[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 112 (Wednesday, September 20, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8862-S8864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. JEFFORDS (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Cleland, and Mrs. 
        Murray):
  S. 3085. A bill to provide assistance to mobilize and support United 
States communities in carrying out youth development programs that 
assure that all youth have access to programs and services that build 
the competencies and character development needed to fully prepare the 
youth to become adults and effective citizens; to the Committee on 
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.


                       the younger americans act

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Younger 
American's Act with Senators Kennedy, Cleland, and Murray. This 
legislation embraces the belief that youth are not only our nation's 
most valuable resource, they also are our most important 
responsibility. The needs of youth must be moved to a higher priority 
on our nation's agenda.
  It is not enough that government responds to youth when they get into 
trouble with drugs, teen pregnancy, and violence. We need to strengthen 
the positive rather than simply respond to the negative. Positive youth 
development, the framework for the Younger American's Act, is not just 
about preventing bad things from happening, but giving a nudge to help 
good things happen. And we know that it works.
  Evaluations of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs, and 
other youth development programs have demonstrated significant 
increases in parental involvement, youth participation in constructive 
education, social and recreation activities, enrollment in post-
secondary education, and community involvement. Just as important, 
youth actively participating in youth development programs show 
decreased rates of school failure and absenteeism, teen pregnancy, 
delinquency, substance abuse, and violent behavior.
  We also know that risk taking behavior increases with age. One third 
of the high school juniors and seniors participate in two or more 
health risk behaviors. That is why it is important to build a youth 
development infrastructure that engages youth as they enter pre-
adolescence and keeps them engaged throughout their teen years. The 
Younger American's Act is targeted to youth aged ten to nineteen. This 
encompasses both the critical middle-school years, as well as the 
increasingly risky high school years.
  The Younger American's Act is about framing a national policy on 
youth. Up until now, government has responded to kids after they have 
gotten into trouble. We must take a new tack. Instead of just treating 
problems, we have to promote healthy development. We have to remember 
that just because a kid stays out of trouble, it doesn't mean that he 
or she is ready to handle the responsibilities of adulthood. Research 
has shown that kids want direction, they want close bonds with parents 
and other adult mentors. And I believe we owe them that. Ideally, this 
comes from strong families, but communities and government can help.
  In order to keep kids engaged in positive activities, youth must be 
viewed as resources; as active participants in finding solutions to 
their own problems. Parents also must be part of those solutions. This 
legislation requires that youth and parents be part of the decision-
making process on the federal and local levels.
  The United States does not have a cohesive federal policy on youth. 
Creating an Office on National Youth Policy within the White House not 
only raises the priority of youth on the federal agenda, but provides 
an opportunity to more effectively coordinate existing federal youth 
programs to increase their impact on the lives of young Americans. The 
efforts of the Office of National Youth Policy in advocating for the 
needs of youth, and the Department of Health and Human Service in 
implementing the Younger American's Act will be helped by the Council 
on National Youth Policy. This Council, comprised of youth, parents,

[[Page S8863]]

experts in youth development, and representatives from the business 
community, will help ensure that this initiative continually responds 
to the changing needs of youth and their communities. It will bring a 
``real world'' perspective to the efforts of the Office and HHS.

  The Younger American's Act provides communities with the funding 
necessary to adequately ensure that youth have access to five core 
resources:
  Ongoing relationships with caring adults;
  Safe places with structured activities in which to grow and learn;
  Services that promote healthy lifestyles, including those designed to 
improve physical and mental health;
  Opportunities to acquire marketable skills and competencies; and
  Opportunities for community service and civic participation.
  Block grant funds will be used to expand existing resources, create 
new ones where none existed before, overcome barriers to accessing 
those resources, and fill gaps to create a cohesive network for youth. 
The funds will be funneled through states, based on an allocation 
formula that equally weighs population and poverty measures, to 
communities where the primary decisions regarding the use of the funds 
will take place. Thirty percent of the local funds are set aside for to 
address the needs of youth who are particularly vulnerable, such as 
those who are in out-of home placements, abused or neglected, living in 
high poverty areas, or living in rural areas where there are usually 
fewer resources. Dividing the state into regions, or ``planning and 
mobilization areas,'' ensures that funds will be equitably distributed 
throughout a state. Empowering community boards, comprised of youth, 
parents, and other members of the community, to supervise decisions 
regarding the use of the block grant funds ensures that the programs, 
services, and activities supported by the Act will be responsive to 
local needs.
  Accountability is integral to any effective federal program. The 
Younger American's Act provides the Department of Health and Human 
Services with the responsibility and funding to conduct research and 
evaluate the effectiveness of funded initiatives. States and the 
Department are charged with monitoring the use of funds by grantees, 
and empowered to withhold or reduce funds if problems arise.

