The Coalition for Juvenile Justice, a network of state’s advisory groups, has responded to President Obama’s budget which consolidates Title II and JABG funds into a new bucket called Juvenile Justice System Incentive Grants. While supporting the positives of the incentive grant approach – and there are some – CJJ suggests using that pot of fund to create a two-tier system in which Tier I funds support on-going core compliance work and Tier II funds would be available to states as incentives to promote other reforms, assuming they are in compliance. While the overall funding level is of concern, this CJJ suggestion seems to be a positive alternative that solves some of the concerns that relying on incentive grants alone could result in state’s backing out of or being unable to provide the core compliance work that is critical to sustain several decades of change.
Mental Health: A Behavioral Health System that Better Supports Counties and Schools
Everyone in Wisconsin, regardless of what county they live in, deserves to live in a community that supports their health and wellness, including access to quality, affordable mental health and substance use disorder services. Governor Evers’ proposed budget expands access to behavioral health care, strengthens schools’ abilities to provide mental health supports to students, invests in peer support, and provides millions in funding to county behavioral health services.
