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TROUBLED KIDS FUNDING LETTER

June 6, 2007

Dear Senator:

FIGHT CRIME: INVEST IN KIDS is a national anti-crime organization of more than 3,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, district attorneys, and victims of violence who have come together to take a hard-nosed look at the research about what really works to keep kids from becoming criminals. The research confirms our members' experiences on the front lines in the fight against crime: investments in evidence-based prevention and intervention approaches can substantially reduce crime and save money. The federal Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) and Title II and Title V of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) provide needed support for such approaches. Therefore, we urge you reject the proposed cuts and block granting in the Administration's Fiscal Year 2008 budget, and urge you to, instead, restore funding in the Senate FY08 Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations bill for JJDPA Title II Formula Grants to $89 million, Title V funding to $95 million, and JABG funding to $250 million-levels appropriated by Congress in FY02.

Federal juvenile delinquency prevention and intervention programs support a variety of state and local efforts that reduce juvenile crime. For example, the Title V Local Delinquency Prevention program funds a wide range of community-based delinquency prevention programs, including after-school programs. Programs that connect kids with caring adults and constructive activities during the "prime time for juvenile crime" of 3-6 PM are among our most powerful tools for preventing crime. In a study of Boys & Girls clubs, five housing projects without Boys & Girls Clubs were compared to five receiving new clubs. At the beginning, drug activity and vandalism were the same. But by the time the study ended, the projects without the programs had 50 percent more vandalism and scored 37 percent worse on drug activity. The Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) and Title II State Formula Grants fund effective interventions that cut crime, such as Functional Family Therapy (FFT). The youths whose families received FFT were half as likely to be re-arrested as the youths whose families did not receive the family therapy. By reducing recidivism among juvenile offenders, FFT saves the public roughly $32,000 per youth treated.

Unfortunately, the Administration's FY08 budget proposes to eliminate these funding sources and create a single, new "Child Safety and Juvenile Justice" block grant. This block grant would be funded at a level that is 25% lower than the total FY07 funding for the programs eliminated. We urge you to reject the proposed cuts and block granting and, instead, strengthen and increase funding for federal juvenile justice and delinquency prevention programs, including Title V prevention grants, the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant, and Title II State Formula Grants-at a minimum, restoring funding to the FY02 appropriated levels. Investing in these proven prevention and intervention programs will make our communities safer and save money down the road.

Sincerely,

David S. Kass
President

Miriam A. Rollin
Vice President