A D.C. Council member introduced a package of bills Tuesday aimed at preventing youth crime in three ways: job opportunities, mentorship and student attendance.
The “Safer Today, Safer Tomorrow” bills were championed by at-large Council member Robert White as a way for the District to tackle increasing crime. This announcement follows the D.C. Council giving initial approval to a sweeping crime bill in early February.
“Addressing crime will never happen with one bill. It won't happen with one approach. We need prevention, we need response and we need interventions," White said.
The three bills are the Vocational Education for a New Generation Act, a Youth Mentorship Bill and a bill focused on transparency with student truancy.
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Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Expand career and technical education setting up high school students for jobs right after they graduate by requiring programs to provide industry certifications.
- Pair students with paid, professional mentors – not volunteers – at least three times a week.
- Focus on truancy by requiring the State Superintendent of Education to post monthly attendance numbers for every D.C. school.
The Vocational Education for a New Generation Act would expand career and technical education in vocations or trades for high school students. It would require any program that receives certain funding from the state superintendent to result in an industry certification.
This would help high school students enter the job market upon graduation and provide similar opportunities for adult learners.
The Youth Mentorship bill would pair youth who have faced adverse childhood experiences with a paid, professional mentor trained in crisis response – meeting at least three times a week. This bill would also establish community service leave for District government employees to be volunteer mentors.
The third bill would require D.C.’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education to post attendance data monthly by school on their website. Currently, a yearly truancy report is posted at the end of the school year.
White said that is too late for intervention. He believes chronic truancy is a risk factor for involvement in the criminal justice system.
When drafting these bills White said he repeatedly heard from young people that they don’t have opportunities and need to make money.
“When they are in high school, 10th, 11th grade and $60, $70, $80,000 is within reach, we're going to catch a lot more of those students who don't plan to go to college," White said. "But these programs, we're tracking metrics. How many kids are being placed; how are they doing in school?"
Before the bills become laws, they will need to be referred to a committee, voted on by the full council and signed by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. This process could take several months.
