I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3783 

To provide definitions of terms and services related to community-based 

gang intervention to ensure that funding for such intervention is utilized 

in a cost-effective manner and that community-based agencies are held 

accountable for providing holistic, integrated intervention services, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 21, 2015 

Mr. CA ́RDENAS (for himself, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 

GUTIE ́RREZ, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New 

Mexico, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. 

RUSH, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. 

VARGAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To provide definitions of terms and services related to community-based gang intervention to ensure that funding 

for such intervention is utilized in a cost-effective manner 

and that community-based agencies are held accountable 

for providing holistic, integrated intervention services, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community-Based 

3 Gang Intervention Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 

6 (1) For the first time in the history of the 

7 United States, more than one in every 100 adults is 

8 incarcerated. 

9 (2) The United States incarcerates more people 

10 than any other country in the world, with more than 

11 2,200,000 people behind bars and another 5,000,000 

12 people on probation or parole. 

13 (3) The United States has only 5 percent of the 

14 world’s population, but 25 percent of the world’s 

15 prisoners. 

16 (4) In 2007, the Federal Government spent 

17 $19,617,000,000 on police protection, corrections, 

18 and judicial and legal services, representing a 286- 

19 percent increase since 1982. This included a 475- 

20 percent increase for corrections and a 287-percent 

21 increase for police protection. 

22 (5) The growing prison system is also impact23 ing State budgets, with total State spending on in24 carceration topping $53,000,000,000 in 2012, up 

25 from $10,000,000,000 in 1987. 


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1 (6) With increased prison costs, vital social pro2 grams and services such as education, job creation, 

3 housing, and healthcare are being cut or eliminated 

4 to maintain the prison industry. 

5 (7) Between 1987 and 2007, the amount States 

6 spent on corrections increased 127 percent, while the 

7 increase in higher education spending was only 21 

8 percent. 

9 (8) Over the past 10 years, the State of Califor10 nia’s general fund expenditures for higher education 

11 have fallen 9 percent, while general fund expendi12 tures for corrections and rehabilitation have in13 creased 26 percent. 

14 (9) The State of California has the second larg15 est prison population in the Nation with 165,062 

16 prisoners under the jurisdiction of State or Federal 

17 correctional authorities in 2010. 

18 (10) According to one study, there are now 6 

19 times as many gangs and at least twice the number 

20 of gang members in Los Angeles since the start of 

21 the 30-year ‘‘war on gangs’’. 

22 (11) The city and county of Los Angeles have 

23 been dubbed the ‘‘gang capital’’ of the Nation with 

24 an estimated 463 gangs and 38,974 gang members 


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1 in the city, and more than 1,300 gangs and 150,000 

2 gang members in the county. 

3 (12) According to the Office of Juvenile Justice 

4 and Delinquency Prevention, allowing 1 youth to 

5 leave school for a life of crime and drug abuse costs 

6 society between $1,700,000 and $2,300,000. 

7 (13) In the State of California, the average an8 nual cost per inmate is $47,421 for an adult inmate, 

9 and $218,000 for a youth inmate. 

10 (14) The most recent data on overall State 

11 spending on juvenile justice programs reveals that in 

12 1998, States spent nearly $4,200,000,000 on juve13 nile justice related programs, which was a 65-per14 cent increase from fiscal year 1994. Of those ex15 penditures, 67 percent went towards residential 

16 placements, while only 8.4 percent went towards de17 linquency prevention. 

18 (15) Gang and youth violence substantially de19 creases when governments address the root causes of 

20 gang violence and adequately fund community-based 

21 programs and practices. 

22 (16) Studies continue to prove that community23 based gang intervention provides long-lasting, cost24 effective results and opportunities for the youth and 

25 families most susceptible to gang violence. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con2 gress that, in developing a comprehensive violence reduc3 tion strategy, the United States should acknowledge and 

4 address larger, entrenched social conditions and issues 

5 such as poverty, homelessness, inadequate educational sys6 tems, and limited economic opportunities that give rise to 

7 gangs and gang violence. 

8 TITLE I—COMMUNITY-BASED 

9 GANG INTERVENTION AGENCIES 

10 SEC. 101. COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION AGEN11 CIES. 

12 The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act 

13 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.) is amended by adding 

14 at the end the following new title: 

15 ‘‘TITLE VI—COMMUNITY-BASED 

16 GANG INTERVENTION GRANTS 

17 ‘‘SEC. 601. PURPOSE. 

18 ‘‘The purpose of this title is to offer holistic and com19 prehensive support for the variety of community-based 

20 gang intervention activities that focus on and engage ac21 tive and former gang members, their close associates, and 

22 gang members in and returning from confinement. Gang23 involved youth and their families require specialized inten24 sive and comprehensive services that address the unique 

25 issues encountered by youth when they become involved 


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1 with gangs. Community-based gang intervention involves 

2 proactive and reactive responses to gang activities on sev3 eral levels, including— 

4 ‘‘(1) the regional level, to promote and coordi5 nate peace truces and cease-fires between groups; 

6 ‘‘(2) the State and local level, including commu7 nity and the juvenile halls, camps, Division of Juve8 nile Justice facilities, county jails, and State prisons; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(3) the neighborhood and street level, includ11 ing with active gang members individually. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 602. SUPPORT OF COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTER13 VENTION AGENCIES. 

14 ‘‘(a) SUPPORT OF COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTER15 VENTION AGENCIES.—Subject to the availability of appro16 priations, the Administrator shall award grants to eligible 

17 entities to carry out the activities described in subsection 

18 (c). 

19 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For the purposes of this 

20 section, an ‘eligible entity’ means a community-based gang 

21 intervention agency that is a nonprofit organization with 

22 a proven track record and expertise in providing commu23 nity-based gang intervention activities through a commu24 nity-based gang intervention model. 


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1 ‘‘(c) GRANT ACTIVITIES.—Each entity awarded a 

2 grant under this section shall carry out the following ac3 tivities: 

4 ‘‘(1) Conduct street mediation by working with 

5 gang members and persons with influence over such 

6 member to defuse and de-escalate potential and ac7 tual violence internally between gang members and 

8 between rival gangs. 

9 ‘‘(2) Develop local and regional truces by cre10 ating cease-fires or nonaggression agreements be11 tween rival gangs and neighborhoods. 

12 ‘‘(3) Serve as conduits who facilitate constant 

13 dialogue and maintenance between gangs and neigh14 borhoods. 

15 ‘‘(4) Provide services that respond to the high 

16 levels of anxiety experienced by gang members to de17 compress critical situations due to traumatic events. 

18 ‘‘(5) Provide 24-hour, 7-day-a-week crisis inter19 vention services by responding to requests for vio20 lence prevention services made by gang members, 

21 the families of gang members, school officials, inter22 vention workers, social service agencies, or law en23 forcement. 


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1 ‘‘(6) Provide targeted training and technical as2 sistance to violence-plagued communities after a 

3 major gang-related incident. 

4 ‘‘(7) Facilitate the development of a community 

5 response plan, including training protocols, situa6 tional scene scenarios, and emergency response. 

7 ‘‘(8) Make a reasonable effort to prevent gang8 related rumors from intensifying tension between 

9 gangs or igniting violent responses by gangs. 

10 ‘‘(9) Establish relationships with community 

11 stakeholders to inform and engage them in quality12 of-life activities that enhance intervention activities. 

13 ‘‘(10) Serve as intervention representatives in 

14 communities by attending local meetings involving 

15 nonprofit organizations, schools, faith-based organi16 zations, and other entities. 

17 ‘‘(11) Develop conflict resolution skills and 

18 techniques to address and resolve community con19 cerns related to gang activity in order to improve the 

20 quality of life within neighborhoods. 

