[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 96 (Friday, July 17, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8483-S8484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. COATS (for himself and Mr. Lieberman):
  S. 2327. A bill to provide grants to grassroots organizations in 
certain cities to develop youth intervention models; to the Committee 
on the Judiciary.


           national youth crime prevention demonstration act

  Mr. COATS. Mr. President, America currently struggles with a 
disturbing and growing trend of youth violence. Between 1985 and 1994, 
the arrest rate for murders by juveniles increased 150 percent, while 
the rate for adults during this time increased 11 percent. Every day, 
in our communities and in the media, we see horrific examples of this 
crime. A 13-year-old girl murders her 3-year-old nephew and dumps him 
in the trash. A 13-year-old boy is stabbed to death while sitting on 
his back porch. A group of teenagers hails a cab and, after the driver 
takes them to their destination, they shoot him dead in an armed 
robbery.
  I did not have to look far for these examples. Each occurred in 
Indiana, a State generally known as a safe State, a good place to raise 
a family, not a dangerous place, yet a State where arrests for violent 
juvenile crimes have skyrocketed 19 percent in the early 1990's. 
Juvenile violence is no longer a stranger in any ZIP code.
  Yet, the problem is expected to grow worse. Crime experts who study 
demographics warn of a coming crime wave based on the number of 
children who currently are younger than 10 years old. These experts 
warn that if current trends are not changed, we might someday look back 
at our current juvenile crime epidemic as ``the good old days.'' This 
spiraling upward trend in youth crime and violence is cause for grave 
concern. So one might ask, what is driving this epidemic?
  Over 30 years ago, our colleague Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then an 
official in the Johnson administration, wrote that when a community's 
families are shattered, crime, violence and rage ``are not only to be 
expected, they are virtually inevitable.'' He wrote those words in 
1965. Since then, arrests of violent juvenile criminals have tripled.
  Last Congress, the Subcommittee on Children and Families, which I 
chair, held a hearing about the role of government in combating 
juvenile crime. The experts were clear: while government efforts are 
important, they are also fundamentally limited and incomplete. 
Government is ultimately powerless to form the human conscience that 
chooses between right and wrong.
  Locking away juveniles might prevent them from committing further 
crimes, but it does not address the fact that violence is symptomatic 
of a much deeper, moral and spiritual void in our Nation. In the battle 
against violent crime, solid families are America's strongest line of 
defense. But government can be an effective tool if it joins private 
institutions (families, churches, schools, community groups, and non-
profit organizations) in preventing and confronting juvenile crime with 
the moral ideals that defeat despair and nurture lives.
  Today, I rise to introduce the National Youth Crime Prevention Act 
which will empower local communities to address the rising trend in 
youth violence. Specifically, this legislation authorizes the Attorney 
General to award $5 million annually for five years to the National 
Center for Neighborhood Enterprise to conduct national demonstration 
projects in eight cities. These projects would aim to end youth crime, 
violence and family disintegration by building neighborhood capacity 
and linking proven grassroots organizations within low-income 
neighborhoods with sources from the public sector, including local 
housing authorities, law enforcement agencies, and other public 
entities. The demonstration projects will take place in Washington, DC; 
Detroit, Michigan; Hartford, Connecticut; Indianapolis, Indiana; 
Chicago, Illinois; San Antonio, Texas; Dallas, Texas; and Los Angeles, 
California.

  With these funds, the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise 
will work with the grassroots organizations in the demonstration cities 
to establish Violence Free Zone Initiatives. These initiatives would 
involve successful youth intervention models in partnership with law 
enforcement, local housing authorities, private foundations, and other 
public and private partners. To be eligible for the grants, the 
nonprofit organizations within the demonstration cities must have 
experience in crime prevention and youth mediation projects and must 
have a history of cultivating cooperative relationships with other 
local organizations, housing facilities and law enforcement agencies.
  Funds may be used for youth mediation, youth mentoring, life skills 
training, job creation and entrepreneurship, organizational development 
and training, development of long-term intervention plans, 
collaboration with law enforcement, comprehensive support services, 
local agency partnerships and activities to further community 
objectives in reducing youth crime and violence.
  The success of this approach has already been demonstrated. Last 
year, The National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise assisted The 
Alliance for Concerned Men in creating a ``Violence Free Zone'' in 
Benning Terrace in Southeast DC. The Alliance of Concerned Men brokered 
peace treaties among the gangs that inhabit, and frequently dominate, 
the city's public