  The Younger Americans Act will help kids gain the skills and 
experience they need to successfully navigate the rough waters of 
adolescence. My twenty-first century community learning centers 
initiative supports the efforts of schools to operate after-school 
programs that emphasize academic enrichment. It's time to get the rest 
of the community involved. It's time to give the same level of support 
to the thousands of youth development and youth-serving organizations 
that struggle to keep their doors open every day.
  I remember a young man, Brad Luck, who testified before the H.E.L.P. 
Committee several years ago. As a 14-year-old, Brad embarked on a two-
year mission to open a teen center in his home town of Essex Junction, 
Vermont. He formed a student board of directors, sought 501(c)(3) 
status and gave over 25 community presentations to convince the town to 
back the program. Demonstrating the tenacity of youth, he then spear-
headed a successful drive to raise $30,000 in 30 days to fund the 
start-up of the center. Today, the center is thriving in its town-
donated space. This is an example of the type of community asset 
building supported by the Younger Americans Act. The Younger Americans 
Act is about an investment in our youth, our communities, and our 
future. I want to thank America's Promise, the United Way, and the 
National Collaboration for Youth for their work in providing the 
original framework for the legislation. I am proud and excited to be 
part of this important initiative.
  I ask unanimous consent that a summary of the legislation be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the summary was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                     Younger Americans Act--Summary

       The Younger Americans Act provides a framework for a 
     cohesive national policy on youth. Loosely based on the Older 
     Americans Act, this legislation is an opportunity to better 
     coordinate the services, activities and programs that help 
     our young people make a successful transition from childhood 
     to adulthood. The bill includes a block grant program to 
     support local communities in their efforts to strengthen the 
     resources that are available to youth. But perhaps most 
     importantly, The Younger Americans Act is about forging 
     partnerships between parents, youth, government, and youth 
     serving organizations.
       The Younger Americans Act begins with a statement of 
     national youth policy that youth need to have access five 
     core resources:
       Ongoing relationships with caring adults;
       Safe places with structured activities;
       Services that promote healthy lifestyles, including those 
     designed to improve physical and mental health;
       Opportunities to acquire marketable skills and 
     competencies; and
       Opportunities for community service and civic 
     participation.
       Reflecting the high priority which youth need to occupy on 
     the national agenda, the legislation establishes an Office of 
     National Youth Policy within the White House. This office 
     will serve as an effective advocate for youth within the 
     federal government and assist in resolving administrative and 
     programmatic conflicts between federal programs that are 
     barriers to parents, youth, communities, and service 
     providers in accessing the full array of core resources for 
     youth. Funds for this Office are authorized for $500,000 a 
     year.
       The Younger Americans Act creates a Council on National 
     Youth Policy to advise the President, the Director of the 
     Office of National Youth Policy and the Department of Health 
     and Human Services on the developmental needs of youth, youth 
     participation, and federal youth policies. The membership of 
     the Council ensures that youth are active participants in the 
     finding solutions to many of their own problems. The Council 
     is authorized to conduct public forums for discussion and 
     serve as an information conduit between policy makers, youth, 
     and others involved in the provision of youth services. It is 
     authorized for $250,000 per year.
       The Younger Americans Act creates a formula-based state 
     block grant to support community-based youth development 
     programs, activities and services. Ninety-seven percent of 
     the funds will be distributed to states, Native American 
     tribes and organizations, and outlying territories. The 
     Department of Health and Human Services is authorized to use 
     the remainder of the funds to conduct demonstration program 
     for youth populations that are particularly vulnerable. Funds 
     are distributed to states based on the population of youth 
     aged 10-19, and the number of children and youth receiving 
     free- or reduced priced lunches. There is a small state 
     minimum of .4 percent.
       To implement the block grant, states are required to divide 
     the state into geographical regions called planning and 
     mobilization areas. States are encouraged to utilize existing 
     state administrative or programmatic regions. States may use 
     up to 4 percent of the funds for program review, monitoring, 
     and technical assistance; and no more than 3 percent of 
     the funds to address the needs of particularly vulnerable 
     youth populations, including youth in out-of-home 
     residential settings, such as foster care, communities 
     with high concentrations of poverty, rural areas, and 
     youth that have been abused or neglected. The remaining 93 
     percent of the funds allotted to the states must be 
     equitably distributed among the planning and mobilization 
     areas, based on the same population and school lunch 
     program participation formula used for the distribution of 
     the federal funds.
       An ``area agency for youth'' will be designated to 
     administer the funds, under the direction of a community 
     board. States are encouraged to build on existing community 
     resources and systems. After assessing the available assets 
     for youth, as well as gaps in and barriers to services in the 
     community, a plan to address the needs of local youth in the 
     five core resources is developed for each region of the 
     state. At least 30 percent of the funds provided to the area 
     agency for youth must be used to address the needs of the 
     most vulnerable youth populations in the region. As part of 
     the planning process, area agencies for youth and community 
     boards must identify measures of program effectiveness upon 
     which future progress will be evaluated.
       Funds are distributed, on a competitive basis, to 
     community-based youth serving organizations and agencies in 
     such a manner as to build a cohesive network of programs, 
     services and activities for local youth. Provisions in the 
     legislation ensure the participation of youth and their 
     families in decisions about how best to meet the needs of 
     local youth. There is a state or local match requirement of 
     20 percent for the first two years, increasing to 50 percent 
     by the fifth and subsequent years. The match can meet through 
     cash or in-kind contributions, fairly evaluated. The 
     legislation contains an illustrative list of youth 
     development activities, programs and services that may 
     receive funds from the Younger American's Act. That list 
     includes a broad variety of effective youth development 
     activities such as youth mentoring, community youth centers 
     and clubs, character development, non-school hours programs, 
     sports and recreation activities, academic and cultural 
     enrichment, workforce preparation, community service, and 
     referrals to health and mental health services. The block 
     grant is authorized for $500 million the first year, ramping

