REPORT ON DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE MILITARY YOUTH PROGRAMS.

SEC. 1044. REPORT ON DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE MILITARY YOUTH PROGRAMS. (a) Findings.— Congress makes the following findings: (1) Programs of the Department of Defense for youth who are dependents of members of the Armed Forces have not received the same level of attention and resources as have child-care programs of the Department since the passage of the Military Child Care Act of 1989 (originally enacted as title XV of Public Law 101–189 and subsequently codified as subchapter II of chapter 88 of title 10, United States Code). 110 STAT. 2644 (2) Older children deserve as much attention to their developmental needs as do younger children. (3) The Department has started to direct more attention to programs for youths who are dependents of members of the Armed Forces by providing funds for the implementation of 20 model community programs to address the needs of such youths. (4) The lessons learned from such programs could apply to civilian youth programs as well. (b) Sense of Congress Related to Military-Civilian Youth Partnership Programs.— It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the Department of Defense, Federal, State, and local agencies, and businesses and communities involved in conducting youth programs could benefit from the development of partnerships to foster an exchange of ideas, information, and materials relating to such programs and to encourage closer relationships between military installations and the communities that support them; (2) such partnerships could be beneficial to all families by helping the providers of services for youths exchange ideas about innovative ways to address barriers to the effective provision of such services; and (3) there are many ways that such partnerships could be developed, including— (A) cooperation between the Department and Federal and State educational agencies in exploring the use of public school facilities for child-care programs and youth programs that are mutually beneficial to the Department and civilian communities and complement programs of the Department carried out at its facilities; and (B) improving youth programs that enable adolescents to relate to new peer groups when families of members of the Armed Forces are relocated. (c) Report.— Not later than June 30, 1997, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to Congress a report on the status of any partnerships and other initiatives undertaken by the Department as described in subsection (b), including recommendations for additional ways to improve the youth programs of the Department of Defense and to improve such programs so as to benefit communities in the vicinity of military installations.