(Sacramento - June 28, 2018) – This week, Governor Brown approved Assemblymember Reginald Jones-Sawyer’s (D – South Los Angeles) budget request to establish the Youth Reinvestment Fund. $37.3 million will be allocated from the 2018-2019 budget to help improve the outcomes of vulnerable youth populations by using trauma informed community and health-based interventions in lieu of arrest, detention, and incarceration. Over $1 million will be allocated to Native American Tribes for youth diversion programs.
“For four years I have been fighting to create a fund to address the needs of our most vulnerable youth, especially young men of color who experience early childhood trauma and are over represented in the juvenile justice system,” said Assemblymember Jones-Sawyer. “Today, Governor Brown made the decision to reinvest in our youth, and stop locking up our children by providing financial resources for youth diversion programs.”
“As the Chair of the Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color, I have traveled across the state listening to the voices of young children crying out for help dealing with the trauma they have endured,” said Assemblymember Jones-Sawyer. “I am proud the State of California is finally recognizing our duty to invest in all of our most vulnerable youth.”
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Assemblymember Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr. represents South Los Angeles, Florence-Firestone, Walnut Park, and a portion of Huntington Park. For more information about Assemblymember Jones-Sawyer, Sr., please visit https://a57.asmdc.org/