Conservatives Host Juvenile Justice Convo on Hill
A group of Republican and Libertarian groups spoke today in support of conservative-led juvenile justice reform, including an update to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA).
“By not addressing criminal justice, from the ground level, with kids, we are missing an opportunity,” said Arthur Rizer, the justice policy director at the R Street Institute. “Conservatives hold up family as bedrock, but too often we are deaf to the basic needs of families. As conservatives we have to stop caring only about kids when they’re in the womb.”
Central to the discussion was the JJDPA, which has been due for reauthorization since 2007. Several attempts to reauthorize JJDPA have made it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee since that year, only to stall before a Senate vote. The House Education Workforce failed to pass JJDPA bills until this year, when it quickly moved a bill to overwhelming passage in the full chamber.
