Public Act 095-0524
 
HB0202 Enrolled LRB095 04632 HLH 24690 b

    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Youthbuild Act is amended by
changing Sections 15, 25, 30, 35, and 40 and by adding Section
45 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 1315/15)
    Sec. 15. Program requirements. The Secretary shall,
subject to appropriation, 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 at least 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.
(Source: P.A. 90-247, eff. 1-1-98.)
 
    (20 ILCS 1315/25)
    Sec. 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) A member of a low-income family, a youth in foster care
(including a youth aging-out of foster care), a youth offender,
a youth with a disability, a child of incarcerated parents, or
a migrant youth Very low-income persons.
    Not more than Up to 25% of the participants in the program
may be individuals who do not meet the requirements of
subsections (a) or , (b), and (c), but who are deficient in
basic skills despite having attained a secondary school
diploma, General Educational Development (GED) certificate, or
other State-recognized equivalent, or who have been referred by
a local secondary school for participation in a Youthbuild
program leading to the attainment of a secondary school diploma
have educational needs despite the attainment of a high school
diploma.
(Source: P.A. 90-247, eff. 1-1-98.)
 
    (20 ILCS 1315/30)
    Sec. 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.
(Source: P.A. 90-247, eff. 1-1-98.)
 
    (20 ILCS 1315/35)
    Sec. 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 program applicant not-for-profit private
agency.
(Source: P.A. 90-247, eff. 1-1-98.)
 
    (20 ILCS 1315/40)
    Sec. 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 registered 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.
(Source: P.A. 90-247, eff. 1-1-98.)
 
    (20 ILCS 1315/45 new)
    Sec. 45. Annual report. The Department of Human Services
shall prepare an annual report summarizing costs and outcome
data associated with the Youthbuild programs. The report must
include, but not be limited to, the following information: (i)
the number of participants in the program, (ii) the average
cost per participant, (iii) the number of participants who
achieve a high school diploma or its equivalent, and (iv) the
number of projects completed by Youthbuild participants during
that year. The Department must submit the report to the General
Assembly by July 1, 2008 and by July 1 of each year thereafter.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.