AN ACT Relating to
community empowerment; reenacting and amending RCW 43.185.070; adding a new
section to chapter 50.67 RCW; and adding a new chapter to Title 50 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec.
1. (1) The legislature finds
that there is a need to:
(a) Expand the supply
of permanent affordable housing for homeless individuals, low and very
low-income persons, and special need populations by utilizing the energies and
talents of economically disadvantaged youth;
(b) Provide
economically disadvantaged youth with opportunities for meaningful work and
service to their communities in helping to meet the housing needs of homeless
individuals, low and very low-income persons, and special need populations;
(c) Enable economically
disadvantaged youth to obtain the education and employment skills necessary to
achieve economic self-sufficiency; and
(d) Foster the
development of leadership skills and commitment to community development among
youth in designated community empowerment zones.
(2) The legislature
declares that the purpose of the Washington youthbuild program is to:
(a) Help disadvantaged
youth who have dropped out of school to obtain the education and employment
skills necessary to achieve economic self-sufficiency and develop leadership
skills and a commitment to community development in designated community
empowerment zones; and
(b) Provide funding
assistance to entities implementing programs that provide comprehensive
education and skills training programs designed to lead to self-sufficiency for
economically disadvantaged youth.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
2. Unless the context
clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout
this chapter.
(1)
"Applicant" means a public or private nonprofit organization agency
eligible to provide education and employment training under federal or state
employment training programs.
(2)
"Commissioner" means the commissioner of employment security.
(3)
"Department" means the employment security department.
(4) "Low
income" has the same meaning as in RCW 43.185A.010.
(5)
"Participant" means an individual that:
(a) Is sixteen to
twenty-four years of age, inclusive;
(b) Is or is a member
of a very low-income household; and
(c) Is neither
attending any school nor subject to a compulsory attendance law and who has not
received a secondary school diploma or a certificate of equivalency for such
diploma.
(6) "Very low income"
means a person or household whose income is at or below fifty percent of the
median family income, adjusted for household size, for the county where the
household is located.
(7)
"Youthbuild" means any program that provides disadvantaged youth with
opportunities for employment, education, leadership development,
entrepreneurial skills development, and training in the construction or
rehabilitation of housing for special need populations, very low-income
households, or low-income households.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
3. The Washington youthbuild
program is established within the department. The commissioner, in cooperation
and consultation with the director of the department of community, trade, and
economic development, shall:
(1) Make grants, up to
the lesser of three hundred thousand dollars or twenty-five percent of the
total costs of the youthbuild activities, to applicants eligible to provide
education and employment training under federal or state employment training
programs, for the purpose of carrying out a wide range of multidisciplinary
activities and services to assist economically disadvantaged youth under the
federal opportunities for youth: Youthbuild program (106 Stat. 3723; 42 U.S.C.
Sec. 8011), or locally developed youthbuild-type programs for economically
disadvantaged youth; and
(2) Coordinate youth
employment and training efforts under the department's jurisdiction and
cooperate with other agencies and departments providing youth services to
ensure that funds appropriated for the purposes of this chapter will be used to
supplement funding from federal, state, local, or private sources.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
4. (1) Grants made under
this chapter shall be used to fund an applicant's activities to implement a
comprehensive education and employment skills training program.
(2) Activities eligible
for assistance under this chapter include:
(a) Education and job
skills training services and activities that include:
(i) Work experience and
skills training, coordinated to the maximum extent feasible, with
preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs in construction and
rehabilitation trades;
(ii) Services and
activities designed to meet the educational needs of participants, including basic
skills instruction and remedial education, bilingual education for participants
with limited-English proficiency, secondary education services and activities
designed to lead to the attainment of a high school diploma or its equivalent,
and counseling and assistance in attaining postsecondary education and required
financial aid;
(b) Counseling services
and related activities;
(c) Activities designed
to develop employment and leadership skills;
(d) Support services
and need-based stipends necessary to enable the participant to participate in
the program and to assist participants through support services in retaining
employment;
(e) Wage stipends and
benefits provided to participants; and
(f) Administrative
costs of the applicant, not to exceed five percent of the amount of assistance
provided under this chapter.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
5. (1) An individual
selected as a participant in the youthbuild program under this chapter may be
offered full-time participation for a period of not less than six months and
not more than twenty-four months.
(2) An applicant's
program that is selected for funding under this chapter shall be structured so
that fifty percent of the time spent by the participants in the youthbuild
program is devoted to educational services and activities, such as those
outlined in section 4 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
6. (1) An application for a
grant under this chapter shall be submitted by the applicant in such form and
in accordance with the requirements as determined by the commissioner.
