I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1226

To provide grants to assist State and local prosecutors and law enforcement

agencies with implementing juvenile and young adult witness assistance

programs that minimize additional trauma to the witness and improve

the chances of successful criminal prosecution or legal action.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 27, 2001

Mr. CAPUANO (for himself, Mr. BALDACCI, Ms. BERKLEY, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. FRANK, Mr. GONZALEZ,

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. KILDEE,

Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr.

LATOURETTE, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mrs. LOWEY, Mrs. MALONEY of

New York, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. OLVER, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. RANGEL,

Mr. SANDLIN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey,

Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. WATERS, and Ms. WOOLSEY) introduced

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To provide grants to assist State and local prosecutors and

law enforcement agencies with implementing juvenile and

young adult witness assistance programs that minimize

additional trauma to the witness and improve the

chances of successful criminal prosecution or legal action.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Young Witness Assist3 ance Act of 2001’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

6 (1) Witness and victim intimidation at the juve7 nile and young adult level is a serious, growing con8 cern for State and local prosecutors and law enforce9 ment agencies.

10 (2) Each year, thousands of young people wit11 ness violent crimes such as assaults, robbery, homi12 cide, domestic violence, and sexual abuse.

13 (3) In many cases, the lack of juvenile and

14 young adult witness participation has seriously im15 peded efforts to bring violent perpetrators to justice.

16 (4) Prosecutors and police officers have become

17 increasingly frustrated by their inability to prosecute

18 cases successfully when young witnesses refuse to

19 testify because they fear retaliation by the defend20 ant, or the defendant’s family or friends.

21 (5) Factors that contribute to the reluctance of

22 young witnesses to step forward include—

23 (A) the fear and trauma associated with

24 witnessing a violent crime;

25 (B) a personal connection with the perpe26 trator or their associates;
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1 (C) geographic proximity to the perpe2 trator; and

3 (D) membership in a culturally vulnerable

4 group.

5 (6) The cooperation and participation of young

6 victims and witnesses in the criminal justice process,

7 from crime reporting through prosecution, are essen8 tial to the successful operation of the criminal jus9 tice system.

10 (7) Though most States have witness assistance

11 programs, very few, if any, have adequate resources

12 to address the unique needs associated with juvenile

13 and young adult witnesses.

14 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to encour15 age and promote the creation and development of policies

16 and programs by State and local prosecutors and law en17 forcement authorities that provide assistance to juvenile

18 and young adult witnesses who cooperate with efforts to

19 bring violent criminals to justice.

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

21 For purposes of this Act:

22 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means

23 the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

24 (2) JUVENILE.—The term ‘‘juvenile’’ means an

25 individual who is 17 years of age or younger.
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1 (3) YOUNG ADULT.—The term ‘‘young adult’’

2 means an individual who is between the ages of 18

3 and 21.

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

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

6 the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is7 lands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern

8 Mariana Islands.

9 SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.

10 The Director may make grants to State and local

11 prosecutors and law enforcement agencies in support of

12 juvenile and young adult witness assistance programs, in13 cluding State and local prosecutors and law enforcement

14 agencies that have existing juvenile and adult witness as15 sistance programs.

16 SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY.

17 To be eligible to receive a grant under this Act, State

18 and local prosecutors and law enforcement officials shall—

19 (1) submit an application to the Director in

20 such form and containing such information as the

21 Director may reasonably require; and

22 (2) give assurances that each applicant has de23 veloped, or is in the process of developing, a witness

24 assistance program that specifically targets the
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1 unique needs of juvenile and young adult witnesses

2 and their families.

3 SEC. 6. USE OF FUNDS.

4 Grants made available under this Act may be used—

5 (1) to assess the needs of juvenile and young

6 adult witnesses;

7 (2) to develop appropriate program goals and

8 objectives; and

9 (3) to develop and administer a variety of wit10 ness assistance services, which includes—

11 (A) counseling services to young witnesses

12 dealing with trauma associated in witnessing a

13 violent crime;

14 (B) pre- and post-trial assistance for the

15 youth and their family;

16 (C) providing education services if the

17 child is removed from or changes their school

18 for safety concerns;

19 (D) protective services for young witnesses

20 and their families when a serious threat of

21 harm from the perpetrators or their associates

22 is made; and

23 (E) community outreach and school-based

24 initiatives that stimulate and maintain public

25 awareness and support.
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1 SEC. 7. REPORTS.

2 (a) REPORT.—State and local prosecutors and law

3 enforcement agencies that receive funds under this Act

4 shall submit to the Director a report not later than May

5 1st of each year in which grants are made available under

6 this Act. Reports shall describe progress achieved in car7 rying out the purpose of this Act.

8 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Director shall sub9 mit to Congress a report by July 1st of each year which

10 contains a detailed statement regarding grant awards, ac11 tivities of grant recipients, a compilation of statistical in12 formation submitted by applicants, and an evaluation of

13 programs established under this Act.

14 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

15 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

16 this Act $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002, 2003,

17 and 2004.

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