California legislative bills, including this one, are frequently amended as the move through the committee process. Provide leadership and improve coordination of violence prevention programs now scattered among ten different state agencies. Youth violence remains a major public health problem. Though rates of arrest for youth violence have declined nearly 10 percent since 1990, youth victimization rates remain unacceptably high. Between 1985 and 1994, for example, the homicide victimization rate for individuals under age 18 rose 61 percent, while the rate of homicide victimization for individuals 40 and older declined by 25 percent.
Voters rate youth violence as the top local concern.
Despite declines in juvenile violent arrest rates, youth violence remains a major concern of citizens and voters. Approaching increase in the at-risk youth population. There is a significant need to plan and implement effective violence prevention strategies at the community level prior to this looming increase in California's at-risk population of teenagers. State spending for prevention lags far behind spending for corrections. The Authority would be charged with reviewing the adequacy of funding for prevention programs.