July 23, 2013
Dear Senator:
On behalf of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in the United States, I thank and comment Senator Mary
Landrieu (D-LA) and Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) for introducing S. 1307, the Youth Prison Reduction
through Opportunities, Mentoring, Intervention, Support, and Education (PROMISE) Act. We urge you to
follow the moral leadership Senator Landrieu and Senator Inhofe demonstrated in introducing this
legislation that conforms to core principles of our Catholic faith and represents good public policy. The
U.S. Catholic Bishops stated in their 2000 pastoral letter Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration:
A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice, that:
Subsidiarity calls for problem-solving initially at the community level: family, neighborhood,
city, state. It is only when problems become too large or the common good is threatened that
larger institutions are required to help. This principle encourages communities to be more
involved. Criminal activity is largely a local issue and, to the extent possible, should have local
solutions.
Many of our Jesuit ministries labor to break the cycle of poverty, trauma, and violence, and work to
support and reintegrate young men and women by using innovative local solutions such as job training,
tattoo removal, psycho-social support, education, and social entrepreneurship. We have found that youth
violence is often a phenomenon symptomatic of endemic poverty and the over-reliance on reactive
incarceration-only techniques to address youth violence. Through our experiences, we have come to
understand the importance of comprehensive community-based solutions to address youth violence and
delinquency.
The Youth PROMISE Act provides grants to communities facing high levels of juvenile delinquency and
allows them to develop local evidence-based approaches through the formation of local boards that
include representatives from law enforcement, community-based organizations, schools, faith
organizations, health and social services, and mental health providers. To ensure the effective use of
funding, grant recipients must demonstrate through evidence-based research that their programming helps
to reduce violence and juvenile delinquency in their communities.
In addition to making grants available for innovative and often under-funded local initiatives, this
legislation provides for the hiring and training of youth oriented police officers to help stem juvenile
delinquency and criminal street gang activity in a manner consistent with contemporary research. The Act
also builds on local strengths by partnering with colleges and universities and establishing a National
Research Center for Proven Juvenile Justice Practices. Finally, the Act creates an average cost benefit of
five dollars for every one dollar invested in juvenile delinquency prevention and intervention.
Base on our firsthand experience, we believe the Youth PROMISE Act makes both fiscal and moral
sense. It provides for creative preventative measures to reduce juvenile delinquency. As a community of
faith committed to fixing a broke juvenile justice system, we urge you to support the Youth PROMISE
Act.
Please see the attached list of Jesuit ministries that serve at-risk youth.
Sincerely,
Rev. Thomas P. Greene, SJ
Secretary for Social and International Ministries
U.S. Jesuit Conference
ALABAMA
Holy Family Cristo Rey High School
CALIFORNIA
Center for Juvenile law & Policy at Loyola
Marymount University Law School
Criminal and Juvenile Justice Law Clinic at the
University of San Francisco
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School
Homeboy Industries
Jesuit Restorative Justice Initiative
Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores Mission
Sacred Heart Nativity School
Verbum Dei High School
MASSACHUSETTS
Juvenile Rights Advocacy Project at Boston
College Law School
Nativity Preparatory School of Boston
Nativity School of Worcester
MINNESOTA
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School- Twin Cities
MISSOURI
Loyola Academy of St. Louis
St. Matthew Parish- Revitalization 2000
NEBRASKA
Jesuit Academy
COLORADO
Arrupe Jesuit High School
NEW JERSEY
Hopeworks N’ Camden
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Georgetown University Law Center, Juvenile
Justice Clinic
Washington Jesuit Academy
NEW YORK
Brooklyn Jesuit Prep
Nativity Mission Center
St. Ignatius School
ILLNOIS
Chicago Jesuit Academy
Christ the King Jesuit College Preparatory
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School-Chicago
OHIO
Claver Jesuit Ministries
LOUISIANA
Boys Hope/Girls Hope
Good Shepherd Nativity School
Jesuit Social Research Institute
Reconcile New Orleans, Inc.
Thensted Center
Twomey Center for Peace through Justice
MARYLAND
Cristo Rey High School-Baltimore
St. Ignatius Loyola Academy
OREGON
St. Andrew Nativity School
SOUTH DAKOTA
Red Cloud Indian School
St. Francis Mission- Rosebud
TEXAS
Cristo Rey Jesuit Prep- Houston
WISCONSIN
Nativity Jesuit Middle School
Restorative Justice Initiative at Marquette
University Law School