COATES = COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES,
ACCOUNTABILITY, AND TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL SERVICES ACT OF 1998
You can either download the PDF
version of the COATES Act or scroll down to read the full text.
PUBLIC LAW 105–285—OCT. 27, 1998
COMMUNITY OPPORTUNITIES, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND TRAINING AND
EDUCATIONAL SERVICES ACT OF 1998
112 STAT. 2702 PUBLIC LAW 105–285—OCT. 27, 1998
Public Law 105–285
105th Congress
An Act
To amend the Head Start Act, the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Act of 1981, and the Community Services Block Grant Act to
reauthorize and make improvements to those Acts, to establish demonstration
projects that provide an opportunity for persons with limited means to
accumulate assets, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community
Opportunities, Accountability, and Training and Educational Services Act
of 1998’’ or the ‘‘Coats Human Services Reauthorization Act of
1998’’.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
TITLE I—HEAD START PROGRAMS
Sec. 101. Short title.
Sec. 102. Statement of purpose.
Sec. 103. Definitions.
Sec. 104. Financial assistance for Head Start programs.
Sec. 105. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 106. Allotment of funds.
Sec. 107. Designation of Head Start agencies.
Sec. 108. Quality standards.
Sec. 109. Powers and functions of Head Start agencies.
Sec. 110. Head Start transition.
Sec. 111. Submission of plans to Governors.
Sec. 112. Participation in Head Start programs.
Sec. 113. Early Head Start programs for families with
infants and toddlers.
Sec. 114. Technical assistance and training.
Sec. 115. Professional requirements.
Sec. 116. Research and evaluation.
Sec. 117. Reports.
Sec. 118. Repeal of consultation requirement.
Sec. 119. Repeal of Head Start Transition Project Act.
TITLE II—COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM
Sec. 201. Reauthorization.
Sec. 202. Conforming amendments.
TITLE III—LOW-INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE
Sec. 301. Short title.
Sec. 302. Authorization.
Sec. 303. Definitions.
Sec. 304. Natural disasters and other emergencies.
Sec. 305. State allotments.
Sec. 306. Administration.
Sec. 307. Payments to States.
Sec. 308. Residential Energy Assistance Challenge option.
Sec. 309. Technical assistance, training, and compliance
reviews.
TITLE IV—ASSETS FOR INDEPENDENCE
Sec. 401. Short title.
Sec. 402. Findings.
Sec. 403. Purposes.
Sec. 404. Definitions.
Sec. 405. Applications.
Sec. 406. Demonstration authority; annual grants.
Sec. 407. Reserve Fund.
Sec. 408. Eligibility for participation.
Sec. 409. Selection of individuals to participate.
Sec. 410. Deposits by qualified entities.
Sec. 411. Local control over demonstration projects.
Sec. 412. Annual progress reports.
Sec. 413. Sanctions.
Sec. 414. Evaluations.
Sec. 415. Treatment of funds.
Sec. 416. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE I—HEAD START PROGRAMS
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Head Start Amendments
of 1998’’.
SEC. 102. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.
Section 636 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 636. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.
‘‘It is the purpose of this subchapter to promote
school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of
low-income children through the provision, to low-income children and
their families, of health, educational, nutritional, social, and
other services that are determined, based on family needs assessments, to be necessary.’’.
SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.
Section 637 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9832) is
amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs
(16) and (17) and inserting the paragraphs at the end of
the section;
(2) by inserting before paragraph (3) the following:
‘‘(1) The term ‘child with a disability’ means—
‘‘(A) a child with a disability, as defined in section
602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; and
‘‘(B) an infant or toddler with a disability, as
defined in section 632(5) of such Act.
‘‘(2) The term ‘delegate agency’ means a public,
private nonprofit, or for-profit organization or agency to which a grantee has delegated all or part of the responsibility of
the grantee for operating a Head Start program.’’;
(3) by striking paragraph (4);
(4) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4);
(5) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
‘‘(3) The term ‘family literacy services’ means
services that are of sufficient intensity in terms of hours, and of
sufficient duration, to make sustainable changes in a family, and
that integrate all of the following activities:
‘‘(A) Interactive literacy activities between parents
and their children.
‘‘(B) Training for parents regarding how to be the
primary teacher for their children and full partners in the education of their children.
‘‘(C) Parent literacy training that leads to economic
self-sufficiency.
‘‘(D) An age-appropriate education to prepare children
for success in school and life experiences.’’;
(6) in paragraph (6), by adding at the end the following:
‘‘Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to
require an agency to provide services to a child who has not reached the age of compulsory school attendance for more than the
number of hours per day permitted by State law (including regulation) for the provision of services to such a child.’’;
(7) by striking paragraph (12) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(12) The term ‘migrant and seasonal Head Start
program’ means—
‘‘(A) with respect to services for migrant
farmworkers, a Head Start program that serves families who are engaged in agricultural labor and who have changed their residence
from one geographic location to another in the preceding 2-year period; and
‘‘(B) with respect to services for seasonal
farmworkers, a Head Start program that serves families who are engaged primarily in seasonal agricultural labor and who have not
changed their residence to another geographic location in the preceding 2-year period.’’;
(8) by inserting after paragraph (14) the following:
‘‘(15) The term ‘scientifically based reading
research’—
‘‘(A) means the application of rigorous, systematic,
and objective procedures to obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading instruction, and reading
difficulties; and
‘‘(B) shall include research that—
‘‘(i) employs systematic, empirical methods that
draw on observation or experiment;
‘‘(ii) involves rigorous data analyses that are
adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn;
‘‘(iii) relies on measurements or observational
methods that provide valid data across evaluators and observers and across multiple measurements and
observations; and
‘‘(iv) has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal
or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective, and scientific
review.’’; and
(9) in paragraph (17) (as redesignated in paragraph (1))—
(A) by striking ‘‘Term’’ and inserting ‘‘term’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘Virgin Islands,’’ and inserting
‘‘Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, but for fiscal years ending
before October 1, 2001 (and fiscal year 2002, if the
legislation described in section 640(a)(2)(B)(iii) has not been enacted before September 30, 2001), also means’’; and
(C) by striking ‘‘Palau, and the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands.’’ and inserting ‘‘and
the Republic of Palau.’’.
SEC. 104. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR HEAD START PROGRAMS.
Section 638(1) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9833(1))
is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘aid the’’ and inserting ‘‘enable
the’’; and
(2) by striking the semicolon and inserting ‘‘and
attain school readiness;’’.
SEC. 105. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 639 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9834) is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘1995 through 1998’’
and inserting ‘‘1999 through 2003’’; and
(2) in subsection (b), by striking paragraphs (1) and (2)
and inserting the following:
‘‘(1) for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2003 to
carry out activities authorized under section 642A, not more
than $35,000,000 but not less than the amount that was made
available for such activities for fiscal year 1998;
‘‘(2) not more than $5,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 1999 through 2003 to carry out impact studies under section
649(g); and
‘‘(3) not more than $12,000,000 for fiscal year 1999,
and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years
2000 through 2003, to carry out other research, demonstration,
and evaluation activities, including longitudinal studies,
under section 649.’’.
SEC. 106. ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.
(a) ALLOTMENTS.—Section
640(a) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (2)—
(A) in subparagraph (A)—
(i) by striking ‘‘and migrant’’ the first place it
appears and all that follows through ‘‘handicapped
children’’, and inserting ‘‘Head Start programs, services for children with disabilities, and migrant and seasonal
Head Start programs’’;
(ii) by striking ‘‘and migrant’’ each other place
it appears and inserting ‘‘Head Start programs and by migrant and seasonal’’; and
(iii) by striking ‘‘1994’’ and inserting ‘‘1998’’;
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘(B) payments’’
and all that follows through ‘‘Virgin Islands
according’’ and inserting the following:
‘‘(B) payments, subject to paragraph (7)—
‘‘(i) to Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands of the United States;
‘‘(ii) for fiscal years ending before October 1, 2001,
to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau; and
‘‘(iii) if legislation approving renegotiated Compacts
of Free Association for the jurisdictions described in clause
(ii) has not been enacted before September 30, 2001, for
fiscal year 2002 to those jurisdictions;
according’’;
(C) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and
inserting ‘‘, of which not less than $3,000,000 of the amount appropriated for such fiscal year shall be made available
to carry out activities described in section 648(c)(4);’’;
(D) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘related to the
development and implementation of quality improvement plans under section 641A(d)(2).’’ and inserting ‘‘carried
out under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 641A(d)
related to correcting deficiencies and conducting proceedings to terminate the designation of Head Start agencies; and’’;
(E) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following:
‘‘(E) payments for research, demonstration, and
evaluation activities under section 649.’’; and
(F) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘No Freely
Associated State may receive financial assistance under this subchapter after fiscal year 2002.’’;
(2) in paragraph (3)—
(A) in subparagraph (A)(i), by striking ‘‘equal’’
and all that follows through ‘‘amount;’’ and inserting
‘‘equal to the sum of—
‘‘(I) 60 percent of such excess amount for fiscal year
1999, 50 percent of such excess amount for fiscal year 2000,
47.5 percent of such excess amount for fiscal year 2001, 35
percent of such excess amount for fiscal year 2002, and 25 percent of such excess amount for fiscal year 2003;’’;
(B) in subparagraph (B)—
(i) in clause (ii)—
(I) by striking ‘‘adequate qualified staff’’ and
inserting ‘‘adequate numbers of qualified staff’’; and
(II) by inserting ‘‘and children with disabilities’’
before ‘‘, when’’;
(ii) in clause (iv), by inserting before the period
the following: ‘‘, and to encourage the staff to
continually improve their skills and expertise by informing the staff of the availability of Federal and State
incentive and loan forgiveness programs for professional development’’;
(iii) in clause (v), by inserting ‘‘and collaboration
efforts for such programs’’ before the period;
(iv) in clause (vi), by striking the period and inserting
‘‘, and are accessible to children with disabilities and their parents.’’;
(v) by redesignating clause (vii) as clause (viii);
and
(vi) by inserting after clause (vi) the following:
‘‘(vii) Ensuring that such programs have qualified
staff that can promote language skills and literacy growth of
children and that can provide children with a variety of skills
that have been identified, through scientifically based reading research, as predictive of later reading achievement.’’;
(C) in subparagraph (C)—
(i) in clause (i)—
(I) in subclause (I)—
(aa) by striking ‘‘this subparagraph’’ and
inserting ‘‘this paragraph’’;
(bb) by striking ‘‘of staff’’ and inserting
‘‘of classroom teachers and other staff’’;
(cc) by striking ‘‘such staff’’ and inserting
‘‘qualified staff, including recruitment and retention pursuant to achieving the requirements
set forth in section 648A(a)’’; and
(dd) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘Preferences in awarding salary increases, in excess of cost-of-living allowances, with such
funds shall be granted to classroom teachers and staff who obtain additional training or
education related to their responsibilities as employees of a Head Start program.’’;
(II) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘the subparagraph’’
and inserting ‘‘this subparagraph’’; and
(III) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(III) From the remainder of the amount reserved
under this paragraph (after the Secretary carries out subclause
(I)), the Secretary shall carry out any or all of the activities described in clauses (ii) through (vii), placing the
highest priority on the activities described in clause (ii).’’;
(ii) by amending clause (ii) to read as follows:
‘‘(ii) To train classroom teachers and other staff to
meet the education performance standards described in section 641A(a)(1)(B), through activities—
‘‘(I) to promote children’s language and literacy
growth, through techniques identified through scientifically based reading research;
‘‘(II) to promote the acquisition of the English
language for non-English background children and families;
‘‘(III) to foster children’s school readiness skills
through activities described in section 648A(a)(1); and
‘‘(IV) to provide training necessary to improve the
qualifications of the staff of the Head Start agencies and to support staff training, child counseling, and other
services necessary to address the problems of children
participating in Head Start programs, including children from dysfunctional families, children who experience chronic
violence in their communities, and children who experience substance abuse in their families.’’;
(iii) by striking clause (v); and
(iv) by redesignating clauses (vi) and (vii) as
clauses (v) and (vi), respectively; and
(D) in subparagraph (D)(i)(II), by striking ‘‘and
migrant’’ and inserting ‘‘Head Start programs and
migrant and seasonal’’;
(3) in paragraph (4)—
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘1981’’ and
inserting ‘‘1998’’;
(B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:
‘‘(B) any amount available after all allotments are
made under subparagraph (A) for such fiscal year shall be
distributed proportionately on the basis of the number of children
less than 5 years of age from families whose income is below
the poverty line.’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘For purposes of this paragraph, for each fiscal year
the Secretary shall use the most recent data available on the number of
children less than 5 years of age from families whose income is
below the poverty line, as published by the Department of
Commerce, unless the Secretary and the Secretary of Commerce
determine that use of the most recent data available would be
inappropriate or unreliable. If the Secretary and the Secretary of
Commerce determine that some or all of the data referred to in this
paragraph are inappropriate or unreliable, the Secretaries shall
issue a report setting forth their reasons in detail.’’;
(4) in paragraph (5)—
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘subparagraph
(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (B) and (D)’’;
(B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting before the period
the following: ‘‘and to encourage Head Start agencies
to collaborate with entities involved in State and local
planning processes (including the State lead agency administering the financial assistance received under the Child Care
and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.) and the entities providing resource and referral
services in the State) in order to better meet the needs of low-income children and families’’;
(C) in subparagraph (C)—
(i) in clause (i)(I), by inserting ‘‘the appropriate
regional office of the Administration for Children and Families and’’ before ‘‘agencies’’;
(ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
end;
(iii) in clause (iv)—
(I) by striking ‘‘education, and national service
activities,’’ and inserting ‘‘education, and
community service activities,’’;
(II) by striking ‘‘and activities’’ and inserting
‘‘activities’’; and
(III) by striking the period and inserting
‘‘(including coordination of services with those State officials who are responsible for administering
part C and section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431–1445,
1419)), and services for homeless children;’’; and
(iv) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(v) include representatives of the State Head Start
Association and local Head Start agencies in unified
planning regarding early care and education services at both the
State and local levels, including collaborative efforts to plan
for the provision of full-working-day, full calendar year early
care and education services for children; and ‘‘(vi) encourage local Head Start agencies to appoint
a State level representative to represent Head Start agencies
within the State in conducting collaborative efforts described in
subparagraphs (B) and (D), and in clause (v).’’;
(D) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph
(F); and
(E) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
‘‘(D) Following the award of collaboration grants
described in subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall provide, from the
reserved sums, supplemental funding for collaboration grants—
‘‘(i) to States that (in consultation with their State
Head Start Associations) develop statewide, regional, or local
unified plans for early childhood education and child care that
include the participation of Head Start agencies; and
‘‘(ii) to States that engage in other innovative
collaborative initiatives, including plans for collaborative training
and professional development initiatives for child care, early childhood education and Head Start service managers, providers, and
staff.
‘‘(E)(i) The Secretary shall—
‘‘(I) review on an ongoing basis evidence of barriers
to effective collaboration between Head Start programs and
other Federal, State, and local child care and early childhood
education programs and resources;
‘‘(II) develop initiatives, including providing
additional training and technical assistance and making regulatory changes, in necessary cases, to eliminate barriers to the
collaboration; and
‘‘(III) develop a mechanism to resolve administrative
and programmatic conflicts between programs described in
subclause (I) that would be a barrier to service providers, parents, or children related to the provision of unified services
and the consolidation of funding for child care services.
‘‘(ii) In the case of a collaborative activity funded
under this subchapter and another provision of law providing for
Federal child care or early childhood education, the use of equipment
and nonconsumable supplies purchased with funds made available under this subchapter or such provision shall not be
restricted to children enrolled or otherwise participating in the
program carried out under that subchapter or provision, during a period in
which the activity is predominantly funded under this
subchapter or such provision.’’; and
(5) in paragraph (6)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘From’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘3 percent’’ and all that follows
and inserting the following: ‘‘7.5 percent for fiscal year
1999, 8 percent for fiscal year 2000, 9 percent for fiscal year 2001, 10 percent for fiscal year 2002, and 10 percent for
fiscal year 2003, of the amount appropriated pursuant to section 639(a), except as provided in subparagraph (B).’’;
and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(B)(i) If the Secretary does not submit an interim
report on the preliminary findings of the Early Head Start impact
study currently being conducted by the Secretary (as of the date
of enactment of the Head Start Amendments of 1998) to the appropriate committees by June 1, 2001, the amount of the reserved
portion for fiscal year 2002 that exceeds the reserved portion for
fiscal year 2001, if any, shall be used for quality improvement
activities described in section 640(a)(3) and shall not be used to
serve an increased number of eligible children under section 645A.
‘‘(ii) If the Secretary does not submit a final report
on the Early Head Start impact study to the appropriate
committees by June 1, 2002, or if the Secretary finds in the report that
there are substantial deficiencies in the programs carried out
under section 645A, the amount of the reserved portion for fiscal year
2003 that exceeds the reserved portion for fiscal year 2002, if
any, shall be used for quality improvement activities described in
section 640(a)(3) and shall not be used to serve an increased
number of eligible children under section 645A.
‘‘(iii) In this subparagraph:
‘‘(I) The term ‘appropriate committees’ means the
Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Labor and Human Resources and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
‘‘(II) The term ‘reserved portion’, used with
respect to a fiscal year, means the amount required to be used in
accordance with subparagraph (A) for that fiscal year.
‘‘(C)(i) For any fiscal year for which the Secretary
determines that the amount appropriated under section 639(a) is not
sufficient to permit the Secretary to reserve the portion described
in subparagraph
(A) without reducing the number of children served by Head
Start programs or adversely affecting the quality of Head
Start services, relative to the number of children served and
the quality of the services during the preceding fiscal year, the
Secretary may reduce the percentage of funds required to be reserved for
the portion described in subparagraph (A) for the fiscal year
for which the determination is made, but not below the percentage
required to be so reserved for the preceding fiscal year.
‘‘(ii) For any fiscal year for which the amount
appropriated under section 639(a) is reduced to a level that requires a
lower amount to be made available under this subchapter to Head
Start agencies and entities described in section 645A, relative
to the amount made available to the agencies and entities for the
preceding fiscal year, adjusted as described in paragraph (3)(A)(ii),
the Secretary shall proportionately reduce—
‘‘(I) the amounts made available to the entities for
programs carried out under section 645A; and
‘‘(II) the amounts made available to Head Start
agencies for Head Start programs.’’.
(b) CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES.—Section
640(d) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(d)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘1982’’ and inserting ‘‘1999’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘(as defined in section 602(a) of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Such
policies and procedures shall require Head Start agencies to coordinate programmatic efforts with efforts to implement part C and
section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (20 U.S.C 1431–1445, 1419).’’.
(c) INCREASED APPROPRIATIONS.—Section
640(g) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9835(g)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (2)—
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking the semicolon
and inserting ‘‘, and the performance history of the applicant in providing services under other Federal
programs (other than the program carried out under this subchapter);’’;
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the semicolon
and inserting ‘‘, and organizations and public
entities serving children with disabilities;’’;
(C) in subparagraph (D), by striking the semicolon
and inserting ‘‘and the extent to which, and manner in which, the applicant demonstrates the ability to
collaborate and participate with other local community providers of child care or preschool services to provide full-working
day full calendar year services;’’;
(D) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘program; and’’
and inserting ‘‘program or any other early childhood
program;’’;
(E) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period and
inserting a semicolon; and
(F) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(G) the extent to which the applicant proposes to
foster partnerships with other service providers in a manner that will enhance the resource capacity of the applicant; and
‘‘(H) the extent to which the applicant, in providing
services, plans to coordinate with the local educational agency
serving the community involved and with schools in which children participating in a Head Start program operated by such
agency will enroll following such program, regarding such
services and the education services provided by such local
educational agency.’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4) Notwithstanding subsection (a)(2), after taking
into account paragraph (1), the Secretary may allocate a portion of the
remaining additional funds under subsection (a)(2)(A) for the
purpose of increasing funds available for activities described in
such subsection.’’.
