[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 141 (Monday, October 18, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12784-S12786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REED:
  S. 1745. A bill to establish and expand child opportunity zone family 
centers in elementary schools and secondary schools, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.


               Child Opportunity Zone Family Centers Act

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to 
encourage communities to foster school-based or school-linked family 
centers. These centers would provide a comprehensive array of 
information, support, services, and activities to improve the 
education, health, mental health, safety, and economic well-being of 
children and their families.
  As we strive to ensure the academic and future success of our 
students, we must recognize that the increasingly complex needs of 
children cannot be met by the education system alone.
  Some facts to illustrate this point:
  Today, 11.3 million children--more than 90 percent of them in working 
families--have no health insurance.
  7.5 million children under the age of 18 require mental health 
services, while the National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 
fewer than one in five receive the help they need.
  It is estimated that nearly five million school-age children spend 
time without adult supervision during a typical week. Meanwhile, FBI 
data show that the peak hours for violent juvenile crime occur during 
the after-school hours of 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
  Also according to the FBI, juveniles accounted for 17 percent of all 
violent crime arrests in 1997, and juveniles are victims in nearly 25 
percent of all crimes.
  To address these and other serious issues facing our children and 
families, a few states and localities have established centers and 
developed programs designed to provide families with access and 
linkages to needed social services in a location that is easily 
accessed by families--their children's school. All too often, the 
programs and services currently available to assist children and 
families, like health and mental health care, nutritional programs, 
child care, housing, and job training, exist in a fragmented fashion, 
making it difficult for many families to find a point of entry. The aim 
of my legislation is to bring these vital services under one familiar 
roof so children and families have easy access to needed services.
  Research indicates that school-linked family center programs are a 
cost-effective way to provide supports to children and families. 
According to a report by the Northeast and Islands Regional Educational 
Laboratory, school-linked services can also ``help to increase student 
achievement, save money and reduce overlapping services, reach those 
children and families most in need, make schools more welcoming to 
families, increase community support for the school, and help at-risk 
families develop the capacity to manage their own lives successfully.''
  My legislation, the Child Opportunity Zone Family Centers Act, builds 
on a successful model in my home state of Rhode Island, the Rhode 
Island Child Opportunity Zone (COZ) Family Center initiative.
  The Child Opportunity Zone Family Centers Act would provide grants on 
a competitive basis to partnerships consisting of a high poverty 
school; school district; other public agency, such as a department of 
health or social services; and non-profit community organizations, 
including a family health center that provides mental health services. 
Partnerships would be required to complete a needs assessment, and then 
use this information to provide children and families with linkages to 
existing community prevention and intervention services in the core 
areas of education, health, and family support. In addition, 
partnerships would provide violence prevention education to children 
and families and training to enable families to help their children

[[Page S12785]]

meet challenging standards and succeed in school.
  The guiding principle of Rhode Island's COZ Family Centers is to help 
children and families get the assistance they need. This principle is 
reflected in my legislation, which contains accountability provisions 
to ensure that partnerships focus on improvements in student 
achievement, school readiness, family participation in schools, access 
to health care, mental health care, child care, and family support 
services and work to reduce violence-related problems, truancy, 
suspension, and dropout rates in order to continue to receive funding.
  As we prepare to work on the reauthorization of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act, I believe that it is critical that we do all 
we can to provide a seamless, integrated system of support for children 
and families. By giving families an opportunity to get the support they 
need, we can truly help children succeed in school and life. I urge my 
colleagues to cosponsor this important legislation and work for its 
inclusion in the upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of this 
legislation be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1745

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

     SECTION 1. CHILD OPPORTUNITY ZONE FAMILY CENTERS.

       Title X of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
     1965 (20 U.S.C. 8001 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
     the following:

            ``PART L--CHILD OPPORTUNITY ZONE FAMILY CENTERS

     ``SEC. 10995A. SHORT TITLE.

       ``This part may be cited as the `Child Opportunity Zone 
     Family Center Act of 1999'.

     ``SEC. 10995B. PURPOSE.

       ``The purpose of this part is to encourage eligible 
     partnerships to establish or expand child opportunity zone 
     family centers in elementary schools and secondary schools in 
     order to provide comprehensive support services for children 
     and their families, and to improve the children's 
     educational, health, mental health, and social outcomes.

