HJ0150 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0150 LRB099 21717 MST 48313 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Disconnected youth are young people ages 16 to 24 who are neither working nor in school; according to a recent study by the Great Cities Institute at University of Illinois at Chicago, in 2014, there were 154,094 disconnected youth in Illinois; of those 37,975 were between 16 and 19 years of age, and 116,119 between the ages of 20 and 24; and

WHEREAS, Of the 154,094 disconnected youth in Illinois in 2014, 37,975 were white, 32,024 Hispanic, and 67,772 were African American; and

WHEREAS, The vast majority of disconnected youth come from low income areas in both Chicago and downstate; and

WHEREAS, Many of these disconnected youth and young adults would benefit from education and employment opportunities if these opportunities were structured using the best program practices of smaller, more flexible, and more structured comprehensive programming to address their education, work, and social development needs; and

WHEREAS, Illinois currently has a shortage of skilled workers; provided with the right opportunities, these disconnected youth could be trained to fill those vacancies for the benefit of the employers, the Illinois economy, and their own futures; and

WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Department of Corrections Fiscal Report for 2014, only 19.7% of inmates in Illinois prisons completed high school; only 19.2% completed a GED program; leaving a shocking 62% of inmates in Illinois without an education higher than 11th grade; and

WHEREAS, Disconnected youth without high school diplomas earn $516,000 less over their lifetimes than those with high school diplomas and some college education; and

WHEREAS, The benefit to Illinois taxpayers is $312,000 in tax revenue over the lifetime of a disconnected youth who earns a high school diploma; there would also be savings to the State in social service expenditures such as welfare, mental health and dependency services, and reduced risk of imprisonment or other criminal justice related costs; and

WHEREAS, There is significant research and program experience to draw upon to assist in the development of successful programs to support disconnected youth so as to improve their education and find employment; therefore be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Statewide Task Force on Disconnected Youth in order to examine and develop programs to address the growing numbers of disconnected youth in Illinois; and be it further

RESOLED, That the purpose of the Task Force is to examine policies, programs, and other issues related to developing a variety of successful approaches using best program practices for disconnected youth, with the goal of improving their education, work-related skills, and social development, so that they can successfully enter the workforce and become productive adults; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall be composed of the following members:

1)eight legislators, two appointed by the president of the Senate, two appointed by the Speaker of the House, two appointed by the House Minority Leader, and two appointed by the Senate Minority Leader;

2)one representative from the Governor's office appointed by the Governor;

3)one representative of the State Board of Education appointed by the State Superintendent of Education;

4)one representative of the Department of Human Services appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Human Services;

5)one representative of the Department of Children and Family Services appointed by its Director;

6)one representative of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice appointed by its Director;

7)one representative of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity appointed by its Director;

8)one representative of the Illinois Community College Board appointed by its President; and

9)25 representatives of organizations with successful experience working with disconnected youth, four

appointed by the President of the Senate, four appointed by the Speaker of the House, four appointed by the House Minority Leader, four appointed by the Senate Minority Leader, and nine appointed by the Governor, with one of these public representatives service as the Chairperson of the Task Force; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the duties of the Task Force shall include conducting a series of public hearings and listening sessions throughout the State to discuss the issue of disconnected youth and their impact on various regions of the State; completing a reviewing of data regarding disconnected youth comparing Illinois with other states in the region and nationally; including a review of various financing and funding mechanisms used by other states, counties, cities, foundations, and other financial funding sources; and producing a final report with recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on ways and means to address the challenge of disconnected youth who have left school without a high school diploma; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall issue an interim report of its findings to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than November 30, 2016; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall issue a final report by December 31, 2016; and be it further

RESOLVED, That upon the filing of the final report the Task Force is dissolved.