This is a text of a message that worked its way through from others related to the Senate’s action related to juvenile justice funding. Sen. Kohl voted in favor of this bill – Sen. Johnson voted against, presumably because he thinks it should be essentially zero. Even at this level of funding, there will be reductions in the amount of funds available for grants to counties, system reform efforts, and perhaps even compliance.

Moments ago (now yesterday) , the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 2112 as amended which, among other things, provides federal funding for juvenile justice programs in FY 2012 at the following levels:

• Title II at $45 million
• Title V at $33 million (entirely earmarked for non-JJDPA programs)
• JABG at $30 million
• Mentoring at $55 million
• Violence prevention at $8 million

The bill passed on a vote of 69-30 (Senator McCain didn’t vote), with 14 Republicans voting yes. That gives us some good momentum heading over to the House.

H.R. 2112 is no where near the bill that states need to maintain and advance their delinquency prevention and juvenile justice reform efforts. We remain very concerned about the impact these dramatically reduced amounts will have on youth and community safety. Without the collective efforts of CJJ members and allies, however, the outcome thus far could be worse.                                                    by Jim Moeser

The bill now moves on to the Conference Committee, which will include 3-6 Members of the Senate and 3-6 Members of the House. The word on the street is that the Conference Committee will try to complete its work within the next week or so.