(d) MIGRANT AND SEASONAL HEAD START PROGRAMS .—Section
640(l) (42 U.S.C. 9835(l)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(l)’’ and inserting ‘‘(l)(1)’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘migrant Head Start programs’’
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘migrant and seasonal Head
Start programs’’;
(3) by striking ‘‘migrant families’’ and inserting
‘‘migrant and seasonal farmworker families’’; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(2) For purposes of subsection (a)(2)(A), in
determining the need and demand for migrant and seasonal Head Start
programs (and services provided through such programs), the
Secretary shall consult with appropriate entities, including providers of
services for migrant and seasonal Head Start programs. The
Secretary shall, after taking into consideration the need and demand for
migrant and seasonal Head Start programs (and such services),
ensure that there is an adequate level of such services for
eligible children of migrant farmworkers before approving an increase in the
allocation of funds provided under such subsection for unserved
eligible children of seasonal farmworkers. In serving the eligible
children of seasonal farmworkers, the Secretary shall ensure that
services provided by migrant and seasonal Head Start programs do
not duplicate or overlap with other Head Start services
available to eligible children of such farmworkers.
‘‘(3) In carrying out this subchapter, the Secretary
shall continue the administrative arrangement responsible for meeting the needs of children of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and
Indian children and shall ensure that appropriate funding is
provided to meet such needs.’’.
(e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 644(f)(2) of the Head
Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9839(f)(2)) is amended by striking
‘‘Except’’ and all that follows through ‘‘financial’’ and
inserting ‘‘Financial’’.
SEC. 107. DESIGNATION OF HEAD START AGENCIES.
Section 641 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836) is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting
‘‘or for-profit’’ after ‘‘nonprofit’’; and
(B) by inserting ‘‘(in consultation with the chief
executive officer of the State involved, if such State expends non-Federal funds to carry out Head Start programs)’’
after ‘‘Secretary’’ the last place it appears;
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘area designated
by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as near-reservation’’ and
inserting ‘‘off-reservation area designated by an appropriate
tribal government in consultation with the Secretary’’;
(3) in subsection (c)—
(A) in paragraph (1)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘, in consultation with the chief
executive officer of the State involved if such State expends non-Federal funds to carry out Head Start
programs,’’ after ‘‘shall’’;
(ii) by inserting ‘‘or for-profit’’ after ‘‘nonprofit’’;
and
(iii) by striking ‘‘makes a finding’’ and all that
follows through the period at the end, and inserting the following: ‘‘determines that the agency involved
fails to meet program and financial management requirements, performance standards described in section
641A(a)(1), results-based performance measures developed by the Secretary under section 641A(b), or
other requirements established by the Secretary.’’;
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, in consultation
with the chief executive officer of the State if such
State expends non-Federal funds to carry out Head Start
programs,’’ after ‘‘shall’’; and
(C) by aligning the margins of paragraphs (2) and
(3) with the margin of paragraph (1);
(4) in subsection (d)—
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting
after the first sentence the following: ‘‘In selecting
from among qualified applicants for designation as a Head Start agency, the Secretary shall give priority to any qualified
agency that functioned as a Head Start delegate agency in the community and carried out a Head Start program
that the Secretary determines met or exceeded such performance standards and such results-based performance
measures.’’;
(B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘and programs
under part C and section 619 of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C 1431–1445, 1419)’’ after
‘‘(20 U.S.C. 2741 et seq.)’’;
(C) in paragraph (4)—
(i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘(at home
and in the center involved where practicable)’’ after ‘‘activities’’;
(ii) in subparagraph (D)—
(I) in clause (iii), by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end;
(II) by striking clause (iv); and
(III) by redesignating clause (v) as clause (iv);
(iii) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘and (D)’’
and inserting ‘‘, (D), and (E)’’;
(iv) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) and (E)
as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively; and
(v) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
‘‘(D) to offer to parents of participating children
substance abuse counseling (either directly or through referral to local entities), including information on drug-exposed
infants and fetal alcohol syndrome;’’;
(D) by amending paragraph (7) to read as follows:
‘‘(7) the plan of such applicant to meet the needs of
non-English background children and their families, including
needs related to the acquisition of the English language;’’;
(E) in paragraph (8)—
(i) by striking the period at the end and inserting
‘‘; and’’; and
(ii) by redesignating such paragraph as paragraph
(9);
(F) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
‘‘(8) the plan of such applicant to meet the needs of
children with disabilities;’’; and
(G) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(10) the plan of such applicant to collaborate with
other entities carrying out early childhood education and child
care programs in the community.’’;
(5) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(e) If no agency in the community receives priority
designation under subsection (c), and there is no qualified applicant
in the community, the Secretary shall designate a qualified
agency to carry out the Head Start program in the community on an
interim basis until a qualified applicant from the community is so
designated.’’; and
(6) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(g) If the Secretary determines that a nonprofit
agency and a for-profit agency have submitted applications for
designation of equivalent quality under subsection (d), the Secretary may
give priority to the nonprofit agency. In selecting from among
qualified applicants for designation as a Head Start agency under
subsection (d), the Secretary shall give priority to applicants that
have demonstrated capacity in providing comprehensive early childhood
services to children and their families.’’.
SEC. 108. QUALITY STANDARDS.
(a) QUALITY STANDARDS.—Section 641A(a) of the Head Start
Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)—
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by
inserting ‘‘, including minimum levels of overall
accomplishment,’’ after ‘‘regulation standards’’;
(B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘education,’’;
(C) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) through (D)
as subparagraphs (C) through (E), respectively; and
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:
‘‘(B)(i) education performance standards to ensure the
school readiness of children participating in a Head Start program, on completion of the Head Start program and
prior to entering school; and
‘‘(ii) additional education performance standards to
ensure that the children participating in the program, at a minimum—
‘‘(I) develop phonemic, print, and numeracy awareness;
‘‘(II) understand and use language to communicate
for various purposes;
‘‘(III) understand and use increasingly complex and
varied vocabulary;
‘‘(IV) develop and demonstrate an appreciation of
books; and
‘‘(V) in the case of non-English background children,
progress toward acquisition of the English language.’’;
(2) by striking paragraph (2);
(3) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs
(2) and (3), respectively;
(4) in paragraph (2) (as redesignated in paragraph (3))—
(A) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking ‘‘child’’
and inserting ‘‘early childhood education and’’; and
(B) in subparagraph (C)—
(i) in clause (i)—
(I) by striking ‘‘not later than 1 year after
the date of enactment of this section,’’; and
(II) by striking ‘‘section 651(b)’’ and all that
follows and inserting ‘‘this subsection; and’’;
and
(ii) in subclause (ii), by striking ‘‘November 2,
1978’’ and inserting ‘‘the date of enactment of
the Coats Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998’’; and
(5) in paragraph (3) (as redesignated in paragraph (3)),
by striking ‘‘to an agency (referred to in this
subchapter as the ‘delegate agency’)’’ and inserting ‘‘to a
delegate agency’’.
(b) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—Section 641A(b) of the Head
Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9836a(b)) is amended—
(1) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘RESULTS-BASED ’’
before ‘‘PERFORMANCE’’;
(2) in paragraph (1)—
(A) by striking ‘‘Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of this section, the’’ and inserting
‘‘The’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘child’’ and inserting ‘‘early
childhood education and’’;
(C) by inserting before ‘‘(referred’’ the
following: ‘‘, and the impact of the services provided through the programs
to children and their families’’; and
(D) by striking ‘‘performance measures’’ and
inserting ‘‘results-based performance measures’’; and
(3) in paragraph (2)—
(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking ‘‘DESIGN’’
and inserting ‘‘CHARACTERISTICS’’;
(B) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking
‘‘shall be designed—’’ and inserting ‘‘shall—’’;
(C) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘to assess’’
and inserting ‘‘be used to assess the impact of’’;
(D) in subparagraph (B)—
(i) by striking ‘‘to’’;
(ii) by striking ‘‘and peer review’’ and inserting
‘‘, peer review, and program evaluation’’; and
(iii) by inserting ‘‘, not later than July 1, 1999’’
before the semicolon;
(E) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘be developed’’
before ‘‘for other’’; and
(F) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The
performance measures shall include the performance standards described in subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii).’’;
(4) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘and by region’’
and inserting ‘‘, regionally, and locally’’; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4) EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—Such results-based
performance measures shall include educational performance measures that ensure that children participating in Head
Start programs—
‘‘(A) know that letters of the alphabet are a special
category of visual graphics that can be individually
named;
‘‘(B) recognize a word as a unit of print;
‘‘(C) identify at least 10 letters of the alphabet;
and
‘‘(D) associate sounds with written words.
‘‘(5) ADDITIONAL LOCAL RESULTS-BASED PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—
In addition to other applicable results-based performance measures, Head Start agencies may establish local
results-based educational performance measures.’’.
(c) MONITORING.—Section 641A(c) of the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9836a(c)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and results-based
performance measures developed by the Secretary under
subsection (b)’’ after ‘‘standards established under this
subchapter’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2)—
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at
the end;
(B) in subparagraph (C)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘(including children with
disabilities)’’ after ‘‘eligible children’’; and
(ii) by striking the period at the end and inserting
a semicolon; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(D) include as part of the reviews of the
programs, a review and assessment of program effectiveness, as
measured in accordance with the results-based performance measures developed by the Secretary pursuant to subsection
(b) and with the performance standards established pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection
(a)(1); and
‘‘(E) seek information from the communities and the
States involved about the performance of the programs and the efforts of the Head Start agencies to collaborate
with other entities carrying out early childhood education and child care programs in the community.’’.
(d) TERMINATION.—Section 641A(d) of the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9836a(d)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘or results-based performance
measures developed by the Secretary under subsection (b)’’
after ‘‘subsection (a)’’; and
(B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:
‘‘(B) with respect to each identified deficiency,
require the agency—
‘‘(i) to correct the deficiency immediately, if the
Secretary finds that the deficiency threatens the health or safety of staff or program participants or poses
a threat to the integrity of Federal funds;
‘‘(ii) to correct the deficiency not later than 90
days after the identification of the deficiency if the Secretary finds, in the discretion of the Secretary, that
such a 90-day period is reasonable, in light of the nature and magnitude of the deficiency; or
‘‘(iii) in the discretion of the Secretary (taking
into consideration the seriousness of the deficiency and the time reasonably required to correct the deficiency), to
comply with the requirements of paragraph (2) concerning a quality improvement plan; and’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2)(A), in the matter preceding clause
(i), by striking ‘‘able to correct a deficiency
immediately’’ and inserting ‘‘required to correct a deficiency
immediately or during a 90-day period under clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph
(1)(B)’’.
(e) REPORT.—Section 641A(e) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.
9836a(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘Such report shall be widely disseminated and available for
public review in both written and electronic formats.’’.
SEC. 109. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF HEAD START AGENCIES.
Section 642 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837) is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘or for-profit’’
after ‘‘nonprofit’’;
(2) in subsection (b)—
(A) in paragraph (6)—
(i) by striking subparagraph (D); and
(ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) and (F)
and subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively;
(B) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
end;
(C) in paragraph (9), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ‘‘; and’’;
(D) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (9) as
paragraphs (7) through (10), respectively;
(E) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
‘‘(6) offer to parents of participating children
substance abuse counseling (either directly or through referral to
local entities), including information on drug-exposed infants
and fetal alcohol syndrome;’’;
(F) in paragraph (8) (as redesignated in subparagraph
(D)), by striking ‘‘paragraphs (4) through (6)’’
and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (4) through (7)’’; and
(G) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(11)(A) inform custodial parents in single-parent
families that participate in programs, activities, or services
carried out or provided under this subchapter about the availability
of child support services for purposes of establishing
paternity and acquiring child support; and
‘‘(B) refer eligible parents to the child support
offices of State and local governments.’’;
(3) in subsection (c)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘and collaborate’’ after ‘‘coordinate’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘section 402(g) of the Social
Security Act, and other’’ and inserting ‘‘the State program
carried out under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et seq.), and other early
childhood education and development’’; and
(C) by inserting ‘‘and programs under part C and
section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C 1431–1445, 1419)’’ after ‘‘(20
U.S.C. 2741 et seq.)’’;
(4) in subsection (d)—
(A) in paragraph (1)—
(i) by striking ‘‘carry out’’ and all that follows
through ‘‘maintain’’ and inserting ‘‘take
steps to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that children maintain’’;
(ii) by inserting ‘‘and educational’’ after ‘‘developmental’’;
and
(iii) by striking ‘‘to build’’ and inserting
‘‘build’’;
(B) by striking paragraph (2);
(C) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (5) as
paragraphs (2) through (4), respectively; and
(D) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4) (as redesignated
in subparagraph (C)), by striking ‘‘the Head Start Transition Project Act (42 U.S.C. 9855 et seq.)’’ and
inserting ‘‘section 642A’’; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(e) Head Start agencies shall adopt, in consultation
with experts in child development and with classroom teachers,
an assessment to be used when hiring or evaluating any
classroom teacher in a center-based Head Start program. Such
assessment shall measure whether such teacher has mastered the
functions described in section 648A(a)(1).’’.
SEC. 110. HEAD START TRANSITION.
The Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) is amended by
inserting after section 642 the following:
‘‘SEC. 642A. HEAD START TRANSITION.
‘‘Each Head Start agency shall take steps to
coordinate with the local educational agency serving the community
involved and with schools in which children participating in a Head
Start program operated by such agency will enroll following such
program, including—
‘‘(1) developing and implementing a systematic
procedure for transferring, with parental consent, Head Start
program records for each participating child to the school in
which such child will enroll;
‘‘(2) establishing channels of communication between
Head Start staff and their counterparts in the schools
(including teachers, social workers, and health staff) to facilitate
coordination of programs;
‘‘(3) conducting meetings involving parents,
kindergarten or elementary school teachers, and Head Start program
teachers to discuss the educational, developmental, and other needs of individual children;
‘‘(4) organizing and participating in joint
transition-related training of school staff and Head Start staff;
‘‘(5) developing and implementing a family outreach
and support program in cooperation with entities carrying out parental involvement efforts under title I of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et
seq.);
‘‘(6) assisting families, administrators, and teachers
in enhancing educational and developmental continuity between Head Start services and elementary school classes; and
‘‘(7) linking the services provided in such Head Start
program with the education services provided by such local
educational agency.’’.
SEC. 111. SUBMISSION OF PLANS TO GOVERNORS.
The first sentence of section 643 of the Head Start Act
(42 U.S.C. 9838) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘30 days’’ and inserting ‘‘45
days’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘so disapproved’’ and inserting
‘‘disapproved (for reasons other than failure of the program to comply
with State health, safety, and child care laws, including
regulations applicable to comparable child care programs in the State)’’;
and
(3) by inserting before the period ‘‘, as evidenced by
a written statement of the Secretary’s findings that is
transmitted to such officer’’.
SEC. 112. PARTICIPATION IN HEAD START PROGRAMS.
(a) REGULATIONS.—Section 645(a)(1) of the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9840(a)(1)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘provide (A) that’’ and inserting
the following:
‘‘provide—
‘‘(A) that’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘assistance; and (B) pursuant’’
and inserting the following: ‘‘assistance; and
‘‘(B) pursuant’’;
(3) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘that programs’’
and inserting ‘‘that—
‘‘(i) programs’’; and
(4) by striking ‘‘clause (A).’’ and inserting the
following:
‘‘subparagraph (A); and
‘‘(ii) a child who has been determined to meet the
low-income criteria and who is participating in a Head Start program in a program year shall be considered to
continue to meet the low-income criteria through the end of the succeeding program year.
In determining, for purposes of this paragraph, whether a
child who has applied for enrollment in a Head Start program
meets the low-income criteria, an entity may consider evidence
of family income during the 12 months preceding the month in which
the application is submitted, or during the calendar year
preceding the calendar year in which the application is submitted,
whichever more accurately reflects the needs of the family at the
time of application.’’.
(b) SLIDING FEE SCALE.—Section 645(b) of the Head Start Act
(42 U.S.C. 9840(b)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘A Head Start agency that provides a Head Start
program with full-working-day services in collaboration with other
agencies or entities may collect a family copayment to support
extended day services if a copayment is required in conjunction with
the collaborative. The copayment charged to families receiving services
through the Head Start program shall not exceed the copayment
charged to families with similar incomes and circumstances who are
receiving the services through participation in a program carried
out by another agency or entity.’’.
(c) CONTINUOUS RECRUITMENT AND ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS.—Section 645(c) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840(c))
is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Each
Head Start program operated in a community shall be permitted to
recruit and accept applications for enrollment of children
throughout the year.’’.
(d) OFF-RESERVATION AREA.—Section 645(d)(1)(B) of the Head
Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840(d)(1)(B)) is amended by striking
‘‘a community with’’ and all that follows through ‘‘Indian
Affairs’’ and inserting ‘‘a community that is an off-reservation
area, designated by an appropriate tribal government, in consultation with
the Secretary’’.
SEC. 113. EARLY HEAD START PROGRAMS FOR FAMILIES WITH
INFANTS AND TODDLERS.
Section 645A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9840a) is
amended—
(1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘EARLY HEAD
START’’
before ‘‘PROGRAMS FOR’’;
(2) in subsection (a)—
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and
inserting a period;
(B) by striking paragraph (2); and
(C) by striking ‘‘for—’’ and all that follows
through ‘‘(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘for’’;
(3) in subsection (b)—
(A) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘(including
programs for infants and toddlers with disabilities)’’ after
‘‘community’’;
(B) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
end;
(C) by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (9);
and
(D) by inserting after paragraph (7) the following:
‘‘(8) ensure formal linkages with the agencies and
entities described in section 644(b) of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1444(b)) and providers of early
intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.
1400 et seq.); and’’;
(4) in subsection (c)—
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking
‘‘subsection (a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection
(a)’’; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘3 (or under’’
and all that follows and inserting ‘‘3;’’;
(5) in subsection (d)—
(A) in paragraph (1), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the
end;
(B) by striking paragraph (2);
(C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (2);
and
(D) in paragraph (2), as redesignated in subparagraph
(C), by inserting ‘‘or for-profit’’ after ‘‘nonprofit’’;
(6) by striking subsection (e);
(7) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as
subsections (e) and (f), respectively;
(8) in subsection (e) (as redesignated in paragraph (7))—
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘OTHER’’;
and
(B) by striking ‘‘From the balance remaining of the
portion specified in section 640(a)(6), after making
grants to the eligible entities specified in subsection (e),’’
and inserting ‘‘From the portion specified in section
640(a)(6),’’;
(9) by striking subsection (h); and
(10) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(g) MONITORING,
TRAINING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND EVALUATION.—
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—In order to ensure the successful operation
of programs assisted under this section, the Secretary shall use funds from the portion specified in section
640(a)(6) to monitor the operation of such programs, evaluate their effectiveness, and provide training and technical
assistance tailored to the particular needs of such programs.
