For Immediate Release
Date: Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Contact: Matthew Morgan – 202-226-5543
| Conyers: Second Chance Act Juvenile Reentry Grant Award to Wayne County Helps Break Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Pipeline (DETROIT) – Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice awarded a $750,000 grant to the Wayne County Department of Children and Financial Services as part of the Second Chance Act of 2007, a law designed to aid local communities in rehabilitating juvenile offenders. The grant will assist Wayne County in transitioning approximately 140 young males aged 12 to 18 currently placed in the Calumet and Lincoln Center residential treatment facilities in Highland Park from secure confinement back into the community. In response to the Department of Justice’s grant award, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) released the following statement: “The future of our communities depends on breaking the schoolhouse to jailhouse pipeline,” Conyers said. “To do that we must invest in providing our young people the skills and support needed to successfully transition back into the community. The Second Chance Act provides local governments with the resources to do this, and helps juvenile offenders become productive members of the community. I commend the Department of Justice and Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano in working together under the Second Chance Act to secure the resources necessary to achieve this goal.” As Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman Conyers helped pass the Second Chance Act in 2007. As a result of this legislation, the Department of Justice created the Second Chance Act Juvenile Offenders Reentry program to help ensure that the transition youth make from secure confinement facilities to the community is successful and promotes public safety. The law authorizes grants to state and local governments to promote the safe and successful reintegration into the community of individuals who have been incarcerated or detained. |
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