II

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1462

To reduce and prevent the incidence of violence involving children.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 15 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 7), 1993

Mr. DODD introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to

the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

A BILL

To reduce and prevent the incidence of violence involving

children.

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 ‘‘Nonviolent Futures

5 for Children Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

7 It is the purpose of this Act to reduce and prevent

8 the incidence of violence involving children through grant

9 programs that encourage prevention, intervention, and the

10 rehabilitation of youth offenders. The accomplishment of
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1 this larger purpose will be advanced through the following

2 short-term goals:

3 (1) Teach children to resolve conflicts peace4 fully, teach older youth life skills, enhance self-es5 teem among all children, and make schools safer

6 places to learn.

7 (2) Work with the families of school children

8 through parenting education.

9 (3) Educate teachers and other education pro10 fessionals in violence prevention techniques, and

11 train such teachers and professionals to identify and

12 assist high-risk children.

13 (4) Create partnerships between local schools

14 and community-based organizations or agencies to

15 develop supportive programs for youth in order to

16 meet the academic as well as after-school and social

17 needs of youth.

18 (5) Assist and rehabilitate youth offenders by

19 providing funds for community-based programs.

20 SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

21 The Congress finds that—

22 (1) youth are disproportionately represented

23 among the victims of violence, for example—
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1 (A) United States teenagers are more than

2 twice as likely as adults to be victims of violent

3 crime; and

4 (B) firearm homicide is the second leading

5 cause of death for all youth, aged 15 to 24;

6 (2) child abuse and neglect are increasing at

7 alarming rates, for example—

8 (A) child abuse fatalities increased nearly

9 50 percent between 1986 and 1992;

10 (B) more than one-half of such fatalities

11 resulted from physical abuse; and

12 (C) child abuse and neglect reports have

13 increased 50 percent since 1985; and

14 (3) violence is cyclical, for example—

15 (A) being abused or neglected as a child

16 increases the likelihood of arrest for violent

17 crime by 38 percent, of juvenile arrest by 53

18 percent, and of adult arrest by 38 percent;

19 (B) two-thirds of men who abuse their

20 wives are from violent childhood homes and

21 about one-half of such men were abused as chil22 dren; and

23 (C) eighty-four percent of prison inmates

24 were abused as children.
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1 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR PREVENTION ACTIVITIES.

2 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award

4 grants on a competitive basis to eligible local edu5 cational agencies to enable such agencies to pay the

6 Federal share of the cost of providing preventive

7 services and interventions intended to reduce the in8 cidence of violence.

9 (2) GRANT DURATION.—A grant under this sec10 tion shall be awarded for a period of not less than

11 3 years nor more than 5 years.

12 (b) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—For

13 the purpose of this section, the term ‘‘eligible local edu14 cational agency’’ means a local educational agency that—

15 (1) receives assistance under chapter 1 of title

16 I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act

17 of 1965;

18 (2) serves an area in which there is a high rate

19 of violence affecting children and youth; and

20 (3)(A) in the case of a local educational agency

21 conducting activities described in subparagraphs (A)

22 and (B) of subsection (f)(2), enters into a partner23 ship agreement with at least one community-based

24 organization or agency, such as a business, labor or25 ganization, professional society, government agency,
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1 university or nonprofit entity, to carry out such

2 activities;

3 (B) in the case of a local educational agency

4 conducting activities described in subparagraph (D)

5 of subsection (f)(2), demonstrates to the satisfaction

6 of the Secretary in the application submitted under

7 subsection (d) a commitment for participation in

8 such activities from a local law enforcement agency;

9 and

10 (C) in the case of a local educational agency

11 conducting activities described in subparagraph (E)

12 of subsection (f)(2), enters into a partnership agree13 ment with at least one community-based organiza14 tion or agency described in subparagraph (A) to

15 carry out such activities, which agreement shall re16 quire such agency or organization to provide sub17 stantive training, work experience, or job placement

18 services after the job training described in such sub19 paragraph (E) is complete.

20 (c) PAYMENTS; FEDERAL SHARE; LIMITATION.—

21 (1) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall pay to

22 each eligible local educational agency having an ap23 plication approved under subsection (d) the Federal

24 share of the cost of the activities described in the

25 application.
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1 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share—

2 (A) for the first year for which an eligible

3 local educational agency receives assistance

4 under this section shall be 80 percent;

5 (B) for the second such year shall be 70

6 percent; and

7 (C) for the third and each succeeding such

8 year shall be 50 percent.

9 (3) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal

10 share of payments under this section may be in cash

11 or in kind fairly evaluated, including planned equip12 ment or services.

