I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4975 

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

diversion programs to at-risk youth, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Mr. CA ́RDENAS (for himself, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Mr. TRONE, Ms. NORTON, 

Ms. ROSS, and Mr. ESPAILLAT) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish a grant to provide mental and behavioral health 

services and diversion programs 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 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH AND DIVERSION PRO7 GRAM GRANTS. 

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

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


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 4975 IH

1 General shall carry out a program under which the Attor2 ney General makes grants to eligible States for the pur3 pose of providing evidence-based and trauma-informed 

4 mental and behavioral health services to at-risk youth, in5 cluding juveniles in secure detention or correctional facili6 ties in the State, and for implementing pre and post-adju7 dication diversion programs for at-risk youth to limit their 

8 involvement in the juvenile system. 

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

10 under this section, a State shall— 

11 (1) certify to the Attorney General that the 

12 laws of the State prohibit an adjudicated youth or 

13 a parent or guardian of such a juvenile from being 

14 ordered to pay probation supervision fees or court 

15 administrative fees, including the cost of court-ap16 pointed attorneys or public defenders, the cost of 

17 prosecution, or other administrative costs of the 

18 court; 

19 (2) certify to the Attorney General that the 

20 laws of the State prohibit a parent or guardian of 

21 an adjudicated youth from paying child support or 

22 other costs for detention or post-adjudication place23 ment to the State; and 

24 (3) submit to the Attorney General an applica25 tion at such time, in such manner, and containing 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 4975 IH

1 such information as the Attorney General may re2 quire. 

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

4 under this section shall use the grant to provide evidence5 based and trauma-informed mental and behavioral health 

6 services to at-risk youth, including juveniles in secure de7 tention or correctional facilities in the State, to implement 

8 pre- and post-adjudication diversion programs. 

9 (d) CONTRACTS AND SUBGRANTS.— 

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

11 grant under this section for purposes authorized by 

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

13 contract with or make one or more subgrants to one 

14 or more units of local government. 

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

16 contract or a subgrant under this subsection may 

17 use such funds to provide services or benefits de18 scribed under subsection (c). 

19 (e) INFORMATION FOR REPORT.—A State that re20 ceives a grant under this section shall provide to an inde21 pendent criminal justice organization, selected by the At22 torney General, such information as is necessary to com23 plete the report described in section 3. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 4975 IH

1 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027. 

4 SEC. 3. NATIONAL REPORT. 

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

6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, an inde7 pendent criminal justice organization, selected by the At8 torney General, shall submit to the Committee on the Ju9 diciary of the House of Representatives and the Com10 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate a national report 

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

12 criminal justice system, including— 

13 (1) information with respect to the monetary 

14 amount of fines and fees imposed, including the 

15 race, ethnicity, tribal affiliation, and other demo16 graphic data of the individuals upon whom such 

17 fines and fees are imposed and the rate at which in18 dividuals are reincarcerated within 1 year of release 

19 from a secure detention facility or a secure correc20 tional facility; 

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

22 which a fee is imposed; 

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

24 which a fine is imposed; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 4975 IH

1 (4) a comparison of the average length of incar2 ceration or detention for individuals who are unable 

3 to pay a fine and the average length of incarceration 

4 or detention for individuals who are able to pay a 

5 fine based on the amount of the fine; and 

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

7 fees collected minus the cost to collect such sum. 

8 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

10 $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2023, which shall remain avail11 able until expended. 

12 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

14 (1) ADJUDICATED YOUTH.—The term ‘‘adju15 dicated youth’’ means an individual— 

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

17 and 

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

19 the adjudication of a delinquency offense under 

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

21 (ii) who has been adjudicated delinquent 

22 for a delinquency offense under the laws of a 

23 State or the United States. 

24 (2) AT-RISK YOUTH.—The term ‘‘at-risk youth’’ 

25 means an individual who— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 4975 IH

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

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

3 intervention, including an individual who— 

4 (I) has a high truancy rate; 

5 (II) has withdrawn from school pre6 viously; 

7 (III) is not less than 1 year behind 

8 the appropriate grade level for an indi9 vidual of the same age; or 

10 (IV) has limited English language 

11 proficiency; 

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

13 drugs or alcohol; 

14 (iii) is pregnant or a parent; 

15 (iv) is a gang member; 

16 (v) is in contact with the juvenile justice 

17 system; or 

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

19 or is in foster care. 

20 (3) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘‘evidence21 based’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

22 103 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preven23 tion Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11103). 

24 (4) SECURE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY.—The 

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


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•HR 4975 IH

1 given such term in section 103 of the Juvenile Jus2 tice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34 

3 U.S.C. 11103). 

4 (5) SECURE DETENTION FACILITY.—The term 

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

6 such term in section 103 of the Juvenile Justice and 

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

8 11103). 

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

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

11 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United 

12 States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 

13 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 

14 and any possession of the United States. 

15 (7) TRAUMA-INFORMED.—The term ‘‘trauma16 informed’’ has the meaning given such term in sec17 tion 103 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

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

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB