III 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 871 

Expressing support for the designation of October 2024 as ‘‘National Youth 

Justice Action Month’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for the designation of October 2024 as 

‘‘National Youth Justice Action Month’’. 

Whereas the historical role of the juvenile court system is to 

rehabilitate and treat young people while holding them 

accountable and maintaining public safety, and the juvenile court system is therefore better equipped to work 

with youth than the adult criminal justice system, which 

is punitive in nature; 

Whereas youth are developmentally different from adults, and 

those differences have been— 

(1) documented by research on the adolescent brain; 

and 

(2) acknowledged by the Supreme Court of the 

United States, State supreme courts, and many State 

and Federal laws that prohibit youth under the age of 18 


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•SRES 871 IS 

from taking on major adult responsibilities such as voting, jury duty, and military service; 

Whereas most laws allowing the prosecution of youth as 

adults were enacted before the publication of researchbased evidence by the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice demonstrating that prosecuting youth in adult court actually 

decreases public safety, as, on average, youth prosecuted 

in adult court are 34 percent more likely to commit future crimes than youth retained in the juvenile court system; 

Whereas youth deserve an opportunity to demonstrate their 

potential to grow and change, and youth who are placed 

under the commitment of the juvenile court system often 

do not receive access to age-appropriate services and education and remain far from their families, which increases the likelihood that those youth will commit offenses in the future; 

Whereas, between 2000 and 2022, there was a 75 percent decline in youth incarceration in the United States, but 

troubling disparities remain; 

Whereas youth of color, youth with disabilities, youth with 

mental health challenges, and youth in foster care are 

disproportionately represented at all stages of the criminal justice system; 

Whereas it is harmful to public safety and to young people 

in the legal system to confine youth in adult jails or prisons where they are significantly more likely to be physically and sexually assaulted, and are often placed in solitary confinement; 


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•SRES 871 IS 

Whereas youth sentenced as adults receive an adult criminal 

record that hinders future education, housing, and employment opportunities; and 

Whereas, in October, people around the United States participate in Youth Justice Action Month— 

(1) to increase public awareness of the impact of the 

justice system; and 

(2) to provide people across the United States with 

an opportunity to develop action-oriented events in their 

communities: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) acknowledges that the collateral con3 sequences normally applied in the adult criminal jus4 tice system should not automatically apply to youth 

5 arrested for crimes before the age of 18; 

6 (2) expresses support for the designation of Oc7 tober 2024 as ‘‘National Youth Justice Action 

8 Month’’; 

9 (3) recognizes and supports the goals and ideals 

10 of National Youth Justice Action Month; and 

11 (4) recognizes the 50th anniversary of the en12 actment of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

13 Prevention Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11101 et seq.), 

14 as amended by the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 

15 2018 (Public Law 115–385; 132 Stat. 5123), and 

16 the importance of reauthorization, funding, and conVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Oct 02, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR871.IS SR871

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•SRES 871 IS 

1 tinued implementation in a manner consistent with 

2 the spirit and intent of the law. 

Æ 


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