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92_SR0070enr 92SR0070 Enrolled LRB9208410RHrh 1 STATE OF ILLINOIS 2 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY 3 SENATE 4 Senate Resolution No. 70 5 Offered by Senators Donahue, Radogno, Ronen and Sullivan 6 WHEREAS, Current studies about what happens to 7 unsupervised children indicate that when left alone, these 8 children have higher absentee rates at school, have lower 9 academic test scores, exhibit higher levels of fear, stress, 10 nightmares, loneliness, and boredom, are 1.7 times more 11 likely to use alcohol, and are 1.6 times more likely to smoke 12 cigarettes; and 13 WHEREAS, Recent data shows that in the City of Chicago 14 and other communities around this State, the violent juvenile 15 crime rate soars in the hours immediately after the school 16 bell rings and children are most likely to be victims of a 17 violent crime committed by a non-family member between 2 p.m. 18 and 6 p.m.; and 19 WHEREAS, Research indicates that children who attend high 20 quality after-school programs have better peer relations, 21 emotional adjustment, conflict resolution skills, grades, and 22 conduct in school compared to their peers who are not in 23 after-school programs; and 24 WHEREAS, Children who attend after-school programs spend 25 more time in learning opportunities, academic activities, and 26 enrichment activities and spend less time watching television 27 than their peers; and 28 WHEREAS, In one study, children who attended an 29 after-school program missed fewer days of school, had better 30 homework completion, better school behavior, and higher test 31 scores; and 32 WHEREAS, Polls show that 92% of Americans believe there 92SR0070 Enrolled -2- LRB9208410RHrh 1 should be organized activities for children and teens during 2 after-school hours; and 3 WHEREAS, Polls show that 75% of Americans are ready to 4 either pay more taxes or to forego a tax cut to provide 5 children with good early childhood development programs and 6 quality after-school programs; and 7 WHEREAS, As working parents can attest, child care 8 concerns are not over once children are old enough to go to 9 school; a parent who is employed full-time can be away from 10 home an average of 2,400 hours a year; children spend less 11 than half of that time in school; if their children 12 participate in a quality school-age care program or another 13 organized out-of-school time activity, parents can rest easy 14 because they know that their children are safe and 15 supervised; therefore, be it 16 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL 17 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the State Board of 18 Education and the Department of Human Services are directed 19 to convene and co-chair a task force, to be known as the 20 Illinois After-school Initiative, to develop a plan to ensure 21 quality after-school programs for every school-age child in 22 the State and that the Illinois After-school Initiative shall 23 be comprised of other related State agencies and private 24 organizations representing without limititation violence 25 prevention, parents, park districts, special-need 26 populations, private foundations, civic and cultural 27 organizations, community-based youth service providers, law 28 enforcement, education, local voluntary organizations, 29 faith-based communities, health, evaluation, and research 30 institutions, child and youth advocacy, alcohol, tobacco, and 31 substance abuse prevention, and mental health; and be it 32 further 92SR0070 Enrolled -3- LRB9208410RHrh 1 RESOLVED, That the activities of the Illinois 2 After-school Initiative shall include (i) an assessment of 3 the state of after-school services in this State, including 4 identification of the number of children and youth served 5 statewide in after-school programs, identification of the 6 number and location of children and youth who are in need of 7 after-school programs, and identification of the various 8 funding streams currently supporting after-school programs, 9 and (ii) the development of a plan for coordinating 10 after-school services and for achieving a goal of providing 11 after-school services for every school-age child in this 12 State; and be it further 13 RESOLVED, That the Illinois After-school Initiative plan 14 shall include strategies for this State to promote 15 best-practice models for after-school programs and to promote 16 coordination and collaboration of after-school services at 17 the local level; and be it further 18 RESOLVED, That the Illinois After-school Initiative shall 19 engage children and youth in development of the plan; and be 20 it further 21 RESOLVED, That the Illinois After-school Initiative shall 22 review and report to the General Assembly on model programs 23 operating in this State and other states and that the review 24 shall look at program components identified as best-practices 25 and based on proven research; and be it further 26 RESOLVED, That funds for the Illinois After-school 27 Initiative shall be sought from the federal government and 28 State human service code departments, and that private 29 sponsorship may also be sought; and be it further 30 RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education and the 31 Department of Human Services shall report to the Governor and 32 the General Assembly on the Illinois After-school Initiative 92SR0070 Enrolled -4- LRB9208410RHrh 1 plan and submit recommendations by April 1, 2002; and be it 2 further 3 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution shall 4 be delivered to the State Board of Education and the 5 Department of Human Services. 6 Adopted by the Senate, May 21, 2001. 7 _______________________ 8 President of the Senate 9 _______________________ 10 Secretary of the Senate