[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3114 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3114

To provide grants for Civic Justice Corps programs for court-involved, 
 previously incarcerated, and otherwise disadvantaged youth and young 
                                adults.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 6, 2011

Ms. Velazquez introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                Committee on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide grants for Civic Justice Corps programs for court-involved, 
 previously incarcerated, and otherwise disadvantaged youth and young 
                                adults.

    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 ``Civic Justice Corps Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to develop, implement, and expand 
educational and work experience opportunities for court-involved, 
previously incarcerated, and otherwise disadvantaged youth and young 
adults through service and conservation corps and other community-based 
service organizations.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) On any given day, more than 500,000 juvenile court 
        cases in the United States end in incarceration or probation.
            (2) The per diem cost of locking up one young person in a 
        juvenile facility ranges from $24 in Wyoming to $726 in 
        Connecticut, but the American Correctional Association 
        estimates that, on average, it costs States $240.99 per day, or 
        around $88,000 a year, for every young person in a juvenile 
        facility.
            (3) States spend nearly $6,000,000,000 a year incarcerating 
        youth.
            (4) Youth who are imprisoned are up to 50 percent more 
        likely to recidivate than their counterparts who remain in 
        their communities.
            (5) Nearly 70 percent of youth in residential facilities 
        have been adjudicated for nonviolent offenses and could be 
        safely managed within their communities.
            (6) The most effective programs at reducing recidivism 
        rates and promoting positive life outcomes for youth are 
        administered within communities, outside of the criminal 
        juvenile justice system.
            (7) In the United States there are more than 150 service 
        and conservation corps, the direct descendants of the Civilian 
        Conservation Corps of the 1930s, that operate in all 50 States, 
        provide educational and economic opportunities to more than 
        30,000 young people each year, and make important contributions 
        in the communities in which they are located.
            (8) The Civic Justice Corps Model, developed by The Corps 
        Network in conjunction with the Gates and Open Society 
        Foundations, utilizes community service projects to deliver 
        life skills, education, workforce readiness, and supportive and 
        transitional services to formerly incarcerated and court-
        involved youth and young adults between the ages of 16 and 25.
            (9) Data from 14 original Civic Justice Corps sites 
        demonstrate 80 percent post-program participant placement rates 
        and 11 percent recidivism rates among program participants (as 
        opposed to the prevailing recidivism rate of 50 to 70 percent).

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Civic justice corps model.--The term ``Civic Justice 
        Corps Model'' refers to programs that--
                    (A) intentionally recruit and primarily enroll as 
                participants in the program court-involved, previously 
                incarcerated, and otherwise disadvantaged youth and 
                young adults between the ages of 16 and 25;
                    (B) provide such participants with educational 
                programming and support designed to lead to a high 
                school diploma or its recognized equivalent;
                    (C) provide such participants with assessment, 
                career planning, workforce readiness, and service or 
                work experience designed to lead to unsubsidized 
                employment, enrollment in postsecondary education or an 
                apprenticeship program, the obtainment of an industry-
                recognized credential, or some other type of career 
                pathway program, including military service;
                    (D) demonstrate relationships with local criminal, 
                juvenile justice, and other social service agencies and 
                provide a range of supportive and transitional services 
                to participants;
                    (E) engage participants in relevant, necessary, and 
                team-based community service projects designed to 
                instill life and jobs skills and long-term civic 
                engagement;
                    (F) demonstrate relationships with local boards (as 
                such term is defined in section 101 of the Workforce 
                Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801)) and local 
                employers and can provide participants with appropriate 
                post-program placements;
                    (G) require participants to be enrolled in the 
                program for not less than 6 months, and provide 
                participants with at least 12 months of post-program 
                support and services;
                    (H) collect post-program data for at least the 12 
                months after such participants complete the program; 
                and
                    (I) have in place a plan for sustaining the program 
                after the expiration of the grant.
            (2) Local subgrantee.--The term ``local subgrantee'' refers 
        to a service and conservation corps or other community-based 
        service organization that--
                    (A) has been competitively selected by a national 
                intermediary to carry out a Civic Justice Corps program 
                that implements the Civic Justice Corps Model; and
                    (B) demonstrates--
                            (i) a local need for a Civic Justice Corps 
                        program;
                            (ii) the ability to recruit and enroll 
                        court-involved, previously incarcerated, and 
                        otherwise disadvantaged youth and young adults 
                        between the ages of 16 and 25;
                            (iii) the ability to provide the education, 
                        workforce development, service and work 
                        experience, and supportive and follow-up 
                        services described in paragraph (1);
                            (iv) relationships with local criminal, 
                        juvenile justice, and social service agencies;
                            (v) relationships with local boards (as 
                        such term is defined in section 101 of the 
                        Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 
                        2801)) and employers and the ability to place 
                        participants upon program completion;
                            (vi) the ability to collect data and report 
                        on the performance measures described in 
                        section 6(b); and
                            (vii) a plan to sustain the Civic Justice 
                        Corps program after the expiration of the 
                        subgrant.
            (3) National intermediary.--The term ``national 
        intermediary'' means a national nonprofit organization that--
                    (A) has experience in developing and administering 
                programs that utilize community service to deliver 
                education and work experience to court-involved, 
                formerly incarcerated, and otherwise disadvantaged 
                youth;
                    (B) demonstrates an ability to administer a 
                competitive subgrant process that will result in the 
                selection of no less than nine geographically diverse 
                local subgrantees to carry out Civil Justice Corps 
                programs that implement the Civic Justice Corps Model;
                    (C) demonstrates an ability to provide training and 
                technical assistance to subgrantees; and
                    (D) has the ability to collect information from the 
                subgrantees on the performance measures described in 
                section 6(b) and report such information to the 
                Attorney General on an annual basis.
            (4) Service and conservation corps.--The term ``service and 
        conservation corps'' means any State or local service or 
        conservation corps, including a service or conservation corps 
        carried out under the national service laws.

