The Youth PROMISE (Prison Reduction through Opportunities, Mentoring, Intervention, Support and Education) Act addresses the root causes of crime, delinquency, and gang violence by providing community resources to break the cradle to prison pipeline.

After decades of reliance on incarceration, there are currently 2.2 million people in federal and state prisons in the United States. Many of these inmates are young, non-violent offenders and youth-of-color.

The Youth PROMISE Act is "feel good" legislation - broadly supported, scientifically sound, and nearly guaranteed to reduce the prison population by providing mentorship and alternatives to crime for our most needy young Americans.

The bill has broad bipartisan support, with 235 co-sponsors— over half the House—seeking to increase funding for youth violence prevention and intervention programs.

However, the Senate version of the Bill, introduced by Olympia Snowe (ME) and Robert Casey (PA) in 2009, has attracted only 14 co-sponsors.

Write your Senator to ask for their co-sponsorship of the Youth PROMISE Act right now!