I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 600

To allow States to use funds to develop a system which increases the extent

of consequences for juveniles repeatedly found guilty of offenses and

to construct, develop, expand, modify, operate or improve youth correctional facilities.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 20, 1995

Mr. WYDEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee

on the Judiciary

A BILL

To allow States to use funds to develop a system which

increases the extent of consequences for juveniles repeatedly found guilty of offenses and to construct, develop,

expand, modify, operate or improve youth correctional

facilities.

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 ‘‘Consequences in

5 Sentencing for Young Offenders Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) The juvenile justice system in this country

2 is built around an outdated philosophy that places

3 the goal of rehabilitation above community safety

4 concerns.

5 (2) Violent juvenile crime is increasing at a rate

6 that is double that for adults, and few juveniles are

7 held accountable for their offenses.

8 (3) Many juvenile justice programs do not col9 lect data or analyze whether sanctions or treatment

10 programs now in use are effective in reducing recidi11 vism.

12 (4) The Federal Government should encourage

13 the States to pursue new juvenile justice policies

14 that emphasize community safety, individual ac15 countability, work, restitution to victims, parental

16 involvement, and zero-tolerance for repeated criminal

17 acts.

18 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Act are as

19 follows:

20 (1) To provide States with an incentive to es21 tablish a system of graduated sanctions for juvenile

22 delinquents with sentencing options ranging from

23 restitution and community service to youth correc24 tional facilities to remand to adult court for older

25 violent juvenile offenders. If a juvenile continues to
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1 commit offenses, he or she will move up a ladder of

2 increasing consequences.

3 (2) To promote parental involvement and re4 sponsibility in the juvenile justice system.

5 (3) To provide incentives for States to develop

6 periodic evaluations of the effectiveness of their juve7 nile justice systems in keeping communities safe and

8 working to reduce rates of juvenile recidivism.

9 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES.

10 The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act

11 of 1994 is amended—

12 (1) in section 20101(a), by inserting ‘‘adult and

13 juvenile’’ before ‘‘correctional facilities’’ each place it

14 appears;

15 (2) in section 20103(b)(2), by adding at the

16 end: ‘‘In making allocations under this paragraph,

17 the Attorney General shall give a preference to

18 States that provide assurances to the Attorney Gen19 eral that such States have in effect graduated sanc20 tions for the State’s juvenile justice system.’’; and

21 (3) in section 20102(b)(2), by striking ‘‘shall

22 transfer’’ and all that follows through ‘‘paragraph

23 (1).’’ and inserting ‘‘shall—

24 ‘‘(A) make grants from a portion, deter25 mined by the Attorney General, of any funds
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1 made available to carry out this section that are

2 not allocated to an eligible State under para3 graph (1), to a State or States that provide as4 surances to the Attorney General that such

5 State or States have in effect graduated sanc6 tions, for the construction, development, expan7 sion, modification, operation, or improvement of

8 juvenile facilities; and

9 ‘‘(B) transfer to the funds to be allocated

10 under section 20103(b)(1) any remainder of the

11 funds so made available but not allocated under

12 paragraph (1) or used for grants under sub13 paragraph (A).’’

14 SEC. 4. OPTIONAL USE OF GRANTS FOR CORRECTIONAL

15 FACILITIES.

16 (a) USE OF GRANT MONEY.—A State, or States or17 ganized as multi-State compact, may opt to use any Fed18 eral grant money allocated to such State or States for

19 adult correctional facilities to construct, develop, expand,

20 modify, operate, or improve youth correctional facilities,

21 such as secure youth correctional facilities, youth acad22 emies, juvenile boot camps, and restitution centers, which

23 provide the State with a range of dispositional options and

24 promote reduced recidivism.
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1 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to opt to use grant

2 money in the manner provided in subsection (a), the State

3 or States shall submit an application to the Attorney Gen4 eral which includes, at a minimum—

5 (1) assurances that—

6 (A) the State or States has established or

7 is in the process of establishing a system of

8 graduated sanctions for the State’s juvenile jus9 tice system in which the State bases disposi10 tions for juveniles on a scale of increasingly se11 vere sanctions for the commission of a repeat

12 offense, particularly if the subsequent offense

13 committed by such juvenile is of similar or

14 greater seriousness or if a court dispositional

15 order for a delinquent act is violated;

16 (B) such dispositions should, to the extent

17 practicable, require the juvenile delinquent to

18 compensate victims for losses and compensates

19 the juvenile justice authorities for supervision

20 costs;

21 (2) assurances that the State or States imposes

22 a sanction on each juvenile adjudicated delinquent;

23 (3) assurances that the State or States requires

24 that a State court concur in allowing a juvenile to
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1 be sent to a diversionary program in lieu of juvenile

