I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1307

To provide for grants, a national clearinghouse, and a report to improve

the quality and availability of after-school programs.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 25, 1999

Mr. CASTLE (for himself, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. BOEHNER, Ms. BROWN of

Florida, Ms. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. DOYLE, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. GALLEGLY,

Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. GREEN of Texas, Mr. INSLEE, Mrs.

JOHNSON of Connecticut, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. LAZIO,

Mr. LUTHER, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. QUINN, Mr. REGULA, Mr. SAWYER, Mr.

SHAYS, Mr. SHOWS, Mr. UPTON, Mrs. WILSON, and Mr. WISE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

A BILL

To provide for grants, a national clearinghouse, and a report

to improve the quality and availability of after-school

programs.

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 ‘‘After-School Children’s

5 Education (ACE) Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) Children’s activities outside of school have

2 a critical and long lasting impact on school achieve3 ment and future success.

4 (2) Approximately 24,000,000 school-age chil5 dren are in need of adult supervision while their par6 ents are at work.

7 (3) Experts estimate that almost 5,000,000

8 school-age children spend time without adult super9 vision during a typical week and that these children

10 are more likely to engage in risky behavior such as

11 drug and alcohol abuse, sexual activity, loitering on

12 street corners, and truancy.

13 (4) The prosperity of the Nation depends upon

14 maximizing and fulfilling the potential of its young

15 people.

16 (5) Many parents report that they would like to

17 enroll their children in after-school enrichment ac18 tivities but that they are prevented from doing so by

19 prohibitive costs, transportation difficulties, worries

20 about neighborhood safety, and a shortage of avail21 able options.

22 (6) While there are gaps in the availability of

23 after-school programs, there are many outstanding

24 programs for the Nation’s youth, including programs

25 sponsored by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America,
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1 the Boy Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts of Amer2 ica, YMCAs, mentoring programs, and athletic and

3 other programs operated by public schools, churches,

4 day care centers, parks, recreation centers, family

5 day care, community organizations, law enforcement

6 agencies, service providers, and for-profit and non7 profit organizations.

8 (7) Before the United States can meaningfully

9 expand the supply of after-school programs, accurate

10 information must be available regarding the number,

11 type, and appropriateness of after-school programs

12 available, significant areas of unmet need in the

13 quality and availability of after-school programs,

14 barriers which prevent or deter the participation of

15 children in after-school programs, and barriers to

16 improving the quality and availability of after-school

17 programs.

18 SEC. 3. AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM GRANTS.

19 The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act

20 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) is amended—

21 (1) in section 657A(b)(3), by inserting ‘‘, in22 cluding after-school programs’’ after ‘‘child care’’;

23 (2) in section 657B, by striking

24 ‘‘$1,000,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,010,000,000’’;

25 and
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1 (3) by inserting after section 658G the fol2 lowing new section:

3 ‘‘SEC. 658H. AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM GRANTS.

4 ‘‘A State that receives funds to carry out this Act

5 for a fiscal year shall use not less than 1 percent of the

6 amount of such funds, in coordination with child care re7 source and referral centers to the extent practicable for

8 activities that are designed to improve the quality and

9 availability of after-school programs, including one or

10 more of the following:

11 ‘‘(1) Informational assistance, including assist12 ance to kindergartens, elementary schools, and high

13 schools within the State, for placement of children in

14 kindergarten through high school in age-appropriate,

15 enriching after-school programs.

16 ‘‘(2) Coordination of after-school programs, in17 cluding those funded with Federal or State funds.

18 ‘‘(3) Development of innovative, age-appro19 priate, age-appealing, and enriching after-school pro20 grams.

21 ‘‘(4) Development of creative funding strategies

22 to help make after-school programs affordable for all

23 parents.’’.
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1 SEC. 4. NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR AFTER-SCHOOL

2 PROGRAMS.

3 The Secretary of Health and Human Services,

4 through the Commissioner on Children, Youth, and Fami5 lies, and in consultation with the Secretary of Education,

6 the Attorney General, the Secretary of Agriculture, and

7 representatives from State child care agencies and child

8 care resource and referral centers, youth development or9 ganizations, State and local education agencies, relevant

10 private foundations, and other relevant organizations,

11 shall establish and maintain a national clearinghouse to

12 provide technical assistance regarding the establishment

13 and operation of after-school programs and models of

14 after-school programs. The national clearinghouse shall be

15 available to the public, including via Internet, and shall

16 serve as a resource for child care organizations, commu17 nities, and individuals seeking to improve the quality and

18 availability of after-school programs.

19 SEC. 5. GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE REPORT.

20 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment

21 of this Act, the General Accounting Office shall transmit

22 to Congress a report containing the following:

23 (1) For each State, a description of the types

24 of after-school programs that are available for stu25 dents in kindergarten through grade 12, including

26 programs sponsored by the Boys and Girls Clubs of
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1 America, the Boy Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts

2 of America, YMCAs, and athletic and other pro3 grams operated by public schools and other State

4 and local agencies.

5 (2) For 15 communities selected to represent a

6 variety of regional, population, and demographic

7 profiles, a detailed analysis of all of the after-school

8 programs that are available for students in kinder9 garten through grade 12, including programs spon10 sored by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the

11 Boy Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts of America,

12 YMCAs, mentoring programs, athletic programs,

13 and programs operated by public schools, churches,

14 day care centers, parks, recreation centers, family

15 day care, community organizations, law enforcement

16 agencies, service providers, and for-profit and non17 profit organizations.

18 (3) For each State, a description of significant

19 areas of unmet need in the quality and availability

20 of after-school programs.

21 (4) For each State, a description of barriers

22 which prevent or deter the participation of children

23 in after-school programs.
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1 (5) For each State, a description of barriers to

2 improving the quality and availability of after-school

3 programs.

4 (6) A list of activities, other than after-school

5 programs, in which students in kindergarten through

6 grade 12 participate when not in school, including

7 jobs, volunteer opportunities, and other non-school

8 affiliated programs.

9 (7) An analysis of the value of the activities

10 listed pursuant to paragraph (6) to the well-being

11 and educational development of students in kinder12 garten through grade 12.

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