The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion yesterday that would speed funds to community-based organizations under California’s Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA).
As The Imprint of Social Change reported last week, Los Angeles County’s Probation Department has been holding back nearly $22 million in funds earmarked for prevention programs aimed at keeping youth out of the juvenile justice system.
After that news came to light in a July audit, the Board of Supervisors steered $5 million of that money—$1 million for each supervisorial district—into programs chosen by the supervisors.
However, that money has been slow to arrive. Even after the county’s Juvenile Justice Coordinating Council—the body responsible for dispensing JJCPA funds—approved the plan to direct the $5 million to community-based organizations, the contracts with those organizations have yet to be approved.
Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Mark Ridley-Thomas sponsored Tuesday’s motion that calls for current Interim Chief Probation Officer Cal Remington to execute contracts with the community-based organizations chosen by the supervisors.
Remington will also report back to the supervisors within 30 days about the Probation Department’s spending plan for the JJCPA money and progress on the contracts with the community-based programs chosen by the supervisors.