GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 1892

Short Title:  Service Corps Funds.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives Luebke; Colton, Kuczmarski, Michaux, G. Miller, and Mosley.
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Referred to:  Appropriations.
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May 30, 1994

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE NORTH CAROLINA SERVICE CORPS AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Human Resources the sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000) for the 1994-95 fiscal year to implement the North Carolina Service Corps.
Sec. 2.  A new Part is added to Article 3 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes to read:
"Part 4B.  North Carolina Service Corps.
"§ 143B-151.  Creation of Corps; purpose; administration.
(a)	There is created in the Department of Human Resources the North Carolina Service Corps.  The purpose of the Corps is to provide an innovative program of community service work and alternative education to youthful offenders and to young adults, modeled on the Durham Service Corps.
(b)	The Department of Human Resources shall administer the Corps.  The Governor's Council on Children, Youth, and Families, if established by the General Assembly, shall advise the Secretary of Human Resources on the administration of the Corps.
"§ 143B-151.1.  Corps services.
(a)	The Corps shall provide services to young adults from age 17 through 23 who apply for the Corps and to nonviolent offenders, from age 15 through 17, as an alternative to training school.
(b)	Participants in the Corps program for young adults shall:
(1)	Work for up to one year on community service projects for which the Corps has entered into a contract with a State, federal, or local government or a nonprofit corporation.  New participants shall be paid the minimum wage for this work and shall have the opportunity to earn raises throughout the year.
(2)	Serve as volunteers in self-initiated community-service activities and in community-service activities sponsored by the Corps.
(3)	Participate in at least 10 hours of education each week.  All participants shall attend an alternative education program structured to fit their individual needs and a weekly life skills session on how to manage money, maintain a family, and prepare for a job.  The education program shall be prepared by the Corps, in conjunction with the community college system where feasible.
(4)	Receive assistance from the Corps in locating a meaningful postprogram placement.
(5)	Be eligible to receive a postservice benefit of up to a seven hundred fifty dollar ($750.00) bonus or up to a one thousand five hundred dollar ($1,500) scholarship for successful completion of the program.
(c)	Participants in the Corps program for nonviolent offenders shall:
(1)	Work for one year on a community service project for which the Corps has entered into a contract with a State, federal, or local government or a nonprofit corporation.  New participants shall be paid the minimum wage for this work and shall have the opportunity to earn raises throughout the year.
(2)	Work with Corps participants who are young adults in community building activities such as crew meeting, community meeting, support groups, and leadership meeting, and work with Corps participants who are young adults in self-initiated community service projects.
(3)	Participate in an alternative education program that follows service learning models, provided by the Corps and approved, where feasible, by the local school administrative unit in which the Corps is located. The education program shall include individualized instruction, life skills sessions, and integration of work and learning.
(4)	Return to school after completion of the Corps program.  The Corps shall work with school personnel to ensure smooth transitions.
(5)	Receive assistance with arranging after-school work.
(6)	Be eligible for a postprogram bonus.
"§ 143B-151.2.  Establishment of Corps sites.
(a)	The Department shall, with the consent of the Durham Area Youth Corps, Inc., which is doing business as the Durham Service Corporation, assume responsibility for administering the Corps in Durham as soon as practicable after July 1, 1994.  State funds shall be used to supplement and not to supplant existing local funds for the program in Durham.
The program in Durham shall provide technical assistance to additional Corps sites established throughout the State.
(b)	During the 1994-95 fiscal year, the Department shall establish four additional Corps sites that are located geographically throughout the State in rural and urban areas.  In selecting sites, the Department shall consider the commitment that local governments and the local business community will make to the Corps, the need for the Corps in the area, and the likelihood that a Corps will succeed.  The Department shall also require the board of commissioners of a county in which the Corps is located to provide a local match of at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the operating expenses of the Corps.
"§ 143B-151.3.  Reporting requirements.
The Department of Human Resources shall report annually to the General Assembly on outcomes of the Corps, including average gains in verbal and mathematics skill levels, high school diplomas or equivalences earned, employment for more than six months following completion of the Corps program, and other measures of program effectiveness."
Sec. 3. This act becomes effective July 1, 1994.