[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 545 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 545
To develop capacity and infrastructure for mentoring programs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 9, 2009
Mr. Kerry (for himself, Mr. Specter, Mr. Akaka, Ms. Snowe, Mr.
Whitehouse, and Mr. Carper) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To develop capacity and infrastructure for mentoring programs.
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 ``Mentoring for All Act of 2009''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to support youth mentoring through the
creation of a $50,000,000 competitive fund to serve more of the at-risk
youth of the United States. Such monies would build and strengthen
mentoring infrastructure and provide subgrants to increase the
availability of mentoring in the United States.
SEC. 3. GRANTS TO DEVELOP CAPACITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE FOR MENTORING
PROGRAMS.
Title I of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42
U.S.C. 12511 et seq.) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subtitles F through I as subtitles G
through J, respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subtitle E the following:
``Subtitle F--Grants to Develop Capacity and Infrastructure for
Mentoring Programs
``SEC. 167. DEFINITIONS.
``In this subtitle:
``(1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
``(A) a mentoring program;
``(B) a nonprofit organization (such as an after-
school center or church), a school, or local
governmental agency, that desires to add a mentoring
component to the work of the organization, school, or
agency; or
``(C) a local collaborative.
``(2) Local collaborative.--The term `local collaborative'
means a collaborative that--
``(A) shall include--
``(i) not less than 2 youth mentoring
organizations experienced in providing quality
mentoring services; and
``(ii) not less than 1 entity that can
provide volunteers (such as a corporation,
institution of higher education, or service
organization); and
``(B) may include 1 or more entities described in
paragraph (1)(B).
``(3) Local mentoring partnership.--The term `local
mentoring partnership' means a nonpartisan, collaborative,
public-private sector effort that--
``(A) works to grow and strengthen direct-service
mentoring programs in all forms and settings to--
``(i) increase the number of at-risk youth
in the local service area receiving mentoring
from screened and trained adult mentors;
``(ii) increase the resources in the local
service area dedicated to mentoring;
``(iii) promote quality standards for
mentoring programs; and
``(iv) expand mentoring opportunities
tailored to the needs and circumstances of
youth;
``(B) implements a service area mentoring plan
that--
``(i) raises public awareness about
mentoring via a media campaign throughout the
local service area;
``(ii) increases recruitment and referral
of mentors;
``(iii) develops new mentoring resources;
``(iv) provides affordable and accessible
mentoring training and technical assistance;
and
``(v) collects and tracks mentoring data;
``(C) is not a mentoring program; and
``(D) does not provide direct mentoring services to
youth.
``(4) Mentoring.--The term `mentoring' means a structured
and trusting relationship--
``(A) that brings youth together with caring
individuals who serve as mentors and offer guidance,
support, and encouragement aimed at developing the
competence and character of the mentees;
``(B) that may take many forms, including--
``(i) traditional mentoring (1 adult to 1
youth);
``(ii) group mentoring (1 adult to more
than 1 but not more than 4 youth);
``(iii) team mentoring (several adults
working with small groups of youth, in which
the adult to youth ratio is not greater than 1
to 4);
``(iv) peer mentoring (caring youth
mentoring other youth); and
``(v) e-mentoring (mentoring via e-mail and
the Internet); and
``(C) in which the mentor and mentee meet or
communicate regularly for a minimum of 4 hours per
month (or, in the case of e-mentoring, the mentor and
mentee communicate on at least a weekly basis) for not
less than 9 months.
``(5) Mentoring program.--The term `mentoring program'
means a nonprofit organization, school, or local governmental
agency, that provides youth mentoring in a setting such as a
workplace, a school, a faith-based or nonprofit organization
location, an afterschool center, a juvenile corrections
facility, or other community setting.
``(6) Mentoring services.--The term `mentoring services'
means services and activities that a mentoring program should
undertake to ensure that the program is offering high-quality
mentoring, including--
``(A) hiring staff and training staff in mentoring
best practices;
``(B) reaching and enrolling eligible youth;
``(C) developing partnerships with local
organizations;
``(D) recruiting, screening, and training adult
volunteers;
``(E) matching youth with suitable adult volunteer
mentors;
``(F) providing casework support and oversight of
the mentoring relationship; and
``(G) evaluating outcomes for mentored youth.
