I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2708
To provide for character development.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
DECEMBER 5, 1995
Mr. RIGGS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Economic and Educational Opportunities
A BILL
To provide for character development.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND PURPOSES.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Character Development Act’’.
(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
(1) to reduce the school dropout rate for at-risk
youth;
(2) to improve the academic performance of at-
risk youth; and
(3) to reduce juvenile delinquency and gang
participation.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘at-risk youth’’ means a youth at
risk of—
(A) educational failure;
(B) dropping out of school; or
(C) involvement in delinquent activities;
(2) the term ‘‘eligible local educational agency’’
means a local educational agency that has entered
into a partnership, with a community-based organi-
zation that provides one-to-one mentoring services,
to carry out the authorized activities described in
section 5 in accordance with this Act;
(3) the terms ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘local edu-
cational agency’’, and ‘‘secondary school’’, have the
meanings given such terms in section 14101 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 8801);
(4) the term ‘‘mentor’’ means a person who
works with an at-risk youth on a one-to-one basis,
to establish a supportive relationship with the youth
and to provide the youth with academic assistance
and exposure to new experiences that enhance the
youth’s ability to become a better student and a re-
sponsible citizen; and
(5) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of Education.
SEC. 3. MENTORING PROGRAMS.
(a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary is author-
ized to award grants to eligible local educational agencies
to enable such agencies to establish mentoring programs
that—
(1) are designed to link—
(A) individual at-risk youth; with
(B) responsible, individual adults who
serve as mentors; and
(2) are intended to—
(A) increase at-risk youth participation in,
and enhance the ability of such youth to benefit
from, elementary and secondary education;
(B) discourage at-risk youth from—
(i) using illegal drugs;
(ii) violence;
(iii) using dangerous weapons;
(iv) criminal activity not described in
clauses (i), (ii), and (iii); and
(v) involvement in gangs;
(C) promote personal and social respon-
sibility among at-risk youth;
(d) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding grants
under this section, the Secretary shall give consideration
to—
(1) providing an equitable geographic distribu-
tion of such grants, including awarding such grants
for mentoring programs in both rural and urban
areas;
(2) the quality of the mentoring program de-
scribed in the application submitted under section 7,
including—
(A) the resources, if any, that will be dedi-
cated to providing participating at-risk youth
with opportunities for job training or post-
secondary education; and
(B) the degree to which parents, teachers,
community-based organizations, and the local
community participate in the design and imple-
mentation of the mentoring program; and
(3) the capability of the eligible local edu-
cational 
agency 
to 
effectively 
implement 
the
mentoring program.
SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION GRANTS.
The Secretary is authorized to award grants to na-
tional organizations or agencies serving youth to enable
such organizations or agencies—
(1) to conduct a multisite demonstration
project, involving 5 to 10 project sites, that—
(A) provides an opportunity to compare
various one-to-one mentoring models for the
purpose of evaluating the effectiveness and effi-
ciency of such models;
(B) allows for innovative programs de-
signed under the oversight of a national organi-
zation or agency serving youth, which programs
may include—
(i) technical assistance;
(ii) training; and
(iii) research and evaluation; and
(C) disseminates the results of such dem-
onstration project to allow for the determina-
tion of the best practices for various mentoring
programs;
(2) to develop and evaluate screening standards
for school-linked mentoring programs; and
(3) to develop and evaluate volunteer recruit-
ment activities for school-linked mentoring pro-
grams.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.
(a) PERMITTED USES.—Grant funds awarded under
this Act (other than grant funds awarded under section
4) shall be used for—
(1) hiring of mentoring coordinators and sup-
port staff;
(2) recruitment, screening and training of adult
mentors;
(3) reimbursement of mentors for reasonable
incidental expenditures, such as transportation, that
are directly associated with mentoring, except that
such expenditures shall not exceed $500 per mentor
per calendar year; or
(4) such other purposes as the Secretary deter-
mines may be reasonable.
(b) PROHIBITED USES.—Grant funds awarded under
this Act shall not be used—
(1) to directly compensate a mentor, except as
provided under subsection (a)(3);
(2) to obtain educational or other materials or
equipment that would otherwise be used in the ordi-
nary course of the grant recipient’s operations;
(3) to support litigation; or
(4) for any other purposes that the Secretary
determines are prohibited.
SEC. 6. REGULATIONS AND GUIDELINES.
(a) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary, after consulta-
tion with the Secretary of Health and Human Services,
the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Labor, shall
provide for the promulgation of regulations to implement
this Act.
(b) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall develop and
distribute to eligible local educational agencies receiving
a grant under section 3 specific model guidelines for the
screening of mentors.
SEC. 7. APPLICATIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Each entity desiring a grant
under this Act shall submit an application to the Secretary
at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such
information as the Secretary may reasonably require.
(b) MENTORING PROGRAMS.—Each application sub-
mitted under subsection (a) for a grant under section 3
shall contain—
(1) information on the at-risk youth expected to
be served;
(2) a provision describing the mechanism for
matching at-risk youth with mentors based on the
needs of the at-risk youth;
(3) an assurance that no mentor will be as-
signed to more than one at-risk youth, so as to en-
sure a one-to-one mentoring relationship;
(4) an assurance that a mentoring program op-
erated in a secondary school will provide at-risk
youth with a variety of experiences and support, in-
cluding—
(A) an opportunity to spend time in a work
environment and, when possible, participate in
the work environment;
(B) an opportunity to witness the job skills
that will be required for the at-risk youth to ob-
tain employment upon graduation;
(C) assistance with homework assignments;
and
(D) exposure to experiences that the at-
risk youth might not otherwise encounter;
(5) an assurance that the mentoring program
operated in elementary schools will provide at-risk
youth with—
(A) academic assistance;
(B) exposure to new experiences and ac-
tivities that at-risk youth might not encounter
on their own; and
(C) emotional support;
(6) an assurance that the mentoring program
will be monitored to ensure that each at-risk youth
participating in the mentoring program benefits
from a mentor relationship, including providing a
new mentor assignment if the original mentoring re-
lationship is not beneficial to the at-risk youth;
(7) the methods by which mentors and at-risk
youth will be recruited to the mentoring program;
(8) the method by which prospective mentors
will be screened; and
(9) the training that will be provided to men-
tors.
SEC. 8. EVALUATION.
(a) EVALUATION.—The Comptroller General of the
United States shall enter into a contract, with an evaluat-
ing organization that has demonstrated experience in con-
ducting evaluations, for the conduct of an ongoing rigor-
ous evaluation of the programs and activities assisted
under this Act.
(b) EVALUATION CRITERIA.—The Comptroller Gen-
eral of the United States, in consultation with the Sec-
retary, shall establish minimum criteria for evaluating the
programs and activities assisted under this Act. Such cri-
teria shall provide for a description of the implementation
of each program or activity assisted under this Act and
such program or activity’s effect on all participants,
schools, communities, and youth served by such program
or activity.
SEC. 9. REPORTS.
(a) REPORT BY GRANT RECIPIENTS.—Each entity
receiving a grant under this Act shall submit to the evalu-
ating organization entering into the contract under section
8(a)(1) an annual report regarding any program or activ-
ity assisted under this Act. Each such report shall be sub-
mitted at such a time, in such a manner, and accompanied
by such information, as such evaluating organization may
require.
(b) REPORTS
BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The
Comptroller General shall submit to Congress not later
than September 30, 1999, a report regarding the success
and effectiveness of grants awarded under this Act in re-
ducing the school dropout rate, improving academic per-
formance of at-risk youth, and reducing juvenile delin-
quency and gang participation.
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) MENTORING PROGRAMS.—There is authorized to
be appropriated $35,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000 to carry out section
3.
(b) IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION GRANTS.—
There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for
each of the fiscal years 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000
to carry out section 4.
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