2 court proceedings;

3 (4) assurances that the State or States has pro4 grams that address the need for effective bindover

5 systems or for the prosecution as adults of juveniles,

6 15 years of age or older, who are charged with a

7 crime of violence as defined in section 16 of title 18,

8 United States Code;

9 (5) assurances that where practicable and ap10 propriate, the State or States requires parents to

11 participate in meeting the dispositional requirements

12 imposed on the juvenile by the court;

13 (6) assurances that the State or States has con14 sulted with any units of local government responsible

15 for youth secure facilities in setting priorities for

16 construction, development, expansion and modifica17 tion, operation or improvement of juvenile facilities,

18 and to the extent practicable, ensures that the needs

19 of entities currently administering juvenile facilities

20 are addressed; and

21 (7) assurances that the State or States have in

22 place or are putting in place systems to provide ob23 jective evaluations of State and local juvenile justice

24 systems to determine such systems’ effectiveness in
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1 protecting the community, reducing recidivism, and

2 ensuring compliance with dispositions.

3 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

4 Section 20108 of the Violent Crime Control and Law

5 Enforcement Act of 1994 is amended by adding at the

6 end the following:

7 ‘‘ ‘youth academy’ means a residential facility

8 that provides basic education, rehabilitation services,

9 job skills training and apprenticeship programs to

10 young offenders.

11 ‘‘ ‘restitution center’ means a residential facility

12 with an intensive program of accountability centered

13 activities that provide a needed community service.

14 ‘‘ ‘juvenile boot camps’ means a residential facil15 ity or program based on a military basic training

16 model that includes extensive discipline, physical

17 work, physical exercise, and military drill.

18 ‘‘ ‘secure youth correctional facility’ means a fa19 cility that provides the highest level of security and

20 direct supervision for juvenile offenders.

21 ‘‘ ‘youth correctional facility’ means any public

22 or private residential facility which—

23 ‘‘(A) includes construction fixtures de24 signed to physically restrict the movements and
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1 activities of juveniles held in lawful custody;

2 and

3 ‘‘(B) is used for the placement, after adju4 dication and disposition, for any juvenile who

5 has been adjusted as having committed on of6 fense, or any juvenile tried and convicted of a

7 crime as an adult.

8 ‘‘ ‘sanctions’ means a penalty for a delinquent

9 act that ensures accountability and may range from

10 community service and restitution requirements to

11 incarceration in a secure youth correctional facility,

12 and, to the extent practicable, that ensures com13 pensation to victims for losses and compensation to

14 the juvenile justice authorities for supervision costs.

15 ‘‘ ‘offense’ means an act by a juvenile that

16 would be considered a crime if it were committed by

17 an adult.

18 ‘‘ ‘delinquent act’ has the same meaning as the

19 term offense.

20 ‘‘ ‘graduated sanctions’ means that—

21 ‘‘(A) the State or States has established or

22 is in the process of establishing a system of

23 sanctions for the State’s juvenile justice system

24 in which the State bases dispositions for juve25 niles on a scale of increasingly severe sanctions
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1 for the commission of a repeat offense, particu2 larly if the subsequent offense committed by

3 such juvenile is of similar or greater seriousness

4 or if a court dispositional order for a delinquent

5 act is violated;

6 ‘‘(B) such dispositions should, to the ex7 tent practicable, require the juvenile delinquent

8 to compensate victims for losses and com9 pensates the juvenile justice authorities for su10 pervision costs;

11 ‘‘(C) the State or States imposes a sanc12 tion on each juvenile adjudicated delinquent;

13 ‘‘(D) the State or States requires that a

14 State court concur in allowing a juvenile to be

15 sent to a diversionary program in lieu of juve16 nile court proceedings;

17 ‘‘(E) the State or States has programs

18 that address the need for effective bindover sys19 tems or for the prosecution as adults of juve20 niles, 15 years of age or older, who are charged

21 with a crime of violence as defined in section 16

22 of title 18, United States Code;

23 ‘‘(F) where practicable and appropriate,

24 the State or States requires parents to partici-
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1 pate in meeting the dispositional requirements

2 imposed on the juvenile by the court;

3 ‘‘(G) the State or States has consulted

4 with any units of local government responsible

5 for youth secure facilities in setting priorities

6 for construction, development, expansion and

7 modification, operation or improvement of juve8 nile facilities, and to the extent practicable, en9 sures that the needs of entities currently ad10 ministering juvenile facilities are addressed; and

11 ‘‘(H) the State or States have in place or

12 are putting in place systems to provide objective

13 evaluations of State and local juvenile justice

14 systems to determine such systems’ effective15 ness in protecting the community, reducing re16 cidivism, and ensuring compliance with disposi17 tions.’’;’’.

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