1307-S.E AAS CONF REPT 4/24/93

 

 

 

ESHB 1307 - CONF REPT - S3458.1

By Conference Committee

 

                                                   ADOPTED 4/24/93

 

    Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

 

    "Sec. 1.  RCW 50.65.030 and 1987 c 167 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

    The Washington service corps is established within the employment security department.  The commissioner shall:

    (1) Appoint a director ((for the exchange)) and other personnel as necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter;

    (2) Coordinate youth employment and training efforts under the department's jurisdiction and cooperate with other agencies or departments providing youth services to ensure that funds appropriated for the purposes of this chapter will not be expended to duplicate existing services, but will increase the services of youth to the state;

    (3) The employment security department is authorized to place subgrants with other federal, state, and local governmental agencies and private agencies to provide youth employment projects and to increase the numbers of youth employed;

    (4) Determine appropriate financial support levels by private business, community groups, foundations, public agencies, and individuals which will provide matching funds for enrollees in service projects under work agreements.  The matching funds requirement may be waived for public agencies or reduced for private agencies;

    (5) Recruit enrollees who are residents of the state unemployed at the time of application and are at least eighteen years of age but have not reached their twenty-sixth birthday;

    (6) Recruit supervising agencies to host the enrollees in full-time service activities which shall not exceed ((six)) eleven months' duration((, which may be extended for an additional six months by mutual consent));

    (7) Assist supervising agencies in the development of scholarships and matching funds from private and public agencies, individuals, and foundations in order to support a portion of the enrollee's stipend and benefits;

    (8) Develop general employment guidelines for placement of enrollees in supervising agencies to establish appropriate authority for hiring, firing, grievance procedures, and employment standards which are consistent with state and federal law;

    (9) Match enrollees with appropriate public agencies and available service projects;

    (10) Monitor enrollee activities for compliance with this chapter and compliance with work agreements;

    (11) Assist enrollees in transition to employment upon termination from the programs, including such activities as orientation to the labor market, on-the-job training, and placement in the private sector;

    (12) Establish a program for providing incentives to encourage successful completion of terms of enrollment in the service corps and the continuation of educational pursuits.  Such incentives shall be in the form of educational assistance equivalent to two years of community or technical college tuition for eleven months of service.  Educational assistance funding shall only be used for tuition, fees, and course-related books and supplies.  Enrollees who receive educational assistance funding shall start using it within one year of their service completion and shall finish using it within four years of their service completion;

    (13) Enter into agreements with the state's community and technical college system and other educational institutions or independent nonprofit agencies to provide special education in basic skills, including reading, writing, and mathematics for those participants who may benefit by participation in such classes.  Participation is not mandatory but shall be strongly encouraged.

 

    Sec. 2.  RCW 50.65.040 and 1987 c 167 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

    The commissioner may select and enroll in the Washington service corps program any person who is at least eighteen years of age but has not reached their twenty-sixth birthday, is a resident of the state, and who is not for medical, legal, or psychological reasons incapable of service.  ((In the selection of enrollees of the service corps, preference shall be given to youths residing in areas, both urban and rural, in which there exists substantial unemployment above the state average.))  Efforts shall be made to enroll youths who are economically, socially, physically, or educationally disadvantaged.  The commissioner may prescribe such additional standards and procedures in consultation with supervising agencies as may be necessary in conformance with this chapter.  In addition, the commissioner may select and enroll youth fourteen to seventeen years of age on special projects during the summer and at other times during the school year that may complement and support their school curriculum or that link and support service with learning.

 

    Sec. 3.  RCW 50.65.060 and 1987 c 167 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

    Placements in the Washington service corps shall be made in supervising agencies under work agreements as provided under this chapter and shall include those assignments which provide for addressing community needs and conservation problems and will assist the community in economic development efforts.  Each work agreement shall:

    (1) Demonstrate that the service project is appropriate for the enrollee's interests, skills, and abilities and that the project is designed to meet unmet community needs;

    (2) Include a requirement of regular performance evaluation.  This shall include clear work performance standards set by the supervising agency and procedures for identifying strengths, recommended improvement areas and conditions for probation or dismissal of the enrollee; and

    (3) Include a commitment for partial financial support for the enrollee ((for a)) from private industry, public ((agency)) agencies, community groups, or foundations.  The commissioner may establish additional standards for the development of placements for enrollees with supervising agencies and assure that the work agreements comply with those standards.  This section shall not apply to conservation corps programs established by chapter 43.220 RCW.

    Agencies of the state may use the ((youth employment exchange)) Washington service corps for the purpose of employing youth qualifying under this chapter.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4.  For each enrollee, the work agreements, or combination of work agreements, developed under RCW 50.65.060 shall:

    (1) Include a variety of experiences consisting of:  Indoor activities; outdoor activities; and volunteer activities;

    (2) Provide time for participation in a core training program common to all participants.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5.  The Washington service corps scholarship account is created in the custody of the state treasurer.  The account shall consist of a portion of Washington service corps funding, deposited by the commissioner, in an amount sufficient to provide for the future awarding of educational assistance grants described in RCW 50.65.030.  Expenditures from the account may be used only for educational assistance grants described in RCW 50.65.030.  Only the commissioner or the commissioner's designee may authorize expenditures from the account.  The account is subject to the allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for expenditures.  All earnings of investments of surplus balances in the account shall be deposited to the treasury income account created in RCW 43.84.092.

 

    Sec. 6.  RCW 50.65.080 and 1983 1st ex.s. c 50 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:

    The commissioner shall seek and may accept, on behalf of the ((youth employment exchange)) Washington service corps, charitable donations of cash and other assistance including, but not limited to, equipment and materials if the donations are available for appropriate use for the purposes set forth in this chapter.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7.  RCW 50.65.900 and 1987 c 167 s 9 & 1983 1st ex.s. c 50 s 14 are each repealed.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8.  Sections 4 and 5 of this act are each added to chapter 50.65 RCW.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9.  This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect July 1, 1993.

 

    NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10.  A new section is added to chapter 50.65 RCW to read as follows:

    No individual may participate in the Washington serves program created by chapter . . . (Substitute House Bill No. 1969), Laws of 1993, if the person has previously participated for six months or longer in the Washington service corps within the last three years."

 

 

 

ESHB 1307 - CONF REPT - S3458.1

By Conference Committee

 

                                                   ADOPTED 4/24/93

 

    On page 1, line 1 of the title, after "corps;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 50.65.030, 50.65.040, 50.65.060, and 50.65.080; adding new sections to chapter 50.65 RCW; repealing RCW 50.65.900; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency."

 


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