SJ0010 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0010 LRB100 07144 MST 17203 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Youth and young adults, ages 16 to 24, who fall into two groups need opportunities to become successful adults: (1) those who are neither working nor in school, including those without a high school diploma, and (2) those who are low-attending, jobless high school students; these individuals are in need of opportunities to succeed as adults; according to a recent study by the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago, in 2014, there were 190,945 youth and young adults (16 to 24 years old) who were jobless and out-of-school in Illinois; of those, 46,501 were between 16 and 19 years of age and 144,444 between the ages of 20 and 24; and

WHEREAS, Of these 190,945 jobless and out-of-school youth and young adults, 73,130 were white, 39,712 Hispanic, and 78,103 were African American; and

WHEREAS, The vast majority of these youth and young adults who are neither working nor in school, including those without a high school diploma and those who are low-attending jobless high school students, come from low-income areas in both Chicago and downstate; and

WHEREAS, Many of these youth and young adults need opportunities to become successful adults and would benefit from education and employment opportunities if these opportunities are structured using evidence based/best program practices of smaller, more flexible, and more structured comprehensive programming to address their education, work, and social development needs; and

WHEREAS, Illinois currently has a shortage of skilled workers; provided with the right opportunities, these youth and young adults, could be trained to fill those vacancies for the benefit of the employers, the Illinois economy, and their own futures; and

WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Department of Corrections Fiscal Report for 2014, only 19.7% of inmates in Illinois prisons completed high school, and only 19.2% completed a GED program, leaving 62% of inmates in Illinois without an education higher than 11th grade; and

WHEREAS, Youth without a high school diploma earn $516,000 less over their lifetimes than those with high school diplomas and some college education; and

WHEREAS, The benefit to Illinois taxpayers is over $290,000 in tax revenue over the lifetime of a youth who earns a high school diploma versus a youth who does not earn a high school diploma; there is also a savings to taxpayers in terms of youth with a high school diploma requiring less expenditures for social services such as welfare, mental health and dependency services, and reduced risk of imprisonment or other criminal justice related costs; and

WHEREAS, There is significant research and program experience to draw upon to assist in the development of successful programs to support out-of-school and jobless youth to improve their education and find employment; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Statewide Task Force on Developing Opportunities for Youth and Young Adults Who Are Jobless and Out-of-School in order to examine and develop programs to address the growing numbers of out-of-school and jobless youth in Illinois, including those without a high school diploma, who are neither working nor in school, and low-attending jobless high school students; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the purpose of the Task Force is to examine policies, programs, and other issues related to developing a variety of successful approaches using best program practices for out-of-school and jobless youth students, with the goal of improving their education, work-related, and social development skills, so that they can successfully enter the workforce and become productive adults; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall be composed of the following members:

(1) Eight legislators, two appointed by the President of the Senate, two appointed by the Speaker of the House, two appointed by the House Minority Leader, and two appointed by the Senate Minority Leader;

(2) One representative from the Governor's office appointed by the Governor;

(3) One representative of the State Board of Education appointed by the State Superintendent of Education;

(4) One representative of the Department of Human Services appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Human Services;

(5) One representative of the Department of Children and Family Services appointed by its Director;

(6) One representative of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice appointed by its Director;

(7) One representative of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity appointed by its Director;

(8) One representative of the Illinois Community College Board appointed by its Executive Director; and

(9) One representative of the Illinois Board of Higher Education appointed by its Executive Director;

(10) One representative of the Illinois Department of Corrections appointed by its Director; and

(11) 15 representatives of organizations with successful experience working with jobless youth without a high school diploma and low-attending high school students, three appointed by the President of the Senate, three appointed by the Speaker of the House, three appointed by the House Minority Leader, three appointed by the Senate Minority Leader, and three appointed by the Governor, with one of these public representatives serving as the Chairperson of the Task Force; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the duties of the Task Force shall include conducting a series of public hearings and listening sessions throughout the State to discuss the issues of jobless and out-of-school youth including youth without a high school diploma and low-attending high school students who need opportunities to become successful adults; the Task Force will examine their impact on various regions of the State and complete a review of data regarding out-of-school and jobless youth comparing Illinois with other states in the region and nationally, including a review of various financing and funding mechanisms used by other states, counties, cities, foundations, and other financial funding sources; the Task Force will submit a final report with recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly on ways to address these challenges; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall issue an interim report of its findings to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than January 31, 2018; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall issue a final report by December 31, 2018; and be it further

RESOLVED, That upon the filing of the final report the Task Force is dissolved.