“INSIDE GOVERNMENT” TO EXAMINE SHORTCOMINGS AT DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH REHABILITATION SERVICES

The dire need for reform at the District’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS) will be discussed this week on the American Federation of Government Employees’ (AFGE) “Inside Government” radio show. The show will air on Friday, April 2 at 10 a.m. ET nationwide on Federal News Radio at www.federalnewsradio.com and 1500 AM in the Washington, D.C., area. AFGE D.C. government Local 383 President Johnnie Walker, who has worked with juveniles for more than 30 years, most recently at DYRS, will address the critical situation at the overcrowded agency. With more than 800 committed youths at DYRS, Walker will discuss how overpopulation at the agency can lead to increased violence throughout the city. AFGE members from around the country then will highlight their most pressing issues, ranging from D.C. government privatization efforts to inadequate staffing throughout the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Guests include AFGE Environmental Protection Agency Local 3607 President Karen Kellen and Legislative Advocate Dave Christensen, Department of Defense Local 2516 Secretary-Treasurer Susie Peru, and Bureau of Prisons Local 1302 Treasurer Mike Schnobrich. But first, Economic Policy Institute’s Josh Bivens will discuss the new health care legislation and its impact on the economy in the years ahead. Bivens also will address the need to increase job growth before tackling the federal deficit.