(325 ILCS 27/1)
Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Afterschool Youth Development Project Act.
(Source: P.A. 96-1302, eff. 7-27-10.)
(325 ILCS 27/5)
Sec. 5. Purpose and findings. The General Assembly declares that it is the policy of this State to provide all young people between the ages of 6 and 19 with access to quality afterschool programs through a State commitment to sufficient and sustainable funding for programs that promote positive youth development. The need for this policy is based on a series of facts:
The General Assembly finds that youth who are engaged in quality afterschool activities are more likely to succeed in academics, employment, and civic affairs than youth who do not participate in afterschool activities. Youth with high levels of participation in quality afterschool programs miss fewer days of school, have lower drop-out rates, and higher rates of graduation.
The General Assembly also finds that youth in Illinois face greater barriers to success than ever before:
The General Assembly also finds that the State of Illinois, having demonstrated national leadership in advancing toward universal early childhood education, must also expand youth development programming in order to realize the full, continued benefits of public investment in Illinois' young people.
The policy established by this Act will be developed through an afterschool demonstration program the results of which will be used to establish standards and policies to design and fund a statewide system of quality afterschool programs accessible to all youth between the ages of 6 and 19 that promote positive outcomes in such areas as education, employment, and civic success.
(Source: P.A. 96-1302, eff. 7-27-10.)
(325 ILCS 27/10)
Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Afterschool program" means positive youth development activities provided to youth between the ages of 6 and 19 during the hours before or after school, during summer recess from school, or during the weekends. These activities may include, but are not limited to, the following activity areas: academic support; arts, music, sports, cultural enrichment, and other recreation; health promotion and diseases prevention; life skills and work and career development; and youth leadership development. For the purposes of this Act, "afterschool program" also means a program funded under the Afterschool Demonstration Program.
"Demonstration" or "Demonstration Program" means the Afterschool Demonstration Program as established under this Act.
"Council" means the Illinois Youth Development Council.
"Community advisory group" means a group of key local stakeholders convened to help ensure effective program delivery through increased collaboration. This group is required as a condition of participating in the demonstration period.
(Source: P.A. 96-1302, eff. 7-27-10.)
(325 ILCS 27/15)
Sec. 15. Illinois Youth Development Council.
(a) Creation. In order to effectively achieve the policy established in this Act, the Illinois Youth Development Council shall be created. The purpose of the Council is to provide oversight and coordination to the State's public funds currently invested to support positive youth development programs and activities and to set systemwide policies and priorities to accomplish the following 5 major objectives: (i) set afterschool program expansion priorities, such as addressing gaps in programming for specific ages and populations; (ii) create outcome measures and require all afterschool programs to be evaluated to ensure that outcomes are being met; (iii) oversee the establishment of a statewide program improvement system that provides technical assistance and capacity building to increase program participation and quality systemwide; (iv) monitor and assess afterschool program quality through outcome measures; and (v) establish State policy to support the attainment of outcomes. The Council shall be created within the Department of Human Services.
(b) Governance. The Illinois Youth Development Council shall reflect the regional, racial, socioeconomic, and cultural diversity of the State to ensure representation of the needs of all Illinois youth. The Council shall be composed of no less than 28 and no more than 32 members. The Council may establish a defined length of term for membership on the Council.
(c) Activities. The major objectives of the Council shall be accomplished through the following activities:
(d) Accountability. The Council shall annually report to the Governor and the General Assembly on the Council's progress towards its goals and objectives. The Department of Human Services shall provide resources to the Council, including administrative services and data collection and shall be responsible for conducting procurement processes required by the Act. The Department may contract with vendors to provide all or a portion of any necessary resources.
(Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17.)
(325 ILCS 27/20)
Sec. 20. Afterschool Demonstration Program.
(a) Program. The Department of Human Services, in coordination with the Council, shall establish and administer a 3-year statewide, quality Afterschool Demonstration Program with an evaluation and outcome-based expansion model. The ultimate goal of the Demonstration shall be to develop and evaluate the costs, impact, and quality outcomes of afterschool programs in order to establish an effective expansion toward universal access.
(b) Eligible activity areas. Afterschool programs created under the Demonstration Program shall serve youths in Illinois by promoting one or more of the following:
(c) Eligible entities. Currently funded or new entities, including but not limited to the following, shall be eligible to apply for funding:
Priority for participation in the Demonstration Program shall be given to entities with experience in providing afterschool programs in Illinois.
(d) Program criteria. New or existing applicants shall demonstrate the capacity to achieve the goals of this Act and meet the deadlines set forth by the Council through:
(e) Expansion. Three years from the award of the first dollars, initial findings of an outcome evaluation of the Demonstration, conducted by an independent evaluator as described in subsection (d) of Section 25 of this Act, shall be reported to the Governor, the General Assembly, the Council, and the Youth Advisory Group with a hearing scheduled before the appropriate committees of the House and Senate for the purpose of establishing an effective expansion toward universal access. A positive outcome evaluation, whereby performance outcomes determined by the Council are met, shall trigger a phased-in expansion toward full implementation.
(Source: P.A. 96-1302, eff. 7-27-10.)
(325 ILCS 27/25)
Sec. 25. Effectiveness of afterschool programs.
(a) Program standards. Research has shown that high-performing youth programs demonstrate shared features of program quality. The Council shall establish a universal framework of youth development program standards that commonly define measurable indicators of program quality across the diverse array of eligible demonstration program activities.
(b) Evaluation and monitoring. Afterschool programs shall be held accountable to universal program quality standards as adopted by the Council. Data informing performance against these standards shall be monitored and collected by the Department of Human Services. Each afterschool program, in coordination with the corresponding community advisory group, shall also assess needs and gaps relative to addressing outcome goals.
(c) Capacity-building supports. A statewide program quality improvement system shall be established by the Council utilizing a qualified third party to provide assessment, coaching, technical assistance, and system and professional development. Provided supports shall first target those afterschool programs created under the Demonstration with the ultimate goal of expansion to support the larger statewide system of youth development program providers.
(d) Demonstration outcome evaluation. An evaluation of the Demonstration shall be conducted by a third-party evaluator or evaluators selected through a competitive request for proposals (RFP) process. The purpose of the evaluation is to determine how well the Demonstration Program meets the cost, impact, and quality outcome goals established by the Council. Initial findings shall be reported to the Council, the Governor, and the General Assembly within 3 years from the award of the first dollars and shall be the primary determining evidence to trigger expansion as described in subsection (e) of Section 20 of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 96-1302, eff. 7-27-10.)
(325 ILCS 27/30)
Sec. 30. Funding. The creation and establishment of the Council, the Youth Advisory Group, and the Afterschool Demonstration Program shall be subject to appropriations, however the Department of Human Services shall be permitted to accept private funding or private resources at any time to implement this Act.
(Source: P.A. 96-1302, eff. 7-27-10.)
(325 ILCS 27/99)
Sec. 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.
(Source: P.A. 96-1302, eff. 7-27-10.)