[[Page S8484]]

housing complexes. Benning Terrace in Southeast Washington, known to 
the DC police department as one of the most dangerous areas of the 
city, has not had a single murder since the Alliance's peace treaty 
went into effect early last year. Subsequently, the National Center for 
Neighborhood Enterprise brought the Alliance, the youths, and the DC 
Housing Receiver together to develop and implement a plan for jobs and 
life skills training for the young people and the community itself.
  Grassroots organizations are the key to implementing the most 
effective innovative strategies to address community problems. Their 
efforts help restore hardpressed inner-city neighborhoods by developing 
the social, human and economic capital that is key to real, long-term 
renewal of urban communities. The National Youth Crime Prevention 
Demonstration Act will provide critical assistance to our Nation's 
inner-cities as they combat the rising trend in youth violence by 
linking proven grassroots organizations with established public sector 
entities.
  Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support this important 
legislation, and I ask unanimous consent that the text of the National 
Youth Crime Prevention Demonstration Act be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2327

       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 ``National Youth Crime 
     Prevention Demonstration Act''.

     SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

       The purposes of this Act are as follows:
       (1) To establish a demonstration project that establishes 
     violence-free zones that would involve successful youth 
     intervention models in partnership with law enforcement, 
     local housing authorities, private foundations, and other 
     public and private partners.
       (2) To document best practices based on successful 
     grassroots interventions in cities, including Washington, 
     District of Columbia; Boston, Massachusetts; Hartford, 
     Connecticut; and other cities to develop methodologies for 
     widespread replication.
       (3) To increase the efforts of the Department of Justice, 
     the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other 
     agencies in supporting effective neighborhood mediating 
     approaches.

     SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL YOUTH CRIME PREVENTION 
                   DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

       The Attorney General shall, subject to appropriations, 
     award a grant to the National Center for Neighborhood 
     Enterprise (referred to in this Act as the ``National 
     Center'') to enable the National Center to award grants to 
     grassroots entities in the following 8 cities:
       (1) Washington, District of Columbia.
       (2) Detroit, Michigan.
       (3) Hartford, Connecticut.
       (4) Indianapolis, Indiana.
       (5) Chicago (and surrounding metropolitan area), Illinois.
       (6) San Antonio, Texas.
       (7) Dallas, Texas.
       (8) Los Angeles, California.

     SEC. 4. ELIGIBILITY.

       (a) In General.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
     this Act, a grassroots entity referred to in section 3 shall 
     submit an application to the National Center to fund 
     intervention models that establish violence-free zones.
       (b) Selection Criteria.--In awarding grants under this Act, 
     the National Center shall consider--
       (1) the track record of a grassroots entity and key 
     participating individuals in youth group mediation and crime 
     prevention;
       (2) the engagement and participation of a grassroots entity 
     with other local organizations; and
       (3) the ability of a grassroots entity to enter into 
     partnerships with local housing authorities, law enforcement 
     agencies, and other public entities.

     SEC. 5. USES OF FUNDS.

       (a) In General.--Funds received under this Act may be used 
     for youth mediation, youth mentoring, life skills training, 
     job creation and entrepreneurship, organizational development 
     and training, development of long-term intervention plans, 
     collaboration with law enforcement, comprehensive support 
     services and local agency partnerships, and activities to 
     further community objectives in reducing youth crime and 
     violence.
       (b) Guidelines.--The National Center will identify local 
     lead grassroots entities in each designated city which 
     include the Alliance of Concerned Men of Washington in the 
     District of Columbia; the Hartford Youth Peace Initiative in 
     Hartford, Connecticut; the Family Help-Line in Los Angeles, 
     California; the Victory Fellowship in San Antonio, Texas; and 
     similar grassroots entities in other designated cities.
       (c) Technical Assistance.--The National Center, in 
     cooperation with the Attorney General, shall also provide 
     technical assistance for startup projects in other cities.

     SEC. 6. REPORTS.

       The National Center shall submit a report to the Attorney 
     General evaluating the effectiveness of grassroots agencies 
     and other public entities involved in the demonstration 
     project.

     SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

       For purposes of this Act--
       (1) the term ``grassroots entity'' means a not-for-profit 
     community organization with demonstrated effectiveness in 
     mediating and addressing youth violence by empowering at-risk 
     youth to become agents of peace and community restoration; 
     and
       (2) the term ``National Center for Neighborhood 
     Enterprise'' is a not-for-profit organization incorporated in 
     the District of Columbia.

     SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
     carry out this Act--
       (1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1999;
       (2) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2000;
       (3) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;
       (4) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2002; and
       (5) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2003.
       (b) Reservation.--The National Center for Neighborhood 
     Enterprise may use not more than 20 percent of the amounts 
     appropriated pursuant to subsection (a) in any fiscal year 
     for administrative costs, technical assistance and training, 
     comprehensive support services, and evaluation of 
     participating grassroots organizations.
                                 ______