Bill Text: GA SB510 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Georgia Youthbuild Program Act; establish program within Dept. of Human Resources; provide authority, duties, and powers

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-03-17 - Senate Read and Referred [SB510 Detail]

Download: Georgia-2009-SB510-Introduced.html

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10 LC 35 1789

Senate Bill 510

By: Senators Jackson of the 2nd and Henson of the 41st

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT

To amend Chapter 2 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to residential child care licensing, so as to provide for a short title; to provide for legislative findings and purpose; to establish the Georgia Youthbuild Program within the Department of Human Resources; to provide for the authority, duties, and powers of the Department of Human Resources with respect to the Georgia Youthbuild Program; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.

Chapter 2 of Title 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, residential child care licensing, is amended by adding a new article to read as follows:

"ARTICLE 3

49-2-30.

This article shall be known and may be cited as the 'Georgia Youthbuild Program Act.'

49-2-31.

The General Assembly finds that there is a need to:

(1) Expand the supply of permanent affordable housing for homeless individuals, low-income persons, and special needs populations by utilizing the energies and talents of economically disadvantaged youth;

(2) Provide economically disadvantaged youth with opportunities for meaningful work and service to their communities in helping to meet the housing needs of homeless individuals, low-income persons, and special needs populations;

(3) Enable economically disadvantaged youth to obtain the education and employment skills necessary to achieve economic self-sufficiency; and

(4) Foster the development of leadership skills and commitment to community development among youth in designated community empowerment zones.

49-2-32.

As used in this article, the term:

(1) 'Applicant' means a public or private nonprofit organization agency eligible to provide education and employment training under federal or state employment training programs.

(2) 'Commissioner' means the commissioner of the Department of Human Resources.

(3) 'Department' means the Department of Human Resources.

(4) 'Participant' means an individual who is:

(A) Sixteen to 24 years of age, inclusive;

(B) A member of a low-income household; and

(C) Neither attending any school nor subject to a compulsory attendance law and who has not received a secondary school diploma or a certificate of equivalency for such diploma.

(5) 'Low-income household' means a person or household whose income is at or below 50 percent of the median family income for the county where the household is located.

(6) 'Youthbuild' means a program that provides disadvantaged youth with opportunities for employment, education, leadership development, entrepreneurial skills development, and training in the construction or rehabilitation of housing for special needs populations or low-income households.

49-2-33.

The Georgia Youthbuild Program is established within the Department of Human Resources. Subject to appropriations or available gifts, grants, or other sources of revenue, the commissioner shall:

(1) Make grants to applicants eligible to provide education and employment training under federal or state employment training programs for the purpose of carrying out a wide range of multidisciplinary activities and services to assist economically disadvantaged youth under a federal Youthbuild Program or state or locally developed Youthbuild Program for economically disadvantaged youth; and

(2) Coordinate youth employment and training efforts under the department's jurisdiction and cooperate with other agencies and departments providing youth services to ensure that funds appropriated for the purposes of this article will be used to supplement funding from federal, state, local, or private sources.

49-2-34.

(a) Grants made under this article shall be used to fund an applicant's activities to implement a comprehensive education and employment skills training program.

(b) Activities eligible for assistance under this chapter include education and job skills training services and activities that include:

(1) Work experience and skills training, coordinated to the maximum extent feasible, with preapprenticeship and apprenticeship programs in construction and rehabilitation trades;

(2) Services and activities designed to meet the educational needs of participants, including basic skills instruction and remedial education, bilingual education for participants with limited English proficiency, secondary education services and activities designed to lead to the attainment of a high school diploma or its equivalent, and counseling and assistance in attaining postsecondary education and required financial aid;

(3) Counseling services and related activities;

(4) Activities designed to develop employment and leadership skills;

(5) Support services and need based stipends necessary to enable the participant to participate in the program and to assist participants through support services in retaining employment;

(6) Wage stipends and benefits provided to participants; and

(7) Administrative costs of the applicant not to exceed 5 percent of the amount of assistance provided under this article.

49-2-35.

(a) An individual selected as a participant in the Georgia Youthbuild Program may be offered full-time participation for a period of not less than six months and not more than 24 months.

(b) An applicant's program that is selected for funding under this article shall be structured so that approximately 50 percent of the time spent by the participants in the Youthbuild Program is devoted to educational services and activities.

49-2-36.

(a) An application for a grant under this article shall be submitted by the applicant in such form and in accordance with the requirements as determined by the commissioner.

(b) An application for a grant under this article shall contain at a minimum the following:

(1) The amount of the grant request and its proposed use;

(2) A description of the applicant and a statement of the participant's qualifications, including a description of the applicant's past experience with housing rehabilitation or construction with youth and youth education and employment training programs, and its relationship with community groups;

(3) A description of the proposed site for the program;

(4) A description of the educational and job training activities, work opportunities, and other services that will be provided to participants;

(5) A description of the proposed construction or rehabilitation activities to be undertaken and the anticipated schedule for carrying out such activities;

(6) A description of the manner in which eligible participants will be recruited and selected, including a description of arrangements which will be made with federal or state agencies, community based organizations, local school districts, the courts of jurisdiction for youth offenders, shelters for homeless individuals and other agencies that serve homeless youth, foster care agencies, and other appropriate public and private agencies;

(7) A description of how the proposed program will be coordinated with other federal, state, local, and private resources and programs, including vocational, adult, and bilingual education programs and job training programs;

(8) Assurances that there will be a sufficient number of adequately trained supervisory personnel in the program who have attained the level of journeyman or have served an apprenticeship through an approved apprenticeship training program;

(9) A description of the relationship of the Georgia Youthbuild Program with established apprenticeship and training programs;

(10) A description of the commitments for any additional resources to be made available to the local program from the applicant, from recipients of other federal, state, local, or from private sources; and

(11) Other factors the commissioner deems necessary.

49-2-37.

(a) An applicant selected for funding under this article shall provide the department information on program and participant accomplishments. The information shall be provided in the form of progress and final reports as requested by the department.

(b) The department shall prepare an initial evaluation report which shall be made available to the Governor and appropriate legislative committees on the progress of individual programs funded under this article. A final evaluation report shall be prepared on individual programs at the times of their completion. The final evaluation report shall include, but shall not be limited to, information on the effectiveness of the program, the status of program participants, and recommendations on program administration at the state and local levels."

SECTION 2.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.