business owners, parents, and youth.
25             (3) Cost-effective methods that will maximize the
26         impact of the total dollar amount of the award.

 

 

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1     (e) Expansion. Three years from the award of the first
2 dollars, initial findings of an outcome evaluation of the
3 Demonstration, conducted by an independent evaluator as
4 described in subsection (d) of Section 25 of this Act, shall be
5 reported to the Governor, the General Assembly, the Council,
6 and the Youth Advisory Group with a hearing scheduled before
7 the appropriate committees of the House and Senate for the
8 purpose of establishing an effective expansion toward
9 universal access. A positive outcome evaluation, whereby
10 performance outcomes determined by the Council are met, shall
11 trigger a phased-in expansion toward full implementation.
 
12     Section 25. Effectiveness of afterschool programs.
13     (a) Program standards. Research has shown that
14 high-performing youth programs demonstrate shared features of
15 program quality. The Council shall establish a universal
16 framework of youth development program standards that commonly
17 define measurable indicators of program quality across the
18 diverse array of eligible demonstration program activities.
19     (b) Evaluation and monitoring. Afterschool programs shall
20 be held accountable to universal program quality standards as
21 adopted by the Council. Data informing performance against
22 these standards shall be monitored and collected by the
23 Department of Human Services. Each afterschool program, in
24 coordination with the corresponding community advisory group,
25 shall also assess needs and gaps relative to addressing outcome

 

 

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1 goals.
2     (c) Capacity-building supports. A statewide program
3 quality improvement system shall be established by the Council
4 utilizing a qualified third party to provide assessment,
5 coaching, technical assistance, and system and professional
6 development. Provided supports shall first target those
7 afterschool programs created under the Demonstration with the
8 ultimate goal of expansion to support the larger statewide
9 system of youth development program providers.
10     (d) Demonstration outcome evaluation. An evaluation of the
11 Demonstration shall be conducted by a third-party evaluator or
12 evaluators selected through a competitive request for
13 proposals (RFP) process. The purpose of the evaluation is to
14 determine how well the Demonstration Program meets the cost,
15 impact, and quality outcome goals established by the Council.
16 Initial findings shall be reported to the Council, the
17 Governor, and the General Assembly within 3 years from the
18 award of the first dollars and shall be the primary determining
19 evidence to trigger expansion as described in subsection (e) of
20 Section 20 of this Act.
 
21     Section 30. Funding. The creation and establishment of the
22 Council, the Youth Advisory Group, and the Afterschool
23 Demonstration Program shall be subject to appropriations,
24 however the Department of Human Services shall be permitted to
25 accept private funding or private resources at any time to

 

 

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1 implement this Act.
 
2     Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
3 becoming law.".