I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1786

To provide grants to assist State and local prosecutors and law enforcement 

agencies with implementing juvenile and young adult witness assistance 

programs that minimize additional trauma to the witness and improve 

the chances of successful criminal prosecution or legal action. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 11, 2003

Mr. CAPUANO (for himself, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. HOLT, Mr. 

PASCRELL, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. SANDLIN, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. MCNULTY, and Mr. MCDERMOTT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL

To provide grants to assist State and local prosecutors and 

law enforcement agencies with implementing juvenile and 

young adult witness assistance programs that minimize 

additional trauma to the witness and improve the 

chances of successful criminal prosecution or legal action.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Young Witness Assist5 ance Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Witness and victim intimidation at the juve4 nile and young adult level is a serious, growing con5 cern for State and local prosecutors and law enforce6 ment agencies. 

7 (2) Each year, thousands of young people wit8 ness violent crimes such as assaults, robbery, homi9 cide, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. 

10 (3) In many cases, the lack of juvenile and 

11 young adult witness participation has seriously im12 peded efforts to bring violent perpetrators to justice. 

13 (4) Prosecutors and police officers have become 

14 increasingly frustrated by their inability to prosecute 

15 cases successfully when young witnesses refuse to 

16 testify because they fear retaliation by the defend17 ant, or the defendant’s family or friends. 

18 (5) Factors that contribute to the reluctance of 

19 young witnesses to step forward include—

20 (A) the fear and trauma associated with 

21 witnessing a violent crime; 

22 (B) a personal connection with the perpe23 trator or their associates; 

24 (C) geographic proximity to the perpe25 trator; and 
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1 (D) membership in a culturally vulnerable 

2 group. 

3 (6) The cooperation and participation of young 

4 victims and witnesses in the criminal justice process, 

5 from crime reporting through prosecution, are essen6 tial to the successful operation of the criminal jus7 tice system. 

8 (7) Though most States have witness assistance 

9 programs, very few, if any, have adequate resources 

10 to address the unique needs associated with juvenile 

11 and young adult witnesses. 

12 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to encour13 age and promote the creation and development of policies 

14 and programs by State and local prosecutors and law en15 forcement authorities that provide assistance to juvenile 

16 and young adult witnesses who cooperate with efforts to 

17 bring violent criminals to justice. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 For purposes of this Act: 

20 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

21 the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance. 

22 (2) JUVENILE.—The term ‘‘juvenile’’ means an 

23 individual who is 17 years of age or younger. 
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1 (3) YOUNG ADULT.—The term ‘‘young adult’’ 

2 means an individual who is between the ages of 18 

3 and 21. 

4 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 

5 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

6 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is7 lands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern 

8 Mariana Islands. 

9 SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION. 

10 The Director may make grants to State and local 

11 prosecutors and law enforcement agencies in support of 

12 juvenile and young adult witness assistance programs, in13 cluding State and local prosecutors and law enforcement 

14 agencies that have existing juvenile and adult witness as15 sistance programs. 

16 SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY. 

17 To be eligible to receive a grant under this Act, State 

18 and local prosecutors and law enforcement officials shall—

19 (1) submit an application to the Director in 

20 such form and containing such information as the 

21 Director may reasonably require; and 

22 (2) give assurances that each applicant has de23 veloped, or is in the process of developing, a witness 

24 assistance program that specifically targets the 
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1 unique needs of juvenile and young adult witnesses 

2 and their families. 

3 SEC. 6. USE OF FUNDS. 

4 Grants made available under this Act may be used—

5 (1) to assess the needs of juvenile and young 

6 adult witnesses; 

7 (2) to develop appropriate program goals and 

8 objectives; and 

9 (3) to develop and administer a variety of wit10 ness assistance services, which includes—

11 (A) counseling services to young witnesses 

12 dealing with trauma associated in witnessing a 

13 violent crime; 

14 (B) pre- and post-trial assistance for the 

15 youth and their family; 

16 (C) providing education services if the 

17 child is removed from or changes their school 

18 for safety concerns; 

19 (D) protective services for young witnesses 

20 and their families when a serious threat of 

21 harm from the perpetrators or their associates 

22 is made; and 

23 (E) community outreach and school-based 

24 initiatives that stimulate and maintain public 

25 awareness and support. 
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1 SEC. 7. REPORTS. 

2 (a) REPORT.—State and local prosecutors and law 

3 enforcement agencies that receive funds under this Act 

4 shall submit to the Director a report not later than May 

5 1st of each year in which grants are made available under 

6 this Act. Reports shall describe progress achieved in car7 rying out the purpose of this Act. 

8 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Director shall sub9 mit to Congress a report by July 1st of each year which 

10 contains a detailed statement regarding grant awards, ac11 tivities of grant recipients, a compilation of statistical in12 formation submitted by applicants, and an evaluation of 

13 programs established under this Act. 

14 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

16 this Act $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004, 2005, 

17 and 2006.

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