‘‘(2) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ACCOUNT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount made available to
carry out this section for any fiscal year, not less than 5 percent and not more than 10 percent shall be reserved
to fund a training and technical assistance account.
‘‘(B) ACTIVITIES.—Funds
in the account may be used by the Secretary for purposes including—
‘‘(i) making grants to, and entering into contracts
with, organizations with specialized expertise relating to infants, toddlers, and families and the capacity
needed to provide direction and support to a national training and technical assistance system, in order to
provide such direction and support;
‘‘(ii) providing ongoing training and technical
assistance for regional and program staff charged with monitoring and overseeing the administration of the
program carried out under this section;
‘‘(iii) providing ongoing training and technical
assistance for existing recipients (as of the date of such training or assistance) of grants under subsection
(a) and support and program planning and implementation assistance for new recipients of such
grants; and
‘‘(iv) providing professional development and
personnel enhancement activities, including the provision of funds to recipients of grants under subsection
(a) for the recruitment and retention of qualified staff with an appropriate level of education and experience.’’.
SEC. 114. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 648 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.
9843) is amended—
(1) in subsection (b)—
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and inserting
‘‘; and’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(3) ensure the provision of technical assistance to
assist Head Start agencies, entities carrying out other child
care and early childhood programs, communities, and States in collaborative efforts to provide quality full-working-day,
full calendar year services, including technical assistance
related to identifying and assisting in resolving barriers to
collaboration.’’; and
(2) in subsection (c)—
(A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
‘‘(1) give priority consideration to—
‘‘(A) activities to correct program and management
deficiencies identified through reviews carried out pursuant to section 641A(c) (including the provision of assistance
to local programs in the development of quality
improvement plans under section 641A(d)(2)); and
‘‘(B) assisting Head Start agencies in—
‘‘(i) ensuring the school readiness of children; and
‘‘(ii) meeting the educational performance measures
described in section 641A(b)(4);’’;
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘supplement
amounts provided under section 640(a)(3)(C)(ii) in order to’’
after ‘‘(2)’’;
(C) in paragraph (4)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘and implementing’’ after ‘‘developing’’;
and
(ii) by striking ‘‘a longer day’’ and inserting
the following: ‘‘the day, and assist the agencies and
programs in expediting the sharing of information about innovative models for providing full-working-day, full
calendar year services for children’’;
(D) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and
inserting a semicolon;
(E) in paragraph (8), by striking the period and inserting
‘‘; and’’;
(F) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (8) as
paragraphs (5) through (10), respectively;
(G) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
‘‘(3) assist Head Start agencies in the development of
collaborative initiatives with States and other entities
within the States, to foster effective early childhood
professional development systems;
‘‘(4) provide technical assistance and training,
either directly or through a grant, contract, or cooperative
agreement with an entity that has experience in the development and operation of successful family literacy services programs,
for the purpose of—
‘‘(A) assisting Head Start agencies providing family
literacy services, in order to improve the quality of such family literacy services; and
‘‘(B) enabling those Head Start agencies that
demonstrate effective provision of family literacy services, based on improved outcomes for children and their parents, to
provide technical assistance and training to other Head Start agencies and to service providers that work in
collaboration with such agencies to provide family
literacy services;’’; and
(H) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(11) provide support for Head Start agencies
(including policy councils and policy committees, as defined in
regulation) that meet the standards described in section 641A(a) but
that have, as documented by the Secretary through reviews
conducted pursuant to section 641A(c), significant programmatic, quality, and fiscal issues to address.’’.
(b) SERVICES.—Section 648(e) of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C.
9843(e)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(including services
to promote the acquisition of the English language)’’ after
‘‘non-English language background children’’.
SEC. 115. PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
Section 648A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9843a) is
amended—
(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
‘‘(a) CLASSROOM TEACHERS.—
‘‘(1) PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall
ensure that each Head Start classroom in a center-based
program is assigned one teacher who has demonstrated competency to perform functions that include—
‘‘(A) planning and implementing learning experiences
that advance the intellectual and physical development of children, including improving the readiness of children
for school by developing their literacy and phonemic,
print, and numeracy awareness, their understanding and use of language, their understanding and use of increasingly
complex and varied vocabulary, their appreciation of
books, and their problem solving abilities;
‘‘(B) establishing and maintaining a safe, healthy
learning environment;
‘‘(C) supporting the social and emotional development
of children; and
‘‘(D) encouraging the involvement of the families of
the children in a Head Start program and supporting the development of relationships between children and their
families.
‘‘(2) DEGREE REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure that not
later than September 30, 2003, at least 50 percent of all Head Start teachers nationwide in center-based programs
have—
‘‘(i) an associate, baccalaureate, or advanced degree
in early childhood education; or
‘‘(ii) an associate, baccalaureate, or advanced
degree in a field related to early childhood education, with experience in teaching preschool children.
‘‘(B) PROGRESS.—The Secretary shall require Head
Start agencies to demonstrate continuing progress each year to reach the result described in subparagraph (A).
‘‘(3) ALTERNATIVE CREDENTIALING REQUIREMENTS.—The
Secretary shall ensure that, for center-based programs,
each Head Start classroom that does not have a teacher that
meets the requirements of clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (2)(A)
is assigned one teacher who has—
‘‘(A) a child development associate credential that is
appropriate to the age of the children being served in center-based programs;
‘‘(B) a State-awarded certificate for preschool
teachers that meets or exceeds the requirements for a child
development associate credential; or
‘‘(C) a degree in a field related to early childhood
education with experience in teaching preschool children and a State-awarded certificate to teach in a preschool
program.
‘‘(4) WAIVER.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On request, the Secretary shall
grant a 180-day waiver of the requirements of paragraph (3), for a Head Start agency that can demonstrate that
the agency has unsuccessfully attempted to recruit an individual who has a credential, certificate, or degree
described in paragraph (3), with respect to an individual who—
‘‘(i) is enrolled in a program that grants any such
credential, certificate, or degree; and
‘‘(ii) will receive such credential, certificate, or
degree under the terms of such program not later than 180 days after beginning employment as a teacher
with such agency.
‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not grant more
than one such waiver with respect to such individual.’’; and
(2) in subsection (b)(2)(B)—
(A) by striking ‘‘staff,’’ and inserting ‘‘staff
or’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘, or that’’ and all that follows
through ‘‘families’’.
SEC. 116. RESEARCH AND EVALUATION.
Section 649 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9844) is
amended—
(1) in subsection (d)—
(A) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
end;
(B) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the
end and inserting a semicolon;
(C) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (7) as
paragraphs (3) through (8), respectively;
(D) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
‘‘(2) establish evaluation methods that measure the
effectiveness and impact of family literacy services
program models, including models for the integration of family
literacy services with Head Start services;’’; and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(9) study the experiences of small, medium, and
large States with Head Start programs in order to permit
comparisons of children participating in the programs with eligible children who did not participate in the programs, which
study—
‘‘(A) may include the use of a data set that existed
prior to the initiation of the study; and
‘‘(B) shall compare the educational achievement,
social adaptation, and health status of the participating
children and the eligible nonparticipating children; and
‘‘(10) provide for—
‘‘(A) using the Survey of Income and Program
Participation to conduct an analysis of the different income levels of Head Start participants compared to comparable persons
who did not attend Head Start programs;
‘‘(B) using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth,
which began gathering data in 1988 on children who attended Head Start programs, to examine the wide range
of outcomes measured within the Survey, including outcomes related to cognitive, socio-emotional, behavioral, and
academic development;
‘‘(C) using the Survey of Program Dynamics, the new
longitudinal survey required by section 414 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 614), to begin annual reporting,
through the duration of the Survey, on Head Start program attendees’ academic readiness performance and
improvements;
‘‘(D) ensuring that the Survey of Program Dynamics
is linked with the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth at least once by the use of a common performance test,
to be determined by the expert panel, for the greater national usefulness of the National Longitudinal Survey
of Youth database; and
‘‘(E) disseminating the results of the analysis,
examination, reporting, and linkage described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) to persons conducting other studies under
this subchapter.
The Secretary shall ensure that an appropriate entity
carries out a study described in paragraph (9), and prepares and
submits to the appropriate committees of Congress a report
containing the results of the study, not later than September 30, 2002.’’;
and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(g) NATIONAL HEAD START IMPACT RESEARCH.—
‘‘(1) EXPERT PANEL.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The
Secretary shall appoint an independent panel consisting of experts in program
evaluation and research, education, and early childhood programs—
‘‘(i) to review, and make recommendations on, the
design and plan for the research (whether conducted as a single assessment or as a series of assessments)
described in paragraph (2), within 1 year after the date of enactment of the Coats Human Services
Reauthorization Act of 1998;
‘‘(ii) to maintain and advise the Secretary regarding
the progress of the research; and
‘‘(iii) to comment, if the panel so desires, on the
interim and final research reports submitted under paragraph (7).
‘‘(B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the panel
shall not receive compensation for the performance of
services for the panel, but shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates
authorized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while away from their
homes or regular places of business in the performance of services for the panel. Notwithstanding section 1342
of title 31, United States Code, the Secretary may accept the voluntary and uncompensated services of members of
the panel.
‘‘(2) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—After
reviewing the recommendations of the expert panel, the Secretary shall make
a grant to, or enter into a contract or cooperative
agreement with, an organization to conduct independent research that provides a national analysis of the impact of Head Start
programs. The Secretary shall ensure that the organization shall have expertise in program evaluation, and research,
education, and early childhood programs.
‘‘(3) DESIGNS
AND TECHNIQUES.—The
Secretary shall ensure that the research uses rigorous methodological designs and
techniques (based on the recommendations of the expert
panel), including longitudinal designs, control groups, nationally
recognized standardized measures, and random selection and
assignment, as appropriate. The Secretary may provide that the research shall be conducted as a single comprehensive
assessment or as a group of coordinated assessments designed to provide, when taken together, a national analysis of the
impact of Head Start programs.
‘‘(4) PROGRAMS.—The
Secretary shall ensure that the research focuses primarily on Head Start programs that
operate in the 50 States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or the District of Columbia and that do not specifically target
special populations.
‘‘(5) ANALYSIS.—The
Secretary shall ensure that the organization conducting the research—
‘‘(A)(i) determines if, overall, the Head Start
programs have impacts consistent with their primary goal of
increasing the social competence of children, by increasing the everyday effectiveness of the children in dealing with
their present environments and future responsibilities, and increasing their school readiness;
‘‘(ii) considers whether the Head Start programs—
‘‘(I) enhance the growth and development of children
in cognitive, emotional, and physical health areas;
‘‘(II) strengthen families as the primary nurturers
of their children; and
‘‘(III) ensure that children attain school
readiness; and
‘‘(iii) examines—
‘‘(I) the impact of the Head Start programs on
increasing access of children to such services as
educational, health, and nutritional services, and linking children and families to needed community services;
and
‘‘(II) how receipt of services described in subclause
(I) enriches the lives of children and families
participating in Head Start programs;
‘‘(B) examines the impact of Head Start programs on
participants on the date the participants leave Head Start programs, at the end of kindergarten and at the end of
first grade (whether in public or private school), by
examining a variety of factors, including educational achievement, referrals for special education or remedial course work,
and absenteeism;
‘‘(C) makes use of random selection from the
population of all Head Start programs described in paragraph (4) in selecting programs for inclusion in the research; and
‘‘(D) includes comparisons of individuals who
participate in Head Start programs with control groups (including comparison groups) composed of—
‘‘(i) individuals who participate in other early
childhood programs (such as public or private preschool programs and day care); and
‘‘(ii) individuals who do not participate in any other
early childhood program.
‘‘(6) CONSIDERATION
OF SOURCES OF VARIATION.—In
designing the research, the Secretary shall, to the extent
practicable, consider addressing possible sources of variation in
impact of Head Start programs, including variations in impact
related to such factors as—
‘‘(A) Head Start program operations;
‘‘(B) Head Start program quality;
‘‘(C) the length of time a child attends a Head Start
program;
‘‘(D) the age of the child on entering the Head Start
program;
‘‘(E) the type of organization (such as a local
educational agency or a community action agency) providing services for the Head Start program;
‘‘(F) the number of hours and days of program
operation of the Head Start program (such as whether the program is a full-working-day, full calendar year program,
a part-day program, or a part-year program); and
‘‘(G) other characteristics and features of the Head
Start program (such as geographic location, location in an urban or a rural service area, or participant
characteristics), as appropriate.
‘‘(7) REPORTS.—
‘‘(A) SUBMISSION
OF INTERIM REPORTS.—The
organization shall prepare and submit to the Secretary two interim reports on the research. The first interim report shall
describe the design of the research, and the rationale for the design, including a description of how potential
sources of variation in impact of Head Start programs have been considered in designing the research. The second interim
report shall describe the status of the research and
preliminary findings of the research, as appropriate.
‘‘(B) SUBMISSION
OF FINAL REPORT.—The
organization shall prepare and submit to the Secretary a final report containing the findings of the research.
‘‘(C) TRANSMITTAL
OF REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The
Secretary shall transmit, to the committees described in clause (ii), the first
interim report by September 30, 1999, the second interim report by September 30, 2001, and the final
report by September 30, 2003.
‘‘(ii) COMMITTEES.—The
committees referred to in clause (i) are the Committee on Education and the
Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate.
‘‘(8) DEFINITION.—In
this subsection, the term ‘impact’, used with respect to a Head Start program, means a
difference in an outcome for a participant in the program that would not have occurred without the participation in the
program.
‘‘(h) QUALITY
IMPROVEMENT
STUDY.—
‘‘(1) STUDY.—The
Secretary shall conduct a study regarding the use and effects of use of the quality improvement
funds made available under section 640(a)(3) since fiscal year 1991.
‘‘(2) REPORT.—The
Secretary shall prepare and submit to Congress not later than September 2000 a report containing
the results of the study, including information on—
‘‘(A) the types of activities funded with the quality
improvement funds;
‘‘(B) the extent to which the use of the quality
improvement funds has accomplished the goals of section 640(a)(3)(B);
‘‘(C) the effect of use of the quality improvement
funds on teacher training, salaries, benefits, recruitment, and retention; and
‘‘(D) the effect of use of the quality improvement
funds on the development of children receiving services under this subchapter.’’.
SEC. 117. REPORTS.
Section 650 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9846) is
amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) STATUS
OF CHILDREN.—’’
before ‘‘At’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘and Labor’’ each place it
appears and inserting ‘‘and the Workforce’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(b) FACILITIES.—At
least once during every 5-year period, the Secretary shall prepare and submit, to the Committee on
Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate, a report
concerning the condition, location, and ownership of facilities used,
or available to be used, by Indian Head Start agencies
(including Native Alaskan Head Start agencies) and Native Hawaiian Head Start agencies.’’.
SEC. 118. REPEAL OF CONSULTATION REQUIREMENT.
Section 657A of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9852a) is
repealed.
SEC. 119. REPEAL OF HEAD START TRANSITION PROJECT ACT.
The Head Start Transition Project Act (42 U.S.C. 9855–9855g)
is repealed.
TITLE II—COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM
SEC. 201. REAUTHORIZATION.
The Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9901
et seq.) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘Subtitle B—Community Services Block
Grant Program
‘‘SEC. 671. SHORT TITLE.
‘‘This subtitle may be cited as the ‘Community
Services Block Grant Act’.
‘‘SEC. 672. PURPOSES AND GOALS.
‘‘The purposes of this subtitle are—
‘‘(1) to provide assistance to States and local
communities, working through a network of community action agencies and other neighborhood-based organizations, for the reduction
of poverty, the revitalization of low-income communities, and
the empowerment of low-income families and individuals in
rural and urban areas to become fully self-sufficient
(particularly families who are attempting to transition off a State
program carried out under part A of title IV of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.)); and
‘‘(2) to accomplish the goals described in paragraph
(1) through—
‘‘(A) the strengthening of community capabilities for
planning and coordinating the use of a broad range of Federal, State, local, and other assistance (including
private resources) related to the elimination of poverty, so that this assistance can be used in a manner responsive
to local needs and conditions;
‘‘(B) the organization of a range of services related
to the needs of low-income families and individuals, so that these services may have a measurable and potentially
major impact on the causes of poverty in the community and may help the families and individuals to achieve
self-sufficiency;
‘‘(C) the greater use of innovative and effective
community-based approaches to attacking the causes and effects of poverty and of community breakdown;
‘‘(D) the maximum participation of residents of the
low-income communities and members of the groups served by programs assisted through the block grants made under
this subtitle to empower such residents and members to respond to the unique problems and needs within their
communities; and
‘‘(E) the broadening of the resource base of programs
directed to the elimination of poverty so as to secure a more active role in the provision of services for—
‘‘(i) private, religious, charitable, and
neighborhood-based organizations; and
‘‘(ii) individual citizens, and business, labor, and
professional groups, who are able to influence the
quantity and quality of opportunities and services for the poor.
‘‘SEC. 673. DEFINITIONS.
‘‘In this subtitle:
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE
ENTITY; FAMILY
LITERACY SERVICES.—
‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE
ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible
entity’ means an entity—
‘‘(i) that is an eligible entity described in section
673(1) (as in effect on the day before the date of
enactment of the Coats Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998) as of the day before such date of enactment
or is designated by the process described in section 676A (including an organization serving migrant or
seasonal farmworkers that is so described or designated); and
‘‘(ii) that has a tripartite board or other mechanism
described in subsection (a) or (b), as appropriate, of section 676B.
‘‘(B) FAMILY
LITERACY SERVICES.—The
term ‘family literacy services’ has the meaning given the term in section
637 of the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9832).
‘‘(2) POVERTY
LINE.—The term ‘poverty
line’ means the official poverty line defined by the Office of Management
and Budget based on the most recent data available from the Bureau of the Census. The Secretary shall revise annually
(or at any shorter interval the Secretary determines to be feasible and desirable) the poverty line, which shall be
used as a criterion of eligibility in the community services
block grant program established under this subtitle. The
required revision shall be accomplished by multiplying the official
poverty line by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers during the annual or other
interval immediately preceding the time at which the
revision is made. Whenever a State determines that it serves the
objectives of the block grant program established under this
subtitle, the State may revise the poverty line to not to exceed 125 percent of the official poverty line otherwise applicable
under this paragraph.
‘‘(3) PRIVATE,
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The
term ‘private, nonprofit organization’ includes a religious
organization, to which the provisions of section 679 shall apply.
‘‘(4) SECRETARY.—The
term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
‘‘(5) STATE.—The
term ‘State’ means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
‘‘SEC. 674. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘(a) IN
GENERAL.—There
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years
1999 through 2003 to carry out the provisions of this subtitle (other
than sections 681 and 682).
‘‘(b) RESERVATIONS.—Of
the amounts appropriated under subsection (a) for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall reserve—
‘‘(1) 1⁄2
of 1 percent for
carrying out section 675A (relating to payments for territories);
‘‘(2) 11⁄2
percent for activities
authorized in sections 678A through 678F, of which—
‘‘(A) not less than 1⁄2
of the amount reserved
by the Secretary under this paragraph shall be distributed
directly to eligible entities, organizations, or associations
described in section 678A(c)(2) for the purpose of carrying out
activities described in section 678A(c); and
‘‘(B) 1⁄2
of the remainder of
the amount reserved by the Secretary under this paragraph shall be used by the
Secretary to carry out evaluation and to assist States in carrying out corrective action activities and monitoring
(to correct programmatic deficiencies of eligible entities),
as described in sections 678B(c) and 678A; and
‘‘(3) 9 percent for carrying out section 680 (relating
to discretionary activities) and section 678E(b)(2).
