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) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation 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.
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 ‘‘After-School Children’s
Education (ACE) Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Children’s activities outside of school have
a critical and long lasting impact on school achieve-
ment and future success.
(2) Approximately 24,000,000 school-age chil-
dren are in need of adult supervision while their par-
ents are at work.
(3) Experts estimate that almost 5,000,000
school-age children spend time without adult super-
vision during a typical week and that these children
are more likely to engage in risky behavior such as
drug and alcohol abuse, sexual activity, loitering on
street corners, and truancy.
(4) The prosperity of the Nation depends upon
maximizing and fulfilling the potential of its young
people.
(5) Many parents report that they would like to
enroll their children in after-school enrichment ac-
tivities but that they are prevented from doing so by
prohibitive costs, transportation difficulties, worries
about neighborhood safety, and a shortage of avail-
able options.
(6) While there are gaps in the availability of
after-school programs, there are many outstanding
programs for the Nation’s youth, including programs
sponsored by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America,
the Boy Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts of Amer-
ica, YMCAs, mentoring programs, and athletic and
other programs operated by public schools, churches,
day care centers, parks, recreation centers, family
day care, community organizations, law enforcement
agencies, service providers, and for-profit and non-
profit organizations.
(7) Before the United States can meaningfully
expand the supply of after-school programs, accurate
information must be available regarding the number,
type, and appropriateness of after-school programs
available, significant areas of unmet need in the
quality and availability of after-school programs,
barriers which prevent or deter the participation of
children in after-school programs, and barriers to
improving the quality and availability of after-school
programs.
SEC. 3. AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM GRANTS.
The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) is amended—
(1) in section 657A(b)(3), by inserting ‘‘, in-
cluding after-school programs’’ after ‘‘child care’’;
(2) 
in 
section 
657B, 
by 
striking
‘‘$1,000,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,010,000,000’’;
and
(3) by inserting after section 658G the fol-
lowing new section:
‘‘SEC. 658H. AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM GRANTS.
‘‘A State that receives funds to carry out this Act
for a fiscal year shall use not less than 1 percent of the
amount of such funds, in coordination with child care re-
source and referral centers to the extent practicable for
activities that are designed to improve the quality and
availability of after-school programs, including one or
more of the following:
‘‘(1) Informational assistance, including assist-
ance to kindergartens, elementary schools, and high
schools within the State, for placement of children in
kindergarten through high school in age-appropriate,
enriching after-school programs.
‘‘(2) Coordination of after-school programs, in-
cluding those funded with Federal or State funds.
‘‘(3) Development of innovative, age-appro-
priate, age-appealing, and enriching after-school pro-
grams.
‘‘(4) Development of creative funding strategies
to help make after-school programs affordable for all
parents.’’.