BP BHEAD INT S

AN ACT Relating to youth training programs; adding new sections to chapter 43.330 RCW; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The department shall provide technical and financial resources to communities, school districts, and institutions that offer youth long-term positive alternatives to violence, reduce the factors contributing to youth violence, and establish strong ties between youth and their communities. The department shall establish a process to fund activities for the following direct, comprehensive economic development services to at-risk youth and their families:

(1) At least fifty percent of the funds appropriated in section 11 of this act shall be used to provide employment assistance, including job development, school-to-work placement, employment readiness training, basic skills, apprenticeships, job mentoring, and private sector and community service employment;

(2) At least twenty-five percent of the funds appropriated in section 11 of this act shall be used to provide education assistance, including tutoring, mentoring, drop-out prevention, interactions with role models, entrepreneurial education and projects, and employment reentry assistance services;

(3) No more than five percent of the funds appropriated in section 11 of this act shall be used to provide peer-to-peer, group, and individual counseling, including crisis intervention, for at-risk youth and their parents;

(4) No more than five percent of the funds appropriated in section 11 of this act shall be used to provide youth coalitions that provide opportunities to develop leadership skills and gain appropriate respect, recognition, and rewards for their positive contribution to their community; and

(5) No more than five percent of the funds appropriated in section 11 of this act shall be used to support parental involvement, including education and training and home visits.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The department shall make the funds available for purposes of section 1 of this act to community family councils, community-based private nonprofit organizations, school districts, educational service districts, juvenile institutions, Indian tribes, private industry councils, youth organizations, and local governments. The department shall consider at least the following factors when selecting projects for funding:

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

(2) Whether there was active community and youth participation, including private sector business participation, in designing the program and in proposed implementation of the program;

(3) Whether there is proposed collaboration among local community entities, including private businesses, in carrying out the project;

(4) For employment and training components specifically, whether there is collaboration with the local business community, labor organizations, and training institutions;

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

(6) 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;

(7) The experience or expertise of the sponsors to carry out the proposed project; and

(8) The sponsors' plan for specifically predicting and evaluating the outcomes of the project.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The department shall provide technical assistance to applicants to increase their organizational capacity and to improve the likelihood of a successful application and, further, provide additional technical assistance and training resources to successful applicants.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The department shall work to involve youth in its efforts to reduce youth violence.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The department shall use all means possible to communicate to communities, and any other interested parties, state-wide information concerning the "best practices" and positive outcomes of community-based youth violence prevention and intervention projects. To accomplish this, the department may provide technical assistance through peers and state staff, create a speakers' bureau, sponsor conferences and workshops in which model programs are featured, and publish and distribute a workbook of best practices.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The department shall establish a system to evaluate the effectiveness of projects using benchmarks, which are observable outcomes that are set in advance then measured at the end of the funding cycle for the programs. By January 1, 1995, the department shall report to the governor and the legislature on the system established and the outcomes achieved to date.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The legislature finds for the purposes of sections 8 and 9 of this act that employment programs for youth are a key component for reducing youth violence by providing positive employment opportunities and role models. The legislature also finds that programs addressing youth readiness for work, mentorship, and employment and training already exist in cities, counties, and community groups throughout the state. The legislature further finds that existing programs could be improved with grants from the department.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The department shall operate a challenge block grant program to identify and assist successful local programs targeting at-risk youth for employment readiness, employment and training, and mentorship. The department shall review and evaluate existing youth employment readiness, mentorship, and training programs and award year-long grants for a select number that can demonstrate current success, current and prospective funding, and future promise. Grants must be used specifically either to increase the number of participants or to improve or expand services to existing participants, or both.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. An existing youth employment readiness, mentorship, or training program may apply for a grant by providing relevant information, including, but not limited to:

(1) A description and verification of existing funding and projected funding from existing sources;

(2) A detailed description of the program's history and design, including an evaluative history with analysis of funding sources;

(3) A current list of participant youth and former participants with outcome-based evaluations of failure and success of individual program participants;

(4) A current list of participant mentors, businesses, employers, or educators, as well as any former participant mentors, businesses, employers, or educators and their own anecdotal and subjective evaluations of the program;

(5) A current evaluation of the program completed by the current funding sources;

(6) An analysis of needed additional funding complete with a description of the ways it will be allocated and specific outcome benchmarks that the additional funding is projected to achieve; and

(7) A proposed method of self-evaluation using the benchmarks, which evaluation can in turn be used by the department for further funding decisions.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. Sections 1 through 9 of this act are each added to chapter 43.330 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. The sum of . . . . . . dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1995, from the general fund‑-state to the department of community, trade, and economic development for the purposes of this act.