I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5537 

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 

MARCH 5, 2008 

Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

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 2008’’. 

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— 

9 (1) in paragraph (25) by inserting ‘‘, including 

10 sight or sound,’’ after ‘‘incarceration’’, 


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1 (2) by amending paragraph (26) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(26) the term ‘adult inmate’ means an indi4 vidual who— 

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

6 responsibility under applicable State law; and 

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

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

9 convicted of a criminal charge offense; exclud10 ing individuals who are— 

11 ‘‘(i) younger than the age of full 

12 criminal responsibility under applicable 

13 State law at the time of the criminal 

14 charge offense; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) younger than the maximum age 

16 of extended juvenile jurisdiction applicable 

17 under State law; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) have been committed to the care 

19 and custody of a juvenile correctional facil20 ity by a court of competent jurisdiction or 

21 by operation of State law.’’, 

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

23 the end, 

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

25 the end and inserting a semicolon, and 


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

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

3 medical agent, physical force technique, or mechan4 ical device that restricts movement; 

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

6 used to temporarily incapacitate a person, such as 

7 oleoresin capsicum spray, tear gas, or 2- 

8 chlorobenzalmalononitrile gas (CS gas); 

9 ‘‘(32) the term ‘seclusion’ means any instance 

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

11 minutes, including in an unlocked or locked room, 

12 specialized unit or other area of isolation, segrega13 tion, or room time; 

14 ‘‘(33) the term ‘evidence based’ means a pro15 gram that is demonstrated with relative evidence, 

16 normed and validated for a diverse population, to be 

17 either— 

18 ‘‘(A) exemplary, such that it is imple19 mented with a high degree of fidelity and dem20 onstrates robust empirical findings using a rep21 utable conceptual framework and an experi22 mental evaluation design of the highest quality 

23 (a random assignment control trial); or 

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

25 with sufficient fidelity that it demonstrates adeVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:55 Mar 06, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5537.IH H5537

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1 quate empirical findings using a sound concep2 tual framework and a quasi-experimental eval3 uation design of high quality (comparison group 

4 without random assignment control group); 

5 ‘‘(34) the term ‘promising’ means a program 

6 that demonstrates effectiveness using reasonable, 

7 limited findings, and that has underway a more ap8 propriate evaluation that meets the criteria set forth 

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

10 programs; and 

11 ‘‘(35) the term ‘dangerous practice’ means an 

12 act, procedure, or program that creates an unreason13 able risk of physical injury, pain, or psychological 

14 harm to a juvenile subjected to the act, and it in15 cludes the use of chemical agents; choking; blows to 

16 the head; twisting body parts against joints or other 

17 techniques that rely on infliction of pain to secure 

18 compliance; restraint to fixed objects; restraint in 

19 any manner that creates risk of asphyxiation; use of 

20 belly belts or chains on pregnant girls; use of four21 point or five-point restraints, straightjackets or re22 straint chairs, except for medical or mental health 

23 purposes specifically related to the safety of the 

24 youth, and under the direct supervision of medical or 

25 mental health personnel, use of psychotropic medicaVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:55 Mar 06, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5537.IH H5537

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1 tion without adherence to professional standards re2 garding dosage, or for purposes of coercion, punish3 ment, or convenience of staff; and use of physical 

4 force, chemical agents, or mechanical restraints for 

5 purposes of coercion, retaliation, punishment, or 

6 convenience of staff; and prolonged, forced physical 

7 exercise.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. STATE PLAN. 

9 Section 223(a) of the Juvenile Justice and Delin10 quency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5633(a)) is 

11 amended— 

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

13 inserting ‘‘proven effective’’, 

14 (2) in paragraph (9)(L)(i) by striking ‘‘re15 straints’’ and inserting ‘‘requirements’’, 

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

17 end, 

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

19 the end and inserting a semicolon, and 

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

21 ‘‘(29) provide that, within 4 years of the date 

22 of enactment of this paragraph, juveniles treated as 

23 adults for purposes of prosecution in criminal court 

24 and juveniles prosecuted as adults in criminal court 

25 may not be held in a jail or lockup for adults while 


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1 such juveniles are awaiting trial on a criminal 

2 charge; 

3 ‘‘(30) provide that, within 4 years of the date 

4 of enactment of this paragraph, juveniles treated as 

5 adults for purposes of prosecution in criminal court 

6 and juveniles prosecuted as adults in criminal court 

7 may not be within sight or sound contact of adult 

8 inmates when held in the custody of the criminal 

9 court awaiting trial or other legal process; and 

10 ‘‘(31) provide that the State will— 

11 ‘‘(A) develop policies and procedures to 

12 eliminate the State-supported use of dangerous 

13 practices with juveniles in the custody of State 

14 or local secure detention and correctional facili15 ties and residential treatment centers; 

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

17 facilities and programs that are safe for youth 

18 and staff, through effective behavior manage19 ment systems that clearly communicate incen20 tives and sanctions to increase appropriate be21 havior and decrease inappropriate behavior, and 

22 which are implemented through a continuum of 

23 responses that begin with verbal de-escalation 

24 and that only allow for use of the most punitive 

25 responses as a last resort; 


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

2 training for facility staff on effective techniques 

3 for effective behavior management, de-esca4 lation and crisis intervention, adolescent devel5 opment, safe physical control techniques, devel6 opmental disabilities, mental health disorders, 

7 and cultural competence; and 

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

9 engaging, effective programming, and establish 

10 safe staffing levels in secure detention and cor11 rectional facilities.’’. 

12 SEC. 4. PROMOTING ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION. 

13 Section 222 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

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

15 adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(e) INCENTIVE GRANTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) INCENTIVE GRANTS FUNDS.—The Admin18 istrator shall make grants totaling at least 5 percent 

19 of the funds appropriated for this part in each fiscal 

20 year as incentive grants to States. The Adminis21 trator shall make such incentive grants consistent 

22 with the provisions of subsection (a), and shall con23 dition such grants upon— 

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

25 or promising programs, prioritizing programs 


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1 that address the mental health treatment needs 

2 of juveniles; 

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

4 reduce or eliminate the State-supported use of 

5 dangerous practices; 

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

7 ensure that seclusion in secure detention or cor8 rectional facilities is limited to situations in 

9 which seclusion is the least restrictive measure 

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

11 others, used only for the amount of time nec12 essary and is terminated when there is no 

13 longer an immediate danger to the youth or 

14 others, or imposed only after applicable due 

15 process; and 

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

17 improvement of public safety and rehabilitation 

18 of delinquent and at-risk youths. 

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

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

21 reliable data reported annually showing both— 

22 ‘‘(A) a reduction in either recidivism or of23 fenses by youths under age 18, using arrest 

24 data; and 

25 ‘‘(B) either— 


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1 ‘‘(i) an increase in the use of least re2 strictive placement for juveniles as appro3 priate for community safety; 

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

5 youths in the delinquency or criminal jus6 tice system; or 

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

8 disparities in the delinquency system.’’. 

9 SEC. 5. REMOVING THE VALID COURT ORDER EXCEPTION 

10 FOR STATUS OFFENDERS. 

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

13 is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘shall’’, and 

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

16 follows: 

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

18 who have committed an offense that would not 

19 be criminal if committed by an adult, excluding 

20 juveniles who are charged with or who have 

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

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

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1 tion facilities or secure correctional facilities; 

2 and’’. 

Æ 


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