Fattah Boosts Funding for National Youth Mentoring Programs in Federal Spending Bill

Mentoring was one of several Fattah priorities that received funding through the Department of Justice

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Dec 16, 2014, 10:54 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), the leading Congressional champion for youth mentoring, announced that mentoring programs will receive a boost in the government spending bill passed last week by Congress. Fattah, who serves as the top Democrat on the Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) with responsibility for funding the Department of Justice, heralded the $90 million included in the legislation that will support youth mentoring initiatives across the country.

Fattah, who has worked both to increase federal funding for youth mentoring and expand the number of mentoring partnerships with government agencies, expressed confidence that mentoring programs continue to make a real difference in the lives of thousands of youth across this country.

"We know that mentoring works; studies show that students with a mentor are more likely to enroll in college, hold leadership positions, and give back to their communities. As a result of this funding, national and local youth mentoring programs will be able to maintain and increase their reach as they seek to connect more at-risk students with a mentor," Congressman Fattah said. "Youth mentoring continues to be one of the best avenues to engage underrepresented youth across our country and I look forward to continuing to partner with mentoring groups to push this forward as a national priority. If our country is going to remain competitive, we must continue to invest in the success of our youth."

"Mentoring provides young people with a critical connection to social and economic opportunity," said David Shapiro, CEO of MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership. "Yet, our research shows that one in three young people will grow up without this powerful asset. We are grateful to have congressional champions like Congressman Fattah providing leadership to increase federal investments to close this gap and expand the mentoring effect."

Overall, the bill provides $27.8 billion for the Department of Justice (DOJ), an increase of $400 million above FY14. Other Fattah priorities included in the bill include: the Justice Reinvestment Initiative ($27.5 million), the Second Chance Act ($68 million), and Byrne-JAG ($376 million).

Additionally, the bill will provide funding for two initiatives aimed at reducing the nationwide backlog for testing sexual assault kits. In addition to $125 million for the ongoing DNA Initiative program, the new Community Sexual Assault Kit Backlog Reduction program will receive $41 million. This community-focused initiative will fund a competitive grant program aimed at using an integrative approach to comprehensively address the growing backlog of sexual assault kits at law enforcement agencies across the country.

Last week Congressman Fattah lauded the increased funding for federal brain research that was also a part of the bipartisan spending bill.

www.fattah.house.gov

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SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah