[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 856 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 856

    To establish a Federal Youth Development Council to improve the 
administration and coordination of Federal programs serving youth, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 16, 2005

   Mr. Osborne (for himself, Mr. Ford, Mr. Hoekstra, and Mr. Payne) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                      Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To establish a Federal Youth Development Council to improve the 
administration and coordination of Federal programs serving youth, and 
                          for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Youth Coordination Act''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP.

    (a) Members and Terms.--There is established the Federal Youth 
Development Council (in this Act referred to as the ``Council'') 
composed of--
            (1) the Attorney General, the Secretary of Agriculture, the 
        Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
        the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary 
        of Education, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
        Commerce, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland 
        Security, the Director of National Drug Control Policy, the 
        Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Assistant 
        to the President for Domestic Policy, the Director of the 
        U.S.A. Freedom Corps, the Deputy Assistant to the President and 
        Director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community 
        Initiatives, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation 
        for National and Community Service, and other Federal officials 
        as directed by the President, to serve for the life of the 
        Council; and
            (2) such additional members as the President, in 
        consultation with the majority and minority leadership of the 
        House of Representatives and the Senate, shall appoint from 
        among representatives of faith-based organizations, community-
        based organizations, child and youth focused foundations, 
        universities, nonprofit organizations, youth service providers, 
        State and local government, and youth in disadvantaged 
        situations, to serve for terms of 2 years and who may be 
        reappointed by the President for a second 2-year term.
    (b) Chairperson.--The Chairperson of the Council shall be 
designated by the President.
    (c) Meetings.--The Council shall meet at the call of the 
Chairperson, not less frequently than 4 times each year. The first 
meeting shall be not less than 6 months after the date of enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE COUNCIL.

     The duties of the Council shall be--
            (1) to ensure communication among agencies administering 
        programs designed to serve youth, especially those in 
        disadvantaged situations;
            (2) to assess the needs of youth, especially those in 
        disadvantaged situations, and those who work with youth, and 
        the quantity and quality of Federal programs offering services, 
        supports, and opportunities to help youth in their educational, 
        social, emotional, physical, vocational, and civic development;
            (3) to set objectives and quantifiable 5-year goals for 
        such programs;
            (4) to make recommendations for the allocation of resources 
        in support of such goals and objectives;
            (5) to identify target populations of youth who are 
        disproportionately at risk and assist agencies in focusing 
        additional resources on them;
            (6) to develop a plan, including common indicators of youth 
        well-being, and assist agencies in coordinating to achieve such 
        goals and objectives;
            (7) to assist Federal agencies, at the request of one or 
        more such agency, in collaborating on model programs and 
        demonstration projects focusing on special populations, 
        including youth in foster care, migrant youth, projects to 
        promote parental involvement, and projects that work to involve 
        young people in service programs;
            (8) to solicit and document ongoing input and 
        recommendations from--
                    (A) youth, especially those in disadvantaged 
                situations, by forming an advisory council of youth to 
                work with the Council;
                    (B) national youth development experts, parents, 
                faith and community-based organizations, foundations, 
                business leaders, youth service providers, and 
                teachers;
                    (C) researchers; and
                    (D) State and local government officials; and
            (9) to work with Federal agencies to conduct high-quality 
        research and evaluation, identify and replicate model programs, 
        and provide technical assistance, and, subject to the 
        availability of appropriations, to fund additional research to 
        fill identified needs.

SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE OF STAFF.

    (a) Director and Staff.--The Chairperson, in consultation with the 
Council, shall employ and set the rate of pay for a Director and any 
necessary staff to assist in carrying out its duties.
    (b) Staff of Federal Agencies.--Upon request of the Council, the 
head of any Federal department or agency may detail, on a reimbursable 
basis, any of the personnel of that department or agency to the Council 
to assist it in carrying out its duties under this Act.

SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COUNCIL.

    (a) Mails.--The Council may use the United States mails in the same 
manner and under the same conditions as other departments and agencies 
of the United States.
    (b) Administrative Support Services.--Upon the request of the 
Council, the Administrator of General Services shall provide to the 
Council, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative support services 
necessary for the Council to carry out its responsibilities under this 
Act.

SEC. 6. ASSISTANCE TO STATES.

    (a) In General.--Subject to the availability of appropriations, the 
Council may provide technical assistance and make grants to States to 
support State councils for coordinating State youth efforts.
    (b) Applications.--Applicants for grants must be States. 
Applications for grants under this section shall be submitted at such 
time and in such form as determined by the Council.
    (c) Priority.--Priority for grants will be given to States that--
            (1) have already initiated an interagency coordination 
        effort focused on youth;
            (2) plan to work with at least 1 locality to support a 
        local youth council for coordinating local youth efforts;
            (3) demonstrate the inclusion of nonprofit organizations, 
        including faith-based and community-based organizations, in the 
        work of the State council; and
            (4) demonstrate the inclusion of young people, especially 
        those in disadvantaged situations, in the work of the State 
        council.

SEC. 7. REPORT.

    Not later than 1 year after the Council holds its first meeting, 
and on an annual basis for a period of 4 years thereafter, the Council 
shall transmit to the President and to Congress a report of the 
findings and recommendations of the Council. The report shall--
            (1) include a comprehensive compilation of recent research 
        and statistical reporting by various Federal agencies on the 
        overall well-being of youth;
            (2) include the assessment of the needs of youth and those 
        who serve them, the goals and objectives, the target 
        populations of at-risk youth, and the plan called for in 
        section 3;
            (3) report on the link between quality of service 
        provision, technical assistance and successful youth outcomes 
        and recommend ways to coordinate and improve Federal training 
        and technical assistance, information sharing, and 
        communication among the various programs and agencies serving 
        youth;
            (4) include recommendations to better integrate and 
        coordinate policies across agencies at the Federal, State, and 
        local levels, including recommendations for legislation and 
        administrative actions;
            (5) include a summary of actions the Council has taken at 
        the request of Federal agencies to facilitate collaboration and 
        coordination on youth serving programs and the results of those 
        collaborations, if available; and
            (6) include a summary of the input and recommendations from 
        the groups identified in section 3(8).

SEC. 8. TERMINATION.

    The Council shall terminate 60 days after transmitting its fifth 
and final report pursuant to section 6.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years 2005 
through 2009 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
                                 <all>