Res. No. 1497
Resolution calling on the United States Congress to pass and the President to sign the Promise Neighborhoods Act of 2011, H.R. 2098/S. 1004.
By Council Members Vann, Chin, Eugene, James, Koo, Lander, Rose, Williams and Rodriguez
Whereas, The National Center for Children in Poverty has reported that, at age four, children who live below the poverty line are 18 months behind the normal learning and achievement milestones for their age group, and that at age ten this gap is still present; and
Whereas, Children who attend high-quality early childhood education programs are less likely to engage in criminal behavior, repeat a grade or be assigned to special education, and more likely to perform better on standardized tests, experience reduced rates of teen pregnancy, graduate from high school, and obtain employment at higher wages; and
Whereas, Low-income families have children who are more likely to have low levels of school engagement, be chronically absent from school, have both emotional and behavioral problems and live in stressful home environments; and
Whereas, The federal Promise Neighborhoods program seeks to transform neighborhoods of concentrated poverty into communities of opportunity by creating a continuum of pipeline services that include health, social and educational supports for children from birth through college and career; and
Whereas, The Promise Neighborhoods Act of 2011 directs the United States Secretary of Education to award competitive, matching grants to nonprofit organizations that partner with a local educational agency (LEA) to implement a comprehensive range of support and services that engage the community in improving academic achievement, health and social development in children who live in distressed neighborhoods; and
Whereas, This act would authorize five year renewable grants for partnerships between schools and community-based organizations to provide: (1) prenatal education and support for expecting parents; (2) high-quality early care and education opportunities; (3) high-quality schools that can leverage great teaching, out-of-school time and community engagement; (4) support for the transition into elementary school, between elementary school and middle school, and from middle school to high school; (5) meaningful family engagement and support; (6) college and career readiness activities such as college prep curriculum, college admissions counseling, subsidized employment opportunities and early college programs; and (7) support for college-age students from the neighborhood; and
Whereas, The recipients of such grants are required to evaluate their programs constantly and improve them based on data and outcomes; and
Whereas, The Secretary is authorized to renew such grants if the grantees exhibit success with their children in school readiness, academic outcomes, increased college and career readiness and improvement in their health, mental health, and social and emotional well-being; and
Whereas, The Secretary will be directed to evaluate these grants and disseminate research on best practices for improving the academic achievement of children living in distressed communities; and
Whereas, Several New York City nonprofits have applied for federal Promise Neighborhoods funds and so far four organizations have received one year federal planning grants between $400,000 and $500,000 to develop and plan their own Promise Neighborhood; and
Whereas, For federal fiscal year 2012, the United States Department of Education designated $60 million to continue support for existing implementation grantees and award a new round of planning and implementation grants; and
Whereas, President Obama's fiscal year 2013 budget requests $100 million to fund a fourth round of implementation and planning grants; and
Whereas, The Promise Neighborhood Act has been introduced in the United States House of Representatives as H.R. 2098 with co-sponsorship of 16 representatives including Representative Yvette Clarke and Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, and introduced in the Senate as S. 1004 with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York as one of its co-sponsors; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the United States Congress to pass and the President to sign the Promise Neighborhoods Act of 2011, H.R. 2098/S. 1004.
AS
LS 3799
9/4/12