Policy

 

2011 Policy Priorities

Interventions for Juvenile Offenders

• Protect existing funding of the Juvenile Justice Crime PreventionAct (JJCPA).
• Protect existing funding for the Youthful Offender Block Grant/SB81, the $92 million for counties to serve the additional caseload resulting from the juvenile justice realignment enacted in 2007 that shifted certain juvenile offenders from state to county supervision.
• Oppose further efforts to redirect funding from the Mental HealthServices Act/Proposition 63, which provides funding to counties formental health services for a variety of populations including children atrisk of, or involved in, the juvenile justice system.

Dropout Prevention

• Support authorizing the California Department of Education to use $13 million in federal funding for implementation of CALPADS, which will help identify potential dropouts and effective interventions to boost graduation rates and to ensure accurate data and satisfaction of federal reporting requirements.
• Support SCR 18 (Liu) to encourage the pursuit of every means necessary, including federal funding, grants, and other sources, to ensure that the California Healthy Kids, School Climate and School Parents surveys remain viable, and AB 1368 (Pan) to require continued administration of the California Healthy Kids Survey, to the extent funding is available.
• Support SB 885 (Simitian) to facilitate the development of a comprehensive, statewide preschool through higher education (P-20) education information system that will help inform policymaking and improve instruction and learning.

 

Early Education

• Oppose further cuts to preschool and child care programs, and support restoration of 2010-2011 funding levels as soon as possible.
• Support effective implementation of transitional kindergarten by supporting SB 30 (Simitian), which would make any necessary changes to the program, and opposing proposals such as SB 634 (Runner), which would eliminate the program
• Oppose SB 486 (Dutton) to eliminate the First 5 California Children and Families program and oppose any further cuts to the program.  
• Support AB 419 (Mitchell) to require annual inspection of child care and preschool facilities, in order to provide the healthy and safe environment that is essential to program quality.

After School

• Support continued guaranteed funding of the After School Education and Safety program/Proposition 49.
• Oppose further cuts in funding for school-age child care programs that provide year-long, before-school, after-school and summer programs targeted to children from low-income working families.

Gang Prevention

• Support ongoing funding for the California Gang Reduction,
  Intervention and Prevention Program (CalGRIP) for local
  anti-gang suppression, intervention and prevention programs.

 

If you would like further information or have any questions about the materials presented in this section, please contact Meghan Moroney at mmoroney@calfightcrime.org.