[[Page S8864]]

     up to $2 billion in the fifth year of the legislation, for a 
     total of $5.75 billion over five years.
       Although research has demonstrated the effectiveness of 
     positive youth development programs, accountability and 
     evaluation must be part of any significant investment of 
     federal funds. The legislation requires the Department of 
     Health and Human Service to conduct extensive research and 
     evaluation of the programs, services and activities funded 
     under the Act. The Department also has responsibility for 
     funding professional development activities for youth workers 
     and other training and education initiatives to increase the 
     capacity of local boards, agencies and organizations to 
     implement the block grant. These efforts are authorized for 
     $7 million per year.

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I commend Senator Jeffords for his 
leadership on this important legislation and it is a privilege to join 
him as a cosponsor on this legislation. I also commend the thirty-four 
youth organizations that comprise the National Collaboration for Youth 
and the more than 200 young people who have worked on this bill. They 
have been skillful and tireless in their efforts to focus on the need 
for a positive national strategy for youth.
  Our goal in introducing the Younger Americans Act is to establish a 
national policy for youth which focuses on young people, not as 
problems, but as problem solvers. The Younger Americans Act is intended 
to create a local and nation-wide collaborative movement to provide 
programs that offer greater support for youth in the years of 
adolescence. This bill, modeled on the very successful Older Americans 
Act of 1965, will help youths between the ages of 10 and 19. It will 
provide assistance to communities for youths development programs that 
assure that all youth have access to the skills and character 
development needed to become good citizens.
  In other successful bipartisan measures over the years, such as Head 
Start, child care, and the 21st century learning communities, we have 
created a support system for parents of preschool and younger school-
age children. These programs reduce the risk that children will grow up 
to become juvenile delinquents by giving them a healthy and safe start. 
It's time to do the same thing for adolescents.
  Americans overwhelmingly believe that government should invest in 
initiatives like this. Many studies detail the effectiveness of youth 
development programs. Beginning with the Carnegie Corporation Report in 
1992, ``A Matter of Time--Risk and Opportunity in the Nonschool 
Hours,'' a series of studies have shown repeatedly that youth 
development programs at the community level produce powerful and 
positive results.
  In this report this last March, ``Community Counts: How Youth 
Organizations Matter for Youth Development,'' Milbrey McLaughlin, 
professor of education at Stanford University, calls for communities to 
rethink how they design and deliver services for youths, particularly 
during non-school hours. The report confirms that community involvement 
is essential in creating and supporting effective programs that meet 
the needs of today's youth.
  Effective community-based youth development programs build on five 
core resources that all youths need to be successful. These same core 
resources are the basis for the Younger Americans Act. Youths need 
ongoing relationships with caring adults, safe places with structured 
activities, access to services that promote healthy lifestyles, 
opportunities to acquire marketable skills, and opportunities for 
community service and community participation.
  The Younger Americans Act will establish a way for communities to 
give thought and planning on the issues at the local level, and to 
involve both youths and parents in the process. The Act will provide 
$5.76 billion over the next five years for communities to conduct youth 
development programs that recognize the primary role of the family, 
promote the involvement of youth, coordinate services in the community, 
and eliminate barriers which prevent youth from obtaining the guidance 
and support they need to become successful adults. The Act also creates 
a national youth policy office and a national youth council to advise 
the President and Congress and help focus the country more effectively 
on the needs of young people.
  Too often, the focus on youth has emphasized their problems, not 
their successes and their potential. This emphasis has sent a negative 
message to youth that needs to be reversed. We need to deal with 
negative behaviors, but we also need a broader strategy that provides a 
positive approach to youth. The Younger Americans Act will accomplish 
this goal in three ways, by focusing national attention on the 
strengths and contributions of youths, by providing funds to develop 
positive and cooperative youth development programs at the state and 
community levels, and by promoting the involvement of parents and 
youths in developing positive programs that strengthen families.
  The time of adolescence is a complex transitional period of growth 
and change. We know what works. The challenge we face is to provide the 
resources to implement positive and practical programs effectively. 
Investing in youth in ways like that will pay enormous dividends for 
communities and our country. I urge all members of Congress to join in 
supporting this important legislation.

                          ____________________