Peter Hutchinson’s recent Star Tribune article explains how the current MN budget surplus
could fully fund plans for making children healthier, better educated and (ALL OF US) safer.
Using a significant part of MN’s 8 billion dollar budget surplus to support struggling families and early childhood programs will make our communities happier and safer places to live.
Prior to COVID child protection, education, juvenile justice, and crime numbers were not good.
Nationally, 37% of youth are reported to child protective services by their 18th birthday, 80% of youth aging out of foster care lead dysfunctional lives.
Marion Wright Edelman (Children’s Defense Fund) has said for years that we have created a pipeline to prison for at risk youth.
Former MN Supreme Court Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz stated that 90% of the youth in juvenile justice have come through child protective services.
Most youth in the juvenile justice system have serious mental health issues. Too many of them end up in the criminal justice system.
Nine-year recidivism is reaching 90% in our prisons.
The crime and chaos invading our neighborhoods has always been committed by low hope youth from troubled homes.
The COVID lockdown has diminished socialization and hope through schools and community programs. This is making law enforcement, education, public health and public safety much harder.
Car jackings, home invasions and a long list of crimes would trend down
with more youth involved in community projects and more help for struggling families.
We the voting people have not saved money by underfunding at risk youth and families. We are paying for this mistake today.
This is a one-time opportunity to use MN’s budget surplus for the good of our children and communities.
Let your State Representative know this is what you want.
“What we do to our children, they will do to society” (Pliny the Elder)
“What we do to our children, they will do to society” (Pliny the Elder)
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