The Bipartisan Safe Communities Act: What’s in it and How Could it Impact my Program?
June 23, 2022
June 23, 2022
Earlier this week, text was released for the Bipartisan Safe Communities Act: the result of legislative negotiations between a group of four U.S. Senators (Sen. Cornyn, R-TX; Sen. Murphy, D-CT; Sen. Sinema, D-AZ; Sen. Tillis, R-NC) in response to the tragedy last month in Uvalde, Texas. The bill invests significant funding into the nation’s community and school mental health workforce, makes various changes to the background check system for young people under 21, incentivizes red flag laws, and increases funding to programs that improve school climate. It also increases funding for law enforcement programs and school security.
As the bill advances in Congress, MENTOR felt it necessary to share relevant pieces of the legislation that could impact mentoring programs and adults in youth development:
- $250 million is included for a “community violence and prevention initiative” through the Office of Justice Programs (under which the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, OJJDP, is housed).
- $1 billion is allocated for the “safe and healthy schools” bucket of funding of the Every Student Succeeds Act Title IV-A program, targeted to high-need schools. Mentoring is codified as an allowable use of funding multiple times within this section of the law; for example, local education agencies (LEA’s) may use funding to:
- “(v) provide mentoring and school counseling to all students, including children who are at risk of academic failure, dropping out of school, involvement in criminal or delinquent activities, or drug use and abuse;”
- $50 million is invested into the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program to “support the implementation of evidence-based practices to increase attendance and engagement.” This program supports partnerships between community-based organizations (such as mentoring and afterschool programs) and LEA’s/other community entities.
- The bill also includes $40 million for the National Child Traumatic Support Network, $240 million for mental health awareness programs coordinated between school and community mental health systems, $120 million for Mental Health Awareness and Training Grants, and $150 million to support implementation of the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
For a full summary of the bill, visit this link. We look forward to working with MENTOR Affiliates and programs in support of their efforts to form partnerships to access this funding and expand their impactful programming.