13 (d) APPLICATIONS.—Each eligible local educational

14 agency desiring a grant under this section shall submit

15 to the Secretary an application at such time, in such man16 ner and accompanied by such information as the Secretary

17 may reasonably require. Each such application shall in18 clude—

19 (1) an assessment of the extent and nature of

20 the violence affecting children and youth in the com21 munity served by such agency;

22 (2) an assurance that the applicant has written

23 policies regarding violence, school safety, and stu24 dent discipline;
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1 (3) a description of the activities to be carried

2 out with the grant funds, and how such activities

3 will help address the problem of youth violence in

4 the community;

5 (4) the applicant’s plan to involve parents,

6 teachers, school personnel, youth and others from

7 the community in the applicant’s effort to address

8 youth violence;

9 (5) coordination with other school reform and

10 improvement efforts;

11 (6) an assurance that grant funds will be used

12 to supplement and not supplant State and local

13 funds available to reduce and prevent the incidence

14 of violence involving children; and

15 (7) such other information the Secretary may

16 require.

17 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec18 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible local edu19 cational agencies serving areas with—

20 (1) a high concentration of disadvantaged stu21 dents; and

22 (2) a high rate of violence affecting children

23 and youth.

24 (f) USE OF FUNDS.—
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1 (1) SCHOOL-BASED ACTIVITIES.—A local edu2 cational agency receiving a grant under this section

3 may use such grant funds to provide one or more of

4 the following school-based activities:

5 (A) Peer education or peer mediation, to

6 teach youth to resolve conflicts through peer in7 fluence.

8 (B) Conflict resolution training, to teach

9 youth conflict management skills, including how

10 to defuse a potentially violent situation.

11 (C) Social skills training, with an emphasis

12 on building self-esteem, improving interpersonal

13 relationships and communication skills, and de14 creasing aggressive behavior.

15 (D) Youth designed and developed pro16 grams, to address the problem of violence.

17 (E) Parenting education, as age-appro18 priate, to prepare students for adult responsibil19 ities of rearing children, including instruction in

20 child development and family dynamics.

21 (F) Postsecondary educational opportunity

22 projects, including—

23 (i) exposure to postsecondary edu24 cational opportunities, including academic

25 and vocational opportunities;
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1 (ii) information on assistance available

2 under title IV of the Higher Education Act

3 of 1965, including financial aid, programs

4 assisted under chapter 1 of subpart 2 of

5 part A of title IV of the Higher Education

6 Act of 1965 (Federal TRIO Programs),

7 and early intervention programs;

8 (iii) early identification of students at9 risk; and

10 (iv) other support services.

11 (G) Remodeling and security personnel, in12 cluding minor remodeling to reduce the risk of

13 violence, such as removing lockers, installing

14 better lights, controlling access to stairwells, ac15 quiring and installing metal detectors, hiring

16 security personnel, and reimbursing law en17 forcement authorities for services.

18 (2) SCHOOL-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP ACTIVI19 TIES.—A local educational agency receiving a grant

20 under this section may use such grant funds to pro21 vide one or more of the following school-community

22 partnership activities:

23 (A) After-school programs for youth which,

24 at a minimum, shall include academic support
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1 programs, sports, arts, crafts, community serv2 ice and recreation activities.

3 (B) Mentoring programs to pair adults

4 with children and youth to provide one-to-one

5 assistance, attention and guidance.

6 (C) Parenting skills courses, offered with

7 the support of parents in the community, to

8 provide parents of students served by the eligi9 ble local educational agency with parenting

10 skills training.

11 (D) Professional training, to train edu12 cation professionals and school personnel in vio13 lence prevention, conflict resolution, anger man14 agement, and peer mediation techniques, and to

15 identify high-risk youth and refer such youth

16 for appropriate services.

17 (E) Job training and placement programs,

18 including—

19 (i) the provision of incentives for par20 ticipants to complete their secondary edu21 cation;

22 (ii) the provision of job training with

23 subsequent employment placement in a po24 sition which directly utilizes the training

25 provided; and
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1 (iii) the exposure to postsecondary

2 educational opportunities, including aca3 demic and vocational opportunities.

4 (3) LIMITATION.—An eligible local educational

5 agency receiving a grant under this section in any

6 fiscal year shall not use more than—

7 (A) 10 percent of such grant funds in such

8 fiscal year for the activities described in sub9 section (f)(1)(G) of this section; and

10 (B) 5 percent of such grant funds in such

11 fiscal year for administrative expenses associ12 ated with activities assisted under this section.

13 (4) SPECIAL RULE.—In developing professional

14 training programs described in paragraph (2)(D), an

15 eligible local educational agency is encouraged—

16 (A) to contract for services with organiza17 tions demonstrating expertise in such programs;

18 and

19 (B) to work with other representatives of

20 organizations and agencies, including court per21 sonnel, social workers, representatives of law

22 enforcement, and medical, mental health, and

23 other health professionals.
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1 SEC. 5. GRANTS FOR PROGRAMS TO SERVE OUT-OF2 SCHOOL YOUTH AND YOUTH OFFENDERS.

