text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Truancy Prevention and Juvenile 
  Crime Reduction Act of 1998''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      Congress makes the following findings:
              (1) Truancy is the first sign of trouble--the first 
          indicator that a young person is giving up and losing his or 
          her way.
              (2) Many students who become truant eventually drop out of 
          school, and high school drop outs are two and a half times more 
          likely to be on welfare than high school graduates; twice as 
          likely to be unemployed, or if employed, earn lower salaries.
              (3) Truancy is the top-ranking characteristic of 
          criminals--more common than such factors as coming from single-
          parent families and being abused as children.
              (4) High rates of truancy are linked to high daytime 
          burglary rates and high vandalism.
              (5) As much as 44 percent of violent juvenile crime takes 
          place during school hours.
              (6) As many as 75 percent of children ages 13-16 who are 
          arrested and prosecuted for crimes are truants.
              (7) Some cities report as many as 70 percent of daily 
          student absences are unexcused, and the total number of 
          absences in a single city can reach 4,000 per day.
              (8) Society pays a significant social and economic cost due 
          to truancy: only 34 percent of inmates have completed high 
          school education; 17 percent of youth under age 18 entering 
          adult prisons have not completed grade school (8th grade or 
          less), 25 percent completed 10th grade, and 2 percent completed 
          high school.
              (9) Truants and later high school drop outs cost the Nation 
          $240 billion in lost earnings and foregone taxes over their 
          lifetimes, and the cost of crime control is staggering.
              (10) In many instances, parents are unaware a child is 
          truant.
              (11) Effective truancy prevention, early intervention, and 
          accountability programs can improve school attendance and 
          reduce daytime crime rates.
              (12) There is a lack of targeted funding for effective 
          truancy prevention programs in current law.
  
  SEC. 3. GRANTS.
  
      (a) Definitions.--In this section:
              (1) Eligible partnership.--The term ``eligible 
          partnership'' means a partnership between 1 or more qualified 
          units of local government and 1 or more local educational 
          agencies.
              (2) Local educational agency.--The term ``local educational 
          agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 14101 of the 
          Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
          8801).
              (3) Qualified unit of local government.--The term 
          ``qualified unit of local government'' means a unit of local 
          government that has in effect, as of the date on which the 
          eligible partnership submits an application for a grant under 
          this section, a statute or regulation that meets the 
          requirements of paragraphs (12), (13), (14), and (15) of 
          section 223(a) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency and 
          Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5633(a)).
              (4) Unit of local government.--The term ``unit of local 
          government'' means any city, county, township, town, borough, 
          parish, village, or other general purpose political subdivision 
          of a State, or any Indian tribe.
      (b) Grant Authority.--The Attorney General, in consultation with 
  the Secretary of Education, shall make grants in accordance with this 
  section on a competitive basis to eligible partnerships to reduce 
  truancy and the incidence of daytime juvenile crime.
      (c) Maximum Amount; Allocation; Renewal.--
              (1) Maximum amount.--The total amount awarded to an 
          eligible partnership under this section in any fiscal year 
          shall not exceed $100,000.
              (2) Allocation.--Not less than 25 percent of each grant 
          awarded to an eligible partnership under this section shall be 
          allocated for use by the local educational agency or agencies 
  participating in the partnership.
              (3) Renewal.--A grant awarded under this section for a 
          fiscal year may be renewed for an additional period of not more 
          than 2 fiscal years.
      (d) Use of Funds.--
              (1) In general.--Grant amounts made available under this 
          section may be used by an eligible partnership to 
          comprehensively address truancy through the use of--
                      (A) parental involvement in prevention activities, 
                  including meaningful incentives for parental 
                  responsibility;
                      (B) sanctions, including community service and 
                  drivers' license suspension for students who are 
                  habitually truant;
                      (C) parental accountability, including fines, 
                  teacher-aid duty, community service;
                      (D) in-school truancy prevention programs, 
                  including alternative education and in-school 
                  suspension;
                      (E) involvement of the local law enforcement, 
                  social services, judicial, business, and religious 
                  communities, and nonprofit organizations;
                      (F) technology, including automated telephone 
                  notice to parents and computerized attendance system; 
                  or
                      (G) elimination of 40-day count and other 
                  unintended incentives to allow students to be truant 
                  after a certain time of school year.
              (2) Model programs.--In carrying out this section, the 
          Attorney General may give priority to funding programs that 
          attempt to replicate 1 or more of the following model programs:
                      (A) The Truancy Intervention Project of the Fulton 
                  County, Georgia, Juvenile Court.
                      (B) The TABS (Truancy Abatement and Burglary 
                  Suppression) program of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
                      (C) The Roswell Daytime Curfew Program of Roswell, 
                  New Mexico.
                      (D) The Stop, Cite and Return Program of Rohnert 
                  Park, California.
                      (E) The Stay in School Program of New Haven, 
                  Connecticut.
                      (F) The Atlantic County Project Helping Hand of 
                  Atlantic County, New Jersey.
                      (G) The THRIVE (Truancy Habits Reduced Increasing 
                  Valuable Education) initiative of Oklahoma City, 
                  Oklahoma.
                      (H) The Norfolk, Virginia project using computer 
                  software and data collection.
                      (I) The Community Service Early Intervention 
                  Program of Marion, Ohio.
                      (J) The Truancy Reduction Program of Bakersfield, 
                  California.
                      (K) The Grade Court program of Farmington, New 
                  Mexico.
                      (L) Any other model program that the Attorney 
                  General determines to be appropriate.
      (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
  appropriated to carry out this section, $25,000,000 for each of fiscal 
  years 1999, 2000, and 2001.
target: Truancy Prevention and Juvenile Crime Reduction Act of 1998 - Directs the Attorney General to make grants to eligible partnerships of local governmental units and local educational agencies to reduce truancy and the incidence of daytime juvenile crime. 
  Sets forth provisions regarding maximum grant awards, allocation of such awards, and grant renewal. 
  Authorizes the use of grant amounts to comprehensively address truancy through:  (1) parental involvement in prevention activities; (2) sanctions; (3) parental accountability; (4) in-school truancy prevention programs; (5)  involvement of local law enforcement, social services, judicial, business, and religious communities, and nonprofit organizations; (6) technology; or (7) elimination of 40-day count and other unintended incentives to allow students to be truant after a certain time of school year. 
  Authorizes the Attorney General to give priority to funding programs that attempt to replicate specified model programs. 
  Authorizes appropriations.
feat_title: Truancy Prevention and Juvenile Crime Reduction Act of 1998