Code of the District of Columbia

§ 2–1555.04. Office of Out of School Time Grants and Youth Outcomes; requirements for awarding grants.

(a) The Office shall publish rules to govern the award of grants consistent with this section and part B of subchapter XII-A of Chapter 3 of Title 1.

(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of this subsection, the Office shall award grants on a competitive basis to nonprofit organizations that provide out-of-school-time programs.

(2) The Office may award a grant to a nonprofit organization that does not provide out-of-school-time programs; provided, that:

(A) The grantee has a proven track record of success in grant-making;

(B) The grantee agrees to use 90% of the Office's grant to award subgrants to nonprofit organizations that provide out-of-school-time programs in accordance with the terms of this section and rules established by the Office; and

(C) The grantee agrees to undergo an annual audit and submit quarterly reports to the Office on its financial health and its use of the Office's grant.

(3) The Office may award grants to nonprofit organizations for the purpose of providing training or technical assistance to the Commission or to nonprofit organizations that provide out-of-school time programs.

(4) The Office may award grants on a competitive or formula basis to one or more District of Columbia Public Schools schools or public charter schools to provide out-of-school-time programs; provided, that:

(A) The school partners with one or more established 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, youth-serving organizations; and

(B) The school receives funds under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, approved January 8, 2002 (115 Stat. 1444; 20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.).

(c) Grants shall be awarded in a manner consistent with the Commission's strategic plan for out-of-school-time programs and funding with particular attention to the strategic plan's goals and priorities for at-risk students, geographic distribution of out-of-school-time programs and funding, and program quality.

(d)(1) The Office shall establish a review process for awarding grants, which shall include the use of review panels to evaluate each grant application in an impartial manner.

(2) No more than half of a review panel's members may be employees or contractors of the Office or members of the Commission.

(3) No member of a review panel may have a conflict of interest that would render the reviewer unable to be impartial.

(e) Except for grants supporting out-of-school time summer programs, grants awarded under subsection (b)(1) of this section shall be for terms of at least 3 years, subject to the availability of funding.

(f) The Office may not award a grant under this section in excess of $1 million during a 12-month period, either singularly or cumulatively, unless the grant is first submitted to the Council for approval, in accordance with § 1-204.51(b), or by act.

(g) In addition to the reporting requirements in § 1-328.16, on or before November 1 of each year, the Office shall submit to the Council and make publicly available an annual status report for all grants issued by, or on behalf of, the Office in the previous fiscal year, which shall include, for each grant:

(1) Detailed information about the grantee and any subgrantees;

(2) A description of the specific services provided to youth;

(3) The name of the entity providing the services, if one other than the grantee;

(4) The location of services and demographic profile of service recipients; and

(5) The amount of grant funds dedicated to program costs and the amount dedicated to other expenditures.

(h)(1) Funds received by the Office from the tax check-off created pursuant to § 47-1812.11b shall be used to support afterschool programs for at-risk students through grants issued pursuant to this section.

(2) Beginning November 1, 2019, and no later than November 1 of each year thereafter, the Office shall submit to the Mayor and Council a financial report on the use of the tax check-off funds during the previous 12 months.