Programs that aim to keep juveniles out of prison, such as Wake County's Teen Court, face an uncertain future. The State Legislature is withholding $22.4 million from those programs until their administrators can document that they are effective. Do you know of any programs like this? Do they work, or is taxpayer money getting wasted?
JCPC Funding
JCPC Funding for programs that help at-risk juveniles and their families should continue. These programs are community based and are determined by a Council in each county with a broad cross section of the community involved after making the decisions on what the county's needs are. Funding needs to be made recurring so programs can keep staff and don't have to worry about closing from year to year as long as they are providing quality services. Additional funding will help expand the programs available to juveniles and their families and make it easier to keep juveniles out of Youth Development Centers where it cost a lot more to treat them and they are away from their families and communities. The old addage "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is definitely true where JCPC funding is concerned. I hope the General Assembly will quickly fund the JCPC's when they return to Raleigh and help at-risk juveniles and their families.