I 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4592
To establish a national demonstration project to improve intervention pro-
grams for the most disadvantaged children and youth, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 16, 2004
Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Mr. WALDEN of Oregon, Ms. HOOLEY of Or-
egon, and Mr. CHABOT) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To establish a national demonstration project to improve 
intervention programs for the most disadvantaged chil-
dren and youth, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Friends of the Children 
National Demonstration Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that—
(1) the single most important protective factor 
in a child’s life is a long-term relationship with a 
supportive, caring adult; 
(2) while the most disadvantaged children can 
be accurately identified as early as age 5, very few 
long-term intervention programs are initiated at this 
age; 
(3) no Federal competitive grant or contract 
program exists to fund innovative programs match-
ing the most disadvantaged children beginning at 
age 5 with ‘‘professional mentors’’ for 10 years or 
more; 
(4) privately-funded programs matching ‘‘pro-
fessional mentors’’ with the most disadvantaged chil-
dren beginning at an early age for the child and 
lasting for 10 years or more, show great promise in 
benefiting the most disadvantaged children and 
youth; and 
(5) violent juvenile crime is a national problem, 
and the most disadvantaged children and youth need 
support specifically targeted to help them from be-
coming involved in, or a victim of, violent juvenile 
crime. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are as follows:
(1) To establish a national demonstration 
project to promote learning about successful early 
and sustained childhood interventions, with pro-
grams carried out by Friends of the Children local 
chapters, by employing and measuring an effective 
approach for improving the lives and future pros-
pects of the most disadvantaged children and youth. 
(2) To demonstrate an effective early interven-
tion program that serves the most disadvantaged 
children and youth through private/public partner-
ships to prevent the need for costly incarceration, re-
habilitation, and treatment at a later date. 
(3) To document best practices for conducting 
a successful early intervention for the most dis-
advantaged children and youth, based on the results 
of Friends of the Children local chapters. 
(4) To produce lessons and data from the oper-
ating experiences of those Friends of the Children 
local chapters that will provide information to im-
prove policy in the public and private sectors. 
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available to 
carry out this Act, the Attorney General shall carry out 
a demonstration project under which the Attorney General 
makes a grant to Friends of the Children, National Office,
to be subgranted by such office to Friends of the Children 
local chapters to pay for the Federal share of the cost of 
carrying out early intervention programs under this Act. 
(b) ELIGIBLE LOCAL CHAPTERS.—Friends of the 
Children local chapters serving the following cities are eli-
gible to participate in the demonstration project: 
(1) Chester, Pennsylvania. 
(2) Cincinnati, Ohio. 
(3) Eugene, Oregon. 
(4) Klamath Falls, Oregon. 
(5) New York, New York. 
(6) Portland, Oregon. 
(7) Salem, Oregon. 
(8) San Francisco, California. 
(9) Seattle, Washington. 
(10) Wilmington, Delaware. 
(11) Boston, Massachusetts. 
(c) FEDERAL SHARE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the 
cost referred to in subsection (a) may not exceed 75 
percent. 
(2) NON-FEDERAL
SHARE.—The non-Federal 
share of such cost may be provided in cash or in-
kind.