Juvenile Justice Organizations and Advocates Applaud Senate Judiciary Members on...

Juvenile Justice Organizations and Advocates Applaud Senate Judiciary Members
on the Approval of Strong JJDPA Legislation

WASHINGTON, July 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With strong bi-partisan
support, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act
of 2008, S. 3155, was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee. This 30-year
old bill will improve both public safety and the lives of youth involved in
the juvenile justice system by increasing federal funding to states and
localities, as well as improving juvenile justice and delinquency prevention
practices. Members of the Juvenile Justice community applaud the efforts of
Senators Leahy, Specter, and Kohl and the entire Senate Judiciary Committee
for introducing strong legislation to protect our youth.

"We are pleased with the strong legislation that was passed by the Senate
Judiciary Committee. We are very excited to work with members of the full
Senate body to provide the latest research on this issue as we make
significant ground in protecting our young people."

Liz Ryan
President and CEO, Campaign for Youth Justice

"The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act was a landmark
achievement when it was enacted by Congress in 1974, and this bill contains
some of the most important reforms in more than 30 years. The bill includes
major provisions to help states understand racial and ethnic disparities in
their juvenile justice systems and how to eliminate those disparities. The
bill also contains limited provisions to support state efforts to eliminate
dangerous practices that result in abuse of young people in juvenile
facilities, and we are pleased with the Senate Judiciary Committee's
amendments that will strengthen those provisions."

Mark Soler
Executive Director, Center for Children's Law and Policy

"This reauthorization of the JJDPA provides a tremendous opportunity to
improve the quality of juvenile justice in this country. Keeping children out
of adult jails, preventing the incarceration of status offenders, providing
treatment and services for children with mental health problems, and
rectifying the racial and ethic disparity in the system will protect children,
improve public safety, and save taxpayers money. Congress should strengthen
and reauthorize the JJDPA."

Carol Chodroff
Advocacy Director, Human Rights Watch, US Program

"The Senate mark-up gives hope to hundreds of thousands of court-involved
children of color across the U.S. This bill gives tools to local jurisdictions
to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system making
it a more fair system for all."

Angela Arboleda
Director of Civil Rights and Criminal Justice Policy, National Council of La
Raza

"We are excited to support and generate public understanding of this important
legislation. It builds substantially on the progress of the JJDP Act by
strengthening resources, standards and the federal partnership with
states--all for the benefit of children, youth and communities. It is also at
its heart, courageous legislation that promotes racial and ethnic fairness in
juvenile justice, family and community-connected services, and critical
safeguards to support age-appropriate responses, best practices, and
rehabilitative conditions in juvenile facilities."

Nancy Gannon Hornberger
Executive Director, Coalition for Juvenile Justice

"S. 3155 takes a comprehensive approach to strengthening state juvenile
systems, promotes standards, programs and practices proven to be effective and
keeps youths in juvenile facilities. The changes to the JJDPA will enhance the
states' abilities to protect public safety, hold youths accountable and
provide rehabilitation services that prevent future crime."

Edward J. Loughran
Executive Director, Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators (CJCA)
Former Massachusetts Department of Youth Services Commissioner

The Campaign for Youth Justice is a national organization dedicated to ending
the practice of trying, sentencing and incarcerating youth under the age of 18
in the adult criminal justice system.

To view letters from Juvenile Justice organizations and advocates supporting
the JJDPA legislation, visit http://act4jj.org/hill_letters.html

To view press release from Senators Leahy, Specter, and Kohl on bill and
statement from Sen. Leahy, visit
http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200807/073108c.html

For more information, visit: www.campaignforyouthjustice.org.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click
appropriate link.
Liz Ryan
http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=78285
Shay Bilchik
http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=78741
Mark Soler
http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=79152

SOURCE Campaign for Youth Justice

Eric Solomon of Campaign for Youth Justice, +1-202-558-3580 (office),
+1-202-253-5557 (cell)