[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 101 (Wednesday, July 8, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1664-E1665]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          EARMARK DECLARATION

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 8, 2009

  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican 
Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following 
information regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 2847 
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 
2010.
  Requested by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
  Bill number: H.R. 2487
  Account: Department of Justice, Byrne Discretionary Grants
  Amount: $500,000
  Project: Human Trafficking Initiative
  Requested by: St. Thomas University. 16401 NW 37th Avenue Miami 
Gardens, FL 33054
  St. Thomas University seeks support for an initiative that will 
provide essential educational and training services to law enforcement, 
immigration services, government employees directly involved with 
service providing to trafficking victims, as well as to private 
organizations and individuals as well as to generate

[[Page E1665]]

awareness of this growing problem in the general public. The School of 
Law is committed to human rights dedicated to training the next 
generation of human rights leaders and advocates through its LL.M. and 
J.S.D. Programs in Intercultural Human Rights, and through the direct 
services of the Human Rights Institute.
  A three-week winter academy is proposed to be held annually on the 
STU campus. It will include lectures and training on practical issues 
(such as how to identify victims of human trafficking, how to collect 
data on human trafficking, how to diversify treatment of victims for 
different cultures, laws and relief services available, etc.) 
simulating different agency work governmental and non-governmental, 
with potential visits to pertinent agencies to gain hands on 
experience. The participants interested in receiving a certificate on 
human trafficking will sit for a final exam. In order to increase the 
community outreach goal of the program, a free lecture open to the 
public at large, will be offered that will focus on the local human 
trafficking problem. The last segment of the academy will be a mini-
conference where local and/or national voices, and the best experts in 
the field will be featured.
  Requested by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
  Bill number: H.R. 2487
  Account: Department of Justice, Byrne Discretionary Grants
  Amount: $500,000
  Project: City of Miami Beach Afterschool Gang and Drug Prevention 
Program
  Requested by: City of Miami Beach. 1700 Convention Center Drive Miami 
Beach, FL 33139
  The primary goal of the Teen Club is to prevent and reduce delinquent 
behavior and keep the community's at-risk youth in a positive 
environment to foster personal growth and encourage teens to become 
well-rounded individuals through the accumulation of new skills, 
awareness, and knowledge. Moreover, the program's aim is to promote 
health relationships that facilitate social skill development, decrease 
teen substance and alcohol abuse, and increase quality programming 
offerings that appeal to teenage youth. As a result, the participants 
involved in the Teen Club are less likely to entertain outside and 
detrimental participation in other unsupervised activities, including 
involvement in gangs and/or drugs. Current enrollment figures 
demonstrate more participants return for subsequent years in the 
program.
  Requested by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
  Bill number: H.R. 2487
  Account: Department of Justice, Juvenile Justice
  Amount: $500,000
  Project: ARISE Life-Management Skills Intervention/Re-entry Program 
for High Risk Youth
  Requested by: The ARISE Foundation. 824 US Hwy 1 North Palm Beach, FL 
33408
  ARISE serves approximately facilities in all 23 Florida congressional 
districts, including the Miami Dade Juvenile Detention Center in Miami. 
Over 156,618 hours of Life-Skills lessons have been taught at this 
facility. A recent study by Professor Mark A. Cohen, Vanderbilt 
University, December 2007, demonstrates why it is so important to 
target high-risk youth. Year by Year Costs Imposed by High Risk 
Offenders Cohen shows that the cost of one offender with at least six 
police contacts from childhood to age 32 totals $3,172,998 in 2007 
dollars, In other words, saving one child saves taxpayers more than 3 
million. By comparison, the ARISE program costs $1.70 per hour per 
youth. Stopping the cycle of crime and gang violence by helping this 
population learn the skills necessary to succeed in life is an 
investment in our children and in our communities, with the potential 
to save millions of dollars tomorrow.
  Requested by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
  Bill number: H.R. 2487
  Account: Department of Justice, Juvenile Justice
  Amount: $200,000
  Project: At-Risk Youth and Child Abuse Prevention Program
  Requested by: Ohel Children's Home and Family Services. 4233 Sheridan 
Road Miami Beach, FL 33140.
  This program engages at-risk youth in elementary and high schools to 
enhance their social and emotional functioning, as well as prevent and 
treat risky behaviors, including those that often lead to addictions 
and violence. The program includes school-based services, community 
education, and teacher training. The programs interact with student and 
include the use of role playing, small discussion groups, videos and 
modeling exercises that use current topics of discussion. Training is 
provided for teachers, guidance counselors and principals, and 
workshops for parents emphasize communication with children. Through 
community seminars, Ohel offers public forums for parents, educators, 
and community leaders on topics including self esteem, conflict 
resolution (bullying, anger management, etc.), relationship building 
(social skills training, peer pressure, etc.), and prevention of at-
risk behaviors such as addictions, eating disorders, gambling and 
abuse. This program is a valuable use of taxpayer funds in that it 
prevents at-risk behaviors from spiraling into juvenile delinquency. In 
addition, the program assists children who are the victims of abuse or 
who are confronted with challenging circumstances in their lives so 
that these experiences do not lead to ongoing, destructive behavior. 
Further, the program benefits the federal government by putting at-risk 
kids back on a successful track and thus saving significant federal 
expenditures by keeping them out of the juvenile justice system.

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