Committee hears pitch to restore YIP grants to children-and-families oversight, lays bill over

Representative Emma Feist introduced House File 2,362 on funding for the Youth Intervention Program grants and urged the committee to retain and expand support for local, restorative youth interventions.

The bill’s supporters told the House Children and Families Finance and Policy Committee that YIP-funded programs run the gamut from truancy intervention to restorative practices in schools, and emphasized local relationships and long-term prevention. “It is really just about building a trusting, caring relationship with a young person that often doesn't have one,” Paul Meneer, executive director of the Youth Intervention Programs Association, told the committee.

Why it matters: Committee members heard that YIP grants have funded community-based programs since the 1970s and proponents argued the grants save money by keeping young people out of juvenile facilities. Representative Feist said the funding and programming are being moved from a public-safety frame to the children-and-families policy area to…