II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2507 

To establish a grant to provide mental health services and behavioral health 

services to at-risk youth, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 28, 2021 

Mr. BOOKER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish a grant to provide mental health services and 

behavioral health services to at-risk youth, 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 ‘‘Eliminating Debtor’s 

5 Prison for Kids Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH GRANT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 180 

8 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

9 General shall carry out a program under which the Attor10 ney General makes grants to eligible States for the purVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Aug 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2507.IS S2507

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1 pose of providing evidence-based and trauma-informed 

2 mental and behavioral health services to at-risk youth, in3 cluding juveniles in secure detention or correctional facili4 ties in the State. 

5 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

6 under this section, a State shall— 

7 (1) certify to the Attorney General that the 

8 laws of the State prohibit a juvenile offender or a 

9 parent or guardian of such a juvenile from being or10 dered to pay probation supervision fees or court ad11 ministrative fees, including the cost of court-ap12 pointed attorneys or public defenders, the cost of 

13 prosecution, or other administrative costs of the 

14 court; 

15 (2) certify to the Attorney General that the 

16 laws of the State prohibit a parent or guardian of 

17 a juvenile offender from paying child support or 

18 other costs for detention or post-adjudication place19 ment to the State; and 

20 (3) submit to the Attorney General an applica21 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing 

22 such information as the Attorney General may re23 quire. 

24 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives a grant 

25 under this section shall use the grant to provide evidenceVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Aug 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2507.IS S2507

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1 based and trauma-informed mental and behavioral health 

2 services to at-risk juveniles, including juveniles in secure 

3 detention or correctional facilities in the State. 

4 (d) CONTRACTS AND SUBGRANTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State may, in using a 

6 grant under this section for purposes authorized by 

7 subsection (c), use all or a portion of that grant to 

8 contract with or make one or more subgrants to one 

9 or more units of local government. 

10 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a 

11 contract or a subgrant under this subsection may 

12 use such funds to provide services or benefits de13 scribed under subsection (c). 

14 (e) INFORMATION FOR REPORT.—A State that re15 ceives a grant under this section shall provide to an inde16 pendent criminal justice organization, selected by the At17 torney General, such information as is necessary to com18 plete the report described in section 3. 

19 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

21 $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 

22 SEC. 3. NATIONAL REPORT. 

23 (a) INDEPENDENT REPORT.—Not later than 18 

24 months after the date of enactment of this Act, an inde25 pendent criminal justice organization, selected by the AtVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:21 Aug 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2507.IS S2507

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1 torney General, shall submit to the Committee on the Ju2 diciary of the House of Representatives and the Com3 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate a national report 

4 on fines and fees imposed on adults and juveniles in the 

5 criminal justice system, including— 

6 (1) information with respect to the monetary 

7 amount of fines and fees imposed, including the 

8 race, ethnicity, tribal affiliation, and other demo9 graphic data of the individuals upon whom such 

10 fines and fees are imposed and the rate at which in11 dividuals are reincarcerated within 1 year of release 

12 from a secure detention facility or a secure correc13 tional facility; 

14 (2) a description of each type of service for 

15 which a fee is imposed; 

16 (3) a description of each type of charge for 

17 which a fine is imposed; 

18 (4) a comparison of the average length of incar19 ceration or detention for individuals who are unable 

20 to pay a fine and the average length of incarceration 

21 or detention for individuals who are able to pay a 

22 fine based on the amount of the fine; and 

23 (5) a disclosure of the sum total of fines and 

24 fees collected minus the cost to collect such sum. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2021, which shall remain avail4 able until expended. 

5 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) AT-RISK YOUTH.—The term ‘‘at-risk youth’’ 

8 means an individual who— 

9 (A) has not attained the age of 21; and 

10 (B)(i) is likely to fail academically without 

11 intervention, including an individual who— 

12 (I) has a high truancy rate; 

13 (II) has withdrawn from school pre14 viously; 

15 (III) is not less than 1 year behind 

16 the appropriate grade level for an indi17 vidual of the same age; or 

18 (IV) has limited English language 

19 proficiency; 

20 (ii) has a history of or is actively using 

21 drugs or alcohol; 

22 (iii) is pregnant or a parent; 

23 (iv) is a gang member; 

24 (v) is in contact with the juvenile justice 

25 system; or 


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1 (vi) is homeless, has run away from home, 

2 or is in foster care. 

3 (2) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘‘evidence4 based’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

5 103 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preven6 tion Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11103). 

7 (3) JUVENILE OFFENDER.—The term ‘‘juvenile 

8 offender’’ means an individual— 

9 (A) who has not attained the age of 21; 

10 and 

11 (B)(i) against whom a petition is filed for 

12 the adjudication of a delinquency offense under 

13 the laws of a State or the United States; or 

14 (ii) who has been adjudicated delinquent 

15 for a delinquency offense under the laws of a 

16 State or the United States. 

17 (4) SECURE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY.—The 

18 term ‘‘secure correctional facility’’ has the meaning 

19 given such term in section 103 of the Juvenile Jus20 tice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34 

21 U.S.C. 11103). 

22 (5) SECURE DETENTION FACILITY.—The term 

23 ‘‘secure detention facility’’ has the meaning given 

24 such term in section 103 of the Juvenile Justice and 


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1 Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 

2 11103). 

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

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

5 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United 

6 States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 

7 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 

8 and any possession of the United States. 

9 (7) TRAUMA-INFORMED.—The term ‘‘trauma10 informed’’ has the meaning given such term in sec11 tion 103 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

12 Prevention Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11103). 

Æ 


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