I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1873 

To amend the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 

with respect to juveniles who have committed offenses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2009 

Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut (for himself, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Ms. DELAURO, and Mr. HIMES) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 

Act of 1974 with respect to juveniles who have committed offenses, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Juvenile Justice Im5 provement Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 103 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

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


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
2 

•HR 1873 IH

1 (1) in paragraph (25) by striking the words 

2 ‘‘means the degree of interaction allowed between ju3 venile offenders in a secure custody status and in4 carcerated adults under section 31303(d)(1)(i) of 

5 title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on 

6 December 10, 1996.’’ and inserting ‘‘includes any 

7 sight or sound interaction between a youth under 18 

8 in a secure custody status with an adult inmate.’’, 

9 (2) by amending paragraph (26) to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(26) the term ‘adult inmate’ means an indi12 vidual who— 

13 ‘‘(A) has reached the age of full criminal 

14 responsibility under applicable State law; and 

15 ‘‘(B) has been arrested and is in custody 

16 for or awaiting trial on a criminal charge, or is 

17 convicted of a criminal charge offense; exclud18 ing individuals who are— 

19 ‘‘(i) at the time of the offense, young20 er than the maximum age at which a youth 

21 can be held in a juvenile facility under ap22 plicable State law; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) committed to the care and cus24 tody of a juvenile correctional facility by a 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
3 

•HR 1873 IH

1 court of competent jurisdiction or by oper2 ation of applicable State law.’’, 

3 (3) in paragraph (28) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at 

4 the end, 

5 (4) in paragraph (29) by striking the period at 

6 the end and inserting a semicolon, and 

7 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(30) the term ‘restraint’ means a chemical or 

9 medical agent, physical force technique, or mechan10 ical device that restricts the movement of juveniles 

11 held in the custody of State or local secure detention 

12 or corrections facilities and youth participating in 

13 court-ordered delinquency prevention and juvenile 

14 justice programs; 

15 ‘‘(31) the term ‘chemical agent’ means a spray 

16 used to temporarily incapacitate a person, such as 

17 oleoresin capsicum spray, tear gas, or 2-chlorobenz18 almalononitrile gas (CS gas); 

19 ‘‘(32) the term ‘isolation’ means any instance 

20 when a youth is confined alone for more than 15 

21 minutes in a locked or unlocked room and includes 

22 instances when a resident is confined for cause or 

23 punishment in a room or cell in which he or she usu24 ally sleeps, but does not include confinement in a 

25 large dormitory with other youth, protective isolation 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
4 

•HR 1873 IH

1 (for injured youths or youths whose safety is threat2 ened), program separation, routine isolation at the 

3 time of the youth’s admission, or isolation that is re4 quested by the youth or any medical room confine5 ment; 

6 ‘‘(33) the term ‘room time’ means any instance 

7 in which a youth is confined alone for more than 15 

8 minutes, and includes confinement alone at the time 

9 of the youth’s admission as well as protective isola10 tion and program separation, administrative reasons, 

11 investigation purposes, low staffing and other rea12 sons, but does not include time when a youth asks 

13 to go to his room or confinement for medical rea14 sons; 

15 ‘‘(34) the term ‘evidence based’ means a pro16 gram that is demonstrated with relative evidence, 

17 normed and validated for a diverse population, to be 

18 either— 

19 ‘‘(A) exemplary, such that it is imple20 mented with a high degree of fidelity and dem21 onstrates robust empirical findings using a rep22 utable conceptual framework and an experi23 mental evaluation design of the highest quality 

24 (a random assignment control trial); or 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
5 

•HR 1873 IH

1 ‘‘(B) effective, such that it is implemented 

2 with sufficient fidelity that it demonstrates ade3 quate empirical findings using a sound concep4 tual framework and a quasi-experimental eval5 uation design of high quality (comparison group 

6 without random assignment control group); 

7 ‘‘(35) the term ‘promising’ means a program 

8 that demonstrates effectiveness using reasonable, 

9 limited findings, and that has underway a more ap10 propriate evaluation that meets the criteria set forth 

11 in paragraph (33)(A) for determining evidence-based 

12 programs; and 

13 ‘‘(36) the term ‘dangerous practice’ means an 

14 act, procedure, or program that creates an unreason15 able risk of physical injury, pain, or psychological 

16 harm to a juvenile subjected to the act, and it in17 cludes the use of chemical agents; choking; blows to 

18 the head; twisting body parts against joints or other 

19 techniques that rely on infliction of pain to secure 

20 compliance; restraint to fixed objects; restraint in 

21 any manner that creates risk of asphyxiation; use of 

22 belly belts or chains on pregnant girls; use of four23 point or five-point restraints, straightjackets or re24 straint chairs, except for medical or mental health 

25 purposes specifically related to the safety of the 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
6 

•HR 1873 IH

1 youth, and under the direct supervision of medical or 

2 mental health personnel, use of psychotropic medica3 tion without adherence to professional standards re4 garding dosage, or for purposes of coercion, punish5 ment, or convenience of staff; and use of physical 

6 force, chemical agents, or mechanical restraints for 

7 purposes of coercion, retaliation, punishment, or 

8 convenience of staff; and prolonged, forced physical 

9 exercise.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. STATE PLAN. 

