JUMP Ahead Act of 1997

Summary: JUMP Ahead Act of 1997 - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA) with respect to juvenile mentoring grants.  Specifies goals for the grant program and limits the amount and duration of grants.  Authorizes appropriations. 
Authorizes the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice to make youth mentoring program implementation and evaluation grants to national organizations or agencies serving youth.  Authorizes appropriations. 
Directs the Attorney General to:  (1) contract with an evaluating organization for an ongoing evaluation of the programs and activities assisted under this Act or under JJDPA; (2) establish minimum criteria for evaluating such programs and activities; and (3) annually designate a program or activity assisted under this Act as the Juvenile Mentoring Program of the Year. 
Requires each grant recipient under this Act or under JJDPA to report annually to the evaluating organization on any program or activity so assisted. 
Requires a report to the Congress evaluating such grants.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``JUMP Ahead Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) millions of young people in America live in areas in 
        which drug use and violent and property crimes are pervasive;
            (2) unfortunately, many of these same young people come 
        from single parent homes, or from environments in which there 
        is no responsible, caring adult supervision;
            (3) all children and adolescents need caring adults in 
        their lives, and mentoring is an effective way to fill this 
        special need for at-risk children. The special bond of 
        commitment fostered by the mutual respect inherent in effective 
        mentoring can be the tie that binds a young person to a better 
        future;
            (4) through a mentoring relationship, adult volunteers and 
        participating youth make a significant commitment of time and 
        energy to develop relationships devoted to personal, academic, 
        or career development and social, artistic, or athletic growth;
            (5) rigorous independent studies have confirmed that 
        effective mentoring programs can significantly reduce and 
        prevent the use of alcohol and drugs by young people, improve 
        school attendance and performance, improve peer and family and 
        peer relationships, and reduce violent behavior;
            (6) since the inception of the Federal JUMP program, dozens 
        of innovative, effective mentoring programs have received 
        funding grants;
            (7) unfortunately, despite the recent growth in public and 
        private mentoring initiatives, it is reported that between 
        5,000,000 and 15,000,000 additional children in the United 
        States could benefit from being matched with a mentor; and
            (8) although great strides have been made in reaching at-
        risk youth since the inception of the JUMP program, millions of 
        vulnerable American children are not being reached, and without 
        an increased commitment to connect these young people to 
        responsible adult role models, our country risks losing an 
        entire generation to drugs, crime, and unproductive lives.

SEC. 3. JUVENILE MENTORING GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--Section 288B of the Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5667e-2) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(a) In General.--'' before ``The 
        Administrator shall'';
            (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
            ``(2) are intended to achieve 1 or more of the following 
        goals:
                    ``(A) Discourage at-risk youth from--
                            ``(i) using illegal drugs and alcohol;
                            ``(ii) engaging in violence;
                            ``(iii) using guns and other dangerous 
                        weapons;
                            ``(iv) engaging in other criminal and 
                        antisocial behavior; and
                            ``(v) becoming involved in gangs.
                    ``(B) Promote personal and social responsibility 
                among at-risk youth.
                    ``(C) Increase at-risk youth's participation in, 
                and enhance the ability of those youth to benefit from, 
                elementary and secondary education.
                    ``(D) Encourage at-risk youth participation in 
                community service and community activities.
                    ``(E) Provide general guidance to at-risk youth.''; 
                and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Amount and Duration.--Each grant under this part shall be 
awarded in an amount not to exceed a total of $200,000 over a period of 
not more than 3 years.
    ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999, 2000, 2001, and 
2002 to carry out this part.''.

SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--The Administrator of the Office of Juvenile 
Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice may 
make grants to national organizations or agencies serving youth, in 
order to enable those organizations or agencies--
            (1) to conduct a multisite demonstration project, involving 
        between 5 and 10 project sites, that--
                    (A) provides an opportunity to compare various 
                mentoring models for the purpose of evaluating the 
                effectiveness and efficiency of those models;
                    (B) allows for innovative programs designed under 
                the oversight of a national organization or agency 
                serving youth, which programs may include--
                            (i) technical assistance;
                            (ii) training; and
                            (iii) research and evaluation; and
                    (C) disseminates the results of such demonstration 
                project to allow for the determination of the best 
                practices for various mentoring programs;
            (2) to develop and evaluate screening standards for 
        mentoring programs; and
            (3) to develop and evaluate volunteer recruitment 
        techniques and activities for mentoring programs.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1999, 2000, 2001, 
and 2002 to carry out this section.

SEC. 5. EVALUATIONS; REPORTS.

    (a) Evaluations.--
            (1) In general.--The Attorney General shall enter into a 
        contract with an evaluating organization that has demonstrated 
        experience in conducting evaluations, for the conduct of an 
        ongoing rigorous evaluation of the programs and activities 
        assisted under this Act or under section 228B of the Juvenile 
        Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 
        5667e-2) (as amended by this Act).
            (2) Criteria.--The Attorney General shall establish a 
        minimum criteria for evaluating the programs and activities 
        assisted under this Act or under section 228B of the Juvenile 
        Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 
        5667e-2) (as amended by this Act), which shall provide for a 
        description of the implementation of the program or activity, 
        and the effect of the program or activity on participants, 
        schools, communities, and youth served by the program or 
        activity.
            (3) Mentoring program of the year.--The Attorney General 
        shall, on an annual basis, based on the most recent evaluation 
        under this subsection and such other criteria as the Attorney 
        General shall establish by regulation--
                    (A) designate 1 program or activity assisted under 
                this Act as the ``Juvenile Mentoring Program of the 
                Year''; and
                    (B) publish notice of such designation in the 
                Federal Register.
    (b) Reports.--
            (1) Grant recipients.--Each entity receiving a grant under 
        this Act or under section 228B of the Juvenile Justice and 
        Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5667e-2) (as 
        amended by this Act) shall submit to the evaluating 
        organization entering into the contract under subsection 
        (a)(1), an annual report regarding any program or activity 
        assisted under this Act or under section 228B of the Juvenile 
        Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 
        5667e-2) (as amended by this Act). Each report under this 
        paragraph shall be submitted at such time, in such a manner, 
        and shall be accompanied by such information, as the evaluating 
        organization may reasonably require.
            (2) Comptroller general.--Not later than 4 years after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall 
        submit to Congress a report evaluating the effectiveness of 
        grants awarded under this Act and under section 228B of the 
        Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 
        U.S.C. 5667e-2) (as amended by this Act), in--
                    (A) reducing juvenile delinquency and gang 
                participation;
                    (B) reducing the school dropout rate; and
                    (C) improving academic performance of juveniles.