Save Funding for Mentoring in FY11

Save Funding for Mentoring in FY11

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As you may know, this past week the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed and the President signed a two-week continuing resolution to keep the government running through March 18, 2011.

Recently, the House passed H.R. 1, a long-term Continuing Resolution that will cut government programs by $100 billion for the rest of this fiscal year. This bill eliminates the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), would zero out funding for the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program for the remainder of the fiscal year and cuts OJJDP funding by 45 percent. We need you to take action now to ensure this legislation does not become law. The next two weeks are critical.

Please contact your members to schedule meetings next week with the local offices of your Members of Congress. Furthermore, we ask that you schedule meetings with the Members themselves when they are home March 21-25 for the District Work Period.

We also ask that you schedule meetings with Congressional Members when they return home the last two weeks of April.

You need them to pass a Continuing Resolution that restores funding to CNCS and the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program, as well as full funding to OJJDP. You can find contact information at: www.senate.gov and www.house.gov.

If you choose to reach out by phone, we encourage you to state the bill number (H.R. 1), the title of the legislation (Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011) and why restoring funding to OJJDP, Mentoring Children of Prisoners and CNCS is important to you.

Members of the Appropriations Committee and subcommittees on Commerce-Justice-Science and Labor, Health and Human Services are key. You can find a list of these Members at: http://appropriations.senate.gov/ and http://appropriations.house.gov.

We will be meeting with these Members as well. If possible, if you do meet with a Member, please let us know about it. Thank you so very much for support and efforts. Together, we can save mentoring programs across the country.