‘‘SEC. 675. ESTABLISHMENT OF BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM.
‘‘The Secretary is authorized to establish a community
services block grant program and make grants through the program to States to ameliorate the causes of poverty in communities
within the States.
‘‘SEC. 675A. DISTRIBUTION TO TERRITORIES.
‘‘(a) APPORTIONMENT.—The
Secretary shall apportion the amount reserved under section 674(b)(1) for each fiscal
year on the basis of need among Guam, American Samoa, the United
States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands.
‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—Each
jurisdiction to which subsection (a) applies may receive a grant under this section for the
amount apportioned under subsection (a) on submitting to the
Secretary, and obtaining approval of, an application, containing
provisions that describe the programs for which assistance is sought
under this section, that is prepared in accordance with, and
contains the information described in, section 676.
‘‘SEC. 675B. ALLOTMENTS AND PAYMENTS TO STATES.
‘‘(a) ALLOTMENTS
IN GENERAL.—The
Secretary shall, from the amount appropriated under section 674(a) for each fiscal
year that remains after the Secretary makes the reservations
required in section 674(b), allot to each State (subject to section
677) an amount that bears the same ratio to such remaining amount as the
amount received by the State for fiscal year 1981 under section
221 of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 bore to the total
amount received by all States for fiscal year 1981 under such
section, except—
‘‘(1) that no State shall receive less than 1⁄4
of 1 percent of the amount appropriated under section 674(a) for such
fiscal year; and
‘‘(2) as provided in subsection (b).
‘‘(b) ALLOTMENTS
IN YEARS
WITH
GREATER
AVAILABLE
FUNDS.—
‘‘(1) MINIMUM
ALLOTMENTS.—Subject
to paragraphs (2) and (3), if the amount appropriated under section 674(a) for a
fiscal year that remains after the Secretary makes the
reservations required in section 674(b) exceeds $345,000,000, the
Secretary shall allot to each State not less than 1⁄2
of 1 percent of the amount appropriated under section 674(a) for such
fiscal year.
‘‘(2) MAINTENANCE
OF FISCAL YEAR 1990 LEVELS.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to a fiscal year if the
amount allotted under subsection (a) to any State for that year
is less than the amount allotted under section 674(a)(1) (as
in effect on September 30, 1989) to such State for fiscal
year 1990.
‘‘(3) MAXIMUM
ALLOTMENTS.—The
amount allotted under paragraph (1) to a State for a fiscal year shall be
reduced, if necessary, so that the aggregate amount allotted to
such State under such paragraph and subsection (a) does not
exceed 140 percent of the aggregate amount allotted to such State under the corresponding provisions of this subtitle for
the preceding fiscal year.
‘‘(c) PAYMENTS.—The
Secretary shall make grants to eligible States for the allotments described in subsections (a) and
(b). The Secretary shall make payments for the grants in accordance
with section 6503(a) of title 31, United States Code.
‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—In
this section, the term ‘State’ does not include Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin
Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
‘‘SEC. 675C. USES OF FUNDS.
‘‘(a) GRANTS
TO ELIGIBLE
ENTITIES
AND OTHER
ORGANIZATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not less
than 90 percent of the funds made available to a State under section 675A or 675B shall
be used by the State to make grants for the purposes
described in section 672 to eligible entities.
‘‘(2) OBLIGATIONAL
AUTHORITY.—Funds
distributed to eligible entities through grants made in accordance with
paragraph (1) for a fiscal year shall be available for obligation during that fiscal year and the succeeding fiscal year,
subject to paragraph (3).
‘‘(3) RECAPTURE
AND REDISTRIBUTION OF UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—
‘‘(A) AMOUNT.—Beginning
on October 1, 2000, a State may recapture and redistribute funds distributed to an
eligible entity through a grant made under paragraph (1) that are unobligated at the end of a fiscal year if such
unobligated funds exceed 20 percent of the amount so distributed to such eligible entity for such fiscal year.
‘‘(B) REDISTRIBUTION.—In
redistributing funds recaptured in accordance with this paragraph, States shall
redistribute such funds to an eligible entity, or require the original recipient of the funds to redistribute the
funds to a private, nonprofit organization, located within the community served by the original recipient of the funds,
for activities consistent with the purposes of this
subtitle.
‘‘(b) STATEWIDE
ACTIVITIES.—
‘‘(1) USE
OF REMAINDER.—If a
State uses less than 100 percent of the grant or allotment received under section
675A or 675B to make grants under subsection (a), the State
shall use the remainder of the grant or allotment under section 675A or 675B (subject to
paragraph (2)) for activities
that may include—
‘‘(A) providing training and technical assistance to
those entities in need of such training and assistance;
‘‘(B) coordinating State-operated programs and
services, and at the option of the State, locally-operated programs and services, targeted to low-income children and
families with services provided by eligible entities and
other organizations funded under this subtitle, including
detailing appropriate employees of State or local agencies to entities funded under this subtitle, to ensure increased
access to services provided by such State or local
agencies;
‘‘(C) supporting statewide coordination and
communication among eligible entities;
‘‘(D) analyzing the distribution of funds made
available under this subtitle within the State to determine if such funds have been targeted to the areas of greatest need;
‘‘(E) supporting asset-building programs for
low-income individuals, such as programs supporting individual development accounts;
‘‘(F) supporting innovative programs and activities
conducted by community action agencies or other neighborhood-based organizations to eliminate poverty, promote
self-sufficiency, and promote community revitalization;
‘‘(G) supporting State charity tax credits as
described in subsection (c); and
‘‘(H) supporting other activities, consistent with the
purposes of this subtitle.
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE
CAP.—No State may
spend more than the greater of $55,000, or 5 percent, of the grant
received under section 675A or State allotment received under
section 675B for administrative expenses, including monitoring
activities. Funds to be spent for such expenses shall be taken from the portion of the grant under section 675A or State
allotment that remains after the State makes grants to eligible
entities under subsection (a). The cost of activities conducted
under paragraph (1)(A) shall not be considered to be
administrative expenses. The startup cost and cost of administrative
activities conducted under subsection (c) shall be considered to be administrative expenses.
‘‘(c) CHARITY
TAX
CREDIT.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to
paragraph (2), if there is in effect under State law a charity tax credit, the State
may use for any purpose the amount of the allotment that is
available for expenditure under subsection (b).
‘‘(2) LIMIT.—The
aggregate amount a State may use under paragraph (1) during a fiscal year shall not exceed 100
percent of the revenue loss of the State during the fiscal year
that is attributable to the charity tax credit, as determined
by the Secretary of the Treasury without regard to any such revenue loss occurring before January 1, 1999.
‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS
AND RULES.—In this
subsection:
‘‘(A) CHARITY
TAX CREDIT.—The term
‘charity tax credit’ means a nonrefundable credit against State income tax
(or, in the case of a State that does not impose an income tax, a comparable benefit) that is allowable for
contributions, in cash or in kind, to qualified charities.
‘‘(B) QUALIFIED
CHARITY.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The term
‘qualified charity’ means any organization—
‘‘(I) that is—
‘‘(aa) described in section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code;
‘‘(bb) an eligible entity; or
‘‘(cc) a public housing agency as defined
in section 3(b)(6) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(6));
‘‘(II) that is certified by the appropriate State
authority as meeting the requirements of clauses (iii) and (iv); and
‘‘(III) if such organization is otherwise required
to file a return under section 6033 of such Code, that elects to treat the information required to
be furnished by clause (v) as being specified in section 6033(b) of such Code.
‘‘(ii) CERTAIN
CONTRIBUTIONS TO COLLECTION ORGANIZATIONS TREATED AS CONTRIBUTIONS TO QUALIFIED
CHARITY.—
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—A
contribution to a collection organization shall be treated as a contribution to
a qualified charity if the donor designates in writing that the contribution is for the qualified charity.
‘‘(II) COLLECTION
ORGANIZATION.—The
term ‘collection organization’ means an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of such Code and
exempt from tax under section 501(a) of such Code—
‘‘(aa) that solicits and collects gifts and
grants that, by agreement, are distributed to qualified charities;
‘‘(bb) that distributes to qualified charities
at least 90 percent of the gifts and grants the organization receives that are designated
for such qualified charities; and
‘‘(cc) that meets the requirements of clause
(vi).
‘‘(iii) CHARITY
MUST PRIMARILY ASSIST POOR INDIVIDUALS.—
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—An
organization meets the requirements of this clause only if the appropriate
State authority reasonably expects that the predominant activity of such organization will be
the provision of direct services within the United States to individuals and families whose annual
incomes generally do not exceed 185 percent of the poverty line in order to prevent or alleviate
poverty among such individuals and families.
‘‘(II) NO
RECORDKEEPING IN CERTAIN CASES.—
An organization shall not be required to establish
or maintain records with respect to the incomes of individuals and families for purposes of subclause
(I) if such individuals or families are members of groups that are generally recognized as
including substantially only individuals and families described in subclause (I).
‘‘(III) FOOD
AID AND HOMELESS SHELTERS.—
Except as otherwise provided by the appropriate
State authority, for purposes of subclause (I), services to individuals in the form of—
‘‘(aa) donations of food or meals; or
‘‘(bb) temporary shelter to homeless
individuals;
shall be treated as provided to individuals
described in subclause (I) if the location and provision of such services are such that the service
provider may reasonably conclude that the beneficiaries of such services are predominantly
individuals described in subclause (I).
‘‘(iv) MINIMUM
EXPENSE REQUIREMENT.—
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—An
organization meets the requirements of this clause only if the appropriate
State authority reasonably expects that the annual poverty program expenses of such organization will
not be less than 75 percent of the annual aggregate expenses of such organization.
‘‘(II) POVERTY
PROGRAM EXPENSE.—For
purposes of subclause (I)—
‘‘(aa) IN
GENERAL.—The term
‘poverty program expense’ means any expense in providing direct services referred to in clause (iii).
‘‘(bb) EXCEPTIONS.—Such
term shall not include any management or general expense, any expense for the purpose of influencing
legislation (as defined in section 4911(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), any
expense for the purpose of fundraising, any expense for a legal service provided on behalf
of any individual referred to in clause (iii), any expense for providing tuition assistance
relating to compulsory school attendance, and any expense that consists of a payment to
an affiliate of the organization.
‘‘(v) REPORTING
REQUIREMENT.—The
information required to be furnished under this clause about an organization is—
‘‘(I) the percentages determined by dividing
the following categories of the organization’s expenses for the year by the total expenses of
the organization for the year: expenses for direct services, management expenses, general expenses,
fundraising expenses, and payments to affiliates; and
‘‘(II) the category or categories (including food,
shelter, education, substance abuse prevention or treatment, job training, or other) of services that
constitute predominant activities of the organization.
‘‘(vi) ADDITIONAL
REQUIREMENTS FOR COLLECTION ORGANIZATIONS.—The
requirements of this clause are met if the organization—
‘‘(I) maintains separate accounting for revenues
and expenses; and
‘‘(II) makes available to the public information
on the administrative and fundraising costs of the organization, and information as to the organizations
receiving funds from the organization and the amount of such funds.
‘‘(vii) SPECIAL
RULE FOR STATES REQUIRING TAX UNIFORMITY.—In
the case of a State—
‘‘(I) that has a constitutional requirement of
tax uniformity; and
‘‘(II) that, as of December 31, 1997, imposed
a tax on personal income with—
‘‘(aa) a single flat rate applicable to all
earned and unearned income (except insofar as any amount is not taxed pursuant to tax
forgiveness provisions); and
‘‘(bb) no generally available exemptions or
deductions to individuals;
the requirement of paragraph (2) shall be treated as
met if the amount of the credit described in paragraph (2) is limited to a uniform percentage (but not greater
than 25 percent) of State personal income tax liability (determined without regard to credits).
‘‘(4) LIMITATION
ON USE OF FUNDS FOR STARTUP AND ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES.—Except
to the extent provided in subsection (b)(2), no part of the aggregate amount a State
uses under paragraph (1) may be used to pay for the cost of the startup and administrative activities conducted
under this subsection.
‘‘(5) PROHIBITION
ON USE OF FUNDS FOR LEGAL SERVICES OR TUITION ASSISTANCE.—No
part of the aggregate amount a State uses under paragraph (1) may be used to provide
legal services or to provide tuition assistance related to
compulsory education requirements (not including tuition assistance for tutoring, camps, skills development, or other
supplemental services or training).
‘‘(6) PROHIBITION
ON SUPPLANTING FUNDS.—No
part of the aggregate amount a State uses under paragraph (1) may be used to supplant non-Federal funds that would be
available, in the absence of Federal funds, to offset a revenue loss
of the State attributable to a charity tax credit.
‘‘SEC. 676. APPLICATION AND PLAN.
‘‘(a) DESIGNATION
OF LEAD
AGENCY.—
‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—The
chief executive officer of a State desiring to receive a grant or allotment under section
675A or 675B shall designate, in an application submitted to
the Secretary under subsection (b), an appropriate State
agency that complies with the requirements of paragraph (2) to
act as a lead agency for purposes of carrying out State
activities under this subtitle.
‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The
lead agency shall—
‘‘(A) develop the State plan to be submitted to the
Secretary under subsection (b);
‘‘(B) in conjunction with the development of the State
plan as required under subsection (b), hold at least one hearing in the State with sufficient time and statewide
distribution of notice of such hearing, to provide to the public an opportunity to comment on the proposed use
and distribution of funds to be provided through the grant or allotment under section 675A or 675B for the period
covered by the State plan; and
‘‘(C) conduct reviews of eligible entities under
section 678B.
‘‘(3) LEGISLATIVE
HEARING.—In order to
be eligible to receive a grant or allotment under section 675A or 675B,
the State shall hold at least one legislative hearing every 3
years in conjunction with the development of the State plan.
‘‘(b) STATE
APPLICATION
AND PLAN.—Beginning
with fiscal year 2000, to be eligible to receive a grant or allotment under
section 675A or 675B, a State shall prepare and submit to the
Secretary an application and State plan covering a period of not
less than 1 fiscal year and not more than 2 fiscal years. The plan
shall be submitted not later than 30 days prior to the beginning
of the first fiscal year covered by the plan, and shall
contain such information as the Secretary shall require, including—
‘‘(1) an assurance that funds made available through
the grant or allotment will be used—
‘‘(A) to support activities that are designed to
assist low-income families and individuals, including families
and individuals receiving assistance under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.),
homeless families and individuals, migrant or seasonal farmworkers, and elderly low-income individuals and families, and a
description of how such activities will enable the
families and individuals—
‘‘(i) to remove obstacles and solve problems that
block the achievement of self-sufficiency (including self-sufficiency for families and individuals who are
attempting to transition off a State program carried out under part A of title IV of the Social Security
Act);
‘‘(ii) to secure and retain meaningful employment;
‘‘(iii) to attain an adequate education, with
particular attention toward improving literacy skills of the low-income families in the communities involved, which
may include carrying out family literacy initiatives;
‘‘(iv) to make better use of available income;
‘‘(v) to obtain and maintain adequate housing and
a suitable living environment;
‘‘(vi) to obtain emergency assistance through
loans, grants, or other means to meet immediate and urgent family and individual needs; and
‘‘(vii) to achieve greater participation in the
affairs of the communities involved, including the development of public and private grassroots partnerships with local
law enforcement agencies, local housing authorities, private foundations, and other public and private partners
to—
‘‘(I) document best practices based on successful
grassroots intervention in urban areas, to develop methodologies for widespread replication;
and
‘‘(II) strengthen and improve relationships
with local law enforcement agencies, which may include participation in activities such as neighborhood
or community policing efforts;
‘‘(B) to address the needs of youth in low-income
communities through youth development programs that support the primary role of the family, give priority to
the prevention of youth problems and crime, and promote increased community coordination and
collaboration in meeting the needs of youth, and support development and expansion of innovative community-based youth development
programs that have demonstrated success in preventing or reducing youth crime, such as—
‘‘(i) programs for the establishment of
violence-free zones that would involve youth development and intervention models (such as models involving youth
mediation, youth mentoring, life skills training, job creation, and entrepreneurship programs); and
‘‘(ii) after-school child care programs; and
‘‘(C) to make more effective use of, and to coordinate
with, other programs related to the purposes of this
subtitle (including State welfare reform efforts);
‘‘(2) a description of how the State intends to use
discretionary funds made available from the remainder of the grant or allotment described in section 675C(b) in accordance
with this subtitle, including a description of how the State
will support innovative community and neighborhood-based
initiatives related to the purposes of this subtitle;
‘‘(3) information provided by eligible entities in the
State, containing—
‘‘(A) a description of the service delivery system,
for services provided or coordinated with funds made available through grants made under section 675C(a), targeted to
low-income individuals and families in communities within the State;
‘‘(B) a description of how linkages will be developed
to fill identified gaps in the services, through the
provision of information, referrals, case management, and follow-up consultations;
‘‘(C) a description of how funds made available
through grants made under section 675C(a) will be coordinated with other public and private resources; and
‘‘(D) a description of how the local entity will use
the funds to support innovative community and
neighborhood-based initiatives related to the purposes of this
subtitle, which may include fatherhood initiatives and other initiatives with the goal of strengthening families and
encouraging effective parenting;
‘‘(4) an assurance that eligible entities in the State
will provide, on an emergency basis, for the provision of such
supplies and services, nutritious foods, and related services, as may be necessary to counteract conditions of starvation
and malnutrition among low-income individuals;
‘‘(5) an assurance that the State and the eligible
entities in the State will coordinate, and establish linkages
between, governmental and other social services programs to assure
the effective delivery of such services to low-income
individuals and to avoid duplication of such services, and a
description of how the State and the eligible entities will coordinate
the provision of employment and training activities, as
defined in section 101 of such Act, in the State and in
communities with entities providing activities through statewide and
local workforce investment systems under the Workforce
Investment Act of 1998;
‘‘(6) an assurance that the State will ensure
coordination between antipoverty programs in each community in the
State, and ensure, where appropriate, that emergency energy
crisis intervention programs under title XXVI (relating to
low-income home energy assistance) are conducted in such community;
‘‘(7) an assurance that the State will permit and
cooperate with Federal investigations undertaken in accordance with
section 678D;
‘‘(8) an assurance that any eligible entity in the
State that received funding in the previous fiscal year through
a community services block grant made under this subtitle
will not have its funding terminated under this subtitle, or
reduced below the proportional share of funding the entity
received in the previous fiscal year unless, after providing notice
and an opportunity for a hearing on the record, the State
determines that cause exists for such termination or such reduction,
subject to review by the Secretary as provided in section 678C(b);
‘‘(9) an assurance that the State and eligible
entities in the State will, to the maximum extent possible, coordinate programs with and form partnerships with other
organizations serving low-income residents of the communities and
members of the groups served by the State, including religious
organizations, charitable groups, and community organizations;
‘‘(10) an assurance that the State will require each
eligible entity in the State to establish procedures under which a
low-income individual, community organization, or religious organization, or representative of low-income individuals
that considers its organization, or low-income individuals, to
be inadequately represented on the board (or other mechanism) of the eligible entity to petition for adequate
representation;
‘‘(11) an assurance that the State will secure from
each eligible entity in the State, as a condition to receipt of
funding by the entity through a community services block grant
made under this subtitle for a program, a community action plan (which shall be submitted to the Secretary, at the request
of the Secretary, with the State plan) that includes a
community-needs assessment for the community served, which may be coordinated with community-needs assessments conducted
for other programs;
‘‘(12) an assurance that the State and all eligible
entities in the State will, not later than fiscal year 2001,
participate in the Results Oriented Management and Accountability
System, another performance measure system for which the Secretary facilitated development pursuant to section 678E(b), or
an alternative system for measuring performance and
results that meets the requirements of that section, and a
description of outcome measures to be used to measure eligible entity performance in promoting self-sufficiency, family
stability, and community revitalization; and
‘‘(13) information describing how the State will carry
out the assurances described in this subsection.
