CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia is getting more than $620,000 to help kids who are incarcerated and prevent others from entering the criminal justice system, two U.S. senators announced.
“It’s important that we do all we can to make sure people feel safe and support efforts that help prevent crime in the first place,” Republican U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said in a press release. “This funding does just that by focusing on building that trust by helping young West Virginians stay away from crime and to help their communities.”
Capito made the announcement last week with Democrat U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin. The two West Virginia senators sit together on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The U.S. Department of Justice funding will support nine program areas within West Virginia’s juvenile justice system. They include community-based programs; programs designed to prevent and reduce hate crimes committed by juveniles; projects designed to protect juvenile civil rights; programs designed to provide mental health services for incarcerated juveniles; and programs to address the disproportionate number of youth members of minority groups who enter the juvenile justice system.