     ``SEC. 10995C. DEFINITIONS.

       ``In this title:
       ``(1) Child opportunity zone family center.--The term 
     `child opportunity zone family center' means a school-based 
     or school-linked community service center that provides and 
     links children and their families with comprehensive 
     information, support, services, and activities to improve the 
     education, health, mental health, safety, and economic well-
     being of the children and their families.
       ``(2) Eligible partnership.--The term `eligible 
     partnership' means a partnership--
       ``(A) that contains--
       ``(i) at least 1 elementary school or secondary school 
     that--

       ``(I) receives assistance under title I and for which a 
     measure of poverty determination is made under section 
     1113(a)(5) with respect to a minimum of 40 percent of the 
     children in the school; and
       ``(II) demonstrates parent involvement and parent support 
     for the partnership's activities;

       ``(ii) a local educational agency;
       ``(iii) a public agency, other than a local educational 
     agency, including a local or State department of health and 
     social services; and
       ``(iv) a nonprofit community-based organization, including 
     a community mental health services organization or a family 
     health center that provides mental health services; and
       ``(B) that may contain--
       ``(i) an institution of higher education; and
       ``(ii) other public or private nonprofit entities.

     ``SEC. 10995D. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary may award, on a 
     competitive basis, grants to eligible partnerships to pay for 
     the Federal share of the cost of establishing and expanding 
     child opportunity zone family centers.
       ``(b) Duration.--The Secretary shall award grants under 
     this section for periods of 5 years.

     ``SEC. 10995E. REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.

       ``Each eligible partnership receiving a grant under this 
     part shall use the grant funds--
       ``(1) in accordance with the needs assessment described in 
     section 10995F(b)(1), to provide or link children and their 
     families with information, support, activities, or services 
     in core areas consisting of--
       ``(A) education, such as child care and education programs 
     for children below the age of compulsory school attendance, 
     before- and after-school care, and school age enrichment and 
     education support programs;
       ``(B) health, such as primary care (including prenatal 
     care, well child care, and mental health care), preventative 
     health and safety programs, outreach and referral, screening 
     and health promotion, and enrollment in health insurance 
     programs; and
       ``(C) family support, such as adult education and literacy 
     programs, welfare-to-work-programs, job training, parenting 
     skills programs, assistance that supports healthy child 
     development, and access to basic needs, including food and 
     housing;
       ``(2) to provide intensive, high-quality, research-based 
     instructional programs that--
       ``(A) provide violence prevention education for families 
     and developmentally appropriate instructional services to 
     children (including children below the age of compulsory 
     school attendance), such as education and services on 
     nonviolent conflict resolution, pro social skills and 
     behaviors, and other skills necessary for effectively 
     relating to others without violence; and
       ``(B) provide effective strategies for nurturing and 
     supporting the emotional, social, and cognitive growth of 
     children; and
       ``(3) to provide training, information, and support to 
     families to enable the families to participate effectively in 
     their children's education, and to help their children meet 
     challenging standards, including assisting families to--
       ``(A) understand the accountability systems, including 
     content standards, performance standards, and local 
     assessments, in place for the State involved, the 
     participating local educational agency, and the participating 
     elementary school or secondary school;
       ``(B) understand their children's educational needs, their 
     children's educational performance in comparison to State and 
     local standards, and the steps the school is taking to 
     address the children's needs and to help the children meet 
     the standards; and
       ``(C) communicate effectively with personnel responsible 
     for providing educational services to the families' children, 
     and to participate in the development, amendment, review, and 
     implementation of school-parent compacts, parent involvement 
     policies, and school plans.

     ``SEC. 10995F. APPLICATIONS.

