The Jacksonville Journey Forward board will send a proposed $3.33 million budget to Mayor Donna Deegan’s office to promote early literacy, provide job training for incarcerated people returning to society and gang prevention programming for its first full year of services.
The Journey Forward board made the budgetary suggestion during its monthly meeting Thursday afternoon. The total amount Journey Forward will receive for its 2025-26 fiscal year will not be known until City Council conducts budget hearings in August and finalizes the city budget in September.
Journey Forward’s proposal includes:
- $1 million to rebuild the Jacksonville Re-Entry Center programming by providing housing assistance, job training and mental health services for people who are returning to society after incarceration. These dollars would also track recidivism over multiple periods to test the effectiveness of the programming.
- $700,000 to support the Florida Institute of Education’s early learning work at elementary schools and early learning centers on the Westside.
- $300,000 for the Jacksonville Parks and Recreation Department to strengthen and expand its summertime services.
- $300,000 for health and substance abuse assessments for juveniles who encounter the criminal justice system. These dollars would also provide services to help children complete the sentencing requirements needed for record expungement.
- $300,000 to help collaboration between Duval County Public Schools, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office to reduce chronic absenteeism.
In the 2023-24 academic year, 30.5% of students in Duval County missed at least 21 days of school. According to the Florida Department of Education, Duval’s percentage was far higher than the statewide average of 19.9%, and higher than the chronic absenteeism percentage of other large, urban school districts in the state…