(2) The application for
a grant under this chapter shall contain at a minimum:
(a) The amount of the
grant request and its proposed use;
(b) A description of
the applicant and a statement of its qualifications, including a description of
the applicant's past experience with housing rehabilitation or construction
with youth and youth education and employment training programs, and its relationship
with local unions and apprenticeship programs and other community groups;
(c) A description of
the proposed site for the program;
(d) A description of
the educational and job training activities, work opportunities, and other
services that will be provided to participants;
(e) A description of
the proposed construction or rehabilitation activities to be undertaken and the
anticipated schedule for carrying out such activities;
(f) A description of
the manner in which eligible participants will be recruited and selected,
including a description of arrangements which will be made with federal or
state agencies, community-based organizations, local school districts, 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;
(g) A description of
the special outreach efforts that will be undertaken to recruit eligible young
women, including young women with dependent children;
(h) A description of
how the proposed program will be coordinated with other federal, state, local,
and private resources and programs, including vocational, adult, and bilingual
education programs, and job training programs;
(i) Assurances that
there will be a sufficient number of adequately trained supervisory personnel
in the program who have attained the level of journeyman or have served an
apprenticeship through the Washington state apprenticeship training council;
(j) A description of
the applicant's relationship with building contractor groups and trade unions
regarding their involvement in training, and the relationship of the youthbuild
program with established apprenticeship and training programs;
(k) A description of activities
that will be undertaken to develop the leadership skills of the participants;
(l) A description of
the commitments for any additional resources to be made available to the local
program from the applicant, from recipients of other federal, state, local, or
private sources; and
(m) Other factors the
commissioner deems necessary.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
7. (1) An applicant selected
for funding under this chapter shall provide the department information on
program and participant accomplishments. The information shall be provided in
progress and final reports as requested by the department.
(2) The department
shall prepare an initial evaluation report, which shall be made available to
the governor and appropriate legislative committees, on or before December 1,
1995, on the progress of individual programs funded under this chapter. A
final evaluation report shall be prepared on individual programs at the time of
their completion. The final evaluation report shall include, but is not
limited to, information on the effectiveness of the program, the status of
program participants, and recommendations on program administration at the
state and local level.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
8. A new section is added
to chapter 50.67 RCW to read as follows:
In addition to its
duties under this chapter, the Washington state job training coordinating
council shall advise the employment security department and the department of
community, trade, and economic development on the development and
implementation of the Washington youthbuild program created under sections 1
through 7 of this act.
Sec. 9. RCW 43.185.070 and 1991
c 356 s 5 and 1991 c 295 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1) During each
calendar year in which funds from the housing trust fund or other legislative
appropriations are available for use by the department for the housing assistance
program, the department shall announce to all known interested parties, and
through major media throughout the state, a grant and loan application period
of at least ninety days' duration. This announcement shall be made as often as
the director deems appropriate for proper utilization of resources. The
department shall then promptly grant as many applications as will utilize
available funds less appropriate administrative costs of the department.
Administrative costs paid out of the housing trust fund may not exceed four
percent of annual revenues available for distribution to housing trust fund
projects. In awarding funds under this chapter, the department shall provide
for a geographic distribution on a state-wide basis.
(2) The department
shall give first priority to applications for projects and activities which
utilize existing privately owned housing stock including privately owned
housing stock purchased by nonprofit public development authorities and public
housing authorities as created in chapter 35.82 RCW. As used in this
subsection, privately owned housing stock includes housing that is acquired by
a federal agency through a default on the mortgage by the private owner. Such
projects and activities shall be evaluated under subsection (3) of this
section. Second priority shall be given to activities and projects which
utilize existing publicly owned housing stock. All projects and activities
shall be evaluated by some or all of the criteria under subsection (3) of this
section, and similar projects and activities shall be evaluated under the same
criteria.
(3) The department
shall give preference for applications based on some or all of the criteria
under this subsection, and similar projects and activities shall be evaluated
under the same criteria:
(a) The degree of
leveraging of other funds that will occur;
(b) The degree of
commitment from programs to provide necessary habilitation and support services
for projects focusing on special needs populations;
(c) Recipient
contributions to total project costs, including allied contributions from other
sources such as professional, craft and trade services, and lender interest
rate subsidies;
(d) Local government
project contributions in the form of infrastructure improvements, and others;
(e) Projects that
encourage ownership, management, and other project-related responsibility
opportunities;
(f) Projects that
demonstrate a strong probability of serving the original target group or income
level for a period of at least twenty-five years;
(g) The applicant has
the demonstrated ability, stability and resources to implement the project;
(h) Projects which
demonstrate serving the greatest need;
(i) Projects that
provide housing for persons and families with the lowest incomes;
(j) Projects serving
special needs populations which are under statutory mandate to develop
community housing;
(k) Project location
and access to employment centers in the region or area; ((and))
(l) Projects that
provide employment and training opportunities for disadvantaged youth under a
youthbuild or youthbuild-type program as defined in section 2 of this act; and
(m) Project
location and access to available public transportation services.
(4) The department
shall only approve applications for projects for mentally ill persons that are
consistent with a regional support network six-year capital and operating plan.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 10. Sections 1 through 7 of
this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 50 RCW.
