• Education & School Finance (Pre & K-12)
• Human Services

This bill modifies, consolidates, and eliminates certain state-funded youth programs while adjusting funding sources and definitions related to youth services.

• Requires evidence-based mentoring standards: Programs must follow researched and tested best practices, with annual evaluations to prove effectiveness.
• Grant Matching Requirement: Organizations that receive state grants must provide 20% of the grant amount in additional funding from other sources.
• Allows more funding sources: Organizations can seek private and public donations to support youth mentoring efforts.

• Creates a new state fund to provide long-term financial support for youth mentoring programs.
• Ensures that unused funds remain available for youth mentoring services instead of returning to the general state budget.

• Dropout Prevention Program: Previously aimed to reduce high school dropout rates by funding intervention programs; this program is eliminated.
• Before-and-After-School Program: Funded programs for middle school students to engage in activities outside school hours; this program is eliminated.

• The definition now includes youth affected by poverty, family conflict, substance exposure, child abuse/neglect, and justice system involvement.
• This broader definition may allow more youth to qualify for support services.

• 7.5% of the state’s tobacco settlement funds will go toward youth services programs, ensuring continued funding for mentoring and support services.

• Moves grant approval authority for youth-focused tobacco prevention programs from a separate board to the Department of Human Services for streamlined oversight.

• Strengthens youth mentoring programs while cutting older, less targeted programs.
• Creates a dedicated fund for youth services and allows private donations to supplement state funding.
• Broadens eligibility for youth programs to serve more at-risk individuals.
• Secures funding for youth services from tobacco settlement money to maintain financial stability.

The Tony Grampsas youth services grant program (grant program)
provides grants to community-based programs to reduce incidents of
youth crime and violence. The youth mentoring program, the student
dropout prevention and intervention program, and the student
before-and-after school project (collectively, the programs) were
created within the grant program. The bill repeals the individual programs
and instead lists the programs as allowable uses for grant money under
the grant program.
The bill transfers certain responsibilities from the Tony Grampsas
youth services board (board) to the department of human services (state
department). The bill repeals local public-to-private funding match
requirements.
The bill requires each entity that receives a grant to annually report
certain information to the state department; except that an entity that has
an operating budget of less than $1.5 million, or that receives a grant in
the amount of not more than $25,000, is not required to report on the
outcomes achieved by the services provided and the methods used to
track the outcomes.
The bill makes conforming amendments.

• March 13, 2025: Senate Health & Human Services Committee Report

• Past bill versions
• Past fiscal notes
• Committee activity and documents
• Bill History