department of justice

The problem of illegal marijuana farms on national forests is, pardon the pun, growing. Although marijuana is now legal in California and other parts of the U.S., illegal marijuana growing is still a billion dollar industry with international tentacles.

The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that every year more than 1.7 million teens experience homelessness in the United States.  According to the Coalition for the Homeless, Louisville, Kentucky, had 555 young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 stay in homeless shelters over the past year. When those young adults were surveyed about who they turned to for help in reaching their goals or fulfilling their basic needs, an alarming number replied:

“No one.”

Researchers from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (UKag) are helping this underserved population with the help of a five-year, $660,000 Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) Sustainable Community Projects grant from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

UPDATE 3/12/2014:

USDA is committed to ensuring the integrity and impartiality of the claims process. A neutral, third party has been tasked with overseeing all aspects of the process, including notifications, to make certain that it is fair and equitable.  As we move forward, we’re focused on making sure our programs are more inclusive and accessible than ever to all Americans.

Today is an historic day for USDA.  Working with colleagues at the Department of Justice, we launched a program that provides a path to justice for Hispanic and women farmers who believe they were discriminated against by USDA between 1981 and 2000.  Many of these farmers and ranchers have waited and fought to get relief, but until now their only means of getting their complaints heard was to file an individual case in federal court.  Today we are providing folks with a simpler path that enables them to file a claim for compensation that will be resolved by a neutral party without the involvement of the courts.

Hoy es un día histórico para el Departamento de Agricultura. En colaboración con nuestros colegas en el Departamento de Justicia, hemos iniciado un programa que les ofrece un camino hacia la justicia a agricultores hispanos y mujeres agricultoras quienes consideran fueron objeto de discriminación por el Departamento de Agricultura entre 1981 y el 2000. Muchos de estos agricultores y ganaderos han esperado y luchado para recibir compensación, pero hasta ahora la única manera de que se escucharan sus quejas era presentar una demanda individual ante un tribunal federal. Hoy estamos dándoles a las personas una vía más simple que les permite presentar una reclamación para recibir compensación, que será resuelta por una parte neutral sin participación de las cortes.