GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

EXTRA SESSION 1994

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 56

Short Title:  Intervention/Prevention Grants.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives Barnes, Nesbitt, Hackney, Michaux, Redwine, Hunt, Fitch; Alphin, Black, Bowman, Burton, Cole, Colton, Cunningham, Jarrell, Jeffus, Jenkins, Kuczmarski, McCrary, Moore, Rogers, Sutton, Wainwright, Wilkins, Wilmoth, and Wright.
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Referred to:  Education.
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February 8, 1994

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO RESPOND TO THE INCIDENCE OF JUVENILE CRIME BY ESTABLISHING THE INTERVENTION/PREVENTION GRANT PROGRAM FOR NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL CHILDREN.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  The General Assembly finds that:
(1)	Growing numbers of children live in conditions that place them at risk of academic failure as students;
(2)	The provision of school and support services to these children and their families by public and nonprofit agencies is fragmented and does not prepare these children to learn effectively and have a successful school experience;
(3)	The lack of collaboration among schools, families, local agencies, and other groups involved in family support and youth development activities results in the inefficient and ineffective use of resources to meet the needs of these children;
(4)	Schools are dedicating an increasing amount of their time and resources to responding to disruptive and violent behavior rather than fulfilling their mission to challenge with high expectations each child to learn, to achieve, and to fulfill his or her potential;
(5)	The relationships between academic failure, disruptive and violent behavior in schools, unemployment, and criminal behavior are clear;
(6)	Responding to the needs of students who are at risk of school failure and providing for a safe and secure learning environment are cost-effective because it enables the State to  substitute preventive measures for expensive crisis intervention; and
(7)	Differing local needs and local resources necessitate the development of locally generated, community-based plans that coordinate and leverage existing resources, not the imposition of uniform and inflexible, State-mandated plans;
therefore, there is appropriated from the General Fund to Aid to Local School Administrative Units, the sum of forty million dollars  ($40,000,000) for the 1994-95 fiscal year to implement the Intervention/Prevention Grant Program for North Carolina School Children.
Sec. 2.  Article 16 of of Chapter 115C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Part to read:
"Part 8.  Intervention/Prevention
Grant Program for North Carolina School Children.
"§ 115C-239.  Establishment of program; purpose; goals.
There is established the Intervention/Prevention Grant Program for North Carolina School Children.  The purpose of the program is to provide grants to local school administrative units and to nonprofit corporations for locally designed innovative local programs that enhance educational attainment by providing coordinated services to respond to the needs of students who are at risk of academic failure and by providing for a safe and secure learning environment.
"§ 115C-239.1.  Applications for grants.
(a)	A local school administrative unit or a local, private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation may apply for a grant, or up to three adjacent local school administrative units may apply jointly for a grant.  The amount granted to an applicant shall be determined by the incidence of juvenile crime in the geographic area served by the grant.  The minimum amount of a grant shall be fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per year.  These funds may be used for either continuing or noncontinuing expenses.
(b)	In preparing grant applications, an applicant shall consult with a local task force appointed by the board of county commissioners and comprised of educators, parents, students, community leaders, the juvenile justice system, social services, and nongovernmental agencies providing services to children.  If a local school administrative unit or the geographic area covered by a grant proposal is located in more than one county, the board of commissioners of both counties shall appoint the task force.
(c)	The application shall include the following information:
(1)	Data on the incidence of juvenile crime in the geographic area to be served by the grant.  Sources of data may include the chief juvenile court counselor in the judicial district, the clerk of superior court, and local law enforcement officials.
(2)	An assessment of local resources from all sources for, and local deficiencies with regard to, responding to the needs of children who live in conditions that place them at risk of academic failure as students.  This assessment shall be prepared by the local task force.
(3)	A detailed plan for removing barriers to learning that exist for these children and for minimizing disruptive and violent behavior among all students.  This plan shall include proposed goals and anticipated outcomes, prepared after consultation with the task force.  This plan shall provide for the establishment or expansion of programs that have components based on one or more of the following models or other collaborative models:
a.	Family Resource Center Model. –  A Family  Resource Center is a school-based center that coordinates the delivery of comprehensive and integrated services in or near a school to children from kindergarten through the sixth grade and their families.  Services are provided through broad-based collaboration among governmental and nongovernmental agencies and persons reflective of the racial and socioeconomic diversity in a community.  Services are designed to (i) prepare children to attain academic and social success, (ii) enhance the ability of families to become advocates for and supporters of education for the children in their families, and (iii) enhance the ability of families to function as nurturing and effective family units.
b.	Cities in Schools Program Model. – A Cities in Schools Program is a community partnership among public agencies, private nonprofit agencies, volunteer organizations, and local businesses that delivers services to students who are at risk of dropping out of school or who display discipline problems.  Services offered are based on an assessment of local needs and resources.
c.	After School Program Model. – An After School Program is a program that provides high quality, educationally appropriate activities to students, especially middle school-aged students, after the regular school day.  The program should rely heavily on community volunteers to provide positive adult role models for students and to help supervise the activities.
