Shaheen Leads NH Delegation in Welcoming Over $600K to Address Youth Delinquency
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chair of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that funds the Department of Justice (DOJ), announced with U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Representatives Annie Kuster (NH-02) and Chris Pappas (NH-01) that the DOJ awarded $607,526 to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Funding comes from the Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
The funding will support law enforcement training to address bias and disparities in interactions with people of color, particularly juveniles. The Bias Awareness Training will include input from community-based stakeholders, businesses and mental health and medical professionals to promote the success of young Granite Staters. Additional funding will also go towards early prevention programming in rural communities and research on mental health and delinquency.
“Young Granite Staters in need should have access to the resources necessary to build happy and successful lives. Youth often fall into patterns of delinquency because they don’t have access to the resources and services that are essential for their security and growth. This funding will make a real difference to address racial bias in treatment by law enforcement and ensure community leaders have tools for early prevention and rehabilitation – helping young Granite States stay on a path to success,” said Senator Shaheen. “As Chair of the Senate subcommittee that funds the DOJ, I’ll continue to secure investments that build brighter futures for the next generation of leaders.”
“These federal dollars will help strengthen the work that New Hampshire police departments do with young people, including by focusing on mental health support and preventing delinquency in the first place,” said Senator Hassan. “I will continue working to ensure that our men and women in uniform have the tools they need to best serve Granite State communities.”
“This federal funding headed to New Hampshire will help ensure local law enforcement is trained and prepared for de-escalation and crisis intervention in difficult or complex situations,” said Rep. Kuster. “This funding will help law enforcement address racial bias, prevent hate crimes, and protect young Granite Staters. I will continue working to ensure New Hampshire law enforcement officers have the tools and resources they need to keep our communities safe while also addressing racial disparities and ensuring everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”
“To help our young people build a brighter future, we need to address youth delinquency, and break the patterns that lead to it. These funds will support our young people by funding law enforcement training, supporting community programming and early prevention efforts, and researching connections between delinquency and mental health,” said Rep. Pappas. “Moving forward, I’ll continue fighting to bring resources to New Hampshire that will help all Granite State youth thrive.”
Senator Shaheen is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS), which funds the Department of Justice. In Senate Democrats’ proposal for the Fiscal Year 2023 government funding legislation, Senator Shaheen worked to add $240.5 million for Office of Justice Programs and COPS Office grant programs to support efforts that improve police-community relations. This is an increase of $39.5 million, or 20 percent, above the enacted FY 2022 funding level. This funding will support programs for law enforcement officer training on de-escalation, implicit bias and crisis intervention, as well as hate crime prevention and community violence intervention programs.
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