The Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ), in partnership with the [1] Act 4 Juvenile Justice Campaign (Act4JJ), is calling on all CJJ members and allies to urge Congress to pass S. 678, the [2] Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2009.
On December 17, 2010, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved S. 678 by a roll call vote of 12-7 Originally sponsored by Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI), Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Richard Durbin (D-IL), and co-sponsored by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Susan Collins (R-ME), Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Al Franken (D-MN), S. 678 strengthens the JJDPA to provide improved and additional supports for delinquency prevention and juvenile justice reform at the state and local levels. [3] Click here to view a fuller analysis of the legislation. S. 678 now awaits consideration by the full Senate.
On the House side, a bill has not been introduced, but CJJ and other supporters of JJDPA reauthorization have been working closely with staff in Education & Labor Committee Chairman George Miller’s (D-CA) office to ensure the introduction and passage of equally strong legislation.
With your help and support, JJDPA reauthorization has come a long way. In the last three weeks, the bill has gained five additional co-sponsors, including Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Roland Burris (D-IL), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), John Kerry (D-MA) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). We, however, still have much to do!
Over the next week, we are asking all CJJ members and allies to weigh in on the JJDPA reauthorization by:
• Contacting your state’s Senators to express your support for the bill and thank them for their co-sponsorship/ask for their co-sponsorship of and support for S. 678 by:
- Sending in a letter of support (click here to view a template letter; modify as appropriate to most effectively represent your state) to the Senators’ offices; and
- Calling your Senators’ offices.
• Contacting your Congressional District’s Member of Congress in the House of Representatives to express your support for JJDPA reauthorization, which would help your state continue to move toward a more effective, less expensive juvenile justice system, by:
- Sending in a letter of support (click here to view a template letter; modify as appropriate to most effectively represent your state) to your Representative’s office; and
- Calling your Representative’s office.
To identify your Senators and Representatives, use the “Find Your Senators” tool at [4] www.senate.gov and the “Find Your Representative” tool at [5] www.house.gov.
We also urge you, in your official or individual capacities, to sign a [6] petition urging the Senate and the House to reauthorize the JJDPA now. As of the writing of this column, almost 7,000 people from across the nation have joined the effort!
Your support is critical to achieving passage of strong JJDPA reauthorization legislation. Please act now to do your part to ensure that youth, families and communities have the protections, supports and resources that they need.
Thank you!
[1]: http://www.act4jj.org
[2]: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:s678rs.txt.pdf
[3]: http://juvjustice.org/announcement_144.html
[4]: http://www.senate.gov/
[5]: http://www.house.gov
[6]: http://www.change.org/campaign4youthjustice/actions/view/tell_the_senate