Redirect
funds to community programs
The medical profession encourages prevention of illness
through annual medical check-ups, mammograms, prostate
exams, flu shots, etc. We know that prevention and early
intervention are less expensive and more effective than
catastrophic care. We should apply the same reasoning
to juveniles who commit petty property crimes and other
less serious offenses.
Let's give local schools, nonprofits and juvenile judges
the resources to provide after-school pro-grams intensities
supervision and mentoring programs: drug prevention and
treatment, and mental health counseling for confused or
troubled youth. Most importantly, let's give parents the
help and tools they need to regain control over their
confused adolescents.
The Georgia Alliance for Children is encouraging is conducting
a campaign, which includes the above state's juvenile
justice system. Gov. Roy Barnes and the Georgia Legislature
to make community-based prevention and correctional strategies
a priority by redirecting $50 million of the Department
of Juvenile Justice's $250 million budget toward community
programming. If we spend more time working with the nonviolent
kids at home, in school and in supervised programs structured
to meet their needs, we can protect those children and
help them grow up to be healthy and productive rather
than career criminals.
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With help from advertising and production professionals,
the Georgia Alliance for Children is ready to launch an
all-out assault on the juvenile justice sys-tem through
the largest public education drive this state has ever
seen. This comprehensive campaign includes an aggressive
advertising campaign, public service announcements, a
letter-writing and telephone campaign as well as forums
throughout the state.
We
will also question candidates about reforming Georgia's
terrible juvenile justice system during the upcoming election
season.
With your help, we will get this important issue on the
governor's radar screen and on the platform of every political
candidate. They should have a position on our recommendations
for correcting what is wrong with this unjust and cruel
system of injustice.
Rick
McDevitt is president of the Georgia Alliance for Children,
a private nonprofit organization run by corpora-tions,
foundations and individuals. |
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