Broke youth anti-crime groups want federal cash

By THOMAS WATKINS Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A $1.6 billion congressional bailout of sorts could help struggling groups that fight to keep young people out of trouble, yet lawmakers are reluctant to take up the expensive proposal.

The Youth Promise Act would dole out the money to organizations nationwide that can show their programs are effective. One of the groups that wants the bill to pass is Homeboy Industries, a gang rehabilitation center in Los Angeles founded in 2001 under the motto "Nothing stops a bullet like a job."

The group recently had to lay off more than 300 of his 427 workers, most of them former gang members, when expected revenues plummeted.

The recession has hit other crime prevention groups hard and left some wondering how they will survive.