Public Act 90-0247 of the 90th General Assembly
Public Act 90-0247
HB0918 Enrolled LRB9003757SMdv
AN ACT relating to youth skills training, education, job
placement, personal development, and leadership development.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Illinois Youthbuild Act.
Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of the Illinois
Youthbuild Act is:
(a) To enable economically disadvantaged youth,
especially youth who have not finished high school, to obtain
the education, job skills training, personal counseling,
leadership development skills training, job placement
assistance, and long-term follow-up services necessary for
them to achieve permanent economic self-sufficiency, while at
the same time providing valuable community service that
addresses urgent community needs including the demand for
affordable housing and the need for young role models and
mentors for younger teenagers and children.
(b) To provide communities the opportunity to establish
or rebuild neighborhood stability in economically depressed
and low-income areas, as well as historic areas requiring
restoration or preservation, while providing economically
disadvantaged youth and youth who have not finished high
school an opportunity for meaningful participation in
society.
(c) To allow communities to expand the supply of
affordable housing for homeless and other low-income
individuals by utilizing the energies and talents of
economically disadvantaged youth and young people who have
not graduated from high school.
(d) To foster the development of leadership skills and a
commitment to community development among youth.
Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
"Applicant" means a public or private not-for-profit
agency eligible to provide education and employment training
under federal or State employment training programs.
"Secretary" means the Secretary of Human Services.
"Very low-income" means a person or household whose
income is at or below 50% of the median family income,
adjusted for household size, for the county where the
household is located.
"Youthbuild" means any program that provides
disadvantaged youth with opportunities for employment,
education, leadership development, entrepreneurial skills
development, and training in the construction or
rehabilitation of housing for special need populations, very
low-income households, or low-income households.
Section 15. Program requirements. The Secretary is
authorized to make grants to applicants for the purpose of
carrying out Youthbuild programs as approved under this
Section. All programs funded pursuant to the provisions of
this Section shall reflect strong youth and community
involvement. In addition, funding provided under this
Section shall be used by each Youthbuild program to provide,
at a minimum, the following services:
(a) Acquisition, rehabilitation, acquisition and
rehabilitation, or construction of housing and related
facilities to be used for the purpose of providing home
ownership for disadvantaged persons, residential housing for
homeless individuals, and low-income and very low-income
families, or transitional housing for persons who are
homeless, have disabilities, are ill, are
deinstitutionalized, or have special needs, and
rehabilitation or construction of community facilities owned
by not-for-profit or public agencies.
(b) Integrated education and job skills training
services and activities which are evenly divided within the
program, with 50% of students' time spent in classroom-based
instruction, counseling, and leadership development
instruction and 50% of their time spent in experiential
training on the construction site. The programs shall
include, at a minimum, the following elements:
(1) An education component which includes basic
skills instruction, secondary education services, and
other activities designed to lead to the attainment of a
high school diploma or its equivalent. The curriculum
for this component shall include math, language arts,
vocational education, life skills training, social
studies related to the cultural and community history of
the students, leadership skills, and other topics at the
discretion of the programs. Bilingual services shall be
available for individuals with limited-English
proficiency. The desired minimum teacher to student
ratio shall be one teacher for every 18 students.
(2) A work experience and skills training component
apprenticeship program that includes the construction and
rehabilitation activities described in subsection (a).
The process of construction must be coupled with skills
training and with close on-site supervision by
experienced trainers. The curriculum for this component
shall contain a set of locally agreed upon skills and
competencies that are systematically taught, with a
student's mastery assessed individually on a regular,
ongoing basis. Safety skills shall be taught at the
outset. The desired trainer to student ratio shall be
one trainer for every 7 students. The work experience
and skills training component shall be coordinated to the
maximum extent feasible with preapprenticeship and
apprenticeship programs.
(3) Assistance in attaining post secondary
education and required financial aid shall be made
available to participants prior to graduation.
(c) Counseling services designed to assist participants
to positively participate in society, which should include
all of the following if necessary: outreach, assessment, and
orientation; individual and peer counseling; life skills
training, drug and alcohol abuse education and prevention;
and referral to appropriate drug rehabilitation, medical,
mental health, legal, housing, and other services and
resources in the community. The desired counselor to
participant ratio shall be one counselor for every 28
students.
(d) Leadership development training that provides
participants with meaningful opportunities to develop
leadership skills such as decision making, problem solving,
and negotiating. The program must also encourage
participants to develop strong peer group ties that support
their mutual pursuit of skills and values.
All programs must establish a youth council in which
participants are afforded opportunities to develop public
speaking and negotiating skills, and management and policy
making participation in specific aspects of the program.
(e) Stipends and wages. A training subsidy, living
allowance, or stipend that will be no less than minimum wage
must be provided to program participants for the time spent
at the worksite in construction training. For those
participants who receive public assistance, this training
subsidy, living allowance, or stipend will not affect their
housing benefits, medical benefits, child care benefits or
food stamp benefits. Stipends and wages may be distributed
in a manner that offers incentives for good performance.
