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Public Act 096-1302 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning children.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | ||||
Afterschool Youth Development Project Act.
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Section 5. Purpose and findings. The General Assembly | ||||
declares that it is the policy of this State to provide all | ||||
young people between the ages of 6 and 19 with access to | ||||
quality afterschool programs through a State commitment to | ||||
sufficient and sustainable funding for programs that promote | ||||
positive youth development. The need for this policy is based | ||||
on a series of facts: | ||||
The General Assembly finds that youth who are engaged in | ||||
quality afterschool activities are more likely to succeed in | ||||
academics, employment, and civic affairs than youth who do not | ||||
participate in afterschool activities. Youth with high levels | ||||
of participation in quality afterschool programs miss fewer | ||||
days of school, have lower drop-out rates, and higher rates of | ||||
graduation. | ||||
The General Assembly also finds that youth in Illinois face | ||||
greater barriers to success than ever before: | ||||
(1) Statewide demand for quality afterschool | ||||
activities far outpaces the current supply, with shortfall |
estimates between 60 and 70 percent. | ||
(2) Illinois youth spend fewer hours in school than in | ||
most other states and approximately 45% of all children in | ||
grades K-12 are either responsible for themselves or are in | ||
the care of a sibling during afterschool hours. | ||
(3) On school days, the hours between 3:00 p.m. and | ||
6:00 p.m. are the peak hours for juvenile crime and | ||
experimentation with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and sex. | ||
The General Assembly also finds that the State of Illinois, | ||
having demonstrated national leadership in advancing toward | ||
universal early childhood education, must also expand youth | ||
development programming in order to realize the full, continued | ||
benefits of public investment in Illinois' young people. | ||
The policy established by this Act will be developed | ||
through an afterschool demonstration program the results of | ||
which will be used to establish standards and policies to | ||
design and fund a statewide system of quality afterschool | ||
programs accessible to all youth between the ages of 6 and 19 | ||
that promote positive outcomes in such areas as education, | ||
employment, and civic success. | ||
Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: | ||
"Afterschool program" means positive youth development | ||
activities provided to youth between the ages of 6 and 19 | ||
during the hours before or after school, during summer recess | ||
from school, or during the weekends. These activities may |
include, but are not limited to, the following activity areas: | ||
academic support; arts, music, sports, cultural enrichment, | ||
and other recreation; health promotion and diseases | ||
prevention; life skills and work and career development; and | ||
youth leadership development. For the purposes of this Act, | ||
"afterschool program" also means a program funded under the | ||
Afterschool Demonstration Program. | ||
"Demonstration" or "Demonstration Program" means the | ||
Afterschool Demonstration Program as established under this | ||
Act. | ||
"Council" means the Illinois Youth Development Council. | ||
"Community advisory group" means a group of key local | ||
stakeholders convened to help ensure effective program | ||
delivery through increased collaboration. This group is | ||
required as a condition of participating in the demonstration | ||
period. | ||
Section 15. Illinois Youth Development Council. | ||
(a) Creation. In order to effectively achieve the policy | ||
established in this Act, the Illinois Youth Development Council | ||
shall be created. The purpose of the Council is to provide | ||
oversight and coordination to the State's public funds | ||
currently invested to support positive youth development | ||
programs and activities and to set systemwide policies and | ||
priorities to accomplish the following 5 major objectives: (i) | ||
set afterschool program expansion priorities, such as |
addressing gaps in programming for specific ages and | ||
populations; (ii) create outcome measures and require all | ||
afterschool programs to be evaluated to ensure that outcomes | ||
are being met; (iii) oversee the establishment of a statewide | ||
program improvement system that provides technical assistance | ||
and capacity building to increase program participation and | ||
quality systemwide; (iv) monitor and assess afterschool | ||
program quality through outcome measures; and (v) establish | ||
State policy to support the attainment of outcomes. The Council | ||
shall be created within the Department of Human Services. | ||
(b) Governance. The Illinois Youth Development Council | ||
shall reflect the regional, racial, socioeconomic, and | ||
cultural diversity of the State to ensure representation of the | ||
needs of all Illinois youth. The Council shall be composed of | ||
no less than 28 and no more than 32 members. The Council may | ||
establish a defined length of term for membership on the | ||
Council. | ||
(1) Membership. The Council shall include | ||
representation from both public and private organizations | ||
comprised of the following: | ||
(A) Four members of the General Assembly: one | ||
appointed by the President of the Senate, one appointed | ||
by the Minority Leader of the Senate, one appointed by | ||
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and one | ||
appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of | ||
Representatives. |
(B) The chief administrators of the following | ||
State agencies: the Department of Human Services; the | ||
Illinois State Board of Education; the Department of | ||
Children and Family Services; the Department of Public | ||
Health; the Department of Juvenile Justice; the | ||
Department of Healthcare and Family Services; the | ||
Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity; the | ||
Illinois Board of Higher Education; and the Illinois | ||
Community College Board. | ||
(C) The Chair of the Illinois Workforce Investment | ||
Board and the Executive Director of the Illinois | ||
Violence Prevention Authority. | ||
The following Council members shall be appointed by the | ||
Governor: | ||
(D) Two officials from a unit of local government. | ||
(E) At least 3 representatives of direct youth | ||
service providers and faith-based providers. | ||
(F) Three young people who are between the ages of | ||
16 and 21 and who are members of the Youth Advisory | ||
Group as established in paragraph (2) of this | ||
subsection. | ||
(G) Two parents of children between the ages of 6 | ||
and 19. | ||
(H) One academic researcher in the field of youth | ||
development. | ||
(I) Additional public members that include local |
government stakeholders and nongovernmental | ||
stakeholders with an interest in youth development and | ||
afterschool programs, including representation from | ||
the following private sector fields and | ||
constituencies: child and youth advocacy; children and | ||
youth with special needs; child and adolescent health; | ||
business; and law enforcement. | ||
Persons may be nominated by organizations representing | ||
the fields outlined in this Section. The Governor shall | ||
designate one of the Council members who is a nongovernment | ||
stakeholder to serve as co-chairperson. The Council shall | ||
create a subcommittee of additional direct youth service | ||
providers as well as other subcommittees as deemed | ||
necessary. | ||
(2) Youth Advisory Group. To ensure that the Council is | ||
responsive to the needs and priorities of Illinois' young | ||
people, the Council shall establish an independent Youth | ||
Advisory Group, which shall be composed of a diverse body | ||
of 15 youths between the ages of 14 and 19 from across the | ||
State. Members that surpass the age of 19 while serving on | ||
the Youth Advisory Group may complete the term of the | ||
appointment. The Youth Advisory Group shall be charged | ||
with: (i) presenting recommendations to the Council 4 times | ||
per year on issues related to afterschool and youth | ||
development programming and policy; and (ii) reviewing key | ||
programmatic, funding, and policy decisions made by the |
Council. To develop priorities and recommendations, the | ||
Youth Advisory Group may engage students from across the | ||
State via focus groups, on-line surveys, and other means. | ||
The Youth Advisory Group shall be administered by the | ||
Department of Human Services and facilitated by an | ||
independent, established youth organization with expertise | ||
in youth civic engagement. This youth civic engagement | ||
organization shall administer the application requirements | ||
and process and shall nominate 30 youth. The Department of | ||
Human Services shall select 15 of the nominees for the | ||
Youth Advisory Group, 3 of whom shall serve on the Council. | ||
(c) Activities. The major objectives of the Council shall | ||
be accomplished through the following activities: | ||
(1) Publishing an annual plan that sets system goals | ||
for Illinois' afterschool funding that include key | ||
indicators, performance standards, and outcome measures | ||
and that outlines funding evaluation and reporting | ||
requirements. | ||
(2) Developing and maintaining a system and processes | ||
to collect and report consistent program and outcome data | ||
on all afterschool programs funded by State and local | ||
government. | ||
(3) Developing linkages between afterschool data | ||
systems and other statewide youth program outcome data | ||
systems (e.g. schools, post-secondary education, juvenile | ||
justice, etc.). |
(4) Developing procedures for implementing an | ||
evaluation of the statewide system of program providers, | ||
including programs established by this Act. | ||
(5) Reviewing evaluation results and data reports to | ||
inform future investments and allocations and to shape | ||
State policy. | ||
(6) Developing technical assistance and | ||
capacity-building infrastructure and ensuring appropriate | ||
workforce development strategies across agencies for those | ||
who will be working in afterschool programs. | ||
(7) Reviewing and making public recommendations to the | ||
Governor and the General Assembly with respect to the | ||
budgets for State youth services to ensure the adequacy of | ||
those budgets and alignment to system goals outlined in the | ||
plan described in paragraph (1) of this subsection. | ||
(8) Developing and overseeing execution of a research | ||
agenda to inform future program planning. | ||
(9) Providing strategic advice to other State | ||
agencies, the Illinois General Assembly, and Illinois' | ||
Constitutional Officers on afterschool-related activities | ||
statewide. | ||
(10) Approving awards of grants to demonstration | ||
projects as outlined in Section 20 of this Act. | ||
(d) Accountability. The Council shall annually report to | ||
the Governor and the General Assembly on the Council's progress | ||
towards its goals and objectives.
The Department of Human |
Services shall provide resources to the Council, including | ||
administrative services and data collection and shall be | ||
responsible for conducting procurement processes required by | ||
the Act. The Department may contract with vendors to provide | ||
all or a portion of any necessary resources.
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Section 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. | ||
Section 25. Effectiveness of afterschool programs. | ||
(a) Program standards. Research has shown that | ||
high-performing youth programs demonstrate shared features of | ||
program quality. The Council shall establish a universal | ||
framework of youth development program standards that commonly | ||
define measurable indicators of program quality across the | ||
diverse array of eligible demonstration program activities. | ||
(b) Evaluation and monitoring. Afterschool programs shall | ||
be held accountable to universal program quality standards as | ||
adopted by the Council. Data informing performance against | ||
these standards shall be monitored and collected by the | ||
Department of Human Services. Each afterschool program, in | ||
coordination with the corresponding community advisory group, | ||
shall also assess needs and gaps relative to addressing outcome | ||
goals. | ||
(c) Capacity-building supports. A statewide program | ||
quality improvement system shall be established by the Council | ||
utilizing a qualified third party to provide assessment, | ||
coaching, technical assistance, and system and professional | ||
development. Provided supports shall first target those | ||
afterschool programs created under the Demonstration with the |
ultimate goal of expansion to support the larger statewide | ||
system of youth development program providers. | ||
(d) Demonstration outcome evaluation. An evaluation of the | ||
Demonstration shall be conducted by a third-party evaluator or | ||
evaluators selected through a competitive request for | ||
proposals (RFP) process. The purpose of the evaluation is to | ||
determine how well the Demonstration Program meets the cost, | ||
impact, and quality outcome goals established by the Council. | ||
Initial findings shall be reported to the Council, the | ||
Governor, and the General Assembly within 3 years from the | ||
award of the first dollars and shall be the primary determining | ||
evidence to trigger expansion as described in subsection (e) of | ||
Section 20 of this Act. | ||
Section 30. Funding. The creation and establishment of the | ||
Council, the Youth Advisory Group, and the Afterschool | ||
Demonstration Program shall be subject to appropriations, | ||
however the Department of Human Services shall be permitted to | ||
accept private funding or private resources at any time to | ||
implement this Act. | ||
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||
becoming law.
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