Leahy Secures Funds To Help Vermont’s Local Court Diversion Programs Cope With Underage Drinking Cases

May 24, 2000

(WED., MAY 24, 2000) -- Sen. Patrick Leahy today announced that Vermont has garnered a new federal grant of $200,000 to help local court diversion programs cope with rising workloads in combating underage drinking.

The funds come from the Justice Department’s Juvenile Justice and Delinquency discretionary grant program. Leahy reserved the funds for Vermont in this year’s appropriations bill for the department. Leahy is a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, which wrote the bill, and he is the Democratic leader of the Judiciary Committee, which created the grant program. The agency today notified Leahy that it is releasing the funds to the Vermont Association of Court Diversion Programs.

“These funds will help Vermont tackle underage drinking by cutting the case backlog and by strengthening local flexibility,” said Leahy.