(a) The California Youth Leadership Project is hereby established under the department for the purpose of promoting youth civic engagement through meaningful opportunities to improve the quality of life for California’s disconnected and disadvantaged youth.

(b) The California Youth Leadership Project shall support and promote youth civic engagement by awarding scholarships to youth between 14 and 18 years of age. Furthermore, youths awarded scholarships by the California Youth Leadership Project shall be given the opportunity to make meaningful recommendations regarding legislation and policies that impact their own lives and the lives of the thousands of other youth in California whose voices often go unheard. An organization that operates civic engagement programs may submit applications for participation in the project on behalf of interested youth.

(c) The California Youth Leadership Project shall allocate scholarship award funds to organizations that submit applications on behalf of youth who are selected to receive scholarship awards under this article. These organizations shall do, without limitation, all of the following for the youth who receive scholarship awards under this article:

(1) Provide youth participants tools to examine and discuss policy and fiscal issues affecting the interests, needs, and conditions of the youth of California.

(2) Provide youth participants the opportunity to formally advise and make recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor on specific issues affecting youth. These issues may include, but need not be limited to, all of the following:

(A) Education.

(B) Employment.

(C) Access to state and local governmental services.

(D) The environment.

(E) Behavioral and physical health.

(F) Safety.

(G) Technology.

(H) Criminal justice.

(I) Homelessness.

(J) Foster care.

(K) Child welfare.

(L) Emancipation.

(M) Financial literacy.

(N) Substance abuse.

(O) Driver’s license requirements.

(P) Poverty.

(Q) Increased youth participation in state and local government.

(R) Issues affecting youth with disabilities.

(S) Any other policy or fiscal issues deemed appropriate by the department.

(3) Provide youth participants the opportunity to consult with any existing local level youth advisory commissions and community-based, grassroots youth-led organizations for input and potential solutions on issues related to youth.

(4) Provide youth participants the opportunity to convene and conduct meetings to fulfill the purposes of this chapter.

(5) Provide youth participants the opportunity to act as an information center on California youth policy and fiscal issues, including, but not limited to, the issues listed in paragraph (2).

(6) When available, enable individual youth to travel to the State Capitol to learn the legislative process and, on occasion, to testify at legislative hearings.

(d) An organization that receives a scholarship award on behalf of youth under this article shall use these funds only for youth-related activities described in subdivision (c).

(e) For purposes of this article, disconnected and disadvantaged youth described in subdivision (a) include, but are not limited to, youth who are homeless between 18 and 24 years of age, youth with disabilities, youth who are from minority racial or ethnic groups, youth who are in or have been emancipated from foster care, youth who have been in or are on parole from the juvenile justice system, youth who are from low-income households, youth who are high school dropouts or are at risk of dropping out of school, youth who are pregnant or are young mothers, and other youth who could benefit from participation in the California Youth Leadership Project.

(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 379, Sec. 2. (SB 803) Effective January 1, 2013.)