3 (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—

4 (1) AUTHORITY.—

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

6 award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible

7 entities to enable such agencies to pay the Fed8 eral share of the cost of establishing commu9 nity-based programs that—

10 (i) assist out-of-school youth and re11 habilitate youth offenders; and

12 (ii) provide opportunities for such

13 youth to continue their education or obtain

14 job training.

15 (B) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall

16 consult with the Attorney General in developing

17 program guidelines and awarding grants under

18 this section.

19 (2) GRANT DURATION.—A grant under this sec20 tion shall be awarded for a period of not less than

21 3 years nor more than 5 years.

22 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—For the purpose of this

23 section, the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means either a State

24 educational agency or a local educational agency that en25 ters into a partnership agreement to carry out the pro26 gram assisted under this section with at least one commu-
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1 nity-based youth organization and the appropriate juvenile

2 justice agency serving such State educational agency or

3 local educational agency.

4 (c) PAYMENTS; FEDERAL SHARE; LIMITATION.—

5 (1) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall pay to

6 each eligible entity having an application approved

7 under subsection (d) the Federal share of the cost

8 of the activities described in the application.

9 (2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share—

10 (A) for the first year for which an eligible

11 entity receives assistance under this section

12 shall be 80 percent;

13 (B) for the second such year shall be 70

14 percent; and

15 (C) for the third and each succeeding such

16 year shall be 50 percent.

17 (3) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal

18 share of payments under this section may be in cash

19 or in kind fairly evaluated, including planned equip20 ment or services.

21 (d) APPLICATION.—Each eligible entity desiring a

22 grant under this section shall submit an application to the

23 Secretary at such time, in such manner and accompanied

24 by such information as the Secretary may reasonably re25 quire. Each such application shall include—
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1 (1) an assessment of the population of out-of2 school youth and youth offenders to be served;

3 (2) a description of the program to be carried

4 out with the grant funds, and how such program will

5 help meet the needs of out-of-school youth and youth

6 offenders;

7 (3) a description of members of the partnership

8 described in subsection (b) that are involved in the

9 program, such member’s roles and functions in car10 rying out the program, and the strength of such

11 member’s commitment to the goals of the program;

12 (4) the applicant’s plan to involve parents, em13 ployers, teachers and other school personnel, and

14 community members in designing and carrying out

15 the program;

16 (5) an assurance that the grant funds will be

17 used to supplement and not supplant State and local

18 funds available to provide opportunities for out-of19 school youth and rehabilitate youth offenders;

20 (6) a description of the ability of the commu21 nity-based youth organization participating in the

22 partnership described in subsection (b) to link youth

23 with other social services as needed; and

24 (7) such other information the Secretary may

25 require.
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1 (e) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec2 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities

3 serving areas with—

4 (1) a high concentration of out-of-school youth

5 or youth offenders; and

6 (2) a high rate of violence affecting children

7 and youth.

8 (f) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving a

9 grant under this section shall use such grant funds to pro10 vide a community-based program for out-of-school youth

11 and youth offenders, which program shall include one or

12 more of the following elements:

13 (1) A system designed to provide peer and adult

14 support and redirection.

15 (2) Incentives for out-of-school youth and youth

16 offenders to continue their education through con17 tinuing secondary education, vocational training,

18 school-to-work programs, postsecondary education or

19 other opportunities.

20 (3) Assessment of such youths’ needs, and re21 ferrals by the community-based youth organization

22 participating in the partnership described in sub23 section (b) to appropriate services.

24 (4) Community service.

25 (5) Job training and placement opportunities.
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1 (6) Access to mentoring services.

2 (7) Other services, as approved by the Sec3 retary, designed to provide rehabilitative opportuni4 ties for such youth.

5 SEC. 6. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

6 The Secretary shall prescribe annual reporting re7 quirements for eligible entities receiving assistance under

8 this Act, including requirements regarding—

9 (1) the characteristics of the youth served

10 under this Act;

11 (2) the incidence of violence in the area served

12 by a local educational agency receiving assistance

13 under this Act; and

14 (3) the accomplishments of the activities as15 sisted under this Act, and assessment of such activi16 ties by students and youth served by such activities.

17 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

18 The terms used in this Act shall have the meaning

19 given to such terms in section 1471 of the Elementary

20 and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

21 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro23 priated $100,000,000 in each fiscal year to carry out this

24 Act.
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1 (b) LIMITATION.—Not more than 20 percent of the

2 funds appropriated in any fiscal year pursuant to the au3 thority of subsection (a) shall be available to award grants

4 pursuant to section 5 in such fiscal year.

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