113 S2367 IS: Healthy Kids Outdoors Act of 2014
U.S. Senate
2014-05-21
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.
This Act may be cited as
the Healthy Kids Outdoors Act of 2014
.
2.
Congress finds as follows:(1)Children today are spending less time outdoors than any generation in human history, as evidenced
by studies that show children enjoy half as much time outdoors today as
they did just 20 years ago, while spending more than 71/2 hours every day in front of electronic media.(2)The health of our children is at risk as evidenced by the growing obesity crisis where, in the past
30 years, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and
quadrupled in adolescents, costing the economy of the United States
billions of dollars each year.(3)Our military readiness is declining as nearly 1 in 4 applicants to the military is rejected for
being overweight or obese, which is the most common reason for medical
disqualification.(4)Research has shown that military children and families are facing increased stress and mental
strain and challenges due to multiple, extended deployments. Military
family service organizations have developed programs that connect military
children and families with positive, meaningful outdoor experiences that
benefit mental and physical health, but they lack sufficient resources to
meet increasing demand.(5)In addition to the negative economic impact of childhood obesity, the outdoor retail industry, many
local tourist destinations or gateway communities
, and State fish and wildlife agencies rely on revenue generated when individuals spend time
outdoors to create jobs in local communities.(6)Over the past several years, urbanization, changing land use patterns, increasing road traffic, and
inadequate solutions to addressing these challenges in the built
environment have combined to make it more difficult for many people of the
United States to walk or bike to schools, parks, and play areas or
experience the natural environment in general.(7)Spending time in green spaces outside the home, including public lands, parks, play areas, and
gardens, can increase concentration, inhibition of initial impulses, and
self-discipline and has been shown to reduce stress and mental fatigue. In
one study, children who were exposed to greener environments in a public
housing area demonstrated less aggression, violence, and stress.(8)Visitation to our Nation’s public lands has declined or remained flat in recent years, and yet,
connecting with nature and the great outdoors in our communities is
critical to fostering the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts who will
visit, appreciate, and become stewards of our Nation’s public lands.(9)Spending time outdoors in nature is beneficial to our children’s physical, mental, and emotional
health and has been proven to decrease symptoms of attention deficit and
hyperactivity disorder, stimulate brain development, improve motor skills,
result in better sleep, reduce stress, increase creativity, improve mood,
and reduce children’s risk of developing myopia.(10)Children who spend time playing outside are more likely to take risks, seek out adventure, develop
self-confidence, and respect the value of nature. A direct childhood
experience with nature before the age of 11 promotes a long-term
connection to nature.(11)Conservation education and outdoor recreation experiences such as camping, hiking, boating,
hunting, fishing, archery, recreational shooting, wildlife watching, and
others are critical to engaging young people in the outdoors.(12)As children become more disconnected from the natural world, the hunting and angling conservation
legacy of America is at risk.(13)Hunters and anglers play a critical role in reconnecting young people with nature, protecting our
natural resources, and fostering a lifelong understanding of the value of
conserving the natural world.(14)Research demonstrates that hunters who become engaged in hunting as children are among the most
active and interested hunters as adults. The vast majority of hunters
report they were introduced to hunting between the ages of 10 and 12, and
the overwhelming majority of children are introduced to hunting by an
adult.(15)Parks and recreation, youth-serving, service-learning, conservation, health, education, and
built-environment organizations, facilities, and personnel provide
critical resources and infrastructure for connecting children and families
with nature.(16)It takes many dedicated men and women to work to preserve, protect, enhance, and restore America’s
natural resources, and with an aging workforce in the natural resource
professions, it is critical for the next generation to have an
appreciation for nature and be ready to take over these responsibilities.(17)Place-based service-learning opportunities use our lands and waters as the context for learning by
engaging students in the process of exploration, action, and reflection.
Physical activity outdoors connected with meaningful community service to
solve real-world problems, such as removing invasive plants or removing
trash from a streambed, strengthens communities by engaging youth as
citizen stewards.(18)States nationwide and their community-based partners have some notable programs that connect
children and families with nature; however, most States lack sufficient
resources and a comprehensive strategy to effectively engage State
agencies across multiple fields.(19)States need to engage in cross-sector agency and nonprofit collaboration that involves public
health and wellness, parks and recreation, transportation and city
planning, and other sectors focused on connecting children and families
with the outdoors to increase coordination and effective implementation of
the policy tools and programs that a State can bring to bear to provide
outdoor opportunities for children and families.