``(7) State mentoring partnership.--The term `State
mentoring partnership' means a nonpartisan, collaborative,
public-private sector effort that--
``(A) works to grow and strengthen direct-service
mentoring programs in all forms and settings to--
``(i) increase the number of at-risk youth
in the State receiving mentoring from screened
and trained adult mentors;
``(ii) increase State resources dedicated
to mentoring;
``(iii) promote quality standards for
mentoring programs; and
``(iv) expand mentoring opportunities
tailored to the needs and circumstances of
youth;
``(B) implements a service area mentoring plan
that--
``(i) raises public awareness about
mentoring via a statewide media campaign;
``(ii) increases recruitment and referral
of mentors;
``(iii) develops new mentoring resources;
``(iv) provides affordable and accessible
mentoring training and technical assistance;
and
``(v) collects and tracks mentoring data;
``(C) is not a mentoring program; and
``(D) does not provide direct mentoring services to
youth.
``SEC. 167A. MENTORING CAPACITY-BUILDING GRANT PROGRAM.
``(a) Definition of Eligible Mentoring Partnership.--In this
section, the term `eligible mentoring partnership' means a State
mentoring partnership or local mentoring partnership that has an
interest in--
``(1) significantly increasing the number of mentors within
the partnership's State or local service area, respectively;
and
``(2) supporting all types, models, and brands of youth
mentoring.
``(b) Program Authorized.--
``(1) In general.--The Corporation shall establish a
capacity-building grant program to award, on a competitive
basis, 3-year grants to eligible mentoring partnerships to
enable the mentoring partnerships to carry out the activities
described in subsection (d).
``(2) Amount of grants.--The Corporation shall determine
the amount of each grant under this section based on--
``(A) the demonstrated need for service within the
partnership's proposed service area;
``(B) the scope of the activities proposed to be
funded under the grant; and
``(C) the likely impact of the proposed activities
on increasing the percentage of children with mentors,
and the quality of mentoring programs, within the
partnership's proposed service area.
``(c) Application.--An eligible mentoring partnership that desires
to receive a grant under this section shall submit an application at
such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the
Corporation may reasonably require.
``(d) Use of Funds.--
``(1) In general.--An eligible mentoring partnership that
receives a grant under this section shall use--
``(A) not less than 80 percent of the amounts
provided under the grant to award subgrants under
paragraph (2) in order to support mentoring programs
within the partnership's service area; and
``(B) not more than 20 percent of such amounts to
carry out 1 or more partnership activities described in
paragraph (3) that are identified in the service area
mentoring plan of the partnership, in order to provide
expanded, high-quality services within the service
area.
``(2) Subgrants for local mentoring.--
``(A) In general.--An eligible mentoring
partnership that receives a grant under this section
shall make subgrants, on a competitive basis, to
eligible entities to enable the eligible entities to
support all of the components of providing high-quality
mentoring services.
``(B) Application.--An eligible entity desiring a
subgrant under this paragraph shall submit an
application at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the eligible mentoring
partnership shall reasonably require.
``(C) Priority.--In awarding subgrants under
subparagraph (A), an eligible mentoring partnership may
give priority to eligible entities that are local
collaboratives.
``(D) Amount of subgrants.--The eligible mentoring
partnership shall determine the amount of each subgrant
under this paragraph based on--
``(i) the demonstrated need for service
within the area served by the eligible entity;
``(ii) the scope of the proposed activities
to be funded by the subgrant; and
``(iii) the likely impact of the proposed
activities on increasing the number of mentors
within the area served by the eligible entity.
``(E) Duration of subgrant period.--The duration of
a subgrant awarded under this paragraph shall be not
less than 1 year nor more than 3 years, and shall be
decided by the eligible mentoring partnership based on
the eligible mentoring partnership's assessment of the
subgrant program's capacity.
``(3) Partnership activities.--The service area mentoring
plan activities that may be carried out by an eligible
mentoring partnership in accordance with paragraph (1)(B)
include the following:
``(A) Increasing capacity--
``(i) to provide high-quality volunteer
training and technical assistance to all
mentoring programs within the partnership's
service area, including those programs that
receive funding through subgrants under
paragraph (2); and
``(ii) to support organizations wishing to
add a mentoring component to the organization's
work, such as an after-school center, church,
or school.
