On April 5 Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), chair of the House Budget Committee, released a budget designed by himself which will be used as a significant guidepost for what the House will work from to craft a budget for Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12).
More on that later, since the budget for Fiscal Year 2011 (FY11) has yet to be determined even though we have already lived through more than half of that fiscal year.
When we look at what the budget means for criminal justice, we do so with an eye for what it could mean for downsizing the system. It’s one of the places we actually hope to see some smart restructuring and cutting.
Cutting the budget for prison growth can help increase more restorative practices. It makes fiscal sense, and smart alternatives to incarceration have the ability to meet the needs of victims and restore individuals to their communities.
Unfortunately, this is not the budget outlook we see. The President’s request for FY12 would increase the funding for the Bureau of Prisons (supporting a policy of incarceration rather than effective alternatives). If cuts happen at the level of request from the House of Representatives, programs for the reintegration of ex-offenders and mentoring children of incarcerated parents will be eliminated.
Since 1980 the criminal justice system has grown from 24.000 people housed to 210,000 incarcerated. During the same time, costs have increased from $333 million to $6 billion. That’s a 700% increase in population and 1700% increase in spending.
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The work of the church often highlights the depravity of government policy. I found this to be particularly true in this Mennonite Weekly Review article about New Horizons, a women’s prison ministry associated with Skyline Mennonite Church in Canon City, Colorado. In short, the ministry offers volunteer nanny services for children of incarcerated mothers.
Posted by Christina Warner 