3.
In this Act:
(1)
The term eligible entity means—
(A)
a State;
or
(B)
a consortium from
one State that may include such State and municipalities, entities of
local or
tribal governments, parks and recreation departments or districts, school
districts, institutions of higher education, or nonprofit organizations.
(2)
The term local partners means a
municipality, entity of local or tribal government, parks and recreation
departments or districts, Indian tribe, school district, institution of
higher
education, nonprofit organization, or a consortium of local partners.
(3)
The
term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
(4)
The
term State means any of the several States, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin
Islands,
Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
any
other territory or possession of the United States, or any Indian tribe.
4.
Cooperative
agreements for development or implementation of healthy kids outdoors
State
strategies
(a)
The Secretary is
authorized to issue one cooperative agreement per State to eligible
entities to
develop, implement, and update a 5-year State strategy, to be known as a
Healthy Kids Outdoors State Strategy
, designed to encourage
the people of the United States, especially children, youth, and families,
to be physically
active
outdoors.
(b)
Submission and
approval of strategies
(1)
An application for a cooperative agreement
under subsection (a) shall—
(A)
be submitted not later than 120 days after
the Secretary publishes guidelines under subsection (f)(1); and
(B)
include a Healthy Kids Outdoors State
Strategy meeting the requirements of subsection (c) or a proposal for
development and submission of such a strategy.
(2)
Approval of
strategy; peer review
Not
later than 90 days after submission of a Healthy Kids Outdoors State
Strategy,
the Secretary shall, through a peer review process, approve or recommend
changes to the strategy.
(3)
An eligible entity
receiving funds under this section shall update its Healthy Kids Outdoors
State
Strategy at least once every 5 years. Continued funding under this section
shall be contingent upon submission of such updated strategies and reports
that
document impact evaluation methods consistent with the guidelines in
subsection
(f)(1) and lessons learned from implementing the strategy.
(c)
Comprehensive
strategy requirements
The
Healthy Kids Outdoors State Strategy under subsection (a) shall include—
(1)
a description of how the eligible entity
will encourage the people of the United States, especially children,
youth, and families, to be
physically active in the outdoors through State, local, and tribal—
(A)
public health systems;
(B)
public parks and recreation systems;
(C)
public transportation and city planning
systems; and
(D)
other public systems that connect
the people of the United States, especially children, youth, and families,
to the outdoors;
(2)
a description of how the eligible entity
will partner with nongovernmental organizations, especially those that
serve
children, youth, and families, including those serving military families
and
tribal agencies;
(3)
a description of how State agencies will
collaborate with each other to implement the strategy;
(4)
a description of how funding will be spent
through local planning and implementation subgrants under subsection
(d);
(5)
a description of how the eligible entity
will evaluate the effectiveness of, and measure the impact of, the
strategy,
including an estimate of the costs associated with such evaluation;
(6)
a description of how the eligible entity
will provide opportunities for public involvement in developing and
implementing the strategy;
(7)
a description of how the strategy will
increase visitation to Federal public lands within the State; and
(8)
a description of
how the eligible entity will leverage private funds to expand
opportunities and
further implement the strategy.
(d)
Local planning
and implementation
(1)
A Healthy Kids
Outdoors State Strategy shall provide for subgrants by the cooperative
agreement recipient under subsection (a) to local partners to implement
the
strategy through one or more of the program activities described in
paragraph
(2).
(2)
Program activities
may include—
(A)
implementing outdoor recreation and youth
mentoring programs that provide opportunities to experience the outdoors,
be
physically active, and teach skills for lifelong participation in outdoor
activities, including fishing, hunting, recreational shooting, archery,
hiking,
camping, outdoor play in natural environments, and wildlife watching;
(B)
implementing programs that connect
communities with safe parks, green spaces, and outdoor recreation areas
through
affordable public transportation and trail systems that encourage walking,
biking, and increased physical activity outdoors;
(C)
implementing school-based programs that use
outdoor learning environments, such as wildlife habitats or gardens, and
programs that use service learning to restore natural areas and maintain
recreational assets; and
(D)
implementing education programs for parents
and caregivers about the health benefits of active time outdoors to fight
obesity and increase the quality of life for the people of the United
States, especially
children,
youth, and families.
