In the works right now and getting readied for the legislation are cuts of 30% of the Oregon Youth Authority budget. The Oregon Youth Authority is a part of our state government that tries to hold youth offenders accountable for their actions; it covers foster care, mental health and facilities for youth that have committed crimes.
Some of the things that have been proposed are the closure of 225 out of 925 of close custody beds; reduce community capacity by 120 community beds (50 residential and 70 foster care), reduce payments to counties by 17 percent (JCP Basic and Diversion) and a reduction of 27% for Multnomah gang funding.
What’s going to happen to these kids once these cuts take place is something that we all must ponder.

Who: The Oregon Youth Authority.
What: OYA is looking at doing budget cuts.
Where: OYA at the legislation committee
When: Soon
Why: Budget cuts are reaching far and wide and there is a need to cut spending.
How: The OYA is coming up with a plan to cut spending.