Full Text of SR0088 97th General Assembly
SR0088 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Teen REACH provides over 20,000 youth and parents | 3 | | in over 200 communities throughout the State with out-of-school | 4 | | time programs which have a track record of preventing risky | 5 | | behavior, keeping youth safe, and building essential skills to | 6 | | prepare them for the workforce and for a successful future; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Funding for Illinois' Teen REACH programs will be | 8 | | substantially eliminated for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2011 | 9 | | and the entirety of Fiscal Year 2012 under proposals put forth | 10 | | by the Governor; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The elimination of Teen REACH would immediately | 12 | | and drastically reduce quality after-school services | 13 | | throughout the State, leaving 20,000 youth without a safe place | 14 | | to go during out-of-school-time hours; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Teen REACH has been independently evaluated and | 16 | | the results chosen for inclusion in the Harvard Family Research | 17 | | Project After-School Evaluation Database; Teen REACH contains | 18 | | key program components recognized as being part of a quality | 19 | | after-school program; the program has a 12-year track record of | 20 | | success and a strong infrastructure, and it is | 21 | | performance-measurement driven and includes detailed program | 22 | | standards, policies and procedures, technical assistance, and |
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| 1 | | compliance monitoring of providers; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Teen REACH program and its service have | 3 | | allowed Illinois to access and leverage other federal dollars | 4 | | for programs supporting youth; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Teen REACH is unique in providing a comprehensive | 6 | | array of supports, including academic assistance, life-skills | 7 | | building, mentoring, and job preparation; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Teen REACH is a critical support for at-risk | 9 | | youth, primarily those aged 11-17, who confront multiple | 10 | | barriers to success; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Teen REACH targets youth facing multiple risks, | 12 | | including neighborhood violence, poverty, a lack of academic | 13 | | support and of the opportunities needed to develop positive | 14 | | life skills and avoid dangerous behavior; earlier surveys | 15 | | revealed that nearly one-third of the Teen REACH youth surveyed | 16 | | were from single-parent homes, and 77% were from low-income | 17 | | families; Teen REACH youth have multiple risk factors | 18 | | including: | 19 | | (1) living in single-parent households; | 20 | | (2) residing in households receiving TANF funds; | 21 | | (3) experiencing academic difficulties; | 22 | | (4) witnessing or being a victim of family violence; |
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| 1 | | (5) having siblings who dropped out of school; | 2 | | (6) having siblings who are teen parents; | 3 | | (7) having siblings who are involved in the juvenile | 4 | | justice system; | 5 | | (8) having one or both parents who are incarcerated; | 6 | | (9) receiving services from DCFS or a partner delivery | 7 | | system; | 8 | | (10) being obese or otherwise nutritionally at-risk; | 9 | | (11) having a parent or siblings who are involved with | 10 | | substance abuse; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Youth are more likely to become victims of violent | 12 | | crime or use drugs between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. | 13 | | and research has shown that crime can decrease with the | 14 | | presence of after-school programs; research indicates that | 15 | | students who spend time in extracurricular activities are less | 16 | | likely to use drugs or become teen parents; substantially | 17 | | eliminating Teen REACH would strip neighborhoods of an | 18 | | important tool for fighting juvenile crime, delinquency, and | 19 | | risky behavior; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Such drastic funding and service reductions | 21 | | undermine Public Act 96-1302, in which the General Assembly | 22 | | declares that it is the policy of this State to provide all | 23 | | young people between the ages of 6 and 19 with access to | 24 | | quality after-school programs through a State commitment to |
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| 1 | | sufficient and sustainable funding for programs that promote | 2 | | positive youth development; such drastic funding and service | 3 | | reductions also undermine the State's investments in at-risk | 4 | | youth at earlier stages of their life,
by ending services | 5 | | during a critical developmental period when they are most | 6 | | at-risk of dropping out of school or
becoming involved in risky | 7 | | behavior; Teen REACH ensures that State investments in early | 8 | | childhood and beyond will be successfully sustained over a | 9 | | child's development through adolescence and into adulthood; | 10 | | and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Youth engaged in quality after-school activities | 12 | | demonstrate improved academic success and workforce skills | 13 | | compared to youth who do not participate; youth with high | 14 | | levels of participation in quality after-school programs show | 15 | | better achievement in math, reading, and other subjects; | 16 | | studies show they miss fewer days of school, have lower | 17 | | drop-out rates, and higher graduation rates; studies of Teen | 18 | | REACH reveal that over 90% of parents indicate their child is | 19 | | completing homework more often as a result of Teen REACH, and | 20 | | over 80% of parents say their child is more likely to prepare | 21 | | for school projects and tests, has improved their study skills, | 22 | | is more interested in school, is getting better grades, and is | 23 | | a better reader as a result of Teen REACH; and | 24 | | WHEREAS, The effective elimination of Teen REACH will harm |
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| 1 | | working families and negatively impact the quality of Illinois' | 2 | | workforce as approximately 20,000 families will be forced to | 3 | | find affordable, quality out-of-school alternatives; statewide | 4 | | demand for services already far exceeds current supply, with | 5 | | shortfall estimates between 60% and 70%; 70% of Teen REACH | 6 | | youth surveyed indicated that without Teen REACH, they would | 7 | | not be in an after-school program;
low and middle-income | 8 | | parents' job security may also be compromised, as parents may | 9 | | be forced to decide between keeping their-much needed jobs and | 10 | | staying home with their children to ensure they are safe;
| 11 | | studies demonstrate that after-school programs are an | 12 | | important work support and are good for business with 54% of | 13 | | parents surveyed by the After-School Corporation saying that | 14 | | after-school programs allowed them to work more hours; it is | 15 | | estimated that decreased employee productivity and increased | 16 | | rates of absenteeism related to concerns for after-school care | 17 | | cost businesses between $496 and $1,984 per employee per year, | 18 | | depending on the employee's salary; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, The State will incur increased costs due to | 20 | | elimination of quality after-school options, including | 21 | | increased educational and truancy costs, public safety costs | 22 | | within the Department of Corrections, the Department of | 23 | | Juvenile Justice, and local police departments, and increased | 24 | | public health costs associated with youth substance abuse and | 25 | | teen pregnancy; therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 2 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Senate deems that | 3 | | these draconian cuts will decimate Illinois' after-school and | 4 | | youth development system; and be it further
| 5 | | RESOLVED, That the drastic reduction of State funding for | 6 | | Teen REACH shall be immediately halted; and be it further | 7 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution shall be | 8 | | delivered to the Governor and the Secretary of the Department | 9 | | of Human Services.
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