2319-S2.E AMS ERWI S5628.2

2319-S2.E AMS ERWI S5628.2

E2SHB 2319 - S AMD TO S AMD (S-5375.4/94)

By Senator Erwin

On page 121, line 19 of the amendment, after "EDUCATION" insert ", TRAINING, AND EMPLOYMENT"

Correct the table of contents accordingly.

E2SHB 2319 - S AMD TO S AMD (S-5375.4/94)

By Senator

On page 144, after line 26 of the amendment, insert the following:

"NEW SECTION. Sec. 520. A new section is added to chapter 43.330 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The department of community, trade, and economic development shall administer a safe schools-safe communities program that provides financial and technical resources for community and school-based initiatives that offer youth long-term positive alternatives to violence, reduce the factors contributing to youth violence, and establish strong ties between children and youth and their communities.

(2) The department shall establish a process to fund:

(a) Safe school teams that develop and implement strategies to make schools safer and prevent violence;

(b) Education assistance, including tutoring, mentoring, drop-out prevention, and reentry assistance services;

(c) Employment assistance, including job development, school‑to‑work placement, employment readiness training, basic skills, apprenticeships, and community service employment;

(d) Peer-to-peer, group, and individual counseling, including crisis intervention for at-risk youth and their parents;

(e) Youth coalitions that provide opportunities to develop leadership skills and gain appropriate respect, recognition, and rewards for their positive contribution to their community;

(f) Recreational opportunities that provide healthy, viable alternatives to violence;

(g) Life skills training, including anger management, conflict resolution, victim awareness, sexual harassment and assault awareness, empathy awareness, and cultural awareness training;

(h) Parental involvement, including education and training, home visits, and referrals;

(i) Resource and referral services for youth for a full range of basic services including health, food, housing, mental health, and other basic needs; and

(j) Self-esteem training, particularly for youth at high risk of teen pregnancy.

(3) The following organizations shall be eligible to receive grants: School districts, community family councils, community-based private nonprofit organizations, educational service districts, juvenile institutions, Indian tribes, private industry councils, and local governments.

(4) The department shall consider at least the following factors when selecting projects for funding:

(a) Whether there was an assessment made of the factors contributing to the problem of youth violence in the community that includes empirical evidence linking these factors to youth violence and a strategy proposed that addresses the factors identified;

(b) Whether there was active community and youth participation in designing the program and in proposed implementation of the program;

(d) Whether there is collaboration with the local business community, labor organizations, and training institutions when employment and training projects are proposed;

(e) Whether there is local commitment of resources and effort to carrying out the project in the short term and a long-term commitment to reducing youth violence;

(f) Whether there is research that supports the likely success of the proposed project;

(g) Whether the proposed intervention will include cognitive, affective, and behavioral interventions;

(h) The likelihood that the project will significantly benefit youth who are at risk or will increase public safety in areas with high rates of violent crime by juveniles;

(i) The experience or expertise of the applicant to carry out the proposed project; and

(j) The plan for evaluating the project.

(5) The department shall provide additional assistance to community-based efforts in skill development, employment readiness, and work experience, including: (a) Community-based mentoring programs, providing technical assistance and providing funds for program development; (b) tutoring services to at-risk youth by the retired senior volunteer program; and (c) private-sector efforts to assist in the employment and training of at-risk youth in such areas as work experience, mentoring programs, skill development, and apprenticeships. In developing and implementing these efforts, the department shall consult with the work force training and education coordinating board, employment security department, and other relevant agencies. The department shall provide funds to community-based organizations to identify at-risk youth to participate in private-sector efforts and to provide ongoing assistance to youth participating in the programs.

(6) The grants shall require local matching funds so that the grant amounts support a maximum of eighty percent of the costs of the services funded. In-kind contributions may be used in calculating the local match.

(7) Subject to funding, grants shall be funded for three years. A second series of grants shall be awarded in 1996.

(8) The department shall provide successful applicants with technical assistance and training resources.

(9) The department shall work to involve youth in its efforts to reduce youth violence.

(10) The department shall establish a system to evaluate the effectiveness of the prevention and intervention initiatives. By January 1, 1996, and every biennium through June 30, 1999, the department shall submit to the governor and the legislature an evaluation of the projects funded under this section.

(11) For the purposes of this section, "community" means a geographic region recognized as a community by the applicant, including a neighborhood, city, county, Indian tribe, or multicounty region.