11 Section 223(a) of the Juvenile Justice and Delin12 quency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5633(a)) is 

13 amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (8) by striking ‘‘existing’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘proven effective’’, 

16 (2) in paragraph (9)(L)(i) by striking ‘‘re17 straints’’ and inserting ‘‘requirements’’, 

18 (3) in paragraph (27) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

19 end, 

20 (4) in paragraph (28) by striking the period at 

21 the end and inserting a semicolon, and 

22 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(29) require that not later than 3 years after 

24 the date of enactment of this paragraph and except 

25 when under the circumstances outlined in paragraph 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
7 

•HR 1873 IH

1 (13), youth under the age of 18 awaiting trial or 

2 other legal process who are treated as adults for 

3 purposes of prosecution in criminal court and housed 

4 in a secure facility— 

5 ‘‘(A) shall not have contact with adult in6 mates; and 

7 ‘‘(B) shall not be held in jail or lockup for 

8 adults; 

9 ‘‘(30) provide that the State will— 

10 ‘‘(A) develop policies and procedures to 

11 eliminate the State-supported use of dangerous 

12 practices, unnecessary isolation, unnecessary 

13 room time, and unreasonable restraint with ju14 veniles in the custody of State or local secure 

15 detention and correctional facilities and residen16 tial treatment centers and provide for data col17 lection and reporting on the use of restraints, 

18 isolation, and room time in secure detention 

19 and correctional facilities; 

20 ‘‘(B) increase the State’s efforts to operate 

21 facilities and programs that are safe for youth 

22 and staff, through effective behavior manage23 ment systems that clearly communicate incen24 tives and sanctions to increase appropriate be25 havior and decrease inappropriate behavior, and 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
8 

•HR 1873 IH

1 which are implemented through a continuum of 

2 responses that begin with verbal de-escalation 

3 and that only allow for use of the most punitive 

4 responses as a last resort; 

5 ‘‘(C) increase the State’s efforts to provide 

6 training for facility staff on effective techniques 

7 for effective behavior management, de-esca8 lation and crisis intervention, adolescent devel9 opment, safe physical control techniques, devel10 opmental disabilities, mental health disorders, 

11 and cultural competence; 

12 ‘‘(D) increase the State’s efforts to develop 

13 engaging, effective programming, and establish 

14 safe staffing levels in secure detention and cor15 rectional facilities; and 

16 ‘‘(E) provide for a system of independent 

17 monitoring for all juvenile detention and correc18 tional facilities in the State to identify and ad19 dress dangerous practices, unnecessary uses of 

20 isolation and room time, and unreasonable re21 straint, as well as deficiencies in provision of 

22 education, medical care, mental health care, 

23 and other conditions of confinement; and 

24 ‘‘(31) provide reasonable assurance the Federal 

25 funds made available under this part for any period 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
9 

•HR 1873 IH

1 will not be used for dangerous practices with juve2 niles in the custody of State or local secure deten3 tion and correctional facilities.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. PROMOTING ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION. 

5 Section 222 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

6 Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5632) is amended by 

7 adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(e) INCENTIVE GRANTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) INCENTIVE GRANTS FUNDS.—The Admin10 istrator shall make grants totaling at least 5 percent 

11 of the funds appropriated for this part in each fiscal 

12 year as incentive grants to States. The Adminis13 trator shall make such incentive grants consistent 

14 with the provisions of subsection (a), and shall con15 dition such grants upon— 

16 ‘‘(A) the State’s support for evidence-based 

17 or promising programs, prioritizing programs 

18 that address the mental health treatment needs 

19 of juveniles; 

20 ‘‘(B) the State’s support of reforms that 

21 reduce or eliminate the State-supported use of 

22 dangerous practices; 

23 ‘‘(C) the State’s support for reforms that 

24 ensure that seclusion in secure detention or cor25 rectional facilities is limited to situations in 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
10 

•HR 1873 IH

1 which seclusion is the least restrictive measure 

2 sufficient to address a youth’s danger to self or 

3 others, used only for the amount of time nec4 essary and is terminated when there is no 

5 longer an immediate danger to the youth or 

6 others, or imposed only after applicable due 

7 process; and 

8 ‘‘(D) the demonstration by the State of an 

9 improvement of public safety and rehabilitation 

10 of delinquent and at-risk youths. 

11 ‘‘(2) The State shall make the demonstration 

12 required by paragraph (1)(D) by using accurate and 

13 reliable data reported annually showing both— 

14 ‘‘(A) a reduction in either recidivism or of15 fenses by youths under age 18, using arrest 

16 data; and 

17 ‘‘(B) either— 

18 ‘‘(i) an increase in the use of least re19 strictive placement for juveniles as appro20 priate for community safety; 

21 ‘‘(ii) an increase in the safety of 

22 youths in the delinquency or criminal jus23 tice system; or 

24 ‘‘(iii) a decrease in racial and ethnic 

25 disparities in the delinquency system.’’. 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
11 

•HR 1873 IH

1 SEC. 5. REMOVING THE VALID COURT ORDER EXCEPTION 

2 FOR STATUS OFFENDERS. 

3 Section 223(a)(11) of the Juvenile Justice and Delin4 quency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5633(a)(11)) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘shall’’, and 

7 (2) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 

8 follows: 

9 ‘‘(A) juveniles who are charged with or 

10 who have committed an offense that would not 

11 be criminal if committed by an adult, excluding 

12 juveniles who are charged with or who have 

13 committed a violation of section 922(x)(2) of 

14 title 18, United States Code, or of a similar 

15 State law, shall not be placed in secure deten16 tion facilities or secure correctional facilities; 

17 and’’. 

Æ 


jbell on PROD1PC69 with BILLS