1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to services to children and families; 
  1.3             establishing a pilot program to provide stipends to 
  1.4             neighborhood organizations for the delivery of certain 
  1.5             services to children and families; appropriating 
  1.6             money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.7             Statutes, chapter 119A. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  [119A.08] [NEIGHBORHOOD-BASED SERVICES FOR 
  1.10  CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.] 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [PILOT PROJECTS AUTHORIZED.] The 
  1.12  commissioner of children, families, and learning shall establish 
  1.13  a program to provide stipends to at least two pilot projects for 
  1.14  the delivery and brokering of services through 
  1.15  neighborhood-based community organizations.  One of the pilot 
  1.16  projects must be located in the seven-county metro area and one 
  1.17  of the pilot projects must be located in an outstate community.  
  1.18  The projects must be selected no later than September 1, 1997. 
  1.19     Subd. 2.  [ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.] To be eligible to 
  1.20  participate in the community services stipend program under this 
  1.21  section, an organization must be a nonprofit community 
  1.22  organization that: 
  1.23     (1) has strong ties to a local neighborhood; 
  1.24     (2) represents the diverse residents of the neighborhood; 
  1.25  and 
  1.26     (3) has a history of providing services in the neighborhood.
  2.1      Subd. 3.  [APPLICATION.] (a) An application to participate 
  2.2   in the community services stipend program must be submitted to 
  2.3   the commissioner of children, families, and learning and must 
  2.4   contain the following: 
  2.5      (1) a list of all of the neighborhood blocks that the 
  2.6   organization intends to serve and information to demonstrate 
  2.7   that the applicant organization has established a significant 
  2.8   presence on each of these blocks; 
  2.9      (2) demonstrated knowledge of the needs of the children and 
  2.10  families on each block; 
  2.11     (3) a list of services to be provided; 
  2.12     (4) anticipated costs and proposed sources of funding for 
  2.13  each service; 
  2.14     (5) outcomes the services are designed to achieve; and 
  2.15     (6) the proposed amount of the stipend for each service to 
  2.16  be provided. 
  2.17     (b) The maximum stipend for any one service is $200.  The 
  2.18  applicant must list the proposed stipend amounts in an 
  2.19  outcomes-based format.  An example of a stipend proposal follows:
  2.20     "(1) for finding and providing a tutor for an academically 
  2.21  under-achieving child, $20; 
  2.22     (2) for being a tutor and achieving the outcome of better 
  2.23  school performance, $200; 
  2.24     (3) for being a tutor but not achieving the desired 
  2.25  outcome, $100; 
  2.26     (4) for driving a "baby truant" to school, $10; 
  2.27     (5) for helping a single-parent working family get the 
  2.28  children involved in after-school enrichment activities and the 
  2.29  children stay involved in the activities for a substantial 
  2.30  period, $150; 
  2.31     (6) for getting a previously neglected child involved with 
  2.32  scouting or other similar programs, $25; and 
  2.33     (7) for finding that a family has not obtained the 
  2.34  recommended childhood immunizations for the children, and for 
  2.35  assisting the family to obtain the immunizations, $20." 
  2.36     (c) The application must contain a protocol for an 
  3.1   independent evaluation of the pilot project, to be conducted by 
  3.2   an outside evaluator and submitted to the commissioner of 
  3.3   children, families, and learning by September 1, 1998. 
  3.4      Subd. 4.  [ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.] A participating 
  3.5   organization is eligible for a stipend whenever the organization 
  3.6   has delivered, or arranged for delivery of, any of the following 
  3.7   social services as listed in the original application to the 
  3.8   commissioner: 
  3.9      (1) after-school activities for school-aged children; 
  3.10     (2) truancy prevention activities; 
  3.11     (3) child care; 
  3.12     (4) nutrition services; 
  3.13     (5) assistance with housing repair and maintenance; 
  3.14     (6) home visiting programs; 
  3.15     (7) assisting the family to access early childhood family 
  3.16  education services; 
  3.17     (8) assisting the family to access mental health services; 
  3.18     (9) immunizations; 
  3.19     (10) English as a second language or citizenship classes; 
  3.20     (11) assisting family members who lack a high school 
  3.21  diploma with GED classes; and 
  3.22     (12) assisting older teens with job search and job training 
  3.23  activities designed to lead to a high school diploma or 
  3.24  equivalent.  
  3.25  With the approval of the commissioner, a participating 
  3.26  organization may add additional similar services to its list of 
  3.27  eligible activities. 
  3.28  Grantees must demonstrate the intent and ability to secure funds 
  3.29  and services from other sources. 
  3.30     Subd. 5.  [ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.] For purposes of this 
  3.31  section, "eligible recipients" are individuals and families with 
  3.32  incomes no greater than 200 percent of federal poverty 
  3.33  guidelines. 
  3.34     Subd. 6.  [PAYMENT OF STIPENDS.] An organization selected 
  3.35  for participation in the social services stipend program is 
  3.36  eligible to receive the specified stipend for each eligible 
  4.1   activity which is provided to an eligible recipient.  Requests 
  4.2   for reimbursement must be submitted to the commissioner of 
  4.3   children, families, and learning by the neighborhood 
  4.4   organization within 60 days of the date that the eligible 
  4.5   activity is completed.  Participating organizations may use the 
  4.6   stipend money received from the commissioner to provide the 
  4.7   services listed in subdivision 4 or for any legitimate and 
  4.8   worthwhile purpose, including, but not limited to, payment to 
  4.9   volunteers, neighborhood housing rehabilitation, or purchase of 
  4.10  school supplies or team or band uniforms for neighborhood school 
  4.11  children.  Expenditures must be documented and the documentation 
  4.12  submitted to the commissioner on a quarterly basis.  
  4.13     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.14     $400,000 is appropriated from the general fund for the 
  4.15  biennium ending June 30, 1999, to the commissioner of children, 
  4.16  families, and learning for pilot projects under Minnesota 
  4.17  Statutes, section 119A.08.