Steve Liss
First introduced to Congress in 2007, the Youth Prison Reduction through Opportunities, Mentoring, Intervention, Support, and Education – or PROMISE – Act was reintroduced in March by U.S. Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, D-Va.
The legislation, which is backed by 250 government and civic organizations, would allocate federal funds to communities that establish local councils to address youth violence.
Despite widespread support from advocacy groups, previous versions of the bill failed to pass in 2007, 2009 and 2011.
In this two-part package, The Chicago Bureau takes a look at the newly reintroduced legislation, analyzing both its prospects for Congressional passage this time around and the concerns raised by some juvenile justice experts, who say that the violence prevention and intervention strategies favored by the Youth PROMISE Act will be of limited effectiveness.
Click here for news analysis of the act in Youth Violence Prevention Bill Idles in House Committee; and click here for a feature on The Potential Perils of the PROMISE Act