SEC. 5. CIVIC JUSTICE CORPS GRANTS.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall award grants to one or 
more national intermediaries to develop, implement, and collect data 
from Civic Justice Corps programs administered by no fewer than nine 
local subgrantees in diverse geographic locations.
    (b) Grant and Subgrant Periods.--Each grant awarded to a national 
intermediary, and each subgrant awarded to a local subgrantee, under 
this section shall be for a period of 3 years.
    (c) Use of Grant Funds.--
            (1) In general.--Each national intermediary receiving a 
        grant under this section shall make at least nine subgrants to 
        local subgrantees to carry out Civil Justice Corps programs 
        that implement the Civil Justice Corps Model described in 
        section 4(1) with the funds provided under such subgrant.
            (2) Reservation.--Each national intermediary receiving a 
        grant under this section shall reserve--
                    (A) not less than 90 percent for subgrants to local 
                subgrantees; and
                    (B) not more than 10 percent for training and 
                technical assistance to, and data collection from, such 
                local subgrantees.
    (d) Use of Subgrants.--An entity receiving a subgrant under this 
section shall use the funds made available through such subgrant to 
carry out a Civic Justice Corps program that implements the Civic 
Justice Corps Model. Such program shall include the provision of 
educational programming and support to participants, which may 
include--
            (1) basic instruction and remedial education;
            (2) language instruction for individuals with limited 
        English proficiency;
            (3) secondary education services and activities, including 
        drop-out prevention, tutoring, and other activities;
            (4) preparation for and access to postsecondary education 
        opportunities, including counseling and assistance with 
        applying for student financial aid;
            (5) work readiness training, which may include--
                    (A) development of basic skills, such as--
                            (i) arriving on time to work;
                            (ii) being prepared to work;
                            (iii) working independently;
                            (iv) working with others;
                            (v) working safely; and
                            (vi) demonstrating a commitment to produce 
                        high quality work;
                    (B) development of job-specific occupational skills 
                and on-the-job training; and
                    (C) assessment of skills, career counseling, and 
                job search assistance; and
            (6) development and monitoring of individual education and 
        career plans.

SEC. 6. REPORTS.

    (a) Annual Reports to the Attorney General.--Each national 
intermediary receiving a grant under this Act shall submit a report 
annually to the Attorney General at such time, in such manner, and 
providing such information as the Attorney General may require, 
including information on the performance measures reported by 
subgrantees in accordance with subsection (b).
    (b) Subgrantee Reports on Performance Measures.--Each entity 
receiving a subgrant under this section shall annually report to the 
national intermediary that awarded such subgrant on the following 
performance measures of participant progress:
            (1) The obtainment of a high school diploma, a recognized 
        equivalent, or some other industry-recognized credential.
            (2) Post-program placement for each participant in one of 
        the following, and total post-program placement rates for each 
        of the following:
                    (A) Unsubsidized employment.
                    (B) Postsecondary education.
                    (C) A registered apprenticeship or further job 
                training.
                    (D) A career pathway program, including military 
                service.
            (3) Post-program recidivism rates.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$20,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2012 through 2018.
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