‘‘(c) FUNDING
TERMINATION
OR REDUCTIONS.—For
purposes of making a determination in accordance with subsection
(b)(8) with respect to—
‘‘(1) a funding reduction, the term ‘cause’
includes—
‘‘(A) a statewide redistribution of funds provided
through a community services block grant under this
subtitle to respond to—
‘‘(i) the results of the most recently available
census or other appropriate data;
‘‘(ii) the designation of a new eligible entity; or
‘‘(iii) severe economic dislocation; or
‘‘(B) the failure of an eligible entity to comply with
the terms of an agreement or a State plan, or to meet a State requirement, as described in section 678C(a); and
‘‘(2) a termination, the term ‘cause’ includes the
failure of an eligible entity to comply with the terms of an
agreement or a State plan, or to meet a State requirement, as
described in section 678C(a).
‘‘(d) PROCEDURES
AND INFORMATION.—The
Secretary may prescribe procedures for the purpose of assessing the effectiveness
of eligible entities in carrying out the purposes of this
subtitle.
‘‘(e) REVISIONS
AND INSPECTION.—
‘‘(1) REVISIONS.—The
chief executive officer of each State may revise any plan prepared under this section and shall
submit the revised plan to the Secretary.
‘‘(2) PUBLIC
INSPECTION.—Each
plan or revised plan prepared under this section shall be made available for public
inspection within the State in such a manner as will
facilitate review of, and comment on, the plan.
‘‘(f) TRANSITION.—For
fiscal year 2000, to be eligible to receive a grant or allotment under section 675A or 675B, a State
shall prepare and submit to the Secretary an application and
State plan in accordance with the provisions of this subtitle
(as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the Coats Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1998), rather than the
provisions of subsections (a) through (c) relating to applications
and plans.
‘‘SEC. 676A. DESIGNATION AND REDESIGNATION OF ELIGIBLE
ENTITIES IN UNSERVED AREAS.
‘‘(a) QUALIFIED
ORGANIZATION
IN OR NEAR
AREA.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—If any
geographic area of a State is not, or ceases to be, served by an eligible entity under
this subtitle, and if the chief executive officer of the State
decides to serve such area, the chief executive officer may
solicit applications from, and designate as an eligible entity—
‘‘(A) a private nonprofit organization (which may
include an eligible entity) that is geographically located in the unserved area, that is capable of providing a broad
range of services designed to eliminate poverty and foster self-sufficiency, and that meets the requirements of this
subtitle; and
‘‘(B) a private nonprofit eligible entity that is
geographically located in an area contiguous to or within reasonable proximity of the unserved area and that is
already providing related services in the unserved area.
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—In
order to serve as the eligible entity for the area, an entity described in paragraph (1)(B)
shall agree to add additional members to the board of the entity to ensure adequate representation—
‘‘(A) in each of the three required categories
described in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of section 676B(a)(2), by members that reside in the community comprised by
the unserved area; and
‘‘(B) in the category described in section
676B(a)(2)(B), by members that reside in the neighborhood to be served.
‘‘(b) SPECIAL
CONSIDERATION.—In
designating an eligible entity under subsection (a), the chief executive officer shall
grant the designation to an organization of demonstrated
effectiveness in meeting the goals and purposes of this subtitle and may
give priority, in granting the designation, to eligible
entities that are providing related services in the unserved area,
consistent with the needs identified by a community-needs assessment.
‘‘(c) NO
QUALIFIED
ORGANIZATION
IN OR NEAR
AREA.—If
no private, nonprofit organization is identified or
determined to be qualified under subsection (a) to serve the unserved area
as an eligible entity the chief executive officer may designate
an appropriate political subdivision of the State to serve as an eligible entity for the area. In order to serve as the eligible
entity for that area, the political subdivision shall have a board or
other mechanism as required in section 676B(b).
‘‘SEC. 676B. TRIPARTITE BOARDS.
‘‘(a) PRIVATE
NONPROFIT
ENTITIES.—
‘‘(1) BOARD.—In
order for a private, nonprofit entity to be considered to be an eligible entity for purposes of
section 673(1), the entity shall administer the community services
block grant program through a tripartite board described in
paragraph (2) that fully participates in the development, planning, implementation, and evaluation of the program to serve
low-income communities.
‘‘(2) SELECTION
AND COMPOSITION OF BOARD.—The
members of the board referred to in paragraph (1) shall be
selected by the entity and the board shall be composed so as to assure that—
‘‘(A) 1⁄3
of the members of the
board are elected public officials, holding office on the date of selection, or
their representatives, except that if the number of such elected officials reasonably available and willing to serve on the
board is less than 1⁄3
of the membership of
the board, membership on the board of appointive public officials or their
representatives may be counted in meeting such 1⁄3 requirement;
‘‘(B)(i) not fewer than 1⁄3
of the members are
persons chosen in accordance with democratic selection procedures adequate to assure that these members are representative
of low-income individuals and families in the neighborhood served; and
‘‘(ii) each representative of low-income individuals
and families selected to represent a specific neighborhood within a community under clause (i) resides in the
neighborhood represented by the member; and
‘‘(C) the remainder of the members are officials or
members of business, industry, labor, religious, law
enforcement, education, or other major groups and interests in the community served.
‘‘(b) PUBLIC
ORGANIZATIONS.—In
order for a public organization to be considered to be an eligible entity for purposes of
section 673(1), the entity shall administer the community services
block grant program through—
‘‘(1) a tripartite board, which shall have members
selected by the organization and shall be composed so as to assure that not fewer than 1⁄3
of the members are
persons chosen in accordance with democratic selection procedures
adequate to assure that these members—
‘‘(A) are representative of low-income individuals and
families in the neighborhood served;
‘‘(B) reside in the neighborhood served; and
‘‘(C) are able to participate actively in the
development, planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs funded under this subtitle; or
‘‘(2) another mechanism specified by the State to
assure decisionmaking and participation by low-income individuals
in the development, planning, implementation, and evaluation
of programs funded under this subtitle.
‘‘SEC. 677. PAYMENTS TO INDIAN TRIBES.
‘‘(a) RESERVATION.—If,
with respect to any State, the Secretary—
‘‘(1) receives a request from the governing body of an
Indian tribe or tribal organization within the State that
assistance under this subtitle be made directly to such tribe or
organization; and
‘‘(2) determines that the members of such tribe or
tribal organization would be better served by means of grants
made directly to provide benefits under this subtitle, the Secretary shall reserve from amounts that would
otherwise be allotted to such State under section 675B for the
fiscal year the amount determined under subsection (b).
‘‘(b) DETERMINATION
OF RESERVED
AMOUNT.—The
Secretary shall reserve for the purpose of subsection (a) from
amounts that would otherwise be allotted to such State, not less than
100 percent of an amount that bears the same ratio to the State
allotment for the fiscal year involved as the population of all
eligible Indians for whom a determination has been made under subsection
(a) bears to the population of all individuals eligible for
assistance through a community services block grant made under this
subtitle in such State.
‘‘(c) AWARDS.—The
sums reserved by the Secretary on the basis of a determination made under subsection (a) shall be made
available by grant to the Indian tribe or tribal organization
serving the individuals for whom such a determination has been
made.
‘‘(d) PLAN.—In
order for an Indian tribe or tribal organization to be eligible for a grant award for a fiscal year under
this section, the tribe or organization shall submit to the Secretary a
plan for such fiscal year that meets such criteria as the
Secretary may prescribe by regulation.
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In
this section:
‘‘(1) INDIAN
TRIBE; TRIBAL
ORGANIZATION.—The
terms ‘Indian tribe’ and ‘tribal organization’ mean a
tribe, band, or other organized group recognized in the State in which the
tribe, band, or group resides, or considered by the
Secretary of the Interior, to be an Indian tribe or an Indian
organization for any purpose.
‘‘(2) INDIAN.—The
term ‘Indian’ means a member of an Indian tribe or of a tribal organization.
‘‘SEC. 678. OFFICE OF COMMUNITY SERVICES.
‘‘(a) OFFICE.—The
Secretary shall carry out the functions of this subtitle through an Office of Community Services,
which shall be established in the Department of Health and Human
Services. The Office shall be headed by a Director.
‘‘(b) GRANTS,
CONTRACTS,
AND COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary shall carry out functions of this subtitle
through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements.
‘‘SEC. 678A. TRAINING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND OTHER
ACTIVITIES.
‘‘(a) ACTIVITIES.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The
Secretary shall use amounts reserved in section 674(b)(2)—
‘‘(A) for training, technical assistance, planning,
evaluation, and performance measurement, to assist States in carrying out corrective action activities and
monitoring (to correct programmatic deficiencies of eligible
entities), and for reporting and data collection activities, related to programs carried out under this subtitle; and
‘‘(B) to distribute amounts in accordance with
subsection (c).
‘‘(2) GRANTS,
CONTRACTS,
AND COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENTS.—The activities described in paragraph (1)(A) may be
carried out by the Secretary through grants, contracts, or
cooperative agreements with appropriate entities.
‘‘(b) TERMS
AND TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE
PROCESS.—The
process for determining the training and technical assistance to
be carried out under this section shall—
‘‘(1) ensure that the needs of eligible entities and
programs relating to improving program quality (including quality
of financial management practices) are addressed to the maximum extent feasible; and
‘‘(2) incorporate mechanisms to ensure responsiveness
to local needs, including an ongoing procedure for obtaining
input from the national and State networks of eligible entities.
‘‘(c) DISTRIBUTION
REQUIREMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The amounts
reserved under section 674(b)(2)(A) for activities to be carried out under this
subsection shall be distributed directly to eligible entities,
organizations, or associations described in paragraph (2) for the purpose
of improving program quality (including quality of financial management practices), management information and
reporting systems, and measurement of program results, and for the purpose of ensuring responsiveness to identified local
needs.
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE
ENTITIES, ORGANIZATIONS,
OR ASSOCIATIONS.—Eligible entities, organizations, or associations
described in this paragraph shall be eligible entities, or statewide or
local organizations or associations, with demonstrated expertise
in providing training to individuals and organizations on
methods of effectively addressing the needs of low-income families
and communities.
‘‘SEC. 678B. MONITORING OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.
‘‘(a) IN
GENERAL.—In
order to determine whether eligible entities meet the performance goals, administrative standards,
financial management requirements, and other requirements of a
State, the State shall conduct the following reviews of eligible
entities:
‘‘(1) A full onsite review of each such entity at
least once during each 3-year period.
‘‘(2) An onsite review of each newly designated entity
immediately after the completion of the first year in which such entity receives funds through the community services block
grant program.
‘‘(3) Follow-up reviews including prompt return visits
to eligible entities, and their programs, that fail to meet
the goals, standards, and requirements established by the
State.
‘‘(4) Other reviews as appropriate, including reviews
of entities with programs that have had other Federal, State, or local grants (other than assistance provided under this
subtitle) terminated for cause.
‘‘(b) REQUESTS.—The
State may request training and technical assistance from the Secretary as needed to comply with the
requirements of this section.
‘‘(c) EVALUATIONS
BY THE SECRETARY.—The
Secretary shall conduct in several States in each fiscal year evaluations
(including investigations) of the use of funds received by the States
under this subtitle in order to evaluate compliance with the
provisions of this subtitle, and especially with respect to
compliance with section 676(b). The Secretary shall submit, to each State
evaluated, a report containing the results of such evaluations, and
recommendations of improvements designed to enhance the benefit and impact of the activities carried out with such funds
for people in need. On receiving the report, the State shall submit
to the Secretary a plan of action in response to the
recommendations contained in the report. The results of the evaluations
shall be submitted annually to the Chairperson of the Committee on
Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Chairperson of the Committee on Labor and Human
Resources of the Senate as part of the report submitted by the
Secretary in accordance with section 678E(b)(2).
‘‘SEC. 678C. CORRECTIVE ACTION; TERMINATION AND
REDUCTION OF FUNDING.
‘‘(a) DETERMINATION.—If
the State determines, on the basis of a final decision in a review pursuant to section 678B,
that an eligible entity fails to comply with the terms of an
agreement, or the State plan, to provide services under this subtitle
or to meet appropriate standards, goals, and other requirements
established by the State (including performance objectives), the State shall—
‘‘(1) inform the entity of the deficiency to be
corrected;
‘‘(2) require the entity to correct the deficiency;
‘‘(3)(A) offer training and technical assistance, if
appropriate, to help correct the deficiency, and prepare and submit to the Secretary a report describing the training and
technical assistance offered; or
‘‘(B) if the State determines that such training and
technical assistance are not appropriate, prepare and submit to the Secretary a report stating the reasons for the
determination;
‘‘(4)(A) at the discretion of the State (taking into
account the seriousness of the deficiency and the time reasonably required to correct the deficiency), allow the entity to
develop and implement, within 60 days after being informed of the deficiency, a quality improvement plan to correct such
deficiency within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the State; and
‘‘(B) not later than 30 days after receiving from an
eligible entity a proposed quality improvement plan pursuant to subparagraph (A), either approve such proposed plan or
specify the reasons why the proposed plan cannot be approved; and
‘‘(5) after providing adequate notice and an
opportunity for a hearing, initiate proceedings to terminate the
designation of or reduce the funding under this subtitle of the
eligible entity unless the entity corrects the deficiency.
‘‘(b) REVIEW.—A
determination to terminate the designation or reduce the funding of an eligible entity is reviewable
by the Secretary. The Secretary shall, upon request, review such
a determination. The review shall be completed not later than 90 days after the Secretary receives from the State all necessary
documentation relating to the determination to terminate the designation or reduce the funding. If the review is not completed
within 90 days, the determination of the State shall become final at
the end of the 90th day.
‘‘(c) DIRECT
ASSISTANCE.—Whenever
a State violates the assurances contained in section 676(b)(8) and terminates or reduces
the funding of an eligible entity prior to the completion
of the State hearing described in that section and the Secretary’s
review as required in subsection (b), the Secretary is authorized
to provide financial assistance under this subtitle to the eligible
entity affected until the violation is corrected. In such a case, the
grant or allotment for the State under section 675A or 675B for the earliest
appropriate fiscal year shall be reduced by an amount equal to the
funds provided under this subsection to such eligible entity.
‘‘SEC. 678D. FISCAL CONTROLS, AUDITS, AND WITHHOLDING.
‘‘(a) FISCAL
CONTROLS,
PROCEDURES,
AUDITS,
AND INSPECTIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—A State
that receives funds under this subtitle shall—
‘‘(A) establish fiscal control and fund accounting
procedures necessary to assure the proper disbursal of and accounting for Federal funds paid to the State under this
subtitle, including procedures for monitoring the funds
provided under this subtitle;
‘‘(B) ensure that cost and accounting standards of the
Office of Management and Budget apply to a recipient of the funds under this subtitle;
‘‘(C) subject to paragraph (2), prepare, at least
every year, an audit of the expenditures of the State of amounts received under this subtitle and amounts transferred to
carry out the purposes of this subtitle; and
‘‘(D) make appropriate books, documents, papers, and
records available to the Secretary and the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their duly
authorized representatives, for examination, copying, or mechanical reproduction on or off the premises of the appropriate
entity upon a reasonable request for the items.
‘‘(2) AUDITS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to
subparagraph (B), each audit required by subsection (a)(1)(C) shall be conducted
by an entity independent of any agency administering activities or services carried out under this subtitle and
shall be conducted in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
‘‘(B) SINGLE
AUDIT REQUIREMENTS.—Audits
shall be conducted under this paragraph in the manner and to the extent provided in chapter 75 of title 31, United
States Code (commonly known as the ‘Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996’).
‘‘(C) SUBMISSION
OF COPIES.—Within 30
days after the completion of each such audit in a State, the chief
executive officer of the State shall submit a copy of such audit to any eligible entity that was the subject of the audit at
no charge, to the legislature of the State, and to the
Secretary.
‘‘(3) REPAYMENTS.—The
State shall repay to the United States amounts found not to have been expended in
accordance with this subtitle or the Secretary may offset such
amounts against any other amount to which the State is or may
become entitled under this subtitle.
‘‘(b) WITHHOLDING.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The
Secretary shall, after providing adequate notice and an opportunity for a hearing conducted within
the affected State, withhold funds from any State that
does not utilize the grant or allotment under section 675A or
675B in accordance with the provisions of this subtitle,
including the assurances such State provided under section 676.
‘‘(2) RESPONSE
TO COMPLAINTS.—The
Secretary shall respond in an expeditious and speedy manner to complaints of a substantial or serious nature that a State has failed
to use funds in accordance with the provisions of this
subtitle, including the assurances provided by the State under
section 676. For purposes of this paragraph, a complaint of a
failure to meet any one of the assurances provided under section 676 that constitutes disregarding that assurance shall be
considered to be a complaint of a serious nature.
‘‘(3) INVESTIGATIONS.—Whenever
the Secretary determines that there is a pattern of complaints of failures
described in paragraph (2) from any State in any fiscal year, the
Secretary shall conduct an investigation of the use of funds
received under this subtitle by such State in order to ensure
compliance with the provisions of this subtitle.
‘‘SEC. 678E. ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING
REQUIREMENTS.
‘‘(a) STATE
ACCOUNTABILITY
AND REPORTING
REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(1) PERFORMANCE
MEASUREMENT.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—By October
1, 2001, each State that receives funds under this subtitle shall participate, and
shall ensure that all eligible entities in the State
participate, in a performance measurement system, which may be a performance measurement system for which the
Secretary facilitated development pursuant to subsection (b), or an alternative system that the Secretary is satisfied
meets the requirements of subsection (b).
‘‘(B) LOCAL
AGENCIES.—The State
may elect to have local agencies that are subcontractors of the eligible
entities under this subtitle participate in the performance
measurement system. If the State makes that election, references in this section to eligible entities shall be considered
to include the local agencies.
‘‘(2) ANNUAL
REPORT.—Each State
shall annually prepare and submit to the Secretary a report on the measured
performance of the State and the eligible entities in the State. Prior to the participation of the State in the performance
measurement system, the State shall include in the report any
information collected by the State relating to such performance. Each State shall also include in the report an accounting of
the expenditure of funds received by the State through the
community services block grant program, including an accounting of funds spent on administrative costs by the State and
the eligible entities, and funds spent by eligible entities on
the direct delivery of local services, and shall include
information on the number of and characteristics of clients served
under this subtitle in the State, based on data collected from
the eligible entities. The State shall also include in the
report a summary describing the training and technical assistance offered by the State under section 678C(a)(3) during the
year covered by the report.
