[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 30 (Thursday, March 17, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 17, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 YOUTH DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT OF 1994

                                 ______


                          HON. DONALD M. PAYNE

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 17, 1994

  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I introduce the Youth Development Block Grant 
of 1994 [YDBG] on behalf of myself and Representative Morella. The 
purpose of the initiative is to expand community-based youth 
development programs for youth age 6 to 19.
  Heretofore, Federal policy has focused its efforts on youth once they 
are in crisis and have destroyed America's peace of mind with their 
problem behavior. So much of our thinking, and our policy, is short 
term and short sighted. We provide funding to programs that assist 
youth once they become pregnant, drop out of school, join gangs, or 
commit crimes. But we provide very little help to programs designed to 
work with youth before they engage in high-risk behaviors.
  For millions of youth growing up in high stress family and community 
environments, the world is a challenging place. Unless these young 
people get the help they need to develop self-confidence and self-
discipline, respect for others, a sense of belonging, and effective 
life-planning and problem solving skills, they are unlikely to succeed 
in school or to avoid high-risk behaviors. Experience shows us that it 
is far more cost effective to intervene earlier, before kids have 
experienced trouble, and help them develop the values and lifeskills to 
pursue positive life options.
  For too long now, we have relied on schools, alone, to meet the 
developmental needs of youth. Once children turn 6 and enter school 
full time, we convince ourselves that schools can assume the entire 
burden of addressing the social, moral, physical, emotional, and 
cognitive needs of youth. But focusing on academic learning is not 
enough because America's young people have a great deal of 
discretionary time on their hands. Much of it is unstructured, 
unsupervised, and unproductive. The Carnegie Council on Adolescent 
Development's Task Force on Youth Development and Community Programs 
found that only 60 percent of adolescents' waking hours are taken up 
with school, homework, eating, chores, or employment, while a full 40 
percent is discretionary. And for many youth, that time is spent alone.
  While left to themselves for a great portion of the week, research 
has shown that young people today do not want to be left to their own 
devices. The Carnegie Council has found that America's youth want:

       * * * more regular contact with adults who care about and 
     respect them, more opportunities to contribute to their 
     communities, protection from the hazards of drugs, violence, 
     and gangs, and greater access to constructive and attractive 
     alternatives to the loneliness that so many now experience.

  I am convinced that through the clamor of voices calling for a 
crackdown on the violence that besieges our streets, we must remember 
that prevention is our greatest ally in our war on crime. As this 
chamber develops anticrime legislation, I encourage my colleagues to 
incorporate this initiative into the package. We cannot continue to 
lock up youthful offenders as our only response to violence. We cannot 
ask youth to simply ``say no to drugs and violence'' unless we give 
them positive alternatives to say ``yes'' to.
  We can learn from the experiences of community-based organizations 
around the country. They have helped millions of Americans grow into 
responsible, productive adults. There is no need for another study to 
demonstrate the effectiveness of community-based youth development 
programs; millions of Americans can testify to this fact from their own 
experience. America's youth development organizations have the 
credibility and expertise to meet the growing challenges facing youth 
today. And while community-based organizations have been successful in 
their efforts, they are unable to reach millions of youth and need the 
government's help in mobilizing the resources to reach out to millions 
of currently unserved youth.
  Programs are often fragmented and uncoordinated, focus on and address 
only specific problems, and are chronically underfunded. Many programs 
are unable to serve all those in need, especially those in low-income 
communities. Additionally, programs are forced to provide services for 
only a couple of hours a week, far less time than is needed to ensure 
the healthy development of youth. A full 29 percent of young 
adolescents today are not served at all (Carnegie Council).
  That is why I am introducing the Youth Development Block Grant along 
with my distinguished colleague, Representative Morella. It provides 
community-based organizations the necessary funding to serve those in 
need while helping these programs coordinate their efforts. The central 
goal of the YDBG is prevention and positive youth development. The YDBG 
would fund programs that help youth reach their fullest potential--
through youth clubs, sports and recreation, mentoring, leadership 
development, substance abuse and delinquency prevention, and community 
service.
  The proposal incorporates many of the principles which policymakers, 
service providers, foundations, and research institutes have identified 
as necessary to develop a sound infrastructure of youth development 
programs in this country, including: local control, flexibility, 
collaboration, and accountability. Ninety-five percent of the funding 
is provided to Local Youth Development Boards, that based on an 
inclusive community planning process, would distribute funding to local 
providers based on community needs. The YDBG gives communities broad 
flexibility to define local priorities and support local initiatives, 
while at the same time encouraging comprehensive planning and 
integration of services. Community-based organizations, the hallmark of 
the social service movement in this country, will play a defining role 
on these Local Boards. The YDBG will build on the strength, 
credibility, and expertise of community-based organizations by giving 
them a position of leadership in both the planning and delivery of YDBG 
services.

  To better serve our low-income youth, allocation of funds for the 
YDBG will be based on a state's total school-age youth population, the 
percentage of that population living in poverty, and the increase of 
juvenile crime in the state. This formula gives priority to the 
communities we all are most concerned about--communities with the 
highest concentration of low-income youth.
  This legislation authorizes the YDBG for 4 years. The authorized 
level is $400 million in fiscal year 1995, and such sums as may be 
necessary for fiscal years 1996, 1997, and 1998. I believe that this 
bill can and should be funded through reallocation of existing 
resources. It is reasonable to expect that between one-third and one-
half of YDBG funds could be obtained by consolidating existing 
categorical youth development programs. The remainder could be obtained 
by reallocating other nonyouth funding streams, such as drug 
interdiction funds.
  This critical prevention initiative was developed as a bipartisan 
effort in conjunction with the National Collaboration for Youth, a 
coalition of 15 major youth-serving organizations, which collectively 
serve over 25,000,000 children and youth each year. Members of the NCY 
endorsing this legislation include: American Red Cross; Assoc. of 
Junior Leagues International; Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America; Boy 
Scouts of America; Boys & Girls Clubs of America; Camp Fire Boys & 
Girls; Child Welfare League of America; 4-H, Extension Service; Girl 
Scouts of the USA; Girls Inc.; National Network of Runaway and Youth 
Services; Salvation Army; WAVE Inc.; YMCA of the USA; YWCA of the USA.
  The YDBG has also been endorsed by the Carnegie Council on Adolescent 
Development's Task Force on Youth Development and Community Programs.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the legislation 
appear in the Record following my remarks. I also ask that my 
colleagues in the House of Representatives cosponsor this essential and 
timely youth initiative.

                          ____________________