AN ACT Relating to a youth substance abuse prevention and education grant program; and adding new sections to chapter 66.08 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 66.08 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The youth substance abuse prevention and education account is created in the state treasury. All receipts from funds appropriated by the legislature for the youth substance abuse prevention and education grant program and revenue from other sources must be deposited into the account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation.

(2) If moneys are available in the account, expenditures from the account may be made by the board only as grants to statewide nonprofit organizations that are affiliated and in good standing with the standards of a national congressionally chartered organization under P.L. 105-225 for the purpose of providing youth substance abuse programs. To qualify for grants from this account, organizations must:

(a) Offer proven and tested substance abuse education and prevention programs to youth between the ages of six and eighteen;

(b) Provide a program in which at least sixty percent of the participants qualify for free or reduced-price lunch;

(c) Be facility-based and provide proven and tested recreational, educational, and character-building programs for children;

(d) Provide after school and summer programs in a minimum of fifty communities statewide, with youth development services available at least twenty hours weekly during the school year, and for thirty hours weekly during summer programming;

(e) Have adopted standards for care that at a minimum include staff ratios, staff training, health and safety standards, and mechanisms for assessing and enforcing the program's compliance with the standards; and

(f) Conduct national criminal background checks for all employees and volunteers who work with children.

(3) The existence of this account does not create a right for any organization to receive money from this account.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 66.08 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The youth substance abuse prevention and education grant program is created. The purpose of the grant program is to provide funding for community-based and statewide substance education programs designed to reduce initiation of substance use by children and youth. The board shall administer the program. The board shall award grants to selected organizations from moneys appropriated to the youth substance abuse prevention and education account created in section 1 of this act.

(2) The board shall adopt rules that specify, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) The procedures and timelines by which an organization may apply for program grants;

(b) Grant application contents;

(c) Criteria for selecting those entities that will receive grants and determining the amount and duration of those grants; and

(d) Reporting requirements for organizations that receive grants pursuant to this section.

(3) The board shall award grants to selected organizations and specify the grant amount and duration. No grant awarded pursuant to this section may exceed three years without renewal. No more than four percent of the grant award may be used by the selected organization for administrative purposes.

--- END ---