CJJ: Kohl Amendment “Promising”

News brief from the Coalition for Juvenile Justice April/May e-newsletter:

Promising Federal Juvenile Justice Appropriations Cycle Gets Underway in Congress

The Fiscal Year 2009 federal juvenile justice appropriations cycle is off to a promising start, despite the President’s Budget Proposal and anticipated challenges related to the election year.

On March 14, 2008, the U.S. Senate adopted a budget resolution, which includes an amendment sponsored by U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) to restore $170 million to juvenile justice programs that have been chronically underfunded for the last several years. To the extent these additional federal dollars are appropriated for FY 2009, they will go a long way in supporting the states and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in advancing improvements to state juvenile justice systems and promoting better outcomes for children, youth and families. Many thanks to our members and friends in Wisconsin, and throughout the nation, for the wonderful job done to educate Senator Kohl and to support him in his efforts to champion federal juvenile justice funding.

As another promising sign, on April 7, the Chairs and Ranking Members of both the Senate and House Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies will co-host a series of juvenile justice appropriations briefings with the National Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Coalition, which CJJ co-chairs.

The juvenile justice appropriations briefings will feature testimony from four adult/youth teams from Alabama, Maryland, New Jersey and West Virginia. Many thanks to Janet Marquez in Maryland, Kylthia Roberts in New Jersey and Jason Carlson in West Virginia, for their expert assistance in helping CJJ to identify strong programs and witnesses from their states who are able and willing to speak to the specific importance of Title II, Title V and JABG funding.