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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 150

 
2    WHEREAS, Disconnected youth are young people ages 16 to 24
3who are neither working nor in school; according to a recent
4study by the Great Cities Institute at University of Illinois
5at Chicago, in 2014, there were 154,094 disconnected youth in
6Illinois; of those 37,975 were between 16 and 19 years of age,
7and 116,119 between the ages of 20 and 24; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Of the 154,094 disconnected youth in Illinois in
92014, 37,975 were white, 32,024 Hispanic, and 67,772 were
10African American; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The vast majority of disconnected youth come from
12low income areas in both Chicago and downstate; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Many of these disconnected youth and young adults
14would benefit from education and employment opportunities if
15these opportunities were structured using the best program
16practices of smaller, more flexible, and more structured
17comprehensive programming to address their education, work,
18and social development needs; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Illinois currently has a shortage of skilled
20workers; provided with the right opportunities, these
21disconnected youth could be trained to fill those vacancies for

 

 

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1the benefit of the employers, the Illinois economy, and their
2own futures; and
 
3    WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Department of
4Corrections Fiscal Report for 2014, only 19.7% of inmates in
5Illinois prisons completed high school; only 19.2% completed a
6GED program; leaving a shocking 62% of inmates in Illinois
7without an education higher than 11th grade; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Disconnected youth without high school diplomas
9earn $516,000 less over their lifetimes than those with high
10school diplomas and some college education; and
 
11     WHEREAS, The benefit to Illinois taxpayers is $312,000 in
12tax revenue over the lifetime of a disconnected youth who earns
13a high school diploma; there would also be savings to the State
14in social service expenditures such as welfare, mental health
15and dependency services, and reduced risk of imprisonment or
16other criminal justice related costs; and
 
17    WHEREAS, There is significant research and program
18experience to draw upon to assist in the development of
19successful programs to support disconnected youth so as to
20improve their education and find employment; therefore be it
 
21    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE

 

 

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1NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
2SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Statewide
3Task Force on Disconnected Youth in order to examine and
4develop programs to address the growing numbers of disconnected
5youth in Illinois; and be it further
 
6    RESOLED, That the purpose of the Task Force is to examine
7policies, programs, and other issues related to developing a
8variety of successful approaches using best program practices
9for disconnected youth, with the goal of improving their
10education, work-related skills, and social development, so
11that they can successfully enter the workforce and become
12productive adults; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall be composed of the
14following members:
 
15    1)eight legislators, two appointed by the president of the
16    Senate, two appointed by the Speaker of the House, two
17    appointed by the House Minority Leader, and two appointed
18    by the Senate Minority Leader;
19    2)one representative from the Governor's office appointed
20    by the Governor;
21    3)one representative of the State Board of Education
22    appointed by the State Superintendent of Education;
23    4)one representative of the Department of Human Services

 

 

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1    appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Human
2    Services;
3    5)one representative of the Department of Children and
4    Family Services appointed by its Director;
5    6)one representative of the Illinois Department of
6    Juvenile Justice appointed by its Director;
7    7)one representative of the Department of Commerce and
8    Economic Opportunity appointed by its Director;
9    8)one representative of the Illinois Community College
10    Board appointed by its President; and
11    9)25 representatives of organizations with successful
12    experience working with disconnected youth, four
13        appointed by the President of the Senate, four appointed by
14    the Speaker of the House, four appointed by the House
15    Minority Leader, four appointed by the Senate Minority
16    Leader, and nine appointed by the Governor, with one of
17    these public representatives service as the Chairperson of
18    the Task Force; and be it further
 
19    RESOLVED, That the duties of the Task Force shall include
20conducting a series of public hearings and listening sessions
21throughout the State to discuss the issue of disconnected youth
22and their impact on various regions of the State; completing a
23reviewing of data regarding disconnected youth comparing
24Illinois with other states in the region and nationally;
25including a review of various financing and funding mechanisms

 

 

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1used by other states, counties, cities, foundations, and other
2financial funding sources; and producing a final report with
3recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on
4ways and means to address the challenge of disconnected youth
5who have left school without a high school diploma; and be it
6further
 
7    RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Human Services is
8requested to provide administrative support when needed; and be
9it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall issue an interim report
11of its findings to the Governor and the General Assembly no
12later than November 30, 2016; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall issue a final report by
14December 31, 2016; and be it further
 
15    RESOLVED, That upon the filing of the final report the Task
16Force is dissolved.