AN ACT Relating to positive youth development; adding new sections to Title 28A RCW; providing an expiration date; and making appropriations.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that juvenile criminal behavior, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, child abuse and neglect, illiteracy, violent behavior, and dropping out of high school are problems facing the youth of today and society in general. Therefore, the legislature intends to establish a pilot project in positive youth development to address the problems facing youth through the interruption of antisocial behavior and assistance to assure literacy and employability of today's youth.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The department of social and health services division of children, youth, and families and the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall develop and monitor pilot project sites and programs in two school districts in the state. Selection of the two sites shall be made on the basis of requests for proposals. Consideration shall be given to the school's needs, community and interagency cooperation, support, and shared service delivery. Two additional sites shall be selected as controls.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The project shall include but not be limited to five components.

(1) A project evaluation/assessment component shall:

(a) Evaluate grid/guidelines which identify children and youth at risk for criminal behavior, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, child abuse and neglect, illiteracy, violent behavior, and dropping out of school;

(b) Evaluate curriculum effectiveness;

(d) Evaluate the community involvement component.

(2) A basic self esteem skill and attitude building curriculum component shall be established for children in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The curriculum shall include:

(a) Communication skills;

(b) Problem solving skills, including adjusting expectations, clarifying environmental reality, and identifying alternative options;

(d) Coping skills, including stress management;

(e) Social skills, including learning about friendship, teamwork, cooperation, and sharing;

(f) Refusal skills;

(g) Learning to deal with and allocate problems; and

(h) Anger management techniques.

(3) There shall be a special skill building curriculum component for youth identified as "at-risk" of one or more of the problems specified in section 1 of this act. This component shall include a review, critique, and catalog of existing skill-building curriculum for "at-risk" youth; and grids/guidelines to identify youth and children "at-risk." This component shall not duplicate any of the efforts undertaken pursuant to sections 213 through 220, chapter 518, Laws of 1987. Planning and implementation for the "at-risk" component shall include but not be limited to participation of the county juvenile court; the department of social and health services division of children, youth and family services including juvenile rehabilitation and children's protective services, bureau of alcohol and substance abuse, and the division of mental health; the local schools, school districts, and education service districts; and a community mental health provider for children.

(4) A program shall be operated in the schools to provide services for the "at-risk" children and youth who have been abused, neglected, sexually assaulted, or who have special problems because of personal experiences or environmental conditions. The children's mental health component shall include child and youth counseling, family counseling, family intervention, and parent education.

(5) There shall be a community involvement component which may include but not be limited to:

(a) A school community liaison officer to act as a liaison between the school, the family, and the community;

(b) A program to involve the private business community in helping "at-risk" youth with job training and to develop job skills;

(c) Community service projects for children and youth to provide meaningful roles for the children and youth and allow them to contribute to their communities in constructive ways;

(d) A health care services delivery program including medical care, nutritional needs, and dental care to meet the needs of the children, youth, and their families;

(e) A family involvement, family support component which could include a family support center, day care, stipends for youth to remain in school, work release time, parent education, or other programs to build family communication, reinforce parent support for children, and enhance the formation of healthy family roles; and

(f) Community recreation programs for children, youth, and families to provide (i) healthy adult role models, (ii) build community support networks, and (iii) provide safe activities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A research institute of higher education, the department of social and health services, and the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall perform a longitudinal study of children participating in the pilot project and children involved in the control group using kindergarten intake assessments, teacher and counselor assessments, and standardized aptitude tests to evaluate the success in terms of the self esteem and academic achievement of the students involved in the project. The results of this study shall be presented to the legislature in January 1995.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) The sum of _______ dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund to the selected research institute of higher education for the longitudinal assessment study in section 4 of this act.

(2) The sum of ______ dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund to the office of the superintendent of public instruction to be awarded to school districts for school-related grant projects to fund:

(a) The self-esteem skill and attitude building curriculum development under section 3 of this act including teacher training for implementation; and

(b) The development and implementation of the community involvement component under section 3 of this act involving education and training projects.

(3) The sum of _______ dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund to the department of social and health services to be awarded to school districts to fund:

(a) Planning and implementation of the "at-risk" youth component under section 3 of this act;

(b) The mental health counseling in the schools component under section 3 of this act; and

(c) The community involvement projects under section 3 of this act that include health care service delivery, family support, and community recreation programs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Sections 1 through 4 of this act are each added to Title 28A RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Sections 1 through 4 of this act shall expire February 1, 1995.