(12) This section shall expire June 30, 1999.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 521. If specific funding for the purposes of section 520 of this act, referencing section 520 of this act by bill and section number, is not provided by June 30, 1994, in the omnibus appropriations act, section 520 of this act is null and void.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 522. (1) The legislature finds that many teens who have dropped out of high school possess little motivation to return to a traditional high school setting. Teens with children often receive public assistance and do not have the skills or education to secure employment to support their basic needs. Inadequate job skills, the lack of a high school diploma, and limited access to child care prevent high school-age mothers from leaving public assistance to enter the work force.

(2) The legislature further finds that providing dropouts with school-to-work transition options to increase job readiness, to work toward high school graduation, and to provide access to support services is an effective strategy to address the needs of secondary students who have dropped out of school.

(3) The legislature further finds that vocational skills centers are equipped to offer educational services to secondary students that emphasize successful school-to-work transition, life skills, parenting education, and high school graduation. Vocational skills centers can best offer these services by making them available, for students not currently in school and for students enrolled in a full schedule at a high school, during hours other than normal school hours.

(4) The purpose of section 523 of this act is to provide students with the job training, education, and support services necessary to achieve high school graduation and job readiness through the creation of extended day school-to-work transition projects.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 523. (1) To the extent funds are available, the superintendent of public instruction shall award start-up grants to vocational skills centers to provide extended day school-to-work transition options for secondary students who are at risk of academic failure and who have dropped out or who are enrolled full time at a home high school. Grants shall be awarded based on applications describing how the project will achieve the following goals:

(a) Identifying, recruiting, assessing, and enrolling teens who have dropped out of school or who are at risk of academic failure;

(b) Developing job-readiness skills, job retention skills, and high school completion competencies in secondary students using work-based learning;

(c) Equipping students with vocational skills and abilities consistent with entry level employment in their chosen career field;

(d) Preparing students to seek further education and training if advisable for their particular career field;

(e) Assisting students who have dropped out to reenter school to achieve their high school diploma; and

(f) Increasing vocational programs' availability to students during other than normal school hours.

(2) To the extent funds are available, the superintendent of public instruction shall award start-up grants to organizations capable of providing programs as specified in subsection (1) of this section, to urban areas not served by skills centers. Organizations eligible to compete for grants awarded under this subsection include:

(a) Nonprofit organizations;

(b) Education service districts;

(d) School districts.

(3) To the extent funds are available, the state board for community and technical colleges shall award start-up grants to technical colleges to provide services as specified in subsection (1) of this section. The state board shall work with the superintendent of public instruction to develop program guidelines consistent with programs offered in skills centers.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 524. The legislature recognizes the importance of education and employment experiences for youth and the critical role of school-to-work transition options to achieving job readiness. Therefore, in light of these priorities, the department of labor and industries is directed to accelerate its evaluation of the minor work rules adopted under chapter 49.12 RCW, including an evaluation of the impact of these rules on the school-to-work transition projects provided for in section 523 of this act. The department shall report to the governor and the appropriate committees of the legislature on its evaluation of the minor work rules prior to the start of the 1995 regular legislative session.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 525. (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. 526. 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. 527. 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. 528. (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;

(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. 529. (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 528 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 530. (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;

(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. 531. (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. 532. 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 525 through 531 of this act.

Sec. 533. 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 526 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. 534. Sections 525 through 531 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 50 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 535. If specific funding for the purposes of sections 522 and 523 of this act, referencing sections 522 and 523 of this act by bill number and section number, is not provided by June 30, 1994, in the omnibus appropriations act, sections 522 and 523 of this act are null and void.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 536. If specific funding for the purposes of sections 525 through 533 of this act, referencing sections 525 through 533 of this act by bill number and section number, is not provided by June 30, 1994, in the omnibus appropriations act, sections 525 through 533 of this act are null and void.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 537. Sections 523 and 524 of this act shall expire June 30, 1997."

E2SHB 2319 - S AMD TO S AMD (S-5375.4/94)

By Senator

On page 159, line 34 of the title amendment, after "10.31.100," strike "and 28A.630.885" and insert "43.185.070, and 28A.630.885"

E2SHB 2319 - S AMD TO S AMD (S-5375.4/94)

By Senator Erwin

On page 160, line 7 of the title amendment, after "28A.600 RCW;" insert "adding a new section to chapter 43.330 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 50.67 RCW;"

On page 160, line 10 of the title amendment, after "44.28 RCW;" insert "adding a new chapter to Title 50 RCW;"

On page 160, line 15 of the title amendment, after "dates;" insert "providing an expiration date;"