I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4034

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.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 15, 1994

Mr. MILLER of California (for himself, Mr. VENTO, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia,

Mr. MARTINEZ, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. DE LUGO, Mr.

LEHMAN, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Ms. SHEPHERD, Ms. MCKINNEY, and

Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota) introduced the following bill; which was

referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

A BILL

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’’ and by adding the

6 following at the end thereof:

7 ‘‘(f) the quality of life in urban areas has suffered

8 because of decline in the availability of park and recreation

9 and systems, including land, facilities, and services;

10 ‘‘(g) the deterioration of urban park and recreation

11 facilities is due in part to underfunding of Federal grant

12 programs which assist in the revitalization of urban recre13 ation facilities;

14 ‘‘(h) the urban neighborhoods eligible for assistance

15 under this title have deteriorated, in part, due to the rapid

16 increase in violent crime among youth;

17 ‘‘(i) accessible, well-maintained recreational facilities

18 and services have been shown to significantly decrease the

19 incidence of violent crime among youth and can be an ef20 fective tool in efforts to prevent crime, increase public

21 safety and improve the quality of life of urban residents;

22 and

23 ‘‘(j) urban sport and recreation programs teach im24 portant values and life skills including teamwork, individ25 ual responsibility, respect, leadership, and self-esteem
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1 which help prevent young people from engaging in crimi2 nal behavior.’’.

3 SEC. 3. PURPOSE OF ASSISTANCE.

4 Section 1003 of the Urban Park and Recreation Re5 covery Act of 1978 is amended by adding the following

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

7 to improve recreation facilities and expand recreation serv8 ices in urban areas with a high incidence of crime and

9 to help deter crime through the expansion of recreation

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

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

12 to promote collaboration between local agencies involved

13 in parks and recreation, law enforcement, youth social

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

15 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

16 Section 1004 of the Urban Park and Recreation Re17 covery Act of 1978 is amended by inserting the following

18 new subsection after subsection (c) and by redesignating

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

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

21 ‘‘(1) rehabilitation grants,

22 ‘‘(2) innovation grants, or

23 ‘‘(3) matching grants for continuing program

24 support for programs of demonstrated value or suc25 cess in providing constructive alternatives to youth
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1 at risk for engaging in criminal behavior, including

2 grants for operating, or coordinating recreation pro3 grams and services;

4 in neighborhoods and communities with a high prevalence

5 of crime, particularly violent crime or crime committed by

6 youthful offenders; in addition to the purposes specified

7 in subsection (b), rehabilitation grants referred to in para8 graph (1) of this subsection may be used for the provision

9 of lighting, emergency phones or other capital improve10 ments which will improve the security of urban parks;’’.

11 SEC. 5. CRITERIA FOR SELECTION.

12 Section 1005 of the Urban Park and Recreation Re13 covery Act of 1978 is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

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

15 of paragraph (7) and inserting ‘‘; and’’ and by adding the

16 following at the end thereof:

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

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

19 the following criteria:

20 ‘‘(A) Programs which are targeted to

21 youth who are at the greatest risk of becoming

22 involved in violence and crime.

23 ‘‘(B) Programs which teach important val24 ues and life skills, including teamwork, respect,

25 leadership, and self-esteem.
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1 ‘‘(C) Programs which offer tutoring, reme2 dial education, mentoring, and counseling in ad3 dition to recreation opportunities.

4 ‘‘(D) Programs which offer services during

5 late night or other nonschool hours.

6 ‘‘(E) Programs which demonstrate collabo7 ration between local park and recreation, juve8 nile justice, law enforcement, and youth social

9 service agencies and nongovernmental entities,

10 including the private sector and community and

11 nonprofit organizations.

12 ‘‘(F) Programs which leverage public or

13 private recreation investments in the form of

14 services, materials, or cash.

15 ‘‘(G) Programs which show the greatest

16 potential of being continued with non-Federal

17 funds or which can serve as models for other

18 communities.’’.

19 SEC. 6. PARK AND RECREATION ACTION RECOVERY PRO20 GRAMS.

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

22 Recovery Act of 1978 is amended by adding the following

23 at the end thereof: ‘‘In order to be eligible to receive ‘at

24 risk youth recreation grants’ a local government shall

25 amend its 5-year action program to incorporate the goal
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1 of reducing crime and juvenile delinquency and to provide

2 a description of the implementation strategies to achieve

3 this goal. The plan shall also address how the local govern4 ment is coordinating its recreation programs with crime

5 prevention efforts of law enforcement, juvenile corrections,

6 and youth social service agencies.’’.

7 SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS AND TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

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

9 Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 is amended

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

11 adding the following new subsection at the end thereof:

12 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM SUPPORT.—Not more than 25 per13 cent of the amounts made available under this title to any

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

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

16 and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 is amended by strik17 ing ‘‘for a period of five years’’ and by striking ‘‘short18 term’’.

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