About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


HEHS-99-88R 1 (1999-03-30)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacmxr0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAO~ United States General Accounting Office Washington, D.C. 20548 Health, Education, and Human Services Division B-282366 March 30, 1999 The Honorable Jeff Sessions Chairman, Subcommittee on Youth Violence Cornrittee on the Judiciary United States Senate Subject: At-Risk and Delinquent Youths: Fiscal Year 1998 Programs Dear Mr. Chairman: Over the years, the Congress has passed legislation creating numerous federal programs to address the needs of at-risk and delinquent youths as well as other populations.' These programs provide such diverse services as substance abuse prevention, violence prevention, and job training, and they target a wide range of youths, including abused and neglected youths, drug and alcohol abusers, delinquents, victims of crime, and runaway and homeless youths.! In 1997 testimony, we reported that 15 federal departments and agencies administered 127 programs targeted to at-risk and delinquent youths with appropriations that we estimated to total more than $4.3 billion in fiscal year 1996! To follow up our 1997 testimony, you asked us for updated information on (1) the number of federal programs that served at-risk or delinquent youths in fiscal year 1998, (2) the amount of fiscal year 1998 appropriations dedicated toward youths in these programs, and (3) the services these programs provided. To answer your request, we contacted officials at various federal agencies to obtain fiscal year 1998 program and appropriations data for programs that served at- risk or delinquent youths. As agreed with your office, we did not verify the agency officials' estimates of the number of programs, the fiscal year 1998 appropriations, and the type of services the programs provided. 'The term at risk can have different meanings in different contexts. We are using the term in a broad sense to refer to youths who, because of certain characteristics or experiences, are in the future statistically more likely than other youths to encounter legal, social, financial, educational, emotional, and health problems. 2For definitions of program services and activities discussed in this correspondence, see enclosure I. Enclosure I describes the federal programs for at-risk and delinquent youths funded in fiscal year 1998. 3See At-Risk and Delinquent Youth: Multiple Programs Lack Coordinated Federal Effort (GAOtr-HEHS- 98-38, Nov. 5, 1997). Also see At Risk and Delinquent Youth: Fiscal Year 1996 Programs (GAO/HEHS- 97-211R, Sept. 2, 1997). GAO/HEHS-99-88R At-Risk and Delinquent Youths