d.	Alternative Learning Program Model. – An Alternative Learning Program is a program that provides individualized programs outside of a standard classroom setting in a caring atmosphere in which students learn the skills necessary to redirect their lives and return to a standard classroom setting.  The program should maintain State standards and may include individualized, self-paced learning programs, counseling for students and their families, referral to health and other community services, and day care for the children of students.
e.	Safe Schools Program Model. – A Safe Schools Program is a locally designed program for making schools safe for students and school employees.  The program may involve peer mediation and conflict resolution activities.
f.	Coach Mentor Program Model. – A Coach Mentor Program is a program designed to train coaches to intervene and respond to crises faced by adolescents. Training for coaches includes conflict resolution, peer mediation, and violence prevention. Other training topics may include school failure, early pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, self-abusive behaviors, and lack of connectedness to the family and community.
g.	One-on-One Program Model. – A One-on-One Program is a program that matches adult mentors with students at risk of academic failure to help the students raise academic performance.  Activities of volunteers may include teaching ways to channel energy constructively, tutoring to improve school grades, offering encouragement to stay in school, teaching social skills, and providing preparation for and help in finding a job.
(4)	A statement of how the grant funds would be used to address these local problems, what other resources would be used to address the problems, and how all available community resources would be coordinated to enhance the effectiveness of existing services.
(5)	A process for assessing on an annual basis the success of the local plan in addressing problems.
(d)	If the application is prepared by a nonprofit corporation, the applicant shall obtain the consent of the local board of education for the use of school resources and facilities prior to submitting the grant proposal.
"§ 115C-239.2.  Review of applications.
(a)	The Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Secretary of Human Resources shall jointly appoint a State task force to assist them in reviewing grant applications.  The State task force shall include representatives of the Department of Public Instruction, the Department of Human Resources, local school administrative units, educators, parents, the juvenile justice system, social services, and governmental agencies providing services to children, and other members the Superintendent and the Secretary consider appropriate.  In reviewing grant applications, the Superintendent, the Secretary, and the State task force shall consider the prevalence of underserved students and families in low-income neighborhoods and in isolated rural areas in the area for which the grant is requested, the severity of the local problems with regard to children at risk of academic failure in school and with regard to school discipline, and the likelihood that the locally designed plan will deal with the problems successfully.
During the review process, the Superintendent and the Secretary may recommend modifications in grant applications to applicants.
(b)	The Superintendent and the Secretary shall jointly submit recommendations to the State Board of Education on which applicants should receive grants and the amount they should receive.  If the Superintendent and the Secretary are unable to agree, they shall submit separate recommendations to the State Board.
"§ 115C-239.3.  Award of grants.
(a)	If the Superintendent and the Secretary submit joint recommendations to the State Board, the State Board shall either accept or reject each recommendation.  If the State Board rejects a joint recommendation, the Superintendent and the Secretary shall either submit a different proposal to the State Board or work with the rejected applicant to modify the proposal and resubmit the modified proposal to the State Board.
If the Superintendent and the Secretary submit separate recommendations to the State Board, the State Board shall award the grants after consideration of the recommendations.
(b)	It shall be the goal of the State Board to award a grant to each local school administrative unit that submits a proposal, either separately or in conjunction with other units, or to a local nonprofit corporation that submits a proposal for that geographic area, so long as the proposal meets State standards.
(c)	The State Board shall select the grant recipients prior to July 15, 1994, for local programs that will be in operation at the beginning of the 1994-95 school year.  The State Board shall select the grant recipients prior to October 1, 1994, for local programs that will be in operation after the beginning of the 1994-95 school year.
"§ 115C-239.4.  Requests for modifications of grants or for additional funds to implement grants.
A grant recipient may request a modification of a grant or additional funds to implement a grant through the grant application process.  The request shall be reviewed and accepted or rejected in the same manner as a grant application.
"§ 115C-239.5.  Administration of the grant program.
The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall administer the grant program.  The Department of Public Instruction and the Department of Human Resources shall provide technical assistance to grant applicants and recipients.
"§ 115C-239.6.  Cooperation of State and local agencies.
All agencies of the State and local government, including departments of social services, health departments, local mental health, mental retardation, and substance abuse authorities, court personnel, law enforcement agencies, The University of North Carolina, the community college system, and cities and counties, shall cooperate with the Department of Public Instruction, the Department of Human Resources, local boards of education, and local nonprofit corporations that receive grants in coordinating the program at the State level and in implementing the program at the local level.  The Superintendent and the Secretary shall develop a plan for ensuring the cooperation of their agencies, other State agencies, and local agencies, and encouraging the cooperation of private entities, especially those receiving State funds, in the coordination and implementation of the program.
"§ 115C-239.7.  Reporting requirements.
The State Board of Education shall report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee prior to January 15, of each year on (i)	how the funds appropriated by the General Assembly for the program are being used, (ii) additional funds required to implement the program, and (iii) any necessary modifications to the program."
Sec. 3.  The Department of Public Instruction and the Department of Human Resources shall use funds within their budgets for travel and for supplies and materials for the 1993-94 fiscal year to implement Section 2 of this act prior to July 1, 1994.
Sec. 4.  Section 1 of this act becomes effective July 1, 1994.  The remainder of this act is effective upon ratification.