(e)
In making cooperative agreements under
subsection (a) and subgrants under subsection (d)(1), the Secretary and
the
recipient under subsection (a), respectively, shall give preference to
entities
that serve individuals who have limited opportunities to experience
nature,
including those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged or have a
disability or
suffer disproportionately from physical and mental health stressors.
(f)
Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and after notice and opportunity for public
comment,
the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register guidelines on the
implementation of this Act, including guidelines for—
(1)
developing and submitting strategies and
evaluation methods under subsection (b); and
(2)
technical assistance and dissemination of
best practices under section 7.
(g)
Not later than 2 years after the Secretary
approves the Healthy Kids Outdoors State Strategy of an eligible entity
receiving funds under this section, and every year thereafter, the
eligible
entity shall submit to the Secretary a report on the implementation of the
strategy based on the entity’s evaluation and assessment of meeting the
goals
specified in the strategy.
(h)
An eligible entity
receiving funding under subsection (a) for a fiscal year—
(1)
may use not more than 5 percent of the
funding for administrative expenses; and
(2)
shall use at least 95 percent of the
funding for subgrants to local partners under subsection (d).
(i)
An eligible entity receiving funding under
subsection (a) for a fiscal year shall provide a 25-percent match through
in-kind contributions or cash.
5.
National
strategy for encouraging the people of the United States to be active
outdoors
(a)
Not later than September 30, 2015, the President, in
cooperation with appropriate Federal departments and agencies, shall
develop
and issue a national strategy for encouraging the people of the United
States, especially
children,
youth, and families, to be physically active outdoors. Such a strategy
shall
include—
(1)
identification of
barriers to the people of the United States, especially children, youth,
and families, spending
healthy time outdoors and specific policy solutions to address those
barriers;
(2)
identification of
opportunities for partnerships with Federal, State, tribal, and local
partners;
(3)
coordination of
efforts among Federal departments and agencies to address the impacts of
the people of the United States, especially children, youth, and families,
spending less active
time
outdoors on—
(A)
public health,
including childhood obesity, attention deficit disorders and stress;
(B)
the future of
conservation in the United States; and
(C)
the
economy;
(4)
identification of
ongoing research needs to document the health, conservation, economic, and
other outcomes of implementing the national strategy and State
strategies;
(5)
coordination and
alignment with Healthy Kids Outdoors State Strategies; and
(6)
an action plan
for implementing the strategy at the Federal level.
(b)
(1)
Throughout the process of developing the national
strategy under subsection (a), the President may use, incorporate, or
otherwise
consider existing Federal plans and strategies that, in whole or in part,
contribute to connecting the people of the United States, especially
children, youth, and
families,
with the outdoors and shall provide for public participation, including a
national summit of participants with demonstrated expertise in encouraging
individuals to be physically active outdoors in nature.
(2)
Updating the
national strategy
The President shall update the national
strategy not less than 5 years after the date the first national strategy
is
issued under subsection (a), and every 5 years thereafter. In updating the
strategy, the President shall incorporate results of the evaluation under
section 6.
6.
National
evaluation of health impacts
The Secretary, in coordination with the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall—
(1)
develop
recommendations for appropriate evaluation measures and criteria for a
study of
national significance on the health impacts of the strategies under this
Act;
and
(2)
carry out such a
study.
7.
Technical
assistance and best practices
The Secretary shall—
(1)
provide technical assistance to grantees
under section 4 through cooperative agreements with national organizations
with
a proven track record of encouraging the people of the United States,
especially children,
youth, and
families, to be physically active outdoors; and
(2)
disseminate best practices that emerge from
strategies funded under this Act.
8.
Authorization of
appropriations
(a)
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary
to carry out this Act—
(1)
$1,000,000 for
fiscal year 2015;
(2)
$2,000,000 for
fiscal year 2016; and
(3)
$3,000,000 for
fiscal year 2017.
(b)
Of
the amounts made available to carry out this Act for a fiscal year, not
more
than 5 percent may be made available for carrying out section 7.
(c)
Funds made available under this Act shall be used to
supplement, and not supplant, any other Federal, State, or local funds
available for activities that encourage the people of the United States,
especially children,
youth,
and families to be physically active outdoors.