FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, Oct. 23, 1995
Contact: Michael Kharfen (202) 401-9215
FIRST COMMUNITY SCHOOLS GRANTS MAY BE THE LAST
The Clinton Administration today announced $9 million
in grants for community schools to provide safe places where youth from
high- risk communities can go after school and on weekends.
"These are the first of the Community Schools Program
grants, and tragically, they may be the last," said HHS Secretary Donna
E. Shalala. "President Clinton won important provisions in the Crime
Bill that give communities real tools for the fight against crime. Now
Congress is rolling back our commitment."
The grant program, originally authorized in the 1994 Crime
Bill, is aimed at helping to prevent crime and violent behavior and
boost children's academic achievement. The funding supports local programs
providing activities like tutoring, workforce preparation and health
and social activities. However, future funding for the programs has
been eliminated in appropriations measures now pending in Congress.
"Community schools can provide safe havens and opportunities
for young people to learn and achieve in the face of violence," Shalala
said. "We must not abandon these efforts."
Local Community Schools programs will provide after-school,
evening, weekend and holiday activities, as well as summer education
and recreational programs. Through public-private partnerships, grantees
will provide a broad spectrum of supervised recreational, extracurricular
and academic programs. The programs also will train teachers, administrators,
social workers, guidance counselors, parent and school volunteers to
provide concurrent social services for at-risk students.
"For many children, the crime and violence of their neighborhood
robs them of their childhood," said Mary Jo Bane, HHS assistant secretary
for children and families. "The proposed elimination of this program
by Congress will jeopardize community- wide strategies that are aimed
at changing the circumstances and attitudes which put children at risk
of unhealthy and destructive behavior."
Nearly 3 million thefts and incidents of violent crime
occur on or near school grounds annually. In addition, nearly one in
five high school students have reported carrying a weapon at least once
in a 30-day period. And nearly 8 percent of 9-12 year olds have reported
being involved in a fight requiring medical treatment. "The Community
Schools Program is urgently needed in neighborhoods throughout our country,"
Bane said. "It can help communities develop a hopeful vision and a safe,
positive experience for children, youth and their families."
The Community Schools Program was originally funded
for FY 1995 at $25.9 million. However, Congress this year rescinded
most of that funding. While the President requested $72.5 million for
Community Schools for FY 1996, neither the House nor Senate Appropriations
Committee has provided any continued funding for the program. As originally
contained in the Crime Bill, the program would have provided funds to
communities for the next five years.
Today's grant recipients are:
o Jefferson County Committee
for Economic Opportunity, Birmingham, Ala., $200,000.
o Pima Youth Partnership,
Tucson, Ariz., $200,000.
o St. Johns Educational
Thresholds Center, San Francisco, Calif., $200,000.
o Catholic Charities of
Santa Clara County, San Jose, Calif., $200,000.
o Home Start, Inc., San
Diego, Calif., $200,000.
o Children's Services International,
Salinas, Calif., $200,000.
o East Bay Asian Youth Center,
Berkeley, Calif., $200,000.
o Hispanic Health Council,
Hartford, Conn., $150,000.
o YMCA of Delaware, Wilmington,
Del., $150,000.
o Conner-Harris Foundation,
Inc., Washington, D.C., $200,000.
o ASPIRA of Florida, Inc.,
Miami, Fla., $200,000.
o Anchorage Children's Home
of Bay County, Inc., Panama City, Fla., $200,000.
o Wholistic Stress Control
Institute, Inc., Atlanta, Ga., $200,000.
o Parents and Children Together,
Honolulu, Hawaii, $150,000.
o Wells Community Initiative,
Chicago, Ill., $200,000.
o Aunt Martha's Y.S.C.,
Inc., Matteson, Ill., $200,000.
o Gary Neighborhood Services,
Inc., Gary, Ind., $200,000.
o Jane Boyd Community House,
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, $150,000.
o United Way of Bluegrass,
Inc., Lexington, Ky., $200,000.
o Boys and Girls Clubs of
Greater Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, La., $200,000.
o Alliance for a Drug-Free
Annapolis, Annapolis, Md., $150,000.
o Citywide Board of Boston
Community Centers, Boston, Mass., $200,000.
o Capital Area Community
Services, Lansing, Mich., $200,000.
o Amherst H. Wilder Foundation,
St. Paul, Minn., $200,000.
o Youth In Need, Inc., St.
Charles, Mo., $200,000.
o Boys and Girls Club of
the Northern Cheyenne Nation, Lame Deer, Mont., $150,000.
o Lincoln Public Schools
Foundation, Lincoln, Neb., $200,000.
o New Community Corporation,
Newark, N.J., $200,000.
o New Mexico Advocates for
Children and Families, Inc., Albuquerque, N.M., 150,000.
o Fort Green-Crown Heights
Youth Services Coalition, Brooklyn, N.Y., $200,000.
o Promesa, Inc., Bronx,
N.Y., $200,000.
o Children's Aid Society,
New York, N.Y., $200.000.
o Huntington Youth Bureau,
Youth Development Research Institute, Inc., Huntington, N.Y., $200,000.
o Robeson County Communities
in Schools, Lumberton, N.C., $200,000.
o Cincinnati-Hamilton County
Community Action Agency, Cincinnati, Ohio, $200,000.
o Family and Children's
Service, Inc., Tulsa, Okla., $150,000.
o Janus Youth Programs,
Inc., Portland, Ore., $150,000.
o City-Wide Improvement
and Planning Agency, Philadelphia, Pa., $200,000.
o Boys and Girls Club of
Pawtucket, Pawtucket, R.I., $150,000.
o Lexington/Richland Alcohol
and Drug Abuse Council, Columbia, S.C., $200,000.
o Youth and Family Services,
Inc., Rapid City, S.D., $150,000.
o Metropolitan Drug Commission,
Knoxville, Tenn., $200,000.
o Boys and Girls Clubs of
Greater Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas, $200,000.
o McLennan County Youth
Collaboration-Communities in Schools, Inc., Waco, Texas, $200,000.
o Bliss, Inc., Austin, Texas,
$200,000.
o Tejas Girl Scout Council,
Inc., Dallas, Texas, $200,000.
o Washington County Youth
Services Bureau, Montpelier, Vt., $150,000.
o ESHAC, Inc., Milwaukee,
Wis., $200,000.
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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials
are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.
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