A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to strengthen mentoring programs, and for other purposes.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mentoring America's Children Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO MENTORING PROGRAMS.

    (a) Purpose; Definitions.--Section 4130(a) of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7140(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``achievement 
                of such children'' and inserting ``outcomes of such 
                children by improving their school connectedness, 
                decreasing absenteeism, and increasing academic 
                performance'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (C) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) to foster character education.'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``or who lacks strong 
        positive role models'' and inserting ``who lacks strong 
        positive role models, is a foster youth, or has 1 or both 
        parents incarcerated'';
            (3) in paragraph (2)(B)(iii), by striking ``a partnership 
        between a local educational agency and a nonprofit, community-
        based organization'' and inserting ``a consortium between 1 or 
        more local educational agencies, nonprofit community-based 
        organizations, and other partners, such as corporations, 
        universities, or foster care group homes''; and
            (4) in paragraph (2)(C)(iii), by inserting ``and 
        successful'' after ``responsible''.
    (b) Grant Program.--Section 4130(b) of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7140(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph 
        (A), by striking ``this subpart under section 4003(2)'' and 
        inserting ``this section under subsection (d)'';
            (2) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``(particularly'' and 
        all that follows through ``failure)'' and inserting ``, 
        particularly children living in rural, suburban, or urban areas 
        facing high rates of crime, gang involvement, drug use, 
        dropouts, or youth suicides,'';
            (3) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking clauses (vi) and 
        (viii) and inserting the following:
                            ``(vi) Encourage setting goals and planning 
                        for the future, including encouragement of 
                        graduation from secondary school, planning for 
                        postsecondary education or training, and 
                        participating in internships.
                            ``(vii) Discourage involvement in gangs.'';
            (4) in paragraph (4)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (I), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (J), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(K) information regarding the staffing plan and 
                levels the eligible entity will use to monitor the 
                mentor/mentee match over the duration of the match; and
                    ``(L) information regarding the eligible entity's 
                sustainability plan, specifically how the eligible 
                entity will meet the required match, which is--
                            ``(i) in year 1 of the grant, not less than 
                        10 percent of the amount awarded for that year;
                            ``(ii) in year 2 of the grant, not less 
                        than 25 percent of the amount awarded for that 
                        year;
                            ``(iii) in year 3 of the grant, not less 
                        than 50 percent of the amount awarded for that 
                        year; and
                            ``(iv) for an entity receiving subsequent 
                        funding under paragraph (5)(E), in all 3 years 
                        of the grant the match shall be not less than 
                        50 percent of the amount awarded for that 
                        year.'';
            (5) in paragraph (5)--
                    (A) by striking subparagraph (B)(i) and inserting 
                the following:
                            ``(i) serves children with greatest need 
                        living in rural areas, high-crime areas, 
                        troubled home environments, or communities with 
                        a high rate of youth suicide, who attended 
                        school with violence problems, or who are 
                        foster children;'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (C)--
                            (i) in clause (i), by striking ``urban and 
                        rural'' and inserting ``urban, suburban, and 
                        rural'';
                            (ii) in clause (ii)(II), by inserting after 
                        ``organizations,'' the following: 
                        ``children,''; and
                            (iii) in clause (iii), by inserting after 
                        ``mentoring program'' the following: ``and 
                        sustain it for the duration of the grant and 
                        beyond''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end following:
                    ``(E) Subsequent grants.--In awarding grants under 
                subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall consider entities 
                who have received funding in a prior grant cycle for a 
                new grant only if each of the following criteria is 
                met:
                            ``(i) Performance during the initial grant 
                        was satisfactory in terms of program design and 
                        numbers of children served.
                            ``(ii) The subsequent grant will 
                        exclusively support expanded service to a new 
                        geographic area or target population.
                            ``(iii) The eligible entity demonstrates 
                        that it is able to provide a 50 percent match 
                        to Federal funds for all 3 years of the new 
                        grant.
                    ``(F) Policy on one entity having two grants at 
                same time.--In awarding grants under subparagraph (A), 
                the Secretary may have in effect a policy under which 
                an entity is prohibited from having 2 grants at the 
                same time. However, such a policy shall not prohibit an 
                entity from having 2 grants at the same time when the 
                periods of the 2 grants overlap by 3 months or less.''.
    (c) Additional Provisions.--Section 4130 of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7140) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(c) Ensuring Quality Grants.--
            ``(1) Support for grantees.--In order to ensure the 
        strongest possible outcomes for children mentored through this 
        section, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) provide training and technical assistance to 
                grant recipients, beginning in year 1 and continuing 
                throughout the span of the grant;
                    ``(B) track the mentoring practices and outcomes of 
                all grant recipients throughout the 3-year span of the 
                grant utilizing a robust online tracking and evaluation 
                system; and
                    ``(C) submit an annual report to Congress detailing 
                the number of children served by grant recipients and 
                the outcomes achieved for those children.
            ``(2) Research on school-based mentoring.--In order to 
        ensure that grant recipients have access to the most current 
        research-based knowledge about building and carrying out strong 
        and effective mentoring programs, the Secretary shall do the 
        following:
                    ``(A) Consult with leading mentoring organizations 
                and researchers, including the Federal Mentoring 
                Council and the National Mentoring Working Group, to 
                determine priorities for research on school-based 
                mentoring and appropriate research design, with 
                consideration for--
                            ``(i) determining the ideal school 
                        environments in which school-based mentoring 
                        succeeds;
                            ``(ii) identifying techniques for matching 
                        children with specific characteristics (such as 
                        age, academic situation, risk factors) with the 
                        most appropriate mentoring models;
                            ``(iii) determining the ideal 
                        infrastructure needed to foster the expansion 
                        of school-based mentoring in a sustainable way; 
                        and
                            ``(iv) refining best practices, match 
                        activities, and a range of mentoring models to 
                        lead to the best possible outcomes for 
                        children.
                    ``(B) Issue grants or contracts to high-quality 
                research entities to perform research on the priorities 
                identified in subparagraph (A), with the following 
                criteria:
                            ``(i) The proposed research design shall 
                        meet accepted standards within the academic 
                        community.
                            ``(ii) All research results and findings 
                        shall be widely disseminated to existing 
                        grantees and to the larger mentoring community.
                    ``(C) Issue grants or contracts only if amount 
                appropriated for each fiscal year under subsection 
                (d)(1) exceeds $50,000,000.
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations; Reservation of Certain 
Amounts.--
            ``(1) Authorization.--There are authorized to be 
        appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000 for fiscal 
        year 2008 and such sums as may be necessary for each succeeding 
        fiscal year.
            ``(2) Reservations.--Each fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
        reserve--
                    ``(A) not more than 5 percent of the amount 
                appropriated for that fiscal year under paragraph (1) 
                for expenditure on support for grantees as authorized 
                by subsection (c)(1); and
                    ``(B) not more than 10 percent of the amount 
                appropriated for that fiscal year under paragraph (1) 
                for expenditure on research as authorized by subsection 
                (c)(2).''.
    (d) Revisions to Other Education Programs.--
            (1) Inclusion of mentoring for minority programs.--
                    (A) Section 7121(c)(1) of the Elementary and 
                Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7441(c)(1)) 
                is amended--
                            (i) in subparagraph (E), by inserting ``, 
                        including mentoring,'' after ``programs and 
                        projects''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (J), by inserting ``, 
                        including mentoring,'' after ``programs''.
                    (B) Section 7205(a)(3) of the Elementary and 
                Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7515(a)(3)) 
                is amended--
                            (i) in subparagraph (H)(ii), by inserting 
                        ``, including mentoring'' after ``programs''; 
                        and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (I)(iii), by inserting 
                        ``, mentoring,'' after ``counseling''.
                    (C) Section 7304(a)(2)(P) of the Elementary and 
                Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
                7544(a)(2)(P)) is amended by inserting ``or mentoring 
                programs'' after ``program''.
            (2) Transition services.--Section 1418(a)(2)(C) of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        6438(a)(2)(C)) is amended--
                    (A) in clause (iv), by striking ``and'' at the end;
                    (B) in clause (v), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(vi) youth mentoring programs.''.
            (3) National safe and drug-free schools programs.--Section 
        4121(a)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
        1965 (20 U.S.C. 7131(a)(2)) is amended--
                    (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (D), by adding ``and'' at the 
                end; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(E) school and community-based mentoring 
                programs;''.

Summary: Mentoring America's Children Act of 2007 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to make miscellaneous changes to the Mentoring grant program under title IV that include: (1) improvement of school connectedness and character education among mentoring's purposes. (2) corporations, universities, foster care group homes, and other entities among program providers. (3) a requirement that mentors help children become responsible and successful adults. (4) foster youth, children with an incarcerated parent, suburban children in high crime areas, and children living in high gang involvement, drug use, dropout, or youth suicide areas among those most in need of mentoring, (5) children's participation in internships as a program goal. (6) mandatory information on grant applicants about plans for monitoring mentormentee matches and the satisfaction of grant matching requirements that increase from 10 to 50 over the three-year grant term. And (7) entities serving foster children or children living in high youth suicide areas as priority grant recipients. Allows grantees to be considered for new grants if: (1) their prior performance was satisfactory. (2) they propose to use the new grant exclusively for expanded service to a new area or population. And (3) they are able to provide a 50 match to the new grant funds. Directs the Secretary of Education to: (1) provide training and technical assistance to, and track and evaluate the performance of, grantees. And (2) arrange for research on school-based mentoring, the results of which are to be provided to the mentoring community. Includes mentoring in ESEA programs for: (1) Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaskan Native education, (2) the transitioning of youth offenders into education, and (3) school violence and drug abuse prevention.