       ``(a) In General.--Each eligible partnership desiring a 
     grant under this part shall submit an application to the 
     Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
     information as the Secretary may require.
       ``(b) Contents.--Each application submitted pursuant to 
     subsection (a) shall--
       ``(1) include a needs assessment, including a description 
     of how the partnership will ensure that the activities to be 
     assisted under this part will be tailored to meet the 
     specific needs of the children and families to be served;
       ``(2) describe arrangements that have been formalized 
     between the participating elementary school or secondary 
     school, and other partnership members;
       ``(3) describe how the partnership will effectively 
     coordinate and utilize Federal, State, and local educational 
     agency sources of funding, including funding provided under 
     part I of title X and under the Safe Schools/Healthy Students 
     Initiative (jointly funded by the Departments of Education, 
     Justice, and Health and Human Services), that provide 
     assistance to families and their children in the areas of job 
     training, housing, justice, health, mental health, child 
     care, and social and human services;
       ``(4) describe the partnership's plan to--
       ``(A) develop and carry out the activities assisted under 
     this part with extensive participation of parents, 
     administrators, teachers, pupil services personnel, social 
     and human service agencies, and community organizations and 
     leaders; and
       ``(B) connect and integrate the activities assisted under 
     this part with the education reform efforts of the 
     participating elementary school or secondary school, and the 
     participating local educational agency;
       ``(5) describe the partnership's strategy for providing 
     information and assistance in a language and form that 
     families can understand, including how the partnership will 
     ensure that families of students with limited English 
     proficiency, or families of students with disabilities, are 
     effectively involved, informed, and assisted;
       ``(6) describe how the partnership will collect and analyze 
     data, and will utilize specific performance measures and 
     indicators to--
       ``(A) determine the impact of activities assisted under 
     this part as described in section 10995I(a); and
       ``(B) improve the activities assisted under this part; and
       ``(7) describe how the partnership will protect the privacy 
     of families and their children participating in the 
     activities assisted under this part.

     ``SEC. 10995G. FEDERAL SHARE.

       ``The Federal share of the cost of establishing and 
     expanding child opportunity zone family centers--
       ``(1) for the first year for which an eligible partnership 
     receives assistance under this part shall not exceed 90 
     percent;
       ``(2) for the second such year, shall not exceed 80 
     percent;
       ``(3) for the third such year, shall not exceed 70 percent;
       ``(4) for the fourth such year, shall not exceed 60 
     percent; and
       ``(5) for the fifth such year, shall not exceed 50 percent.

[[Page S12786]]

     ``SEC. 10995H. CONTINUATION OF FUNDING.

       ``Each eligible partnership that receives a grant under 
     this part shall, after the third year for which the 
     partnership receives funds through the grant, be eligible to 
     continue to receive the funds if the Secretary determines 
     that the partnership has made significant progress in meeting 
     the performance measures used for the partnership's local 
     evaluation under section 10995I(a)(4).

     ``SEC. 10995I. EVALUATIONS AND REPORTS.

       ``(a) Local Evaluations.--Each partnership receiving funds 
     under this part shall conduct annual evaluations and submit 
     to the Secretary reports containing the results of the 
     evaluations. The reports shall include--
       ``(1) information on the partnership's activities that are 
     assisted under this part;
       ``(2) information on the number of families and children 
     served by the partnership's activities that are assisted 
     under this part;
       ``(3) information on the partnership's effectiveness in 
     reaching and meeting the needs of families and children 
     served under this part, including underserved families, 
     families of students with limited English proficiency, and 
     families of students with disabilities; and
       ``(4) the results of a partnership's performance assessment 
     of the partnership, including performance measures 
     demonstrating--
       ``(A) improvements in student achievement, school 
     readiness, family participation in schools, and access to 
     health care, mental health care, child care, and family 
     support services, resulting from activities assisted under 
     this part; and
       ``(B) reductions in violence-related problems and risk 
     taking behavior among youth, and reductions in truancy, 
     suspension, and dropout rates, resulting from activities 
     assisted under this part.
       ``(b) National Evaluations.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall reserve not more 
     than 3 percent of the amount appropriated under this part to 
     carry out a national evaluation of the activities assisted 
     under this part. Such evaluation shall be completed not later 
     than 3 years after the date of enactment of the Child 
     Opportunity Zone Family Center Act of 1999, and every year 
     thereafter.
       ``(2) Scope of evaluation.--In conducting the national 
     evaluation, the Secretary shall evaluate the effectiveness 
     and impact of the activities, and identify model activities, 
     assisted under this part.
       ``(3) Annual reports.--The Secretary shall submit an annual 
     report to Congress, regarding each national evaluation 
     conducted under paragraph (1), that contains the information 
     described in the national evaluation.
       ``(c) Model Activities.--The Secretary shall broadly 
     disseminate information on model activities developed under 
     this part.

     ``SEC. 10995J. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       ``There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this 
     part $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2000, and such sums as may 
     be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2001 through 
     2004.''.
                                 ______