I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3171 

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 

OCTOBER 12, 2011 

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

to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

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 2011’’. 

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 striking the words 

10 ‘‘means the degree of interaction allowed between juVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:07 Oct 13, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3171.IH H3171

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1 venile offenders in a secure custody status and in2 carcerated adults under section 31303(d)(1)(i) of 

3 title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on 

4 December 10, 1996.’’ and inserting ‘‘includes any 

5 sight or sound interaction between a youth under 18 

6 in a secure custody status with an adult inmate.’’, 

7 (2) by amending paragraph (26) to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘(26) the term ‘adult inmate’ means an indi10 vidual who— 

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

12 responsibility under applicable State law; and 

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

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

15 convicted of a criminal charge offense; exclud16 ing individuals who are— 

17 ‘‘(i) at the time of the offense, young18 er than the maximum age at which a youth 

19 can be held in a juvenile facility under ap20 plicable State law; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) committed to the care and cus22 tody of a juvenile correctional facility by a 

23 court of competent jurisdiction or by oper24 ation of applicable State law.’’, 


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

2 the end, 

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

4 the end and inserting a semicolon, and 

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

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

7 medical agent, physical force technique, or mechan8 ical device that restricts the movement of juveniles 

9 held in the custody of State or local secure detention 

10 or corrections facilities and youth participating in 

11 court-ordered delinquency prevention and juvenile 

12 justice programs; 

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

14 used to temporarily incapacitate a person, such as 

15 oleoresin capsicum spray, tear gas, or 2-chlorobenz16 almalononitrile gas (CS gas); 

17 ‘‘(32) the term ‘isolation’ means any instance 

18 when a youth is confined alone for more than 15 

19 minutes in a locked or unlocked room and includes 

20 instances when a resident is confined for cause or 

21 punishment in a room or cell in which he or she usu22 ally sleeps, but does not include confinement in a 

23 large dormitory with other youth, protective isolation 

24 (for injured youths or youths whose safety is threat25 ened), program separation, routine isolation at the 


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1 time of the youth’s admission, or isolation that is re2 quested by the youth or any medical room confine3 ment; 

4 ‘‘(33) the term ‘room time’ means any instance 

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

6 minutes, and includes confinement alone at the time 

7 of the youth’s admission as well as protective isola8 tion and program separation, administrative reasons, 

9 investigation purposes, low staffing and other rea10 sons, but does not include time when a youth asks 

11 to go to his room or confinement for medical rea12 sons; 

13 ‘‘(34) the term ‘evidence based’ means a pro14 gram that is demonstrated with relative evidence, 

15 normed and validated for a diverse population, to be 

16 either— 

17 ‘‘(A) exemplary, such that it is imple18 mented with a high degree of fidelity and dem19 onstrates robust empirical findings using a rep20 utable conceptual framework and an experi21 mental evaluation design of the highest quality 

22 (a random assignment control trial); or 

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

24 with sufficient fidelity that it demonstrates ade25 quate empirical findings using a sound concepVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:07 Oct 13, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3171.IH H3171

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1 tual framework and a quasi-experimental eval2 uation design of high quality (comparison group 

3 without random assignment control group); 

4 ‘‘(35) the term ‘promising’ means a program 

5 that demonstrates effectiveness using reasonable, 

6 limited findings, and that has underway a more ap7 propriate evaluation that meets the criteria set forth 

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

9 programs; and 

10 ‘‘(36) the term ‘dangerous practice’ means an 

11 act, procedure, or program that creates an unreason12 able risk of physical injury, pain, or psychological 

13 harm to a juvenile subjected to the act, and it in14 cludes the use of chemical agents; choking; blows to 

15 the head; twisting body parts against joints or other 

16 techniques that rely on infliction of pain to secure 

17 compliance; restraint to fixed objects; restraint in 

18 any manner that creates risk of asphyxiation; use of 

19 belly belts or chains on pregnant girls; use of four20 point or five-point restraints, straightjackets or re21 straint chairs, except for medical or mental health 

22 purposes specifically related to the safety of the 

23 youth, and under the direct supervision of medical or 

24 mental health personnel, use of psychotropic medica25 tion without adherence to professional standards reVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:07 Oct 13, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3171.IH H3171

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1 garding dosage, or for purposes of coercion, punish2 ment, or convenience of staff; and use of physical 

3 force, chemical agents, or mechanical restraints for 

4 purposes of coercion, retaliation, punishment, or 

5 convenience of staff; and prolