HB3838 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB096 11660 RCE 22260 b

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB3838

Introduced 2/25/2009, by Rep. Jim Watson

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

730 ILCS 5/3-2-12 new

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Creates a program for the Department to make grants to qualified mentoring organizations to provide mentoring to children of incarcerated parents or other significant family members. Provides for grant criteria and program evaluation.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning children.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by adding Section 3-2-12 as follows:

(730 ILCS 5/3-2-12 new)

Sec. 3-2-12. Mentoring grants for children of incarcerated.

(a) Mentoring grants. Subject to appropriation, the Department of Corrections shall award grants to nonprofit organizations that provide one-to-one mentoring relationships to youth enrolled between the ages of 6 to 18 whose parent or other significant family member is incarcerated in a State or federal penitentiary or other correctional facility or serving a period of probation or parole or is otherwise subject to governmental correctional supervision. The intent of the grants is to provide children with quality, lasting, one-to-one relationships that provide youth with caring adult mentor role models in order to strengthen developmental outcomes, including enhanced self-confidence and esteem; improved academic performance; and improved relationships with peers, family, and other adults in ways that may prevent the children from entering the juvenile justice system.

(b) Grant criteria. As a condition of receiving grants, a grant recipient must:

(1) be currently affiliated with and a member in good-standing of a nationally recognized adult-youth mentoring organization that has in-place policies, operating procedures, and regular monitoring and evaluation criteria as well as an active program to provide oversight and training for local board members and staff. Recipients shall also be active members and participants in an Illinois association of similar service provider organizations to further the purposes of mutual support, education, training, monitoring, and mentoring on a one-to-one basis. A qualified grant recipient must currently be a not-for-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and must have been in existence for more than 10 years prior to the effective date of this Act;

(2) recruit, train, and supervise volunteer one-to-one mentors from the community, using trained and experienced staff members who possess, at minimum, a 4-year degree from an accredited institution of higher learning. Procedures shall be followed with a goal to ensure that mentors are professionally trained and screened to have the requisite talents and skills to effectively participate in a mentoring relationship and to not pose a safety risk to the child, with the grant recipient adhering to national standards of training and screening;

(3) provide enhanced training to mentors focusing on asset building and family dynamics when a parent is incarcerated; and

(4) provide an individual family plan and aftercare.

(c) Program evaluation. Grant recipients shall submit an evaluation plan to the Director delineating the program and student outcome goals and activities implemented to achieve the stated outcomes. The goals must be clearly stated and measurable. Grant recipients shall collect, analyze, and report on participation and outcome data that enable the department to verify that the program goals were met. The evaluations shall measure 3 outcome areas: (i) reduction in delinquency (avoidance of involvement with criminal justice system; avoidance of school truancy); (ii) avoidance of risky behaviors (illegal drug and alcohol use; early pregnancy); and (iii) enhanced sense of well-being (improvements in self-confidence and interpersonal behavior).