‘‘(b) SECRETARY’S
ACCOUNTABILITY
AND REPORTING
REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(1) PERFORMANCE
MEASUREMENT.—The
Secretary, in collaboration with the States and with eligible entities
throughout the Nation, shall facilitate the development of one or more model performance measurement systems, which may be used
by the States and by eligible entities to measure their
performance in carrying out the requirements of this subtitle and in achieving the goals of their community action plans.
The Secretary shall provide technical assistance, including
support for the enhancement of electronic data systems, to States
and to eligible entities to enhance their capability to
collect and report data for such a system and to aid in their
participation in such a system.
‘‘(2) REPORTING
REQUIREMENTS.—At the
end of each fiscal year beginning after September 30, 1999, the Secretary
shall, directly or by grant or contract, prepare a report
containing—
‘‘(A) a summary of the planned use of funds by each
State, and the eligible entities in the State, under the community services block grant program, as contained in
each State plan submitted pursuant to section 676;
‘‘(B) a description of how funds were actually spent
by the State and eligible entities in the State, including a breakdown of funds spent on administrative costs and
on the direct delivery of local services by eligible
entities;
‘‘(C) information on the number of entities eligible
for funds under this subtitle, the number of low-income
persons served under this subtitle, and such demographic data on the low-income populations served by eligible entities
as is determined by the Secretary to be feasible;
‘‘(D) a comparison of the planned uses of funds for
each State and the actual uses of the funds;
‘‘(E) a summary of each State’s performance results,
and the results for the eligible entities, as collected
and submitted by the States in accordance with subsection (a)(2); and
‘‘(F) any additional information that the Secretary
considers to be appropriate to carry out this subtitle, if the Secretary informs the States of the need for such
additional information and allows a reasonable period of time for the States to collect and provide the
information.
‘‘(3) SUBMISSION.—The
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate the report described in paragraph
(2), and any comments the Secretary may have with respect to such report. The report shall include definitions of
direct and administrative costs used by the Department of Health and Human Services for programs funded under this
subtitle.
‘‘(4) COSTS.—Of
the funds reserved under section 674(b)(3), not more than $350,000 shall be available to carry out the
reporting requirements contained in paragraph (2).
‘‘SEC. 678F. LIMITATIONS ON USE OF FUNDS.
‘‘(a) CONSTRUCTION
OF FACILITIES.—
‘‘(1) LIMITATIONS.—Except
as provided in paragraph (2), grants made under this subtitle (other than amounts
reserved under section 674(b)(3)) may not be used by the State, or by any other person with which the State makes
arrangements to carry out the purposes of this subtitle, for the
purchase or improvement of land, or the purchase, construction, or permanent improvement (other than low-cost residential
weatherization or other energy-related home repairs) of
any building or other facility.
‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The
Secretary may waive the limitation contained in paragraph (1) upon a State request for such a waiver,
if the Secretary finds that the request describes extraordinary circumstances to justify the purchase of land or the
construction of facilities (or the making of permanent improvements)
and that permitting the waiver will contribute to the ability
of the State to carry out the purposes of this subtitle.
‘‘(b) POLITICAL
ACTIVITIES.—
‘‘(1) TREATMENT
AS A STATE OR LOCAL AGENCY.—For
purposes of chapter 15 of title 5, United States Code, any entity that assumes responsibility for planning, developing, and
coordinating activities under this subtitle and receives
assistance under this subtitle shall be deemed to be a State or local agency. For purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2) of
section 1502(a) of such title, any entity receiving assistance
under this subtitle shall be deemed to be a State or local
agency.
‘‘(2) PROHIBITIONS.—Programs
assisted under this subtitle shall not be carried on in a manner involving the use of
program funds, the provision of services, or the employment or
assignment of personnel, in a manner supporting or resulting in the identification of such programs with—
‘‘(A) any partisan or nonpartisan political activity
or any political activity associated with a candidate, or contending faction or group, in an election for public or
party office;
‘‘(B) any activity to provide voters or prospective
voters with transportation to the polls or similar assistance in connection with any such election; or
‘‘(C) any voter registration activity.
‘‘(3) RULES
AND REGULATIONS.—The
Secretary, after consultation with the Office of Personnel Management, shall issue
rules and regulations to provide for the enforcement of
this subsection, which shall include provisions for summary
suspension of assistance or other action necessary to permit
enforcement on an emergency basis.
‘‘(c) NONDISCRIMINATION.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—No person
shall, on the basis of race, color, national origin, or sex be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under, any program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds made available under this subtitle. Any
prohibition against discrimination on the basis of age under the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.) or
with respect to an otherwise qualified individual with a
disability as provided in section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), or title II of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.) shall also apply to
any such program or activity.
‘‘(2) ACTION
OF SECRETARY.—Whenever
the Secretary determines that a State that has received a payment under this
subtitle has failed to comply with paragraph (1) or an applicable regulation, the Secretary shall notify the chief executive
officer of the State and shall request that the officer secure
compliance. If within a reasonable period of time, not to exceed 60
days, the chief executive officer fails or refuses to secure
compliance, the Secretary is authorized to—
‘‘(A) refer the matter to the Attorney General with
a recommendation that an appropriate civil action be instituted;
‘‘(B) exercise the powers and functions provided by
title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.), the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C.
6101 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), or title II of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.), as may be
applicable; or
‘‘(C) take such other action as may be provided by
law.
‘‘(3) ACTION
OF ATTORNEY GENERAL.—When
a matter is referred to the Attorney General pursuant to paragraph
(2), or whenever the Attorney General has reason to believe
that the State is engaged in a pattern or practice of
discrimination in violation of the provisions of this subsection, the
Attorney General may bring a civil action in any appropriate United States district court for such relief as may be
appropriate, including injunctive relief.
‘‘SEC. 678G. DRUG AND CHILD SUPPORT SERVICES AND
REFERRALS.
‘‘(a) DRUG
TESTING
AND REHABILITATION.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Nothing in
this subtitle shall be construed to prohibit a State from testing participants in programs,
activities, or services carried out or provided under this subtitle for controlled substances. A State that conducts such
testing shall inform the participants who test positive for any of
such substances about the availability of treatment or
rehabilitation services and refer such participants for appropriate
treatment or rehabilitation services.
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE
EXPENSES.—Any funds
provided under this subtitle expended for such testing shall be
considered to be expended for administrative expenses and shall be
subject to the limitation specified in section 675C(b)(2).
‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—In
this subsection, the term ‘controlled substance’ has the meaning given the term in section 102
of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802).
‘‘(b) CHILD
SUPPORT
SERVICES
AND REFERRALS.—During
each fiscal year for which an eligible entity receives a grant
under section 675C, such entity shall—
‘‘(1) inform custodial parents in single-parent
families that participate in programs, activities, or services carried
out or provided under this subtitle about the availability of
child support services; and
‘‘(2) refer eligible parents to the child support
offices of State and local governments.
‘‘SEC. 679. OPERATIONAL RULE.
‘‘(a) RELIGIOUS
ORGANIZATIONS
INCLUDED
AS NONGOVERNMENTAL PROVIDERS.—For
any program carried out by the Federal Government, or by a State or local government under this
subtitle, the government shall consider, on the same basis as other
nongovernmental organizations, religious organizations to provide the assistance under the program, so long as the program is
implemented in a manner consistent with the Establishment Clause of the first amendment to the Constitution. Neither the
Federal Government nor a State or local government receiving funds
under this subtitle shall discriminate against an organization
that provides assistance under, or applies to provide assistance under,
this subtitle, on the basis that the organization has a
religious character.
‘‘(b) RELIGIOUS
CHARACTER
AND INDEPENDENCE.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—A religious
organization that provides assistance under a program described in subsection (a)
shall retain its religious character and control over the definition, development, practice, and expression of its religious
beliefs.
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL
SAFEGUARDS.—Neither
the Federal Government nor a State or local government shall require a religious organization—
‘‘(A) to alter its form of internal governance, except
(for purposes of administration of the community services block grant program) as provided in section 676B; or
‘‘(B) to remove religious art, icons, scripture, or
other symbols; in order to be eligible to provide assistance under a
program described in subsection (a).
‘‘(3) EMPLOYMENT
PRACTICES.—A
religious organization’s exemption provided under section 702 of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–1) regarding employment
practices shall not be affected by its participation in, or receipt
of funds from, programs described in subsection (a).
‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS
ON USE
OF FUNDS
FOR CERTAIN
PURPOSES.— No funds provided directly to a religious organization to
provide assistance under any program described in subsection (a)
shall be expended for sectarian worship, instruction, or
proselytization.
‘‘(d) FISCAL
ACCOUNTABILITY.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Except as
provided in paragraph (2), any religious organization providing assistance under any
program described in subsection (a) shall be subject to the same regulations as other nongovernmental organizations to
account in accord with generally accepted accounting principles
for the use of such funds provided under such program.
‘‘(2) LIMITED
AUDIT.—Such
organization shall segregate government funds provided under such program into a
separate account. Only the government funds shall be subject to
audit by the government.
‘‘(e) TREATMENT
OF ELIGIBLE
ENTITIES
AND OTHER
INTERMEDIATE ORGANIZATIONS.—If
an eligible entity or other organization (referred to in this subsection as an ‘intermediate
organization’), acting under a contract, or grant or other agreement, with
the Federal Government or a State or local government, is
given the authority under the contract or agreement to select
nongovernmental organizations to provide assistance under the programs described in subsection (a), the intermediate organization
shall have the same duties under this section as the government.
‘‘SEC. 680. DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY.
‘‘(a) GRANTS,
CONTRACTS,
ARRANGEMENTS,
LOANS,
AND GUARANTEES.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The
Secretary shall, from funds reserved under section 674(b)(3), make grants, loans, or guarantees
to States and public agencies and private, nonprofit organizations, or enter into contracts or jointly financed cooperative
arrangements with States and public agencies and private, nonprofit organizations (and for-profit organizations, to the extent
specified in paragraph (2)(E)) for each of the objectives described in paragraphs (2) through (4).
‘‘(2) COMMUNITY
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.—
‘‘(A) ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES.—The
Secretary shall make grants described in paragraph (1) on a competitive basis to private, nonprofit organizations
that are community development corporations to provide
technical and financial assistance for economic development activities designed to address the economic needs of
low-income individuals and families by creating employment and business development opportunities.
‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—The
Secretary shall exercise the authority provided under subparagraph (A) after
consultation with other relevant Federal officials.
‘‘(C) GOVERNING
BOARDS.—For a
community development corporation to receive funds to carry out this paragraph,
the corporation shall be governed by a board that shall consist of residents of the community and business
and civic leaders and shall have as a principal purpose planning, developing, or managing low-income housing or
community development projects.
‘‘(D) GEOGRAPHIC
DISTRIBUTION.—In
making grants to carry out this paragraph, the Secretary shall take into consideration the geographic distribution of funding among
States and the relative proportion of funding among rural and urban areas.
‘‘(E) RESERVATION.—Of
the amounts made available to carry out this paragraph, the Secretary may reserve
not more than 1 percent for each fiscal year to make grants to private, nonprofit organizations or to enter
into contracts with private, nonprofit or for-profit
organizations to provide technical assistance to aid community
development corporations in developing or implementing activities funded to carry out this paragraph and to evaluate
activities funded to carry out this paragraph.
‘‘(3) RURAL
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall provide the assistance described in
paragraph (1) for rural community development activities, which
shall include providing—
‘‘(A) grants to private, nonprofit corporations to
enable the corporations to provide assistance concerning home repair to rural low-income families and concerning
planning and developing low-income rural rental housing units; and
‘‘(B) grants to multi-state, regional, private,
nonprofit organizations to enable the organizations to provide
training and technical assistance to small, rural communities concerning meeting their community facility needs.
‘‘(4) NEIGHBORHOOD
INNOVATION PROJECTS.—The
Secretary shall provide the assistance described in paragraph (1)
for neighborhood innovation projects, which shall include
providing grants to neighborhood-based private, nonprofit
organizations to test or assist in the development of new approaches or methods that will aid in overcoming special problems
identified by communities or neighborhoods or otherwise assist in
furthering the purposes of this subtitle, and which may include
providing assistance for projects that are designed to serve low-income individuals and families who are not being effectively
served by other programs.
‘‘(b) EVALUATION.—The
Secretary shall require all activities receiving assistance under this section to be evaluated
for their effectiveness. Funding for such evaluations shall be provided as
a stated percentage of the assistance or through a
separate grant awarded by the Secretary specifically for the purpose of
evaluation of a particular activity or group of activities.
‘‘(c) ANNUAL
REPORT.—The
Secretary shall compile an annual report containing a summary of the evaluations required in
subsection (b) and a listing of all activities assisted under this
section.
The Secretary shall annually submit the report to the
Chairperson of the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the
House of Representatives and the Chairperson of the Committee on
Labor and Human Resources of the Senate.
‘‘SEC. 681. COMMUNITY FOOD AND NUTRITION PROGRAMS.
‘‘(a) GRANTS.—The
Secretary may, through grants to public and private, nonprofit agencies, provide for
community-based, local, statewide, and national programs—
‘‘(1) to coordinate private and public food assistance
resources, wherever the grant recipient involved
determines such coordination to be inadequate, to better serve
low-income populations;
‘‘(2) to assist low-income communities to identify
potential sponsors of child nutrition programs and to initiate such
programs in underserved or unserved areas; and
‘‘(3) to develop innovative approaches at the State
and local level to meet the nutrition needs of low-income
individuals.
‘‘(b) ALLOTMENTS
AND DISTRIBUTION
OF FUNDS.—
‘‘(1) NOT
TO EXCEED $6,000,000
IN APPROPRIATIONS.—Of
the amount appropriated for a fiscal year to carry out this
section (but not to exceed $6,000,000), the Secretary shall
distribute funds for grants under subsection (a) as follows:
‘‘(A) ALLOTMENTS.—From
a portion equal to 60 percent of such amount (but not to exceed $3,600,000), the
Secretary shall allot for grants to eligible agencies for statewide programs in each State the amount that bears the
same ratio to such portion as the low-income and unemployed population of such State bears to the
low-income and unemployed population of all the States.
‘‘(B) COMPETITIVE
GRANTS.—From a
portion equal to 40 percent of such amount (but not to exceed $2,400,000),
the Secretary shall make grants on a competitive basis to eligible agencies for local and statewide programs.
‘‘(2) GREATER
AVAILABLE APPROPRIATIONS.—Any
amounts appropriated for a fiscal year to carry out this section
in excess of $6,000,000 shall be allotted as follows:
‘‘(A) ALLOTMENTS.—The
Secretary shall use 40 percent of such excess to allot for grants under subsection (a)
to eligible agencies for statewide programs in each State an amount that bears the same ratio to 40 percent of
such excess as the low-income and unemployed population of such State bears to the low-income and unemployed
population of all the States.
‘‘(B) COMPETITIVE
GRANTS FOR LOCAL AND STATEWIDE PROGRAMS.—The
Secretary shall use 40 percent of such excess to make grants under subsection (a) on a
competitive basis to eligible agencies for local and statewide
programs.
‘‘(C) COMPETITIVE
GRANTS FOR NATIONWIDE PROGRAMS.—The Secretary shall use the remaining 20 percent
of such excess to make grants under subsection (a) on a competitive basis to eligible agencies for nationwide
programs, including programs benefiting Indians, as defined in section 677, and migrant or seasonal farmworkers.
‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY
FOR ALLOTMENTS FOR STATEWIDE PROGRAMS.—To be eligible to receive an allotment under paragraph
(1)(A) or (2)(A), an eligible agency shall demonstrate
that the proposed program is statewide in scope and represents a
comprehensive and coordinated effort to alleviate hunger within the State.
‘‘(4) MINIMUM
ALLOTMENTS FOR STATEWIDE PROGRAMS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—From the
amounts allotted under paragraphs (1)(A) and (2)(A), the minimum total allotment
for each State for each fiscal year shall be—
‘‘(i) $15,000 if the total amount appropriated to
carry out this section is not less than $7,000,000 but less than $10,000,000;
‘‘(ii) $20,000 if the total amount appropriated to
carry out this section is not less than $10,000,000 but less than $15,000,000; or
‘‘(iii) $30,000 if the total amount appropriated to
carry out this section is not less than $15,000,000.
‘‘(B) DEFINITION.—In
this paragraph, the term ‘State’ does not include Guam, American Samoa, the United States
Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
‘‘(5) MAXIMUM
GRANTS.—From funds
made available under paragraphs (1)(B) and (2)(B) for any fiscal year, the
Secretary may not make grants under subsection (a) to an eligible
agency in an aggregate amount exceeding $50,000. From funds made available under paragraph (2)(C) for any fiscal year, the
Secretary may not make grants under subsection (a) to an eligible agency in an aggregate amount exceeding $300,000.
‘‘(c) REPORT.—For
each fiscal year, the Secretary shall prepare and submit, to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Labor
and Human Resources of the Senate, a report concerning the
grants made under this section. Such report shall include—
‘‘(1) a list of grant recipients;
‘‘(2) information on the amount of funding awarded to
each grant recipient; and
‘‘(3) a summary of the activities performed by the
grant recipients with funding awarded under this section and a description of the manner in which such activities meet
the objectives described in subsection (a).
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as
may be necessary for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2003.
‘‘SEC. 682. NATIONAL OR REGIONAL PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO
PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR LOW-INCOME YOUTH.
‘‘(a) GENERAL
AUTHORITY.—The
Secretary is authorized to make a grant to an eligible service provider to administer
national or regional programs to provide instructional activities for
low-income youth. In making such a grant, the Secretary shall give
priority to eligible service providers that have a demonstrated
ability to operate such a program.
‘‘(b) PROGRAM
REQUIREMENTS.—Any
instructional activity carried out by an eligible service provider receiving a grant
under this section shall be carried out on the campus of an
institution of higher education (as defined in section 1201(a) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141(a))) and shall
include—
‘‘(1) access to the facilities and resources of such
an institution;
‘‘(2) an initial medical examination and follow-up
referral or treatment, without charge, for youth during their
participation in such activity;
‘‘(3) at least one nutritious meal daily, without
charge, for participating youth during each day of participation;
‘‘(4) high quality instruction in a variety of sports
(that shall include swimming and that may include dance and any other high quality recreational activity) provided by
coaches and teachers from institutions of higher education and
from elementary and secondary schools (as defined in section
14101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 8801)); and
‘‘(5) enrichment instruction and information on
matters relating to the well-being of youth, to include
educational opportunities and information on study practices,
education for the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse, and
information on health and nutrition, career opportunities, and family
and job responsibilities.
‘‘(c) ADVISORY
COMMITTEE;
PARTNERSHIPS.—The
eligible service provider shall, in each community in which a program is
funded under this section—
‘‘(1) ensure that—
‘‘(A) a community-based advisory committee is
established, with representatives from local youth, family, and social service organizations, schools, entities providing
park and recreation services, and other community-based organizations serving high-risk youth; or
‘‘(B) an existing community-based advisory board,
commission, or committee with similar membership is
utilized to serve as the committee described in subparagraph (A); and
‘‘(2) enter into formal partnerships with
youth-serving organizations or other appropriate social service entities
in order to link program participants with year-round
services in their home communities that support and continue the
objectives of this subtitle.
‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE
PROVIDERS.—A
service provider that is a national private, nonprofit organization, a coalition of such
organizations, or a private, nonprofit organization applying jointly with
a business concern shall be eligible to apply for a grant under this
section if—
‘‘(1) the applicant has demonstrated experience in
operating a program providing instruction to low-income youth;
‘‘(2) the applicant agrees to contribute an amount (in
cash or in kind, fairly evaluated) of not less than 25 percent
of the amount requested, for the program funded through the grant;
‘‘(3) the applicant agrees to use no funds from a
grant authorized under this section for administrative expenses;
and
‘‘(4) the applicant agrees to comply with the
regulations or program guidelines promulgated by the Secretary for use of funds made available through the grant.
‘‘(e) APPLICATION
PROCESS.—To
be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a service provider shall submit to the
Secretary, for approval, an application at such time, in such manner,
and containing such information as the Secretary may require.
‘‘(f) PROMULGATION
OF REGULATIONS
OR PROGRAM
GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall promulgate regulations or program guidelines to ensure funds made available through a grant
made under this section are used in accordance with the
objectives of this subtitle.
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years
1999 through 2003 for grants to carry out this section.
‘‘SEC. 683. REFERENCES.
‘‘Any reference in any provision of law to the poverty
line set forth in section 624 or 625 of the Economic
Opportunity Act of 1964 shall be construed to be a reference to the
poverty line defined in section 673. Except as otherwise provided, any
reference in any provision of law to any community action agency
designated under title II of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964
shall be construed to be a reference to an entity eligible to
receive funds under the community services block grant program.’’.
SEC. 202. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
(a) OLDER
AMERICANS
ACT
OF 1965.—Section
306(a)(6)(E)(ii) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3026(a)(6)(E)(ii))
is amended by striking ‘‘section 675(c)(3) of the
Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9904(c)(3))’’ and inserting
‘‘section 676B of the Community Services Block Grant Act’’.
(b) COMMUNITY
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
ACT
OF 1981.—
(1) SOURCE
OF FUNDS.—Section
614 of the Community Economic Development Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 9803) is repealed.
(2) ADVISORY
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT BOARD.—Section 615(a)(2) of the Community Economic Development Act of
1981 (42 U.S.C. 9804(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘through
the Office’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘through
an appropriate office.’’.
(c) HUMAN
SERVICES
REAUTHORIZATION
ACT
OF 1986.—Section 407 of the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1986 (42
U.S.C. 9812a) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) by inserting after ‘‘funds available’’ the
following: ‘‘(before the date of enactment of the Coats Human
Services Reauthorization Act of 1998)’’; and
(B) by inserting after ‘‘9910(a))’’ the following:
‘‘(as in effect before such date)’’; and
(2) in subsection (b)(2)—
(A) by inserting after ‘‘funds available’’ the
following: ‘‘(before the date of enactment of the Coats Human
Services Reauthorization Act of 1998)’’; and
(B) by inserting after ‘‘9910(a))’’ the following:
‘‘(as in effect before such date)’’.
(d) ANTI-DRUG
ABUSE
ACT
OF 1988.—Section
3521(c)(2) of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 11841(c)(2)) is
amended by striking ‘‘, such as activities authorized by
section 681(a)(2)(F) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C.
section 9910(a)(2)(F)),’’.
TITLE III—LOW-INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE
SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Low-Income Home
Energy Assistance Amendments of 1998’’.
SEC. 302. AUTHORIZATION.
(a) IN
GENERAL.—Section
2602(b) of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621(b)) is
amended by inserting ‘‘, such sums as may be necessary for
each of fiscal years 2000 and 2001, and $2,000,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2002 through 2004’’ after ‘‘1995 through 1999’’.
(b) PROGRAM
YEAR.—Section
2602(c) of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621(c)) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(c) Amounts appropriated under this section for any
fiscal year for programs and activities under this title shall be
made available for obligation in the succeeding fiscal year.’’.
(c) INCENTIVE
PROGRAM
FOR LEVERAGING
NON-FEDERAL RESOURCES.—Section
2602(d) of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621(d)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘(d)(1)’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘are authorized’’ and inserting
‘‘is authorized’’;
(3) by striking ‘‘$50,000,000’’ and all that
follows and inserting the following: ‘‘$30,000,000 for each of fiscal years
1999 through 2004, except as provided in paragraph (2).’’;
and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(2) For any of fiscal years 1999 through 2004 for
which the amount appropriated under subsection (b) is not less than $1,400,000,000, there is authorized to be appropriated
$50,000,000 to carry out section 2607A.’’.
(d) TECHNICAL
AMENDMENTS.—Section
2602(e) of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C.
8621(e)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘are authorized’’ and inserting
‘‘is authorized’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘subsection (g)’’ and inserting
‘‘subsection (e) of such section’’.
SEC. 303. DEFINITIONS.
Section 2603(4) of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance
Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8622(4)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘the term’’ and inserting ‘‘The
term’’; and
(2) by striking the semicolon and inserting a period.
SEC. 304. NATURAL DISASTERS AND OTHER EMERGENCIES.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section
2603 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8622) is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (9) as
paragraphs (8) through (11), respectively;
(2) by inserting before paragraph (8) (as redesignated in
paragraph (1)) the following:
‘‘(7) The term ‘natural disaster’ means a weather
event (relating to cold or hot weather), flood, earthquake,
tornado, hurricane, or ice storm, or an event meeting such other
criteria as the Secretary, in the discretion of the Secretary, may
determine to be appropriate.’’;
(3) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (5) as
paragraphs (2) through (6), respectively; and
(4) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as redesignated in
paragraph (3)) the following:
‘‘(1) The term ‘emergency’ means—
‘‘(A) a natural disaster;
‘‘(B) a significant home energy supply shortage or
disruption;
‘‘(C) a significant increase in the cost of home
energy, as determined by the Secretary;
‘‘(D) a significant increase in home energy
disconnections reported by a utility, a State regulatory agency, or another agency with necessary data;
‘‘(E) a significant increase in participation in a
public benefit program such as the food stamp program carried out under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011
et seq.), the national program to provide supplemental security income carried out under title XVI of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.), or the State
temporary assistance for needy families program carried out under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 601 et seq.), as determined by the head of the appropriate Federal agency;
‘‘(F) a significant increase in unemployment, layoffs,
or the number of households with an individual applying for unemployment benefits, as determined by the Secretary
of Labor; or
‘‘(G) an event meeting such criteria as the Secretary,
in the discretion of the Secretary, may determine to be appropriate.’’.
(b) CONSIDERATIONS.—Section
2604(g) of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8623(g)) is
amended by striking the last two sentences and inserting the
following: ‘‘In determining whether to make such an allotment to
a State, the Secretary shall take into account the extent to which
the State was affected by the natural disaster or other emergency
involved, the availability to the State of other resources under the program
carried out under this title or any other program, and
such other factors as the Secretary may find to be relevant. Not
later than 30 days after making the determination, but prior to
releasing an allotted amount to a State, the Secretary shall notify
Congress of the allotments made pursuant to this subsection.’’.
SEC. 305. STATE ALLOTMENTS.
Section 2604 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act
of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8623) is amended—
(1) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘the Northern
Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.’’
and inserting ‘‘and the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands.’’;
(2) in subsection (c)(3)(B)(ii), by striking ‘‘application’’
and inserting ‘‘applications’’;
(3) by striking subsection (f);
(4) in the first sentence of subsection (g), by striking
‘‘(a) through (f)’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) through (d)’’;
and
(5) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (e).
SEC. 306. ADMINISTRATION.
Section 2605 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act
of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8624) is amended—
(1) in subsection (b)—
(A) in paragraph (9)(A), by striking ‘‘and not
transferred pursuant to section 2604(f) for use under another block grant’’;
(B) in paragraph (14), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and
inserting a semicolon;
(C) in the matter following paragraph (14), by striking
‘‘The Secretary may not prescribe the manner in which the States will comply with the provisions of this
subsection.’’; and
(D) in the matter following paragraph (16), by inserting
before ‘‘The Secretary shall issue’’ the
following: ‘‘The Secretary may not prescribe the manner in which the States
will comply with the provisions of this subsection.’’;
(2) in subsection (c)(1)—
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘States’’
and inserting ‘‘State’’; and
(B) in subparagraph (G)(i), by striking ‘‘has’’
and inserting ‘‘had’’; and
(3) in paragraphs (1) and (2)(A) of subsection (k) by
inserting ‘‘, particularly those low-income households with the
lowest incomes that pay a high proportion of household income for home energy’’ before the period.
SEC. 307. PAYMENTS TO STATES.
Section 2607(b)(2)(B) of the Low-Income Home Energy
Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8626(b)(2)(B)) is amended—
(1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘and not
transferred pursuant to section 2604(f)’’; and
(2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘but not
transferred by the State’’.
SEC. 308. RESIDENTIAL ENERGY ASSISTANCE CHALLENGE OPTION.
(a) EVALUATION.—The
Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an evaluation of the Residential Energy
Assistance Challenge program described in section 2607B of the
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8626b).
(b) REPORT.—Not
later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States
shall prepare and submit to Congress a report containing—
(1) the findings resulting from the evaluation described
in subsection (a); and
(2) the State evaluations described in paragraphs (1) and
(2) of subsection (b) of such section 2607B.
(c) INCENTIVE
GRANTS.—Section
2607B(b)(1) of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8626b(b)(1))
is amended by striking ‘‘For each of the fiscal years
1996 through 1999’’ and inserting ‘‘For each fiscal year’’.
(d) TECHNICAL
AMENDMENTS.—Section
2607B of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C.
8626b) is amended—
(1) in subsection (e)(2)—
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) through (N)
as subparagraphs (E) through (M), respectively; and
(B) in clause (i) of subparagraph (I) (as redesignated
in subparagraph (A)), by striking ‘‘on’’ and
inserting ‘‘of’’; and
(2) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (f).
SEC. 309. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TRAINING, AND COMPLIANCE
REVIEWS.
(a) IN
GENERAL.—Section
2609A(a) of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 8628a(a)) is
amended—
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking
‘‘$250,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$300,000’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘Secretary—’’ and all that
follows through ‘‘(1) to make’’ and inserting the following:
‘‘Secretary—
‘‘(1) to—
‘‘(A) make’’;
(3) by striking ‘‘organizations; or’’ and all that
follows through ‘‘(2) to enter’’ and inserting the
following: ‘‘organizations; or
‘‘(B) enter’’;
(4) by striking the following: ‘‘to provide’’ and inserting the following:
‘‘to provide’’;
(5) by striking ‘‘title.’’ and inserting the
following: ‘‘title; or
‘‘(2) to conduct onsite compliance reviews of programs
supported under this title.’’; and
(6) in paragraph (1)(B) (as redesignated in paragraphs (2)
and (3))—
(A) by inserting ‘‘or interagency agreements’’
after ‘‘cooperative arrangements’’; and
(B) by inserting ‘‘(including Federal agencies)’’
after ‘‘public agencies’’.
(b) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—The
section heading of section 2609A of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981
(42 U.S.C. 8628a) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE, TRAINING,
AND COMPLIANCE REVIEWS’’.
TITLE IV—ASSETS FOR INDEPENDENCE
SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ‘‘Assets for
Independence Act’’.
SEC. 402. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Economic well-being does not come solely from income,
spending, and consumption, but also requires savings,
investment, and accumulation of assets because assets can improve economic independence and stability, connect individuals
with a viable and hopeful future, stimulate development of
human and other capital, and enhance the welfare of offspring.
(2) Fully 1⁄2
of all Americans have
either no, negligible, or negative assets available for investment, just as the
price of entry to the economic mainstream, the cost of a house, an adequate education, and starting a business, is
increasing. Further, the household savings rate of the United States
lags far behind other industrial nations, presenting a barrier
to economic growth.
(3) In the current tight fiscal environment, the United
States should invest existing resources in high-yield
initiatives. There is reason to believe that the financial returns,
including increased income, tax revenue, and decreased welfare cash assistance, resulting from individual development accounts
will far exceed the cost of investment in those accounts.
(4) Traditional public assistance programs concentrating
on income and consumption have rarely been successful in promoting and supporting the transition to increased
economic self-sufficiency. Income-based domestic policy should be
complemented with asset-based policy because, while income-based policies ensure that consumption needs (including food,
child care, rent, clothing, and health care) are met,
asset-based policies provide the means to achieve greater independence and
economic well-being.
SEC. 403. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this title are to provide for the
establishment of demonstration projects designed to determine—
(1) the social, civic, psychological, and economic effects
of providing to individuals and families with limited
means an incentive to accumulate assets by saving a portion of
their earned income;
(2) the extent to which an asset-based policy that
promotes saving for postsecondary education, homeownership, and
microenterprise development may be used to enable individuals and families with limited means to increase their economic
self-sufficiency; and
(3) the extent to which an asset-based policy stabilizes
and improves families and the community in which the
families live.
SEC. 404. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) APPLICABLE
PERIOD.—The term
‘‘applicable period’’ means, with respect to amounts to be paid from a grant
made for a project year, the calendar year immediately
preceding the calendar year in which the grant is made.
(2) ELIGIBLE
INDIVIDUAL.—The term
‘‘eligible individual’’ means an individual who is selected to participate in a
demonstration project by a qualified entity under section 409.
(3) EMERGENCY
WITHDRAWAL.—The term
‘‘emergency withdrawal’’ means a withdrawal by an eligible individual that—
(A) is a withdrawal of only those funds, or a portion
of those funds, deposited by the individual in the
individual development account of the individual;
(B) is permitted by a qualified entity on a case-by-case
basis; and
(C) is made for—
(i) expenses for medical care or necessary to obtain
medical care, for the individual or a spouse or dependent of the individual described in paragraph (8)(D);
(ii) payments necessary to prevent the eviction
of the individual from the residence of the individual, or foreclosure on the mortgage for the principal residence
of the individual, as defined in paragraph (8)(B); or
(iii) payments necessary to enable the individual
to meet necessary living expenses following loss of employment.
(4) HOUSEHOLD.—The
term ‘‘household’’ means all individuals who share use of a dwelling unit as primary quarters
for living and eating separate from other individuals.
(5) INDIVIDUAL
DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNT.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term
‘‘individual development account’’ means a trust created or organized in the
United States exclusively for the purpose of paying the qualified expenses of an eligible individual, or enabling the
eligible individual to make an emergency withdrawal, but only if the written governing instrument creating the trust
contains the following requirements:
(i) No contribution will be accepted unless the
contribution is in cash or by check.
(ii) The trustee is a federally insured financial
institution, or a State insured financial institution if no federally insured financial institution is available.
(iii) The assets of the trust will be invested in
accordance with the direction of the eligible individual after consultation with the qualified entity providing
deposits for the individual under section 410.
(iv) The assets of the trust will not be commingled
with other property except in a common trust fund or common investment fund.
(v) Except as provided in clause (vi), any amount
in the trust that is attributable to a deposit provided under section 410 may be paid or distributed out of
the trust only for the purpose of paying the qualified expenses of the eligible individual, or enabling the
eligible individual to make an emergency withdrawal.
(vi) Any balance in the trust on the day after
the date on which the individual for whose benefit the trust is established dies shall be distributed within
30 days of that date as directed by that individual to another individual development account established
for the benefit of an eligible individual.
(B) CUSTODIAL
ACCOUNTS.—For
purposes of subparagraph (A), a custodial account shall be treated as a trust
if the assets of the custodial account are held by a bank (as defined in section 408(n) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986) or another person who demonstrates, to the
satisfaction of the Secretary, that the manner in which such person will administer the custodial account will be
consistent with the requirements of this title, and if the custodial account would, except for the fact that it is not a trust,
constitute an individual development account described in subparagraph (A). For purposes of this title, in the case
of a custodial account treated as a trust by reason of the preceding sentence, the custodian of that custodial
account shall be treated as the trustee of the account.
(6) PROJECT
YEAR.—The term
‘‘project year’’ means, with respect to a demonstration project, any of the 5
consecutive 12-month periods beginning on the date the project is
originally authorized to be conducted.
(7) QUALIFIED
ENTITY.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term
‘‘qualified entity’’ means—
(i) one or more not-for-profit organizations
described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section
501(a) of such Code; or
(ii) a State or local government agency, or a tribal
government, submitting an application under section 405 jointly with an organization described in clause
(i).
(B) RULE
OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing
in this paragraph shall be construed as preventing an organization described in subparagraph (A)(i) from collaborating with
a financial institution or for-profit community
development corporation to carry out the purposes of this title.
(8) QUALIFIED
EXPENSES.—The term
‘‘qualified expenses’’ means one or more of the following, as provided by a
qualified entity:
(A) POSTSECONDARY
EDUCATIONAL EXPENSES.—Postsecondary educational expenses paid from an individual
development account directly to an eligible educational institution. In this subparagraph:
(i) POSTSECONDARY
EDUCATIONAL EXPENSES.—The term ‘‘postsecondary educational expenses’’ means
the following:
(I) TUITION
AND FEES.—Tuition
and fees required for the enrollment or attendance of a student at an eligible educational institution.
(II) FEES,
BOOKS,
SUPPLIES,
AND EQUIPMENT.— Fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for courses of instruction at an eligible educational
institution.
(ii) ELIGIBLE
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligible educational institution’’ means
the following:
(I) INSTITUTION
OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—An institution described in section 101 or 102 of the
Higher Education Act of 1965.
(II) POSTSECONDARY
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION SCHOOL.—An
area vocational education school (as defined in subparagraph (C) or (D) of section 521(4)
of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act (20 U.S.C. 2471(4)))
which is in any State (as defined in section 521(33) of such Act), as such sections are in effect on
the date of enactment of this title.
(B) FIRST-HOME
PURCHASE.—Qualified
acquisition costs with respect to a principal residence for a qualified
first-time homebuyer, if paid from an individual development account directly to the persons to whom the amounts are
due. In this subparagraph:
(i) PRINCIPAL
RESIDENCE.—The term
‘‘principal residence’’ means a main residence, the qualified acquisition costs of which do not exceed 100 percent
of the average area purchase price applicable to such residence.
(ii) QUALIFIED
ACQUISITION COSTS.—The
term ‘‘qualified acquisition costs’’ means the costs of
acquiring, constructing, or reconstructing a residence. The term includes any usual or reasonable settlement,
financing, or other closing costs.
(iii) QUALIFIED
FIRST-TIME
HOMEBUYER.—
(I) IN
GENERAL.—The term
‘‘qualified first-time homebuyer’’ means an individual participating in
the project involved (and, if married, the individual’s spouse) who has no present ownership
interest in a principal residence during the 3-year period ending on the date of acquisition of the
principal residence to which this subparagraph applies.
(II) DATE
OF ACQUISITION.—The
term ‘‘date of acquisition’’ means the date on which a binding contract to acquire, construct, or reconstruct the
principal residence to which this subparagraph applies is entered into.
(C) BUSINESS
CAPITALIZATION.—Amounts
paid from an individual development account directly to a business capitalization account that is established in a federally
insured financial institution (or in a State insured
financial institution if no federally insured financial institution
is available) and is restricted to use solely for qualified
business capitalization expenses. In this subparagraph:
(i) QUALIFIED
BUSINESS CAPITALIZATION EXPENSES.—The
term ‘‘qualified business capitalization expenses’’ means qualified expenditures for the
capitalization of a qualified business pursuant to a qualified plan.
(ii) QUALIFIED
EXPENDITURES.—The
term ‘‘qualified expenditures’’ means expenditures included in a
qualified plan, including capital, plant, equipment, working capital, and inventory expenses.