21 ‘‘(12) Work with schools to respond to gang-re22 lated issues and crises both in and outside of school. 

23 ‘‘(13) Provide support services for youth and 

24 families affected by gang violence and other victims 

25 of gang violence (including any individual who is 


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1 physically, emotionally, financially, or otherwise 

2 harmed by criminal activity, and those affected by 

3 harm done to or by a family member), which may 

4 include— 

5 ‘‘(A) advocating for public sector and pri6 vate sector assistance and services; 

7 ‘‘(B) grief counseling; and 

8 ‘‘(C) referrals to treatment and rehabilita9 tion for cognitive, mental, emotional, physical, 

10 or financial injury, loss, or suffering. 

11 ‘‘(14) Provide comprehensive mental health 

12 services to youth and families affected by gang vio13 lence or involvement, including— 

14 ‘‘(A) integrated services comprised of indi15 vidual, family, and group therapy modalities, 

16 and psychological education provided through 

17 youth and parent training programs; and 

18 ‘‘(B) gang-responsive services including 

19 skills training, assessing and servicing youth 

20 with developmental disabilities, behavioral modi21 fication, and services to address substance use 

22 and abuse, anger management, emotional regu23 lation, traumatic stress, family violence, depres24 sion, suicide, anxiety, and educational problems. 


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1 ‘‘(15) Provide public and private sector career 

2 job training, development, and placement, includ3 ing— 

4 ‘‘(A) job-finding and job-maintaining skills, 

5 including skills related to resume writing, inter6 viewing, workplace decorum, interpersonal com7 munication, and problem-solving; 

8 ‘‘(B) information about legal rights in the 

9 workplace; and 

10 ‘‘(C) financial literacy. 

11 ‘‘(16) Assist with substance use and abuse 

12 treatment, domestic violence victims, and voluntary 

13 tattoo removal of markings on the body related to 

14 gang involvement. 

15 ‘‘(d) AVAILABILITY OF VICTIMS ASSISTANCE.—An 

16 entity awarded a grant under this section that provides 

17 victim assistance under paragraph (13) of subsection (c) 

18 shall not discriminate in the provision of such assistance 

19 to an individual based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual 

20 orientation, socioeconomic level, or past record. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 603. DEFINITIONS. 

22 ‘‘In this title: 

23 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY.—Notwithstanding the defini24 tion of ‘community based’ in section 103, the term 


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1 ‘community’ means a unit of local government or an 

2 Indian Tribe. 

3 ‘‘(2) COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION

4 AGENCY.—The term ‘community-based gang inter5 vention agency’ means a community-based organiza6 tion, association, or other entity that— 

7 ‘‘(A) promotes public safety, with the spe8 cific objective of reducing and stopping gang-re9 lated and gang-motivated violence and crime; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) has a history of, or experience or spe12 cific training in, effectively working with gang13 involved youth and their families. 

14 ‘‘(3) COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION

15 MODEL.—The term ‘community-based gang inter16 vention model’ means a holistic and comprehensive 

17 approach to reducing gang violence that utilizes the 

18 two-prong approach of community-based intervention 

19 and an integrated approach of providing rehabilita20 tive service delivery to gang-involved youth that— 

21 ‘‘(A) deploys specialists in community22 based gang intervention who are trained to uti23 lize the two-prong approach of community24 based gang intervention and who intercede, 

25 interact, and participate with and in the comVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:04 Oct 22, 2015 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3783.IH H3783

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1 munity to quell rumors, prevent and mediate 

2 conflicts, and respond to crises related to gang 

3 activity and violence; 

4 ‘‘(B) delivers rehabilitative services to 

5 gang-involved individuals and families; and 

6 ‘‘(C) addresses the barriers that gang-in7 volved youth and their families encounter and 

8 the societal factors that promote gang violence. 

