Bill Text: PA SB424 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishing the School-Based Mentoring Grant Program; and making an appropriation.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-02-20 - Referred to EDUCATION [SB424 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-SB424-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 425
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 424 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY BROWNE, BOSCOLA, ERICKSON, STOUT, WASHINGTON, O'PAKE, BAKER AND FERLO, FEBRUARY 20, 2009
REFERRED TO EDUCATION, FEBRUARY 20, 2009
AN ACT
Establishing the School-Based Mentoring Grant Program; and
making an appropriation.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the School-Based
Mentoring Grant Program Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Department." The Department of Education of the
Commonwealth.
"Program." The School-Based Mentoring Grant Program
established by this act.
"Qualified organization." An organization which meets the
qualifications set forth in this act.
"School-based mentoring service." A relationship in which
both the students and mentors share everyday experiences that
enrich their lives with the expectation that youth will benefit
from the presence of additional caring mentors in their lives.
Section 3. School-Based Mentoring Grant Program.
(a) Establishment.--There is established the School-Based
Mentoring Grant Program.
(b) Administration and purpose.--The program shall be
administered by the department to provide grants for school-
based mentoring programs to qualified organizations.
(c) Grants.--A qualified organization may apply for a grant
if the qualified organization has an agreement with a school
district to provide school-based mentoring services to students
in kindergarten through grade 12 who reside within the
boundaries of the school district.
(d) Qualifications.--In order for a qualified organization
to receive grants under this act, the qualified organization
must meet all of the following criteria:
(1) Be a nonprofit mentoring organization, which is a
dues-paying affiliate with a national mentoring organization,
with the primary mission of one-to-one mentoring and which
qualifies as a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)
(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Public Law 99-514,
26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3)).
(2) Provide screening of volunteer mentors, including a
personal interview with a professional paid staff member who
holds a degree, reference checks, criminal and child abuse
background checks and training for each potential mentor.
(3) Support each mentor-student relationship by
professionally trained paid staff which must include contact
and evaluation with the mentor, the student and the student's
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parent or guardian within two weeks of the beginning of the
relationship and monthly thereafter for the first year of the
relationship. The contact and evaluation must be performed on
a quarterly basis after the first year of the relationship.
(4) Provide school-based mentoring which consists of all
of the following elements:
(i) Teachers or other school personnel referring
students in kindergarten through grade 12 who could
benefit from adult friendship and support.
(ii) Mentors committing to meeting with the students
for at least one hour per week throughout the academic
year.
(iii) Mentors meeting one-to-one with the students
at the student's school.
(iv) Mentors and students spending some time on
schoolwork and also engaging in other activities that
help build a strong relationship, such as playing sports
and games, exploring the Internet, doing artwork, writing
a story, eating lunch together, talking or other similar
activities.
(5) Utilizing program-based outcome evaluations which
evaluate short-term and long-term project outcomes. In the
case of school-based mentoring, teachers and mentors must
fill out a program-based outcome evaluation report which will
provide quantifiable data on the short-term and long-term
changes in the developmental outcomes to measure the
effectiveness of the program six months after being matched
with a student and at the end of the school year.
(e) Limitations.--No grants shall be made to a qualified
organization in excess of $1,000, exclusive of matching funds,
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for each student being provided mentoring services by a
qualified organization.
(f) Matching requirement.--Each qualified organization must
have the ability to provide up to a 50% match for department
grants in financial or in-kind support from other public or
private sources based upon departmental guidelines. In-kind
support may not exceed half of the required match. In-kind
support may consist of a donation of cash, personal property or
services the value of which is the net cost of the donation to
the donor or the pro rata hourly wage, including benefits, of
the individual performing the services.
Section 10. Appropriation.
The sum of $5,000,000, or as much thereof as may be
necessary, is hereby appropriated to the Department of Education
for the fiscal year July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010, to carry out
the provisions of this act.
Section 20. Effective date.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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