SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE PASSES JJDPA
On July 31, 2008, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary passed, by voice vote, S. 3155, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2008, as amended. Originally sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Ranking Member Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), S. 3155 includes extending jail removal protections to juveniles charged as adults, eliminating the valid court order exception to the Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders (DSO) core requirement, improving strategies to reduce DMC, diverting youth with behavioral health challenges into community-based services and promoting evidenced-based and promising practices to prevent delinquency. The bill will come under consideration by the entire Senate and the House.
Read the bill and learn more about the JJDPA from the Act 4 Juvenile Justice Web site. Many excellent editorials have appeared across the country on the reauthorization – browse them here.
Watch for additional updates at: http://act4jj.org
SECOND STIMULUS SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS BILL
U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee offered a summary of the Chairman's mark for the second stimulus supplemental bill. The Senate Leadership, in consultation with the other relevant Senate Committees, will determine what mandatory or revenue provisions will be added to the legislation when it comes to the floor of the U.S. Senate in September. The bill includes $490 million for Byrne-JAG funding on innovative criminal justice projects such as inter-agency task forces, victim assistance programs, drug courts, and community corrections treatment programs.
