Victory! In February 2022, the Urban Peace Institute proposed and passed an amendment to remove all funding from Los Angeles County School Based Probation. Instead, $4M will now support youth to achieve their dreams. Breaking the school to prison pipeline, this funding will now be redirected to the Ready to Rise, a public-private partnership for countywide youth development.

For over a decade, school-based probation received the lion’s share of Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act dollars—$11.6 million annually—despite a dramatic decline in youth involved with the justice system. By exposing the harmful practice of school-based “voluntary” probation, the Urban Peace Institute has progressively diverted funds from school-based probation to support youth development. This is how the Ready to Rise partnership was made possible in 2019. Since then, Ready to Rise has received over $38 million in grant-making and capacity-building funds. It has proven to be an essential investment for thousands of LA County youth.