HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2859        FILED ON: 1/14/2009

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 190

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act establishing a state association for settlement houses and neighborhood centers..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Section 1. The Central Court finds that public policy experts and state and local agencies have been searching for a model of service delivery that will insure programmatically effective and cost-effective delivery of services to families and neighborhoods, and that the emerging consensus is that the best models provide comprehensive, coordinated neighborhood-based and family focused services. The General Court further finds that the Commonwealth’s existing network of settlement houses can contribute to providing these comprehensive, coordinated neighborhood-based and family focused services in a cost-effective manner, and that the capacity of these settlement houses to provide and enhance these services can be increased if the settlement houses are provided with additional resources to implement greater neighborhood outreach, to direct individuals and family members to appropriate settlement and community-based resources, to monitor the progress of these individuals, and to plan and coordinate intra-agency and community services so that community residents have easy access to a range of services that respond to the varied and often multiple needs of individuals and families

It is the express intent of the General Court to increase funds available to settlement houses for the purpose of providing a comprehensive range of services to the residents of the neighborhoods they serve and that the funds provided pursuant to this chapter will be complemented by privately-raised contributions to the settlement houses for the program services funded pursuant to this chapter. The General Court does not intend that these funds be used as a substitute for any fund currently available from federal, state, or local sources for the provision of neighborhood-based service delivery programs provided by settlement houses.

Section 2. Definitions. As used in this chapter the following words and terms shall have the following meanings:-

“Program Services”, may include but are not limited to, several of the following services:

Early childhood services, including child care, child development services, early childhood education, early intervention, health information and referral for pre-school children and child welfare services including programs designed to prevent abuse and neglect;

Youth services, including teen centers and school-age programs which provide recreation, homework assistance, preparation for employment, counseling and meals;

Education programs, including remedial education, tutoring, homework assistance, General Education Development (GED), family literacy and English language training;

Family programs, including home management, parent aid, homemaker services, food pantries, parenting skills training, teen parent services and programs for seniors;

Arts and cultural activities;

Employment progress, including summer youth employment apprentice programs, job training programs and displaced homemaker programs;

Case management including family counseling, crisis counseling, group and individual counseling;

Emergency response systems for crisis situations; 

“Secretary”, secretary of human service.

“Settlement Houses”, an independent , voluntary, not-for-profit organization engaged in community work and social services delivery in a defined neighborhood in a city or town of the Commonwealth which provides comprehensive, coordinated, family-focused, multi-generational human services such as child care, employment training, housing assistance counseling, youth development, educational services senior services, and arts and cultural activities, based on the needs of the neighborhood or neighborhoods served and which:

(a) has been incorporated for at least 30 years;(b) is qualified as a tax-exempt organization pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code;(c) provides services to all those who live in the neighborhood or neighborhoods served without regard to race, creed, religious practice, color, sex, age, national origin, economic status, disability or affectional preference;(d) has an independent, autonomous board of directors, which meets at regular intervals, has full authority over the policies and operations of the organization, and the membership of which includes more that fifty percent community residents;(e) employs appropriate staff including a position of chief executive officer;(f) has a budget which is adopted on an annual basis by the board of directors, utilizes an accepted accounting system and has prepared an annual fiscal audit by a certified public accountant not connected with the organization; and(g) can demonstrate that one of its primary purposes is to improve and expand the relationships among groups of different cultural, economic, religious, and social groups in the community through a variety of individual, group, and inter-group activities.Section 3. (1) The Secretary is hereby authorized to issue grants for the purpose of enhancing and coordinating activities and programs, expanding programs to serve more individuals and families, and promoting inter-agency coordination with other neighborhood organizations offering complementary services.(2) Funds awarded to settlement houses pursuant to the provisions of sub-section one of this section shall be used to supplement and not to supplant other federal, state, or local funds.(3) The secretary shall issue requests for applications to all settlement houses in the commonwealth and shall specify that applications include a description of the nature of the services to be provided, a discussion of the relatedness of the services to the purpose of the settlement house as defined in section one of this chapter and an estimate of the number and composition of clients to be served. Such applications may include a discussion of plans to develop or enhance outreach services to individual and families, institute or augment assessments of individual and family needs, coordinate services, develop links with neighborhood organizations, develop employment initiatives, mentoring programs and other cooperative programs with unions, neighborhood businesses, and community corporations, and identify sources of private funding. Such applications shall also include at least the following:(a) appropriate accounting and fiscal control procedures that assure that funds are expended in accordance with this chapter, including the filing of an annual financial statement by each provider; and(b) appropriate written records regarding the number of individuals and families served and the type and extent of services rendered by the settlement house.(4) The secretary shall solicit and select applications for the provision of programs and services funded pursuant to this chapter. It is necessary that settlement houses receiving funding pursuant to this chapter demonstrate a plan to raise one dollar for each two dollars of state grants received. Subsequent year funding may be adjusted to reflect prior years’ experience.(5) The secretary may issue a request for applications to the extent finds are available on a multi-year basis.(6) The secretary shall make grants subject to appropriations of up to one hundred thousand dollars to settlement houses following approval of an acceptable plan submitted pursuant to the request for applications.