Congressman Sanford D. Bishop Jr. announced June 18 that the House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2010 Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) Appropriations bill which includes $1.5 million in funding for Southwest Georgia, Bishop’s Press Secretary Jennie Gibson, stated in a news release.

“As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I constantly look for ways to help Southwest Georgia become a better place to live, work and raise a family,” Bishop said. “The CJS Appropriations bill funds important programs that provide critical support to our local law enforcement agencies and family support services.”

One local group, the Southwest Georgia Humanitarian Rural Outreach, was nominated to receive $75,000.

According to Gibson, the outreach program was approved for funding to provide after-school and summer programs for at-risk youth, including migrant children and their families in Decatur County and surrounding areas. Activities proposed included community support, tutoring and academic support, career counseling, cultural enrichment activities, health care screenings and other family-related services.

Gibson also said the program was approved last year for fiscal year 2009 funding in the amount of $75,000—which she said is currently being processed by the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice.

“This process can typically take upwards of a couple of months or more, particularly if the organization is a new grantee,” said Gibson. “Additionally, funding was approved in the House CJS bill for fiscal year 2010, however, action is still pending in the Senate and a final bill must ultimately be signed by the President of the United States.”

The outreach program has not yet received the $75,000 check due to the amount of paperwork they still must fill out, said outreach program representative Liz Tomlin. She differed comment on the specifics of the funding usage for the program until a later date.

“We know what we want to do with the money, it’s what we’ve been doing for years. We just don’t have the check in hand yet,” said Tomlin.