Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA c. 331 is enacted to read:

CHAPTER 331

MAINE MENTORING PARTNERSHIP GRANT PROGRAM

§9901.__Maine Mentoring Partnership Grant Program

1.__Establishment of program grants.__The department, through the Maine Mentoring Partnership or its successor organization, shall establish and administer the Maine Mentoring Partnership Grant Program, referred to in this chapter as "the program," to provide funding for grants to eligible mentoring programs.

2.__Eligible mentoring programs.__The department shall develop eligibility criteria for mentoring programs seeking grants under this chapter.__At a minimum, the mentoring program must provide guidance, support and encouragement to young persons through the establishment of structured mentoring relationships to help the young persons develop into confident, competent and contributing members of society.__The relationships may be through one-on-one, group, team or peer mentoring.__Eligible entities include school- based or independent programs, including a regional collaborative program created to provide mentoring services.

3.__Grant size and distribution.__Grants must be based on financial need and may range from a minimum of $1,000 to a maximum of $75,000.__Of the funds appropriated to the program annually, at least 75% must be used for direct grants, up to 20% may be used for technical assistance provided by the Maine Mentoring Partnership or its successor organization and no more than 5% may be used for administrative costs of operating the program.

4.__Rules.__The department shall develop rules to implement this chapter.__Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

Sec. 2. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.

EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF

Maine Mentoring Partnership Grant Program