(f) Full time participation in a Youthbuild program
shall be offered for a period of not less than 6 months and
not more than 24 months.
(g) A concentrated effort shall be made to find
construction, construction-related, and nonconstruction jobs
for all graduates of the program who have performed well.
The skills training curriculum shall provide participants
with basic preparation for seeking and maintaining a job.
Follow-up counseling and assistance in job-seeking shall also
be provided to participants for the 12 months following
graduation from the program.
(h) All programs serving 28 trainees or more are
required to have a full-time director responsible for the
coordination of all aspects of the Youthbuild program.
Section 20. Eligible activities. Implementation grants
may be used to carry out the activities listed in Section 15.
Other eligible activities include the following:
(a) Legal fees for housing acquisition.
(b) Administrative costs of the applicant which may not
exceed 15% of the amount of assistance provided, or such
higher percentage as the Secretary determines is necessary to
support capacity development of a private nonprofit
community-based organization.
(c) Defraying costs for the ongoing training and
technical assistance needs of the recipient that are related
to developing and carrying out the Youthbuild program
including:
(1) The Secretary may reserve up to 5% of the
Illinois Youthbuild program appropriations to enter into
a contract with Youthbuild USA to provide assistance to
the Secretary in the provision of training and to
technical assistance to, or in the management,
supervision, and coordination of, Youthbuild programs
under this Act.
Section 25. Eligible participants. Eligible
participants are youth 16 to 24 years old who are
economically disadvantaged as defined in United States Code,
Title 29, Section 1503, and who are part of one of the
following groups:
(a) Persons who are not attending any school and have
not received a secondary school diploma or its equivalent.
(b) Persons currently enrolled in a traditional or
alternative school setting or a GED program and who are in
danger of dropping out of school.
(c) Very low-income persons.
Up to 25% of the participants in the program may be
individuals who do not meet the requirements of subsections
(a), (b), and (c), but who have educational needs despite the
attainment of a high school diploma.
Section 30. Selection criteria. Priority in the
awarding of funds under this Act shall be given to applicants
with experience in operating Youthbuild programs.
Organizations claiming to have operated Youthbuild programs
must be licensed by Youthbuild USA or be organizations that
have received federal HUD Youthbuild funding.
Section 35. Eligible entities. Those eligible to be
awarded funds under this Act are not-for-profit private
agencies, or public agencies with experience operating a
Youthbuild program or with a plan to incubate a Youthbuild
program until it can be established as a not-for-profit
private agency.
Section 40. Application requirements. The Secretary
shall require that an application for Youthbuild funds under
this Act contain at a minimum:
(1) a request for an implementation grant, specifying
the amount of the grant requested and its proposed uses;
(2) a description of the applicant and a statement of
its qualifications, including a description of the
applicant's past experience running a Youthbuild program, and
with housing rehabilitation or construction and with youth
and youth education, youth leadership development and
employment training programs, and its relationship with local
unions and youth apprenticeship programs, and other community
groups;
(3) a description of the proposed construction site for
the program and evidence of site control;
(4) a description of the educational and job training
activities, work opportunities, and other services that will
be provided to participants;
(5) a description of the proposed construction or
rehabilitation activities to be undertaken and the
anticipated schedule for carrying out such activities;
(6) a description of the manner in which eligible youths
will be recruited and selected, including a description of
the arrangements which will be made with community-based
organizations, local educational agencies, including agencies
of Native American nations, public assistance agencies, the
courts of jurisdiction for status and youth offenders,
shelters for homeless individuals and other agencies that
serve homeless youth, foster care agencies, and other
appropriate public and private agencies;
(7) a description of the special efforts that will be
undertaken to recruit eligible young women (including young
women with dependent children) with appropriate supports,
especially childcare;
(8) a description of how the proposed program will be
coordinated with other federal, State, and local activities
and activities conducted by Native American nations,
including public schools, national service, crime prevention
programs, vocational, adult, and bilingual education
programs, and job training;
(9) assurances that there will be a sufficient number of
adequately trained supervisory personnel in the program who
have attained the level of journeyman or its equivalent;
(10) a description of the applicant's relationship with
any local building trade unions which may exist, regarding
their involvement in training, and the relationship of the
Youthbuild program with established apprenticeship programs;
(11) a description of activities that will be undertaken
to develop the leadership skills of participants, including
their role in decision making;
(12) a detailed budget and a description of the system
of fiscal controls and auditing and accountability procedures
that will be used to ensure fiscal soundness;
(13) a description of any contracts and arrangements
entered into between the applicant and other agencies and
entities including all in-kind donations and grants from both
public and private entities that will serve to augment
Illinois Youthbuild Act funds;
(14) identification and description of the financing
proposed for any:
(A) acquisition of the property;
(B) rehabilitation; or
(C) construction;
(15) identification and description of the entity that
will operate and manage the property;
(16) a certification that the applicant will comply with
the requirements of the Fair Housing Act, Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and will
affirmatively further fair housing; and
(17) the qualifications and past experience of the
person who will fill the full-time program director position.