``(B) Undertaking significant outreach and
recruitment efforts in support of all mentoring
programs in the partnership's service area, including
those mentoring programs that receive funding through
the subgrants under paragraph (2), such as creating--
``(i) a new initiative targeted at a
specific population of volunteers;
``(ii) an awareness-building campaign; or
``(iii) a targeted outreach campaign to
partners such as lead corporations, service
organizations, or institutions of higher
education that can provide wholesale access to
volunteers.
``(C) Collecting and analyzing data on the
subgrants under paragraph (2) and other mentoring
programs, and making subsequent recommendations for
improvement, to ensure mentoring is taking place in a
high-quality way.
``(D) Carrying out special projects that--
``(i) would positively impact mentoring in
the partnership's service area; and
``(ii) address any mentoring needs specific
to the service area.
``(4) National coordination.--An eligible mentoring
partnership receiving a grant under this section shall
participate in the national network of mentoring partnerships,
in order to ensure collaboration and to facilitate the exchange
of knowledge, assistance, and support.
``(e) Matching Requirements.--
``(1) New grantees.--An eligible mentoring partnership that
receives a grant under this section and has not previously
received such a grant shall provide toward the cost of the
activities assisted under the grant, an amount equal to--
``(A) for the first year of the grant, 10 percent
of the Federal funds provided under the grant for such
year;
``(B) for the second year of the grant, 25 percent
of the Federal funds provided under the grant for such
year; and
``(C) for the third year of the grant, 50 percent
of the Federal funds provided under the grant for such
year.
``(2) Experienced grantees.--An eligible mentoring
partnership that receives a grant under this section and has
previously received such a grant shall provide toward the cost
of the activities assisted under the grant an amount equal to
50 percent of the Federal funds provided under the grant.
``(3) In cash or in-kind.--A matching requirement under
this subsection may be provided in cash or in-kind, fairly
evaluated.
``SEC. 167B. GRANT PROGRAM TO BUILD STATE AND NATIONAL MENTORING
INFRASTRUCTURE.
``(a) Program Authorized.--The Corporation shall award, on a
competitive basis, 3-year grants to entities or collaboratives of
entities to enable the entities or collaboratives to--
``(1) build the necessary infrastructure to create a State
mentoring partnership; or
``(2) implement mentoring projects of national scope.
``(b) Application.--An entity or collaborative of entities that
desires to receive a grant under this section shall submit an
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such
information as the Corporation may reasonably require.
``(c) Amount of Grants.--The Corporation shall determine the amount
of each grant under this section based on--
``(1) the demonstrated need for service within the proposed
service area of the entity or collaborative;
``(2) the scope of the activities proposed to be funded
under the grant; and
``(3) the likely impact of the proposed activities on
increasing the percentage of children with mentors, and the
quality of mentoring programs, within the proposed service
area.
``(d) Use of Funds.--
``(1) State mentoring infrastructure.--An entity or
collaborative of entities that receives a grant for the purpose
described in subsection (a)(1) shall use the grant funds to
support planning and implementation for the development of a
new State mentoring partnership where a State mentoring
partnership does not exist at the time of the application, or
to help a local mentoring partnership expand statewide to
become a State mentoring partnership. State mentoring
partnership creation may include--
``(A)(i) conducting an assessment on the state of
mentoring;
``(ii) hiring critical staff for the mentoring
partnership;
``(iii) developing a strategic plan;
``(iv) engaging key public or private supporters
and providers; and
``(v) beginning to provide services to mentoring
programs;
``(B) creating and launching the new mentoring
partnership that--
``(i) by not later than the end of the
second year of the grant, provides recruitment
and technical assistance or training services
for mentoring programs in that State;
``(ii) by not later than the end of the
third year of the grant, meets the definition
of a State mentoring partnership and is able to
carry out the activities and functions
described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
section 167(7); and
``(iii) will be able to compete for funding
under section 167A(b) in the future; and
``(C) accessing knowledge, assistance, and support
provided by the national network of mentoring
partnerships.
``(2) National mentoring infrastructure.--An entity or
collaborative of entities that receives a grant for the purpose
described in subsection (a)(2) shall use the grant funds to
support, at the national level, projects that are critical
collectively to improve the ability of direct service mentoring
programs, State mentoring partnerships, and local mentoring
partnerships to increase the quality and availability of
mentoring, which projects may include--
``(A) conducting research;
``(B) tracking and evaluating data; and
``(C) developing and disseminating national
training and technical assistance resources.
