Section 3035.280  Penny Severns' Grant Program

a)         Competitive Grants

1)         Application requirements, including criteria, for the Penny Severns' Grant Program shall be made available by the State Librarian no later than March 1 for the current year.  Applications shall be submitted to the Illinois State Library on or before April 30.  The State Librarian shall disqualify applications that are untimely filed or those that are not submitted on the prescribed forms.

2)         Applications shall be reviewed by the State Librarian or designee.  The decision of the State Librarian is final.  Review criteria includes, but is not limited to:

A)        How the applicant identifies and addresses the at-risk population to be served;

B)        How the learning activities involve both parent and child in interactive learning experiences;

C)        Number of people to be served;

D)        Reasonableness of the budget in relation to the goals and objectives.  Requested funds are sufficient but not excessive and are targeted to accomplish the specified goals and objectives;

E)         How libraries are involved in learning activities.

3)         The number of grants to be awarded is at the discretion of the State Librarian.

4)         Applicants must meet requirements designated by the State Library for collaboration with other groups interested in promoting reading and literacy.

5)         At-risk families are defined as parents and their children whose minimal skills in reading, writing, computation, comprehension and communication preclude them from functioning effectively in their lives.

b)         Funding awarded under subsection (a) of this Section may be used for any one or all of the following purposes:

1)         Development of collections of materials, including learning games, for use by parents working together with their children.

2)         Employment of staff to provide parent-child reading activities, computer technology activities, experiential enrichment excursions and participation in library reading programs.

3)         Provision of support services to assist in families' participation, which could include, but is not limited to, child care and transportation.

4)         Development of programs on library resources and services for at-risk families.