CJJ | CALL TO ACTION: Help Restore Funding for FY 2011 Juvenile Justice Programs

The House and Senate Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS), which have jurisdiction over all federal juvenile justice programs, recently marked up their respective regular appropriations bills, which contain recommended funding levels for FY 2011.

CJJ commends its members and allies for the efforts they have made to educate their congressional members regarding the importance of the JJDPA and the programs that directly and indirectly support state and local delinquency prevention and juvenile justice reform efforts. Unfortunately, the Senate CJS bill, S. 3636, demonstrates that we still have much work to do to help members of Congress understand the value of these programs to the youth, families and communities that reside in their respective districts. In the current political and economic climate, CJJ is committed to framing and communicating our message in effective ways, and we urge all CJJ members and allies to remain vocal and diligent in the weeks and months ahead.
The chart below reflects the Senate CJS Subcommittee’s proposals, as compared to the President’s Proposed FY 2011 Budget, CJJ’s request for FY 2011, and actual amounts appropriated in recent years.

In millions:

	FY02	FY06	FY07 CR	FY08	FY09	FY10	YTD +/-	President’s Proposal for FY11	House Proposal for FY11	Senate Proposal for FY11	CJJ REQUEST for FY11
OJJDP	$6.8	$.7	$.7	$.7	$.7	--	-100%	--	TBD	--	$9
Rsch, Eval, T&TA	--	--	--	--	--	up to $36	N/A	up to $36	TBD	--	$36
Tit. II State Formula Funds	$88.8	$79.2	$79.2	$74.3	$75	$75	-16%	$72	TBD	$70	$89
Tit. V Local Delinq. Prevention	$94.3	$64.4	$64.4	$61.1	$62	$65	-31%	$62	TBD	($70)	$95
JABG	$249.5	$49.5	$49.5	$51.7	$55	$55	-78%	$40	TBD	$40	$250
DPBG	N/A	0	0	0	0	0	-100%	0	TBD	0	$126.4
Demonstration Programs (earmarks	0	$105	$105	$93.4	$82	$91	N/A	0	TBD	$75.3	0
Mentoring	$16	$9.9	$9.9	$70	$80	$100	+625%	$45	TBD	$100	$100

As illustrated in the above chart, the Senate CJS Subcommittee is proposing to fund the following programs in the following amounts:

Title II at $70 million, down $5 million from FY 2010;
Title V at $70 million, up $5 million from FY 2010, but entirely earmarked for the Tribal Youth Program ($25,000), EUDL ($25,000) and gang education ($20,000);
JABG at $40 million, down $15 million from FY 2010; and
Mentoring at $100 million, which is equal to the FY 2010 appropriation.

In addition to the above, the Senate CJS Subcommittee is proposing earmarks that total $75.3 million. The Senate CJS Subcommittee does not set aside any separate funding for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and does not designate a percentage of program funds available to the Office of Justice Programs for research, evaluation or training and technical assistance. In FY 2010, up to 10% for program funds were designated for research and evaluation, and up to 2% of program funds were designated for training and technical assistance. The Senate CJS Subcommittee generically proposes that OJP use program funds to carry out these functions.

As of the writing of this column, program-by-program numbers for the House CJS bill are not yet available.

NOW IS THE TIME to urge congressional appropriators to restore funding for all critical juvenile justice and delinquency prevention funding streams that support the work of the JJDPA and juvenile justice reform in the states. CJJ urges its members and allies to use the Town Hall meetings reference in the aforementioned article as an opportunity to speak directly to their Congressional representatives and ask them how they plan to restore funding to support youth and family success and community safety in their state. Suggested Talking Points can be found [1] here.

CJJ will continue to keep members and allies informed as more information becomes available. Be on the look out for additional action alerts and educational tools in the coming weeks.

For more information, contact Tara Andrews, Deputy Executive Director of Policy and Programs, at [2] andrews@juvjustice.org.

[1]: http://juvjustice.org/media/resources/public/resource_447.pdf
[2]: http://andrews@juvjustice.org

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