Opening Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
At a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing
On “Reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Act: Protecting Our Children and Our Communities”
As Prepared for Delivery
December 5, 2007
I want to thank the Chairman for holding this hearing, and I also want
to thank all the witnesses for being here today to discuss this important
law. I’m especially happy to see my friend from Wisconsin, Deirdre
Wilson Garton, who has done such excellent work on the Wisconsin Governor’s
Juvenile Justice Commission.
This is a critical time for juvenile justice. Since Congress last reauthorized
the JJDPA in 2002, there have been changes – some of them good,
and some of them frankly not so good.
One of the positive developments has been the ongoing accumulation
of evidence telling us what is working in the field of juvenile justice
and what is not working. Scientific research on adolescent brain development
has shed light on the fallacy of treating juvenile offenders the same
way we treat adults. The dangers of pursuing such an approach are increasingly
clear. Just last week, the Centers for Disease Control published a study
by an independent panel of community health experts confirming that
placing juvenile offenders in the adult criminal system leads to higher
recidivism rates and can be detrimental to the health and well-being
of the young person.
At the same time, recent experience has shown us the successes that
can result from community-based programs that focus on prevention and
intervention. An independent panel convened in 2004 by the National
Institutes of Health found that a number of these programs have been
proven effective at reducing arrests, out-of-home placement, and violent
behaviors. Ms. Garton will be telling us today about some programs that
have had significant, measurable success in Wisconsin – including
a program that has had a dramatic effect in one of the most troubling
areas of the juvenile justice system, Disproportionate Minority Contact.
These successes in reducing and preventing juvenile offenses are accompanied
by significant cost savings to our states and communities.
These programs rely heavily on federal funding through the JJDPA and
other grant programs. That’s where the bad news comes in. In recent
years, there has been a precipitous decline in federal funding for the
very programs that have been shown to work, and for the state infrastructure
that enables effective use of those programs. In Wisconsin, JJDPA funding
has dropped from about $8 million in 1998 to less than two million this
year. As the federal commitment has dropped off, there is some evidence
suggesting that the rate of violent juvenile crime – which had
been declining steadily for many years – has begun, in the past
couple of years, to climb again.
This is unacceptable. Dealing effectively with at-risk youth and juvenile
offenders, and preventing them from becoming adult offenders, is one
of the most important investments we can make in the safety of our communities.
The federal government should fulfill its responsibility to fully fund
the JJDPA and similar programs such as the Juvenile Accountability Block
Grant. Indeed, we should expand on the successes of these programs,
through legislation such as the PRECAUTION Act, which Senator Specter
and I introduced to help further integrate prevention and intervention
programming into traditional law enforcement initiatives, and to provide
more information to local officials about what strategies are most effective.
I hope that today’s hearing galvanizes us to recognize the importance
of the JJDPA and similar programs, and to rededicate ourselves to giving
our states and communities the support they need in this critical endeavor.
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