9 ‘‘(4) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘evidence10 based’, when used with respect to a practice relating 

11 to gang activity prevention and intervention (includ12 ing community-based gang intervention), means a 

13 practice (including a service, program, or strategy) 

14 that has statistically significant outcomes that in15 clude a reduction in gang-related violence and an in16 creased number of youth in job development, recre17 ation, arts-based activities, or faith-based activities. 

18 Such outcomes may be determined by— 

19 ‘‘(A) an experimental trial, in which par20 ticipants are randomly assigned to participate 

21 in the practice that is the subject of the trial; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(B) a quasi-experimental trial, in which 

24 the outcomes for participants are compared 

25 with outcomes for a control group that is made 


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1 up of individuals who are similar to such par2 ticipants. 

3 ‘‘(5) GANG.—The term ‘gang’ means a group of 

4 individuals— 

5 ‘‘(A) organized by geography, culture, or 

6 activity; 

7 ‘‘(B) that have a group name, and may 

8 have other identifying characteristics of the 

9 group such as colors and nicknames; and 

10 ‘‘(C) who engage in the use of violence to 

11 defend the members or territory of the group. 

12 ‘‘(6) PROMISING.—The term ‘promising’, when 

13 used with respect to a practice relating to commu14 nity-based gang intervention, means a practice that 

15 is not evidence-based, but— 

16 ‘‘(A) that has outcomes from an evaluation 

17 that demonstrate that such practice reduces 

18 gang-related violence and crime; or 

19 ‘‘(B) about which a study is being con20 ducted to determine if such practice is evidence21 based. 

22 ‘‘(7) YOUTH.—The term ‘youth’ means— 

23 ‘‘(A) an individual who is 18 years of age 

24 or younger; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) in any State in which the maximum 

2 age at which the juvenile justice system of such 

3 State has jurisdiction over individuals exceeds 

4 18 years of age, an individual who is such max5 imum age or younger.’’. 

6 TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE 

7 OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUS8 TICE AND DELINQUENCY 

9 PREVENTION 

10 SEC. 201. DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTER11 VENTION. 

12 Section 103 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

13 Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5603) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘except when 

15 used in title VI,’’ before ‘‘the term’’; 

16 (2) in paragraph (28), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

17 the semicolon; 

18 (3) in paragraph (29), by striking the period at 

19 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

20 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

21 paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(30) except when used as part of the term 

23 ‘community-based gang intervention agency’ or 

24 ‘community-based gang intervention model’, the 

25 term ‘community-based gang intervention’ means a 


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1 two-prong approach to reducing gang violence 

2 that— 

3 ‘‘(A) provides specialized, gang-specific me4 diation and mitigation to stop or prevent vio5 lence by, within, and between gangs; and 

6 ‘‘(B) provides the redirection of individual 

7 gang members and their families through 

8 proactive efforts that increase peace and safety 

9 for gang members, their families, and their 

10 communities.’’. 

11 SEC. 202. COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION REP12 RESENTATIVE TO STATE ADVISORY BOARDS. 

13 Section 223(a)(3)(ii) of the Juvenile Justice and De14 linquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

15 5633(a)(3)(ii)) is amended— 

16 (1) in subclause (III), by inserting ‘‘, or com17 munity-based gang intervention’’ after ‘‘delinquency 

18 prevention or treatment’’; and 

19 (2) in subclause (IV), by inserting ‘‘community20 based gang intervention,’’ after ‘‘prevention and 

21 treatment,’’. 

22 SEC. 203. GRANTS FOR DELINQUENCY PREVENTION PRO23 GRAMS. 

24 Section 504 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

25 Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5783) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (7) and 

3 (8) as paragraphs (8) and (9), respectively; and 

4 (B) by inserting after paragraph (6) the 

5 following new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(7) community-based gang intervention and 

7 gang prevention activities;’’; and 

8 (2) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting ‘‘and com9 munity-based gang intervention’’ before ‘‘activities;’’. 

Æ 


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