Colorado’s successful fight with the U.S. Department of Justice over a jurisdiction’s right to refuse to enforce federal immigration law means Longmont could expand a program that helps minority youth deal with mental health and substance abuse problems.
City council tonight could sign off on an intergovernmental agreement between Longmont and the state for a $72,001 grant for the REWiND, or Rebuilding Expectations and Walking into New Directions, program.
More than $62,000 of the grant will go toward the total annual base salary and benefits for a program specialist. The position was filled in April 2019, but the grant allows the slot to go full time, according to the city.
The $72,001 is part of $2.7 million awarded to Colorado through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, or JAG. The grant funds are distributed to local law enforcement, district attorneys and courts, community corrections and programs that provide prevention and education as well as drug treatment, according to a news release from the Colorado Department of Criminal Justice.
The grant was supposed to take effect in Longmont in September 2019. The funds were withdrawn in early 2019 because the state objected to language related to immigration enforcement that the U.S. Justice Department attached to the grant as a conditional term, according to a staff report to city council on the REWiND program.
Colorado, in turn, filed a federal lawsuit. The suit was filed “to ensure that state and local law enforcement agencies receive the funds the state of Colorado is entitled to, to protect state’s rights, and protect states from being required to do the job of the federal government,” according to the news release.
Courts in Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, and California, as well the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, all ruled the Justice Department was violating the U.S. Constitution by withholding the public safety funds, according to the release.
On June 2, the U.S. Department of Justice told the state it had removed the special conditions related to immigration enforcement, freeing up the funds for Colorado.
“The JAG program has been a valuable tool in support of community safety strategies for many years,” Gov. Jared Polis stated in the release. “We are pleased to be able to once again support the innovation seen in the grants by our local partners.”
REWiND is aimed at mostly minority youth ages of 10 to 17 who are involved in the municipal court system. The program uses “influencers” — young adults who help divert troubled youths from the court system to services that will help them deal with substance abuse problems and mental health needs, the city report states. The grant also will expand the number of “influencers” in the program to 15.
“Youth in REWiND will provide early intervention through needs assessment and service matching and will spend less time in the justice system,” the report states.
About 1.7 million delinquency cases are seen in juvenile courts in the United States every year, according to the city report, citing statistics from the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice.
An estimated 65% to 70% of juveniles in the court system have one diagnosable mental health need and 20% to 35% have serious emotional issues, the city report stated.
