1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to education; establishing a grant program to help communities promote, 
1.3 	practice, and cultivate positive child and youth development; appropriating 
1.4 	money.
1.5 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.6 	Section 1. GRANT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE HEALTHY 
1.7 	COMMUNITY-HEALTHY YOUTH INITIATIVES.
 1.8 	(a) The education commissioner must contract with the Search Institute to help local 
1.9 	communities develop, expand, and maintain the tools, training, and resources needed to 
1.10 	foster positive child and youth development and effectively engage young people in 
1.11 	their community. The Search Institute must educate individuals and community-based 
1.12 	organizations to adequately understand and meet the development needs of their children 
1.13 	and youth, use best practices to promote the healthy development of children and youth, 
1.14 	share best program practices with other interested communities, and create electronic and 
1.15 	other opportunities for communities to share experiences in and resources for promoting 
1.16 	the healthy development of children and youth.
1.17 	(b) Specifically, the Search Institute must use a competitive grant process 
1.18 	to select five interested communities throughout Minnesota to undertake healthy 
1.19 	community-healthy youth initiatives. The Search Institute must provide the selected 
1.20 	communities with the tools, training, and resources they need for successfully 
1.21 	implementing initiatives focused on the healthy development of young people and 
1.22 	strengthening the community. The Search Institute also must use a competitive grant 
1.23 	process to provide at least four existing healthy community-healthy youth initiatives 
1.24 	with added resources to expand existing youth engagement efforts. Finally, the Search 
2.1 	Institute must work to strengthen networking and information sharing activities among all 
2.2 	healthy community-healthy youth initiatives throughout Minnesota, including sharing best 
2.3 	program practices and providing personal and electronic opportunities for peer learning 
2.4 	and ongoing program support.
2.5 	(c) The education commissioner must provide for an evaluation of the effectiveness 
2.6 	of this program and must recommend to the education policy and finance committees 
2.7 	of the legislature by February 15, 2010, whether or not to make the program available 
2.8 	statewide. The Search Institute annually must report to the education commissioner on the 
2.9 	services it provided and the grant money it expended under this section.

2.10 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

2.11 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION.
 2.12 	$250,000 in fiscal year 2009 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
2.13 	commissioner of education for contracting with the Search Institute to promote healthy 
2.14 	community-healthy youth initiatives under section 1, paragraph (b). The commissioner 
2.15 	may expend up to five percent of the appropriation to provide for the program evaluation 
2.16 	under section 1, paragraph (c).

2.17 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2008.