96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB3838

 

Introduced 2/25/2009, by Rep. Jim Watson

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
730 ILCS 5/3-2-12 new

    Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Creates a program for the Department to make grants to qualified mentoring organizations to provide mentoring to children of incarcerated parents or other significant family members. Provides for grant criteria and program evaluation.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1     AN ACT concerning children.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by
5 adding Section 3-2-12 as follows:
 
6     (730 ILCS 5/3-2-12 new)
7     Sec. 3-2-12. Mentoring grants for children of
8 incarcerated.
9     (a) Mentoring grants. Subject to appropriation, the
10 Department of Corrections shall award grants to nonprofit
11 organizations that provide one-to-one mentoring relationships
12 to youth enrolled between the ages of 6 to 18 whose parent or
13 other significant family member is incarcerated in a State or
14 federal penitentiary or other correctional facility or serving
15 a period of probation or parole or is otherwise subject to
16 governmental correctional supervision. The intent of the
17 grants is to provide children with quality, lasting, one-to-one
18 relationships that provide youth with caring adult mentor role
19 models in order to strengthen developmental outcomes,
20 including enhanced self-confidence and esteem; improved
21 academic performance; and improved relationships with peers,
22 family, and other adults in ways that may prevent the children
23 from entering the juvenile justice system.

 

 

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1     (b) Grant criteria. As a condition of receiving grants, a
2 grant recipient must:
3         (1) be currently affiliated with and a member in
4     good-standing of a nationally recognized adult-youth
5     mentoring organization that has in-place policies,
6     operating procedures, and regular monitoring and
7     evaluation criteria as well as an active program to provide
8     oversight and training for local board members and staff.
9     Recipients shall also be active members and participants in
10     an Illinois association of similar service provider
11     organizations to further the purposes of mutual support,
12     education, training, monitoring, and mentoring on a
13     one-to-one basis. A qualified grant recipient must
14     currently be a not-for-profit organization under Section
15     501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and must have been
16     in existence for more than 10 years prior to the effective
17     date of this Act;
18         (2) recruit, train, and supervise volunteer one-to-one
19     mentors from the community, using trained and experienced
20     staff members who possess, at minimum, a 4-year degree from
21     an accredited institution of higher learning. Procedures
22     shall be followed with a goal to ensure that mentors are
23     professionally trained and screened to have the requisite
24     talents and skills to effectively participate in a
25     mentoring relationship and to not pose a safety risk to the
26     child, with the grant recipient adhering to national

 

 

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1     standards of training and screening;
2         (3) provide enhanced training to mentors focusing on
3     asset building and family dynamics when a parent is
4     incarcerated; and
5         (4) provide an individual family plan and aftercare.
6     (c) Program evaluation. Grant recipients shall submit an
7 evaluation plan to the Director delineating the program and
8 student outcome goals and activities implemented to achieve the
9 stated outcomes. The goals must be clearly stated and
10 measurable. Grant recipients shall collect, analyze, and
11 report on participation and outcome data that enable the
12 department to verify that the program goals were met. The
13 evaluations shall measure 3 outcome areas: (i) reduction in
14 delinquency (avoidance of involvement with criminal justice
15 system; avoidance of school truancy); (ii) avoidance of risky
16 behaviors (illegal drug and alcohol use; early pregnancy); and
17 (iii) enhanced sense of well-being (improvements in
18 self-confidence and interpersonal behavior).