(iii) QUALIFIED
BUSINESS.—The term
‘‘qualified business’’ means any business that does not contravene
any law or public policy (as determined by the Secretary).
(iv) QUALIFIED
PLAN.—The term
‘‘qualified plan’’ means a business plan, or a plan to use a business
asset purchased, which—
(I) is approved by a financial institution, a
microenterprise development organization, or a nonprofit loan fund having demonstrated fiduciary
integrity;
(II) includes a description of services or goods
to be sold, a marketing plan, and projected financial statements; and
(III) may require the eligible individual to
obtain the assistance of an experienced entrepreneurial adviser.
(D) TRANSFERS
TO IDAS OF FAMILY MEMBERS.—Amounts paid from an individual development account directly into
another such account established for the benefit of an eligible individual who is—
(i) the individual’s spouse; or
(ii) any dependent of the individual with respect
to whom the individual is allowed a deduction under section 151 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(9) QUALIFIED
SAVINGS OF THE INDIVIDUAL FOR THE PERIOD.—The
term ‘‘qualified savings of the individual for the period’’ means the aggregate of the amounts
contributed by an individual to the individual development account of the individual during the period.
(10) SECRETARY.—The
term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director
of Community Services.
(11) TRIBAL
GOVERNMENT.—The term
‘‘tribal government’’ means a tribal organization, as defined in section 4 of
the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b) or a Native Hawaiian organization, as defined
in section 9212 of the Native Hawaiian Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7912).
SEC. 405. APPLICATIONS.
(a) ANNOUNCEMENT
OF DEMONSTRATION
PROJECTS.—Not
later than 3 months after the date of enactment of this title,
the Secretary shall publicly announce the availability of funding under
this title for demonstration projects and shall ensure that
applications to conduct the demonstration projects are widely available to
qualified entities.
(b) SUBMISSION.—Not
later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this title, a qualified entity may submit to
the Secretary an application to conduct a demonstration project under this title.
(c) CRITERIA.—In
considering whether to approve an application to conduct a demonstration project under this title, the
Secretary shall assess the following:
(1) SUFFICIENCY
OF PROJECT.—The
degree to which the project described in the application appears likely to aid
project participants in achieving economic self-sufficiency
through activities requiring one or more qualified expenses.
(2) ADMINISTRATIVE
ABILITY.—The
experience and ability of the applicant to responsibly administer the project.
(3) ABILITY
TO ASSIST PARTICIPANTS.—The
experience and ability of the applicant in recruiting, educating, and
assisting project participants to increase their economic
independence and general well-being through the development of assets.
(4) COMMITMENT
OF NON-FEDERAL
FUNDS.—The aggregate amount of direct funds from non-Federal public sector and
from private sources that are formally committed to the
project as matching contributions.
(5) ADEQUACY
OF PLAN FOR PROVIDING INFORMATION FOR EVALUATION.—The
adequacy of the plan for providing information relevant to an evaluation of the project.
(6) OTHER
FACTORS.—Such other
factors relevant to the purposes of this title as the Secretary may specify.
(d) PREFERENCES.—In
considering an application to conduct a demonstration project under this title, the Secretary
shall give preference to an application that—
(1) demonstrates the willingness and ability to select
individuals described in section 408 who are predominantly from households in which a child (or children) is living
with the child’s biological or adoptive mother or father, or
with the child’s legal guardian;
(2) provides a commitment of non-Federal funds with a
proportionately greater amount of such funds committed
from private sector sources; and
(3) targets such individuals residing within one or more
relatively well-defined neighborhoods or communities
(including rural communities) that experience high rates of poverty
or unemployment.
(e) APPROVAL.—Not
later than 9 months after the date of enactment of this title, the Secretary shall, on a competitive
basis, approve such applications to conduct demonstration
projects under this title as the Secretary considers to be appropriate,
taking into account the assessments required by subsections (c) and
(d). The Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable,
that the applications that are approved involve a range of
communities (both rural and urban) and diverse populations.
(f) CONTRACTS
WITH
NONPROFIT
ENTITIES.—The
Secretary may contract with an entity described in section 501(c)(3) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under
section 501(a) of such Code to carry out any responsibility of the
Secretary under this section or section 412 if—
(1) such entity demonstrates the ability to carry out such
responsibility; and
(2) the Secretary can demonstrate that such responsibility
would not be carried out by the Secretary at a lower cost.
(g) GRANDFATHERING
OF EXISTING
STATEWIDE
PROGRAMS.—Any statewide individual asset-building program that is
carried out in a manner consistent with the purposes of this title, that
is established under State law as of the date of enactment of this Act, and that as of such date is operating with an annual State
appropriation of not less than $1,000,000 in non-Federal funds, shall be deemed to meet the eligibility requirements of this
subtitle, and the entity carrying out the program shall be deemed to
be a qualified entity. The Secretary shall consider funding
the statewide program as a demonstration project described in this
subtitle. In considering the statewide program for funding, the
Secretary shall review an application submitted by the entity
carrying out such statewide program under this section, notwithstanding
the preference requirements listed in subsection (d). Any
program requirements under sections 407 through 411 that are
inconsistent with State statutory requirements in effect on the date of
enactment of this Act, governing such statewide program, shall not
apply to the program.
SEC. 406. DEMONSTRATION AUTHORITY; ANNUAL GRANTS.
(a) DEMONSTRATION
AUTHORITY.—If
the Secretary approves an application to conduct a demonstration project under this
title, the Secretary shall, not later than 10 months after the
date of enactment of this title, authorize the applicant to
conduct the project for 5 project years in accordance with the
approved application and the requirements of this title.
(b) GRANT
AUTHORITY.—For
each project year of a demonstration project conducted under this title, the Secretary may make
a grant to the qualified entity authorized to conduct the
project. In making such a grant, the Secretary shall make the grant
on the first day of the project year in an amount not to
exceed the lesser of—
(1) the aggregate amount of funds committed as matching
contributions from non-Federal public or private sector
sources; or
(2) $1,000,000.
SEC. 407. RESERVE FUND.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—A
qualified entity under this title, other than a State or local government agency or a tribal
government, shall establish a Reserve Fund that shall be maintained in
accordance with this section.
(b) AMOUNTS
IN RESERVE
FUND.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—As soon
after receipt as is practicable, a qualified entity shall deposit in the Reserve Fund
established under subsection (a)—
(A) all funds provided to the qualified entity from
any public or private source in connection with the
demonstration project; and
(B) the proceeds from any investment made under
subsection (c)(2).
(2) UNIFORM
ACCOUNTING REGULATIONS.—The
Secretary shall prescribe regulations with respect to accounting for amounts in the Reserve Fund established under subsection
(a).
(c) USE
OF AMOUNTS
IN THE RESERVE
FUND.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—A qualified
entity shall use the amounts in the Reserve Fund established under subsection (a) to—
(A) assist participants in the demonstration project
in obtaining the skills (including economic literacy,
budgeting, credit, and counseling skills) and information necessary to achieve economic self-sufficiency through activities
requiring qualified expenses;
(B) provide deposits in accordance with section 410
for individuals selected by the qualified entity to
participate in the demonstration project;
(C) administer the demonstration project; and
(D) provide the research organization evaluating the
demonstration project under section 414 with such
information with respect to the demonstration project as may be required for the evaluation.
(2) AUTHORITY
TO INVEST FUNDS.—
(A) GUIDELINES.—The
Secretary shall establish guidelines for investing amounts in the Reserve Fund established
under subsection (a) in a manner that provides an
appropriate balance between return, liquidity, and risk.
(B) INVESTMENT.—A
qualified entity shall invest the amounts in its Reserve Fund that are not immediately
needed to carry out the provisions of paragraph (1), in accordance with the guidelines established under
subparagraph (A).
(3) LIMITATION
ON USES.—Not more
than 9.5 percent of the amounts provided to a qualified entity under section
406(b) shall be used by the qualified entity for the purposes
described in subparagraphs (A), (C), and (D) of paragraph (1), of
which not less than 2 percent of the amounts shall be used by
the qualified entity for the purposes described in paragraph
(1)(D). If two or more qualified entities are jointly
administering a project, no qualified entity shall use more than its
proportional share for the purposes described in subparagraphs (A),
(C), and (D) of paragraph (1).
(d) UNUSED
FEDERAL
GRANT
FUNDS
TRANSFERRED
TO THE SECRETARY WHEN PROJECT
TERMINATES.—Notwithstanding
subsection (c), upon the termination of any demonstration project
authorized under this section, the qualified entity conducting the
project shall transfer to the Secretary an amount equal to—
(1) the amounts in its Reserve Fund at the time of the
termination; multiplied by
(2) a percentage equal to—
(A) the aggregate amount of grants made to the qualified
entity under section 406(b); divided by
(B) the aggregate amount of all funds provided to the
qualified entity from all sources to conduct the project.
SEC. 408. ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTICIPATION.
(a) IN
GENERAL.—Any
individual who is a member of a household that is eligible for assistance under the State temporary
assistance for needy families program established under part A of
title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), or
that meets each of the following requirements shall be eligible
to participate in a demonstration project conducted under this title:
(1) INCOME
TEST.—The adjusted
gross income of the household does not exceed the earned income amount described in
section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (taking
into account the size of the household).
(2) NET
WORTH TEST.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The net
worth of the household, as of the end of the calendar year preceding the
determination of eligibility, does not exceed $10,000.
(B) DETERMINATION
OF NET WORTH.—For
purposes of subparagraph (A), the net worth of a household is the amount equal to—
(i) the aggregate market value of all assets that
are owned in whole or in part by any member of the household; minus
(ii) the obligations or debts of any member of the
household.
(C) EXCLUSIONS.—For
purposes of determining the net worth of a household, a household’s assets shall not be
considered to include the primary dwelling unit and one motor vehicle owned by a member of the household.
(b) INDIVIDUALS
UNABLE
TO
COMPLETE
THE PROJECT.—The
Secretary shall establish such regulations as are necessary to
ensure compliance with this title if an individual participating
in the demonstration project moves from the community in which
the project is conducted or is otherwise unable to continue
participating in that project, including regulations prohibiting future
eligibility to participate in any other demonstration project
conducted under this title.
SEC. 409. SELECTION OF INDIVIDUALS TO PARTICIPATE.
From among the individuals eligible to participate in a
demonstration project conducted under this title, each qualified entity shall select the individuals—
(1) that the qualified entity determines to be best suited
to participate; and
(2) to whom the qualified entity will provide deposits in
accordance with section 410.
SEC. 410. DEPOSITS BY QUALIFIED ENTITIES.
(a) IN
GENERAL.—Not
less than once every 3 months during each project year, each qualified entity under this title
shall deposit in the individual development account of each individual
participating in the project, or into a parallel account maintained by
the qualified entity—
(1) from the non-Federal funds described in section
405(c)(4), a matching contribution of not less than $0.50
and not more than $4 for every $1 of earned income (as defined in section 911(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986)
deposited in the account by a project participant during
that period;
(2) from the grant made under section 406(b), an amount
equal to the matching contribution made under paragraph
(1); and
(3) any interest that has accrued on amounts deposited
under paragraph (1) or (2) on behalf of that individual
into the individual development account of the individual or
into a parallel account maintained by the qualified entity.
(b) LIMITATION
ON DEPOSITS
FOR AN INDIVIDUAL.—Not
more than $2,000 from a grant made under section 406(b) shall
be provided to any one individual over the course of the demonstration project.
(c) LIMITATION
ON DEPOSITS
FOR A HOUSEHOLD.—Not
more than $4,000 from a grant made under section 406(b) shall
be provided to any one household over the course of the demonstration project.
(d) WITHDRAWAL
OF FUNDS.—The
Secretary shall establish such guidelines as may be necessary to ensure that funds held
in an individual development account are not withdrawn, except
for one or more qualified expenses, or for an emergency
withdrawal. Such guidelines shall include a requirement that a responsible
official of the qualified entity conducting a project approve a
withdrawal from such an account in writing. The guidelines shall
provide that no individual may withdraw funds from an individual development
account earlier than 6 months after the date on which the
individual first deposits funds in the account.
(e) REIMBURSEMENT.—An
individual shall reimburse an individual development account for any funds withdrawn from the
account for an emergency withdrawal, not later than 12 months
after the date of the withdrawal. If the individual fails to make
the reimbursement, the qualified entity administering the
account shall transfer the funds deposited into the account or a
parallel account under this section to the Reserve Fund of the qualified
entity, and use the funds to benefit other individuals
participating in the demonstration project involved.
SEC. 411. LOCAL CONTROL OVER DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.
A qualified entity under this title, other than a State or
local government agency or a tribal government, shall, subject
to the provisions of section 413, have sole authority over the
administration of the project. The Secretary may prescribe only such
regulations or guidelines with respect to demonstration projects
conducted under this title as are necessary to ensure compliance
with the approved applications and the requirements of this title.
SEC. 412. ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS.
(a) IN
GENERAL.—Each
qualified entity under this title shall prepare an annual report on the progress of the
demonstration project. Each report shall include both program and
participant information and shall specify for the period covered by
the report the following information:
(1) The number and characteristics of individuals making
a deposit into an individual development account.
(2) The amounts in the Reserve Fund established with
respect to the project.
(3) The amounts deposited in the individual
development accounts.
(4) The amounts withdrawn from the individual development
accounts and the purposes for which such amounts were withdrawn.
(5) The balances remaining in the individual development
accounts.
(6) The savings account characteristics (such as threshold
amounts and match rates) required to stimulate
participation in the demonstration project, and how such characteristics
vary among different populations or communities.
(7) What service configurations of the qualified entity
(such as configurations relating to peer support, structured
planning exercises, mentoring, and case management) increased the
rate and consistency of participation in the demonstration
project and how such configurations varied among different
populations or communities.
(8) Such other information as the Secretary may require
to evaluate the demonstration project.
(b) SUBMISSION
OF REPORTS.—The
qualified entity shall submit each report required to be prepared under subsection (a)
to—
(1) the Secretary; and
(2) the Treasurer (or equivalent official) of the State in
which the project is conducted, if the State or a local
government or a tribal government committed funds to the demonstration project.
(c) TIMING.—The
first report required by subsection (a) shall be submitted not later than 60 days after the end of the
calendar year in which the Secretary authorized the qualified
entity to conduct the demonstration project, and subsequent reports shall be
submitted every 12 months thereafter, until the conclusion
of the project.
SEC. 413. SANCTIONS.
(a) AUTHORITY
TO
TERMINATE
DEMONSTRATION
PROJECT.—If the Secretary determines that a qualified entity under
this title is not operating a demonstration project in accordance
with the entity’s approved application under section 405 or the
requirements of this title (and has not implemented any corrective
recommendations directed by the Secretary), the Secretary shall terminate
such entity’s authority to conduct the demonstration project.
(b) ACTIONS
REQUIRED
UPON
TERMINATION.—If
the Secretary terminates the authority to conduct a demonstration
project, the Secretary—
(1) shall suspend the demonstration project;
(2) shall take control of the Reserve Fund established
pursuant to section 407;
(3) shall make every effort to identify another qualified
entity (or entities) willing and able to conduct the
project in accordance with the approved application (or, if
modification is necessary to incorporate the recommendations, the
application as modified) and the requirements of this title;
(4) shall, if the Secretary identifies an entity (or
entities) described in paragraph (3)—
(A) authorize the entity (or entities) to conduct the
project in accordance with the approved application (or, if modification is necessary to incorporate the
recommendations, the application as modified) and the requirements of this title;
(B) transfer to the entity (or entities) control over
the Reserve Fund established pursuant to section 407; and
(C) consider, for purposes of this title—
(i) such other entity (or entities) to be the qualified
entity (or entities) originally authorized to conduct the demonstration project; and
(ii) the date of such authorization to be the date
of the original authorization; and
(5) if, by the end of the 1-year period beginning on the
date of the termination, the Secretary has not found a
qualified entity (or entities) described in paragraph (3), shall—
(A) terminate the project; and
(B) from the amount remaining in the Reserve Fund
established as part of the project, remit to each source that provided funds under section 405(c)(4) to the entity
originally authorized to conduct the project, an amount that bears the same ratio to the amount so remaining
as the amount provided from the source under section 405(c)(4) bears to the amount provided from all such
sources under that section.
SEC. 414. EVALUATIONS.
(a) IN
GENERAL.—Not
later than 10 months after the date of enactment of this title, the Secretary shall enter into
a contract with an independent research organization to evaluate the
demonstration projects conducted under this title, individually and as a group, including evaluating all qualified entities
participating in and sources providing funds for the demonstration
projects conducted under this title.
(b) FACTORS
TO
EVALUATE.—In
evaluating any demonstration project conducted under this title, the research
organization shall address the following factors:
(1) The effects of incentives and organizational or
institutional support on savings behavior in the demonstration project.
(2) The savings rates of individuals in the demonstration
project based on demographic characteristics including
gender, age, family size, race or ethnic background, and income.
(3) The economic, civic, psychological, and social effects
of asset accumulation, and how such effects vary among
different populations or communities.
(4) The effects of individual development accounts on
savings rates, homeownership, level of postsecondary education attained, and self-employment, and how such effects vary
among different populations or communities.
(5) The potential financial returns to the Federal
Government and to other public sector and private sector investors in individual development accounts over a 5-year and
10-year period of time.
(6) The lessons to be learned from the demonstration
projects conducted under this title and if a permanent
program of individual development accounts should be established.
(7) Such other factors as may be prescribed by the
Secretary.
(c) METHODOLOGICAL
REQUIREMENTS.—In
evaluating any demonstration project conducted under this title, the research
organization shall—
(1) for at least one site, use control groups to compare
participants with non-participants;
(2) before, during, and after the project, obtain such
quantitative data as are necessary to evaluate the project thoroughly; and
(3) develop a qualitative assessment, derived from sources
such as in-depth interviews, of how asset accumulation
affects individuals and families.
(d) REPORTS
BY THE SECRETARY.—
(1) INTERIM
REPORTS.—Not later
than 90 days after the end of the calendar year in which the Secretary first
authorizes a qualified entity to conduct a demonstration project
under this title, and every 12 months thereafter until all
demonstration projects conducted under this title are completed, the
Secretary shall submit to Congress an interim report setting forth the results of the reports submitted pursuant to section
412(b).
(2) FINAL
REPORTS.—Not later
than 12 months after the conclusion of all demonstration projects conducted under
this title, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a final
report setting forth the results and findings of all reports and
evaluations conducted pursuant to this title.
(e) EVALUATION
EXPENSES.—The
Secretary shall expend 2 percent of the amount appropriated under section 416 for a fiscal
year, to carry out the objectives of this section.
SEC. 415. TREATMENT OF FUNDS.
Of the funds deposited in individual development accounts
for eligible individuals, only the funds deposited by the
individuals (including interest accruing on those funds) may be
considered to be the income, assets, or resources of the individuals,
for purposes of determining eligibility for, or the amount of
assistance furnished under, any Federal or federally assisted program based on
need.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 2206:
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 105–788 (Comm. of Conference).
SENATE REPORTS: No. 105–256 (Comm. on Labor and Human
Resources).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 144 (1998):
July 27, considered and passed Senate.
Sept. 14, considered and passed House, amended.
Oct. 8, House and Senate agreed to conference report.
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 34
(1998):
Oct. 27, Presidential statement.
®
SEC. 416. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
title, $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999, 2000, 2001,
2002, and 2003, to remain available until expended.
Approved October 27, 1998.
