The Congress Project

Through the Congress Project, CCLP works closely with juvenile justice advocates, as well as members of Congress and their staffs, to advance the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), which is due to expire in the fall of 2007.

Mark Soler, CCLP’s Executive Director, was one of the original founders of the National Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention Coalition (NJJDP Coalition). CCLP, along with the Child Welfare League of America, currently serves as co-chair of the Coalition. The Coalition was originally formed to serve as a forum for juvenile justice advocates to meet with public officials, researchers, and other experts to discuss current issues. Since then it has expanded to include over 100 local, state, and national organizations and meets monthly to discuss and take action when necessary on all juvenile justice-related federal legislation.

The overall goal of the Congress Project is to ensure reauthorization of the JJDPA in the current Congress and continued protection of children and youth in the juvenile justice system.