IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1131 

Expressing support for the designation of October 2018 as ‘‘National Youth 

Justice Action Month’’. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 23, 2018 

Mr. CA ́RDENAS (for himself and Mr. LEWIS of Minnesota) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 

Government Reform 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for the designation of October 2018 as 

‘‘National Youth Justice Action Month’’. 

Whereas the historical role of the juvenile court system is to 

rehabilitate and treat youthful offenders while holding 

them accountable and maintaining public safety, and is 

therefore better equipped to work with youth than the 

punitive nature of the adult criminal justice system; 

Whereas youth are developmentally different from adults and 

these differences have been documented by research on 

the adolescent brain and acknowledged by the United 

States and State Supreme Courts and many State and 

Federal laws that prohibit youth under age 18 from taking on major adult responsibilities such as voting, jury 

duty, and military service; 


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•HRES 1131 IH 

Whereas youth who are placed under the commitment of the 

juvenile court system are able to access age-appropriate 

services and education, and remain closer to their families, all of which reduces the likelihood of future offending; 

Whereas an estimated 76,000 youth are tried, sentenced, or 

incarcerated as adults every year in the United States 

and most of the youth are prosecuted for nonviolent offenses; 

Whereas most laws allowing the prosecuting of youth as 

adults were enacted prior to research evidence by the 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention demonstrating that prosecuting youth in adult court actually 

decreases public safety as, on average, they are 34 percent more likely to commit future crimes than youth retained in the juvenile system; 

Whereas youth of color and youth with disabilities and mental health issues are disproportionally represented at all 

stages of the criminal justice system; 

Whereas it is harmful to public safety and to young offenders 

to confine youth in adult jails or prisons where they are 

significantly more likely to be physically and sexually assaulted and where they are often placed in solitary confinement; 

Whereas youth sentenced as adults receive an adult criminal 

record that deters future education or employment opportunities, and the collateral consequences normally applied 

in the adult justice system should not automatically apply 

to youth arrested for crimes before the age of 18; 


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•HRES 1131 IH 

Whereas youth who receive extremely long sentences deserve 

an opportunity to demonstrate their potential to grow 

and change; and 

Whereas people around the country participate in Youth Justice Action Month in October to increase public awareness of the issues facing youth transferred to the adult 

criminal justice system and to provide people across the 

country with an opportunity to develop action-oriented 

events in their communities: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) designates ‘‘National Youth Justice Action 

3 Month’’; and 

4 (2) recognizes and supports the goals and ideals 

5 of National Youth Justice Action Month. 

Æ 


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