``(e) Matching Requirements.--
``(1) New grantees.--An entity or collaborative of entities
that receives a grant under this section and has not previously
received such a grant shall provide toward the cost of the
activities assisted under the grant, an amount equal to--
``(A) for the first year of the grant, 10 percent
of the Federal funds provided under the grant for such
year;
``(B) for the second year of the grant, 25 percent
of the Federal funds provided under the grant for such
year; and
``(C) for the third year of the grant, 50 percent
of the Federal funds provided under the grant for such
year.
``(2) Experienced grantees.--An entity or collaborative of
entities that receives a grant under this section and has
previously received such a grant shall provide toward the cost
of the activities assisted under the grant an amount equal to
50 percent of the Federal funds provided under the grant.
``(3) In cash or in-kind.--A matching requirement under
this subsection may be provided in cash or in-kind, fairly
evaluated.
``SEC. 167C. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.
``The Corporation shall--
``(1) evaluate the activities carried out under this
subtitle; and
``(2) provide training and technical assistance to
recipients of financial assistance under this subtitle, drawing
upon the knowledge, assistance, and support provided by the
national network of mentoring partnerships.
``SEC. 167D. REPORTS AND EVALUATIONS.
``(a) Report to Corporation.--For each fiscal year, each recipient
of a grant under this subtitle during that fiscal year shall submit to
the Corporation, by the date specified by the Corporation, a report
regarding the effectiveness of activities carried out using the grant.
Each report shall include an evaluation of the grant program in such
form and containing such information as the Corporation may reasonably
require.
``(b) Report to Congress.--Not less often than once every 3 years,
the Corporation shall submit a report to the Education and Labor
Committee of the House of Representatives and the Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions Committee of the Senate on the effectiveness of the
activities carried out under this subtitle to include, at a minimum--
``(1) the number of State mentoring partnerships and local
mentoring partnerships supported; and
``(2) the impact of such mentoring partnerships on the
partnerships' service areas, such as--
``(A) the growth in the number of mentoring
relationships;
``(B) the quality and types of mentoring programs;
and
``(C) the impact of subgrants under section 167A on
local mentoring programs.
``SEC. 167E. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
``(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Corporation to carry out this subtitle $50,000,000
for each of the fiscal years 2010 to 2015.
``(b) Reservations.--From the amount appropriated under subsection
(a) for a fiscal year--
``(1) 80 percent of such amount shall be used to carry out
section 167A;
``(2) 15 percent of such amount shall be used to carry out
section 167B; and
``(3) 5 percent of such amount shall be used to carry out
sections 167C and 167D.''.
SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
(a) Conforming Amendments.--The National Community Service Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 12501 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 118(a) (42 U.S.C. 12551(a)), by striking
``subtitle H'' and inserting ``subtitle I'';
(2) in section 122(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 12572(a)(2)), by
striking ``subtitle I'' and inserting ``subtitle J'';
(3) in section 193A(f)(1) (42 U.S.C. 12651d(f)(1)), by
striking ``subtitles C and I'' and inserting ``subtitles C and
J''; and
(4) in section 501(a)(2) (42 U.S.C. 12681(a)(2))--
(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking
``subtitles c, d, and h'' and inserting ``subtitles c,
d, and i'';
(B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``subtitles C
and H'' and inserting ``subtitles C and I''; and
(C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``subtitle H''
and inserting ``subtitle I''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of
the National Community Service Act of 1990 is amended--
(1) by striking the item relating to the subtitle heading
for subtitle I of title I and inserting the following:
``Subtitle J--American Conservation and Youth Corps'';
(2) by striking the item relating to the subtitle heading
for subtitle H of title I and inserting the following:
``Subtitle I--Investment for Quality and Innovation'';
(3) by striking the item relating to the subtitle heading
for subtitle G of title I and inserting the following:
``Subtitle H--Corporation for National and Community Service'';
(4) by striking the item relating to the subtitle heading
for subtitle F of title I and inserting the following:
``Subtitle G--Administrative Provisions'';
and
(5) by inserting after the item relating to section 166 the
following:
``Subtitle F--Grants to Develop Capacity and Infrastructure for
Mentoring Programs
``Sec. 167. Definitions.
``Sec. 167A. Mentoring capacity-building grant program.
``Sec. 167B. Grant program to build State and national mentoring
infrastructure.
``Sec. 167C. National activities.
``Sec. 167D. Reports and evaluations.
``Sec. 167E. Authorization of appropriations.''.
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