Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2023 / Presidential Documents 68435 

Proclamation 10639 of September 29, 2023 

National Youth Justice Action Month, 2023 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

During National Youth Justice Action Month, we recognize that young people 

deserve second chances, and we recommit to transforming the juvenile justice 

system by creating safer and more supportive communities where young 

people can thrive. 

Between 2000 and 2020, the youth population in juvenile justice facilities 

declined by nearly 80 percent. But those who do enter the juvenile justice 

system are often confined in unsafe environments, live with trauma and 

mental health conditions that go untreated, and serve adult sentences. They 

are disproportionately young people of color and young people with disabilities. Without the support, resources, or guidance for meaningful rehabilitation, many young people who are released can fall back into old patterns 

that lead to their return to the justice system. 

My Administration has made historic investments in improving our youth 

justice system. We are working to shift its focus from punishment to support 

and making our Nation’s promise of equal justice a reality for all. My 

Administration is establishing and expanding evidence-based diversion programs when appropriate and broadening access to lawyers who will advocate 

for and advise children who are facing juvenile and criminal justice system 

involvement. For those leaving the system, our investments and programs 

are helping youth find housing, educational opportunities, mentorship, job 

training, and other services to support them once they return home. My 

new budget also calls for $760 million to advance juvenile justice programs 

with the goal of making the entire system more equitable. 

I believe that to keep children out of trouble we need to ensure all of 

them have a fair shot at building a bright future with access to good schools, 

safe communities, and equal opportunities. To this end, my Administration 

has launched the National Partnership for Student Success to bring together 

250,000 people across the country to serve as tutors and mentors for our 

students. We have secured $1.3 billion in funding for rural and innercity schools to support afterschool and summer learning programs for K– 

12 students. 

We also doubled funding for Full-Service Community Schools that support 

students and their families outside of the classroom with services like health 

care and career counseling. And when we passed the Nation’s first major 

gun safety law in nearly three decades, we included measures to further 

increase the number of school psychologists and mental health counselors 

available to our children, and we made it easier for schools to use Medicaid 

to deliver health services, including mental health care. My Administration 

also launched 988, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which can 

connect young people experiencing a crisis with trained crisis counselors 

via phone, chat, and text. And we have invested in mobile crisis response 

teams, which often work with law enforcement to deliver immediate mental 

health professional support for those in crisis. 

Our young people are the kite strings that keep our national ambitions 

aloft—the future of our Nation is in their hands. During National Youth 

Justice Action Month, we recommit to expanding opportunities for all of 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with FR_PREZDOC6
68436 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2023 / Presidential Documents 

our Nation’s children and building a justice system that allows our youth 

to thrive. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States 

of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution 

and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim October 2023 as National 

Youth Justice Action Month. I call upon all Americans to observe this 

month by taking action to support our youth and by participating in appropriate ceremonies, activities, and programs in their communities. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth 

day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three, 

and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 

and forty-eighth. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22240 

Filed 10–3–23; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3395–F4–P 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with FR_PREZDOC6BIDEN.EPS</GPH>