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093_SR0130
LRB093 11550 HSS 14751 r
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The 92nd General Assembly directed the creation
3 of the Illinois After-school Initiative in Senate Resolution
4 70 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
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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
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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 SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL
18 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the State Board of
19 Education and the Department of Human Services are directed
20 to extend the duration of the Illinois After-school
21 Initiative, to be renamed the Illinois After-school
22 Partnership, until 2006, and that these agencies continue to
23 co-chair the Partnership and oversee its efforts to implement
24 the policy recommendations and strategic next steps
25 identified in the Illinois After-school Initiative's task
26 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
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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.
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