Connecticut eRegulations System

 

Agency Regulations

 

The Youth Service Bureau Grant Program

 

Sec. 10-19m-1. Definitions

 

As used in sections 10-19m-1 to 10-19m-10, inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies:

a) "Bureau" means Youth Service Bureau.

b) "Commissioner" means Commissioner of Education.

c) "Department" means the Department of Education.

d) "Justice System" means police, courts, probation or correctional agencies.

e) "Youth" means any person from birth to eighteen (18) years of age.

f) "Youth Service Bureau" means an agency operated directly by one or more municipalities or a private agency designated to act as an agent of one or more municipalities for the purpose of evaluation, planning, coordination and implementation of prevention, intervention and treatment services for delinquent, pre-delinquent, pregnant, parenting and troubled youth, and for the provision of opportunities for youth to develop positively and to function as responsible members of their communities.

(Effective February 1, 1994; Transferred and Amended from §§ 17a-39-1—17-39-1 November 9, 1998)

 

Sec. 10-19m-2. Minimum standards and criteria to qualify for state cost sharing grants

 

(a) A Bureau shall be responsible to the chief elected official of the municipality or of the sponsoring municipality if the Bureau serves more than one municipality or his duly authorized representative.

(b) A Bureau shall have an Advisory Board of no less than seven members, who shall be appointed by and responsible to the chief elected official of the municipality or his duly authorized designee or as otherwise provided in the municipal charter. This Board shall advise and make recommendations on overall policy and program direction for the Bureau.

(1) The Advisory Board shall be comprised of representatives from public agencies with statutory responsibility for youth and private sector organizations representing community social institutions. These representatives shall include at least one member who is under 21 years of age at the time of appointment, one member who is a representative of the school system, one member who is a representative of the police department, and one member who is a representative of a private youth serving agency. The youth and police representatives may be liaison, non-voting members of the Board if such representatives are not electors in the town. At least one-third of the total membership shall be individuals who are interested in youth services and who receive less than fifty percent of their income by delivering services to youth.

(2) The Advisory Board of a Bureau involving two or more municipalities shall have at least one duly appointed representative from each municipality.

(3) Upon the request of the chief elected official of the municipality, the Department may waive the size and composition requirements for an Advisory Board if the composition of the commission is established by a municipal charter or, in the case of a private agency designated to act as the youth service bureau, if the board of directors established by the by-laws of agency provides comparable citizen representation. Additionally, the Department may waive the requirement of the composition of the Advisory Board when one or more of the agencies mentioned in subsection (b)(1) of this section do not exist.

(c) A Bureau shall:

(1) Perform all the management functions necessary to administer the Bureau and all of its programs in accordance with Sections 10-19m-1 to 10-19m-10, inclusive.

(2) Conduct research which will assess the needs of youth and the availability of existing services and resources capable of meeting those needs.

(3) Conduct a resource development program to improve services, fill service delivery gaps and create or encourage innovative approaches and programs to meet assessed youth needs.

(4) Conduct community involvement programs to promote public knowledge and understanding of youth problems and needs, and foster positive community change.

(5) Advocate for and assist individual youth in obtaining and utilizing available human resources.

(6) Advocate on behalf of groups of youth with unmet needs.

(d) A Bureau shall be responsible for the development and maintenance, either directly, or contractually or by referral, of services that respond to:

(1) Youth who are, or who potentially could be, in contact with the justice system.

(2) Youth who are without the support or protective environment necessary for normal development.

(3) Youth who manifest behavior which is potentially detrimental to themselves.

(4) The primary prevention needs in the community.

(e) Each Bureau shall state in writing its purposes, programs and services offered in a form suitable for distribution to youth and their families, referral sources, funding sources, and the public. Programs and services shall bear a direct relationship to the stated purposes of the Bureau, shall be based upon identified needs in the community, and shall have the potential to divert youth from the justice system, promote positive youth development and provide opportunities for youth to function as responsible members of the community.

(f) Each Bureau shall ensure that all services are noncoercive and that the confidentiality of the records of individuals receiving services is maintained.

(g) Each Bureau shall develop and maintain, in a manner satisfactory to the Department, the data necessary to determine and evaluate the impact of its administrative and services delivery programs. Each Bureau shall provide reports and information as may be specified in the application for funding or required by the Department from time to time.

(Effective February 1, 1994; Transferred and Amended from §§ 17a-39-1—17-39-1 November 9, 1998)

 

Sec. 10-19m-3. Joint planning committee

The Commissioner shall designate a Youth Service Bureau Committee representing a cross section of Bureau and Department staff which shall develop a mutually agreed upon method to assess a program's effectiveness.

(Effective February 1, 1994; Transferred and Amended from §§ 17a-39-1—17-39-1 November 9, 1998)

 

Sec. 10-19m-4. Application for funding

(a) For the purpose of receiving state funding to establish, expand, or operate a Bureau under Sections 10-19m to 10-19o, inclusive, of the General Statutes, a municipality shall submit an application to the Department. Applications shall be submitted in a format and according to instructions issued by the Department.

(b) One municipality shall be designated as the sponsor for purposes of administrative and fiscal accountability if the Bureau serves more than one town. Written assurances binding participating municipalities to the terms of the grant proposal shall be included in the application.

(c) An application shall include assurances, including all supporting narrative statements, program descriptions and documentation, that the Bureau designated by the municipality is, or within the period of award will be, in full compliance with the standards set forth in Sections 10-19m to 10-19p, inclusive, of the General Statutes and in Sections 10-19m-1 to 10-19m-10, inclusive, of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.

(1) Such information shall demonstrate that the Bureau is performing or will perform the following functions: administration; research; resource development; community involvement; youth advocacy; and data collection, including records management, evaluation and reporting.

(2) Such information shall demonstrate that the direct services the Bureau is providing, or will provide, address the needs of youth designated in Section 10-19m-2 (d) of Sections 10-19m-1 to 10-19m-10, inclusive.

(d) An application shall include assurances that the chief elected official of the municipality has been duly authorized to make application for a state cost sharing grant and that the local matching funds have been obligated for this purpose.

(e) An application shall provide information on the membership and function of the Advisory Board in a format and detail prescribed by the Department.

(f) An application shall include a budget in a format prescribed by the Department.

(Effective February 1, 1994; Transferred and Amended from §§ 17a-39-1—17-39-1 November 9, 1998)

 

Sec. 10-19m-5. Budget amendments

Budget amendments to approved Bureau applications shall be submitted to the Department prior to implementation. The Department may disallow an amendment which would result in improper local match, noncompliance with minimum standards or where the Commissioner determines that a proposed expenditure is unsupportable.

(Effective February 1, 1994; Transferred and Amended from §§ 17a-39-1—17-39-1 November 9, 1998)

 

Sec. 10-19m-6. Cost sharing

(a) The Department shall share in the costs of each Bureau which has been awarded a grant pursuant to Sections 10-19m to 10-19p, inclusive, of the General Statutes, at the rate of no more than fifty (50) percent of the actual fiscal year cost, or the maximum dollar amounts set for state grants under Sections 10-19m to 10-19p, inclusive, of the General Statutes, whichever is less. Costs that will be shared by the Department include:

(1) Salaries and related costs for the director and other employees who perform administrative functions, as well as the salaries and related costs of employees who provide direct services.

(2) Operating expenses directly related to the operation of the administrative unit or direct services, including rent or lease cost for office or other necessary space, consumable supplies, equipment maintenance and repair, communications, copying, utilities, heat, custodial services, essential travel and training, and other services which directly and specifically support the operation of the administrative unit and direct services.

(3) Costs of contractual services for the necessary functions of the administrative unit or direct services.

(b) The local share of the costs of operating the Bureau shall be based on the expenditure of municipal revenue, which may include Community Development or other federal funds, as determined by the Department, which may reasonably be expected to continue in ensuing years.

(c) The value of allowable in-kind contributions may not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the local share of the costs of a Bureau. Allowable in-kind contributions shall include the fair market rental or lease value or the actual costs of office or other necessary space, utilities, heat, telephone, copying, consumable supplies, equipment maintenance and travel.

(d) All unexpended state funds shall be returned to the Department within 90 days of the close of the fiscal year.

(Effective February 1, 1994; Transferred and Amended from §§ 17a-39-1—17-39-1 November 9, 1998)

 

Sec. 10-19m-7. Financial records

A complete and separate accounting of state funds and funds used as local match shall be maintained by the applicant. This accounting shall be subject to audit for three years following the end of the period of award. Up to three interim statements of expenditures and income shall be submitted to the Department on forms it provides and at the times it determines.

(Effective February 1, 1994; Transferred and Amended from §§ 17a-39-1—17-39-1 November 9, 1998)

 

Sec. 10-19m-8. Inspection and examination

(a) The records and facilities of a Bureau approved for state aid by the Department shall be available to and open for examination or inspection by any duly authorized representative of the Department.

(b) If, after inspection and examination, the Department finds that a Bureau receiving funds pursuant to this Section is not being maintained in substantial compliance with law, or with Sections 10-19m-1 to 10-19m-10, inclusive, the Department shall give notice of its findings to the chief elected official of the municipality and to the Bureau Director. Unless deficiencies are corrected to the satisfaction of the Commissioner, state funds for the maintenance and operation of the Bureau may be discontinued commencing 90 days after receipt of the notice, at the discretion of the Commissioner.

(c) If given notice that funding is in jeopardy, a Bureau may, within 30 days of receipt of said notice, correct deficiencies and request a reinspection, which will be scheduled within 60 days of said request. Each funded Bureau shall have the right, without prejudice, to bring to the attention of the Department any alleged misapplication or capricious enforcement of regulations by any departmental representative, or any substantial difference of opinion, as may occur between the Bureau and any departmental representative concerning the proper application of Sections 10-19m-1 to 10-19m-10, inclusive. The Commissioner, or his designee, shall act as final arbiter of any such dispute.

(Effective February 1, 1994; Transferred and Amended from §§ 17a-39-1—17-39-1 November 9, 1998)

 

Sec. 10-19m-9. Renewal

An application for continued state funding shall be submitted each year. Contingent on the availability of funds and based on an evaluation as to whether an existing Bureau is meeting minimum standards, effectively providing programs and services, and is in compliance with the goals of Sections 10-19m to10-19p, inclusive, of the General Statutes, and the requirements of Sections 10-19m-1 to 10-19m-10, inclusive, the Bureau may be considered for refunding.

(Effective February 1, 1994; Transferred and Amended from §§ 17a-39-1—17-39-1 November 9, 1998)

 

Sec. 10-19m-10. Authority of the commissioner

The decision of the Commissioner with regard to an applicant's conformity with Sections 10-19m-1 to 10-19m-10, inclusive, and eligibility for aid shall be final.

(Effective February 1, 1994; Transferred and Amended from §§ 17a-39-1—17-39-1 November 9, 1998)