IIa

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4034

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 23 (legislative day, February 22), 1994

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources

AN ACT

To amend the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act

of 1978 to authorize grants for the expansion of recreation opportunities for at risk youth in urban areas

with a high prevalence of crime, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Urban Recreation and

5 At-Risk Youth Act of 1994’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Section 1002 of the Urban Park and Recreation Re3 covery Act of 1978 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

4 end of subsection (d), by striking the period at the end

5 of subsection (e) and inserting ‘‘;’’ and by adding the fol6 lowing at the end thereof:

7 ‘‘(f) the quality of life in urban areas has suf8 fered because of decline in the availability of park

9 and recreation and systems, including land, facilities,

10 and services;

11 ‘‘(g) the deterioration of urban park and recre12 ation facilities is due in part to the underfunding of

13 Federal grant programs intended to assist in the re14 vitalization of urban recreation facilities and allow

15 us to take back our parks from crime, vandalism,

16 and dilapidation;

17 ‘‘(h) the urban neighborhoods eligible for assist18 ance under this title have deteriorated, in part, due

19 to the rapid increase in violent crime among youth;

20 ‘‘(i) accessible, well-maintained recreational fa21 cilities and services have been shown to significantly

22 decrease the incidence of violent crime among youth

23 and can be an effective tool in efforts to prevent

24 crime, increase public safety and improve the quality

25 of life of urban residents; and
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1 ‘‘(j) urban sport and recreation programs teach

2 important values and life skills including teamwork,

3 individual responsibility, respect, leadership, and

4 self-esteem which help prevent young people from

5 engaging in criminal behavior.’’.

6 SEC. 3. PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.

7 Section 1003 of the Urban Park and Recreation Re8 covery Act of 1978 is amended by adding the following

9 at the end thereof: ‘‘It is further the purpose of this title

10 to improve recreation facilities and expand recreation serv11 ices in urban areas with a high incidence of crime and

12 to help deter crime through the expansion of recreation

13 opportunities for at-risk youth. It is the further purpose

14 of this section to increase the security of urban parks and

15 to promote collaboration between local agencies involved

16 in parks and recreation, law enforcement, youth social

17 services, and the juvenile justice system.’’.

18 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

19 Section 1004 of the Urban Park and Recreation Re20 covery Act of 1978 is amended by inserting the following

21 new subsection after subsection (c) and by redesignating

22 subsections (d) through (j) as (e) through (k) respectively:

23 ‘‘(d) ‘at-risk youth recreation grants’ means—

24 ‘‘(1) rehabilitation grants,

25 ‘‘(2) innovation grants, or
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1 ‘‘(3) matching grants for continuing pro2 gram support for programs of demonstrated

3 value or success in providing constructive alter4 natives to youth at risk for engaging in criminal

5 behavior, including grants for operating, or co6 ordinating recreation programs and services;

7 in neighborhoods and communities with a high prev8 alence of crime, particularly violent crime or crime

9 committed by youthful offenders; in addition to the

10 purposes specified in subsection (b), rehabilitation

11 grants referred to in paragraph (1) of this sub12 section may be used for the provision of lighting,

13 emergency phones or other capital improvements

14 which will improve the security of urban parks;’’.

15 SEC. 5. CRITERIA FOR SELECTION.

16 Section 1005(c) of the Urban Park and Recreation

17 Recovery Act of 1978 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at

18 the end of paragraph (6), by striking the period at the

19 end of paragraph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’ and by adding

20 the following at the end thereof:

21 ‘‘(8) in the case of at-risk youth recreation

22 grants, the Secretary shall give a priority to each of

23 the following criteria:
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1 ‘‘(A) Programs which are targeted to

2 youth who are at the greatest risk of becoming

3 involved in violence and crime.

4 ‘‘(B) Programs which teach important val5 ues and life skills, including teamwork, respect,

6 leadership, and self-esteem.

7 ‘‘(C) Programs which offer tutoring, reme8 dial education, mentoring, and counseling in ad9 dition to recreation opportunities.

10 ‘‘(D) Programs which offer services during

11 late night or other nonschool hours.

12 ‘‘(E) Programs which demonstrate collabo13 ration between local park and recreation, juve14 nile justice, law enforcement, and youth social

15 service agencies and nongovernmental entities,

16 including the private sector and community and

17 nonprofit organizations.

18 ‘‘(F) Programs which leverage public or

19 private recreation investments in the form of

20 services, materials, or cash.

21 ‘‘(G) Programs which show the greatest

22 potential of being continued with non-Federal

23 funds or which can serve as models for other

24 communities.’’.
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1 SEC. 6. PARK AND RECREATION ACTION RECOVERY

2 PROGRAMS.

3 Section 1007(b) of the Urban Park and Recreation

4 Recovery Act of 1978 is amended by adding the following

5 at the end thereof: ‘‘In order to be eligible to receive ‘at6 risk youth recreation grants’ a local government shall

7 amend its 5-year action program to incorporate the goal

8 of reducing crime and juvenile delinquency and to provide

9 a description of the implementation strategies to achieve

10 this goal. The plan shall also address how the local govern11 ment is coordinating its recreation programs with crime

12 prevention efforts of law enforcement, juvenile corrections,

13 and youth social service agencies.’’.

14 SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS AND TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

15 (a) PROGRAM SUPPORT.—Section 1013 of the Urban

16 Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 is amended

17 by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ after ‘‘1013.’’ and by

18 adding the following new subsection at the end thereof:

19 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM SUPPORT.—Not more than 25 per20 cent of the amounts made available under this title to any

21 local government may be used for program support.’’.

22 (b) EXTENSION.—Section 1003 of the Urban Park

23 and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 is amended by strik-
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1 ing ‘‘for a period of five years’’ and by striking ‘‘short2 term’’.

Passed the House of Representatives March 22,

1994.

Attest: DONNALD K. ANDERSON,

Clerk.