325 ILCS 27/20

(325 ILCS 27/20)

Sec. 20. Afterschool Demonstration Program.

(a) Program. The Department of Human Services, in coordination with the Council, shall establish and administer a 3-year statewide, quality Afterschool Demonstration Program with an evaluation and outcome-based expansion model. The ultimate goal of the Demonstration shall be to develop and evaluate the costs, impact, and quality outcomes of afterschool programs in order to establish an effective expansion toward universal access.

(b) Eligible activity areas. Afterschool programs created under the Demonstration Program shall serve youths in Illinois by promoting one or more of the following:

(1) Academic support activities, including but not limited to remediation, tutoring, homework assistance, advocacy with teachers, college preparatory guidance, college tours, application assistance, and college counseling.

(2) Arts, music, sports, recreation, and cultural enrichment, including structured, ongoing activities such as theatre groups, development of exhibits, graphic design, cultural activities, and sports and athletic teams.

(3) Health promotion and disease prevention, including activities and tools for increasing knowledge and practice of healthy behavior, drug, alcohol, tobacco and pregnancy prevention, conflict resolution, and violence prevention.

(4) Life skills and work and career development activities that prepare youth for a successful transition to the workplace, including career awareness, job fairs, career exploration, job shadowing, work readiness skills, interview skills, resume building and work experience, and paid internships and summer jobs.

(5) Youth leadership development activities aimed at increasing youths' communication skills and ability to help a group make decisions, to facilitate or lead a group discussion, and to initiate and direct projects involving other people including civic engagement, service learning, and other activities that promote youth leadership.

(c) Eligible entities. Currently funded or new entities, including but not limited to the following, shall be eligible to apply for funding:

(1) Schools or school districts.

(2) Community-based organizations.

(3) Faith-based organizations.

(4) Park districts.

(5) Libraries.

(6) Cultural institutions.

Priority for participation in the Demonstration Program shall be given to entities with experience in providing afterschool programs in Illinois.

(d) Program criteria. New or existing applicants shall demonstrate the capacity to achieve the goals of this Act and meet the deadlines set forth by the Council through:

(1) The promotion of the development of those items outlined in subsection (b) of this Section.

(2) Evidence of community need and collaboration to avoid duplicating or supplanting existing services, which shall be shown through the creation of or reliance on an appropriate, existing community advisory group composed of a diverse makeup of members that may include, but is not limited to, educators, afterschool providers, local government officials, local business owners, parents, and youth.

(3) Cost-effective methods that will maximize the impact of the total dollar amount of the award.

(e) Expansion. Three years from the award of the first dollars, initial findings of an outcome evaluation of the Demonstration, conducted by an independent evaluator as described in subsection (d) of Section 25 of this Act, shall be reported to the Governor, the General Assembly, the Council, and the Youth Advisory Group with a hearing scheduled before the appropriate committees of the House and Senate for the purpose of establishing an effective expansion toward universal access. A positive outcome evaluation, whereby performance outcomes determined by the Council are met, shall trigger a phased-in expansion toward full implementation.

(Source: P.A. 96-1302, eff. 7-27-10.)