S 1461

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IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

November 8, 1997

Mr. Lautenberg (for himself and Mr. Coats) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To establish a youth mentoring program.

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 “JUMP Ahead Act of 1997”.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that—

(1) millions of young people in America live in areas in which drug use and violent and property crimes are pervasive;

(2) unfortunately, many of these same young people come from single parent homes, or from environments in which there is no responsible, caring adult supervision;

(3) all children and adolescents need caring adults in their lives, and mentoring is an effective way to fill this special need for at-risk children. The special bond of commitment fostered by the mutual respect inherent in effective mentoring can be the tie that binds a young person to a better future;

(4) through a mentoring relationship, adult volunteers and participating youth make a significant commitment of time and energy to develop relationships devoted to personal, academic, or career development and social, artistic, or athletic growth;

(5) rigorous independent studies have confirmed that effective mentoring programs can significantly reduce and prevent the use of alcohol and drugs by young people, improve school attendance and performance, improve peer and family and peer relationships, and reduce violent behavior;

(6) since the inception of the Federal JUMP program, dozens of innovative, effective mentoring programs have received funding grants;

(7) unfortunately, despite the recent growth in public and private mentoring initiatives, it is reported that between 5,000,000 and 15,000,000 additional children in the United States could benefit from being matched with a mentor; and

(8) although great strides have been made in reaching at- risk youth since the inception of the JUMP program, millions of vulnerable American children are not being reached, and without an increased commitment to connect these young people to responsible adult role models, our country risks losing an entire generation to drugs, crime, and unproductive lives.

SEC. 3. JUVENILE MENTORING GRANTS.

(a) In General.—Section 288B of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5667e-2) is amended—

(1) by inserting “(a) In General.—” before “The Administrator shall”;

(2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:

“(2) are intended to achieve 1 or more of the following goals:

“(A) Discourage at-risk youth from—

“(i) using illegal drugs and alcohol;

“(ii) engaging in violence;

“(iii) using guns and other dangerous weapons;

“(iv) engaging in other criminal and antisocial behavior; and

“(v) becoming involved in gangs.

“(B) Promote personal and social responsibility among at-risk youth.

“(C) Increase at-risk youth’s participation in, and enhance the ability of those youth to benefit from, elementary and secondary education.

“(D) Encourage at-risk youth participation in community service and community activities.

“(E) Provide general guidance to at-risk youth.”; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

“(b) Amount and Duration.—Each grant under this part shall be awarded in an amount not to exceed a total of $200,000 over a period of not more than 3 years.

“(c) Authorization of Appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 to carry out this part.”.

SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION GRANTS.

(a) In General.—The Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice may make grants to national organizations or agencies serving youth, in order to enable those organizations or agencies—

(1) to conduct a multisite demonstration project, involving between 5 and 10 project sites, that—

(A) provides an opportunity to compare various mentoring models for the purpose of evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of those models;

(B) allows for innovative programs designed under the oversight of a national organization or agency serving youth, which programs may include—

(i) technical assistance;

(ii) training; and

(iii) research and evaluation; and

(C) disseminates the results of such demonstration project to allow for the determination of the best practices for various mentoring programs;

(2) to develop and evaluate screening standards for mentoring programs; and

(3) to develop and evaluate volunteer recruitment techniques and activities for mentoring programs.

(b) Authorization of Appropriations.—There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 to carry out this section.

SEC. 5. EVALUATIONS; REPORTS.

(a) Evaluations.—

(1) In general.—The Attorney General shall enter into a contract with an evaluating organization that has demonstrated experience in conducting evaluations, for the conduct of an ongoing rigorous evaluation of the programs and activities assisted under this Act or under section 228B of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5667e-2) (as amended by this Act).

(2) Criteria.—The Attorney General shall establish a minimum criteria for evaluating the programs and activities assisted under this Act or under section 228B of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5667e-2) (as amended by this Act), which shall provide for a description of the implementation of the program or activity, and the effect of the program or activity on participants, schools, communities, and youth served by the program or activity.

(3) Mentoring program of the year.—The Attorney General shall, on an annual basis, based on the most recent evaluation under this subsection and such other criteria as the Attorney General shall establish by regulation—

(A) designate 1 program or activity assisted under this Act as the “Juvenile Mentoring Program of the Year”; and

(B) publish notice of such designation in the Federal Register.

(b) Reports.—

(1) Grant recipients.—Each entity receiving a grant under this Act or under section 228B of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5667e-2) (as amended by this Act) shall submit to the evaluating organization entering into the contract under subsection

(a)(1), an annual report regarding any program or activity assisted under this Act or under section 228B of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5667e-2) (as amended by this Act). Each report under this paragraph shall be submitted at such time, in such a manner, and shall be accompanied by such information, as the evaluating organization may reasonably require.

(2) Comptroller general.—Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report evaluating the effectiveness of grants awarded under this Act and under section 228B of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5667e-2) (as amended by this Act), in—

(A) reducing juvenile delinquency and gang participation;

(B) reducing the school dropout rate; and

(C) improving academic performance of juveniles. <all>