More Money Needed for Juvenile Crime Prevention, Scott Says

February 26 2008 | text size: small medium large
WASHINGTON—Troubled teenagers need mentoring programs and community support instead of time behind bars, Rep. Robert Scott, D-Va., said Tuesday, hoping to jumpstart his plan to increase spending on juvenile justice programs.

“Virtually everything you do under a prevention strategy will save more money than it costs,” said Scott, before a panel of juvenile justice advocates that he hosted on Capitol Hill.

His nearly $3 billion proposal – the “Youth PROMISE Act” – faces an uncertain future in Congress. It has not moved since Scott introduced it in October.

The bill would spend $2.9 billion a year on programs like parent training and childhood mentoring, as long as the programs have a track-record of success and community support. Scott argues that locking up teenage offenders has not proven effective at reducing crime.

A separate but similar anti-crime bill aimed at gangs may end up overshadowing Scott’s bill. The House bill, introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., is a companion to the Gang Prevention, Intervention and Suppression Act, which passed the Senate in September with unanimous support.

Another challenge to finding more support for rehabilitation and mentoring programs, Scott said, is the desire of elected officials to always appear “tough on crime.”

“People not only vote for it, they brag about it and put it on their brochures,” Scott said.

Only programs that combine enforcement and prevention have a chance of passing the closely-divided Congress, Schiff said.

“Law enforcement will tell you, they feel that they need to comprehensively approach the problem. One answer is not sufficient,” Schiff said.

Tuesday’s panel was comprised of advocates of juvenile justice reform who were largely supportive of Scott’s plan.

More than 200 scientific studies have shown that youth programs, like Big Brothers Big Sisters and after school activities reduced aggressive behavior, said Dewey Cornell, director of the University of Virginia’s Youth Violence Project.

Deborah Phillips, a professor of psychology at Georgetown University’s child research center, said that reaching kids at an early age is important to preventing aggressive teenage behavior.

“Early experience trumps later experience,” she said.

The bill has been referred to the judiciary and education committees, though neither panel has discussed it. Scott, a member of both panels, said he expected the bill to move within the education committee.