Senate Bill 2372

    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2372

    By Senator Kirkpatrick





    5-1426-99

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the Adjutant General;

  3         amending s. 250.10, F.S.; requiring the

  4         Adjutant General to administer a life

  5         preparation program and job readiness services;

  6         providing an effective date.

  7

  8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  9

10         Section 1.  Paragraph (m) is added to subsection (2) of

11  section 250.10, Florida Statutes, 1998 Supplement, to read:

12         250.10  Appointment and duties of the Adjutant

13  General.--

14         (2)  The Adjutant General of the state shall be the

15  Chief of the Department of Military Affairs. He or she shall:

16         (m)  Subject to annual appropriations, administer youth

17  About Face programs and adult Forward March programs at sites

18  to be selected by the Adjutant General.

19         1.  About Face shall establish a summer and a

20  year-round afterschool life-preparation program for

21  economically disadvantaged and at-risk youths from 13 through

22  17 years of age. Both programs must provide schoolwork

23  assistance, focusing on the skills needed to pass the high

24  school competency test, and also focus on functional life

25  skills, including teaching students to work effectively in

26  groups; providing basic instruction in computer skills;

27  teaching basic problem solving, decision making, and reasoning

28  skills; teaching how the business world and free enterprise

29  work through computer simulations; and teaching home finance

30  and budgeting and other daily living skills. In the

31  afterschool program, students must train in academic study

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 2372
    5-1426-99




  1  skills, and the basic skills that businesses require for

  2  employment consideration.

  3         2.  The Adjutant General shall provide job-readiness

  4  services in the Forward March program for WAGES program

  5  participants who are directed to Forward March by local WAGES

  6  coalitions. The Forward March program shall provide training

  7  on topics that directly relate to the skills required for

  8  real-world success. The program shall emphasize functional

  9  life skills, computer literacy, interpersonal relationships,

10  critical-thinking skills, business skills, preemployment and

11  work maturity skills, job-search skills, exploring careers

12  activities, how to be a successful and effective employee, and

13  some job-specific skills. The program also shall provide

14  extensive opportunities for participants to practice generic

15  job skills in a supervised work setting. Upon completion of

16  the program, Forward March shall return participants to the

17  local WAGES coalition for placement in a job-placement pool.

18         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July, 1, 1999.

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20            *****************************************

21                          SENATE SUMMARY

22    Requires the Adjutant General to administer a youth About
      Face program, including a life preparation program for
23    economically disadvantaged and at-risk youths from ages
      13 through 17. Also requires the Adjutant General to
24    provide job-readiness services in the Forward March
      program for WAGES program participants. (see bill for
25    details.)

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