[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1258 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1258
To improve academic and social outcomes for teenage youth.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 27, 2001
Mr. Dorgan (for himself, Mr. DeWine, Mr. Conrad, and Ms. Landrieu)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve academic and social outcomes for teenage youth.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``YMCA Teen Action Agenda Enhancement
Act of 2001''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) one in 10 teens, 2,400,000 teens across the Nation, are
currently involved in a program offered by a local YMCA;
(2) recognizing the unique obstacles faced by teenagers,
the YMCA has launched the Teen Action Agenda, a nationwide
campaign to double this number and serve 1 in 5 teens by 2005;
(3) in more than 1,900 YMCAs across the United States in
cities large and small, in neighborhoods rich and poor, teen
groups meet regularly and engage one another in safe,
wholesome, educational, and creative activities;
(4) it is well-documented that teens who participate in
structured activities after school are less likely to drink
alcohol, carry or use weapons, smoke cigarettes, engage in
early sexual activity, or skip school;
(5) YMCAs serve people of all faiths, races, abilities,
ages, and incomes;
(6) approximately 400 YMCAs partner with juvenile courts,
300 partner with public housing developments, 1550 partner with
elementary schools, and 1033 partner with high schools;
(7) the YMCA is volunteer-founded and volunteer-led and
depends on more than 600,000 volunteers to meet the unique
needs of their communities;
(8) the YMCA is especially committed to reaching teens that
are most at-risk for school failure or delinquency; and
(9) the prosperity of our Nation depends upon maximizing
and fulfilling the potential of its young people.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Local ymca.--The term ``local YMCA'' means one of the
approximately 2,400 locally incorporated and governed YMCAs in
the United States.
(2) Teen program.--The term ``teen program'' means any
program primarily attended by individuals between the ages of
11 and 19.
(3) YMCA of the usa.--The term ``YMCA of the USA'' means
the private, nonprofit, national membership and service
organization of approximately 2,400 local YMCAs.
SEC. 4. GRANTS TO THE YMCA OF THE USA.
(a) Purposes.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, the
Attorney General shall award a grant to the YMCA of the USA for the
purpose of carrying out YMCA programs for at-risk teens in accordance
with the provisions of this Act.
(b) Subgrants.--From amounts awarded under subsection (a), the YMCA
of the USA shall make subgrants to local YMCAs authorizing expenditures
associated with providing programs, including the hiring of teachers
and other personnel, procurement of goods and services (including
computer equipment), or such other expenditures as are approved by the
Attorney General.
SEC. 5. USE OF FUNDS.
(a) In General.--
(1) Programs for at-risk teens.--Amounts granted under this
Act shall be used by the YMCA of the USA to provide funding to
carry out YMCA programs that have a primary purpose of serving
teens who are determined to be at-risk for school failure or
delinquency.
(2) Program requirements.--Each program for which
assistance is provided under this Act shall include at least 3
of the following different activities:
(A) Mentoring assistance.
(B) Academic assistance.
(C) Recreational, fitness, and athletic activities.
(D) Technology training.
(E) Drug, alcohol, and gang prevention.
(F) Job and life skills.
(G) Character development and values education.
(H) Leadership development.
(I) Truancy and dropout prevention.
(J) Civic education.
(K) Volunteerism and service learning.
(L) Parenting skills.
(M) Literary, performing, and visual arts.
(N) Mental health services.
(O) Alternative education.
(P) Any research-based activity shown to have a
positive impact on the academic and social outcomes of
teens.
(b) Additional Requirements.--In carrying out the programs under
subsection (a), a local YMCA shall, to the maximum extent practicable--
(1) use volunteers from businesses, academic communities,
social organizations, and law enforcement organizations to
serve as mentors or to assist in other ways;
(2) develop creative methods of conducting outreach to
teens in the community;
(3) request donations of computer equipment and other
materials and equipment; and
(4) work with State and local educational and recreation
agencies so that activities funded with amounts made available
under a grant under this Act will not duplicate activities
funded from other sources in the community served.
(c) Funding for Program Administration.--Of the amounts granted to
the YMCA of the USA under this Act in each fiscal year, the YMCA of the
USA shall use--
(1) not less than 2 percent for research and evaluation of
the subgrants made under this Act;
(2) not less than 1 percent for technical assistance
related to the subgrants awarded under this Act; and
(3) not more than 6 percent for the management and
administration of the subgrants made under this Act.
SEC. 6. APPLICATIONS FOR SUBGRANTS.
(a) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a subgrant under this
Act, an applicant shall submit an application to the YMCA of the USA.
(b) Contents.--Each application submitted shall include--
(1) a request for a subgrant to be used for the purposes of
this Act;
(2) a description of the population to be served by the
subgrant and information demonstrating that this population is
at-risk for school failure or delinquency;
(3) a description of the program to be expanded or
established by the subgrant;
(4) information demonstrating the manner in which the local
YMCA will carry out the planning, establishment,
implementation, sustainability, and evaluation of the program
funded by the subgrant;
(5) information demonstrating that there are non-Federal
contributions (which may be in the form of an in-kind
contribution of goods or services) available to cover at least
50 percent of the total cost of the project; and
(6) any additional statistical or financial information
that the YMCA of the USA may reasonably require.
(c) Consideration of Subgrants.--In awarding subgrants under this
Act, the YMCA of the USA shall consider--
(1) the ability of the applicant to provide the intended
services;
(2) the history and establishment of the applicant in
providing teen activities; and
(3) efforts to achieve an equitable geographic distribution
of subgrant awards.
SEC. 7. REPORT.
For each fiscal year for which a grant is awarded under this Act,
the YMCA of the USA shall submit to the Attorney General a report that
details the progress and effectiveness of the YMCA programs in reaching
measurable outcomes.
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this Act $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2006.
(b) Continued Availability.--Amounts made available to carry out
this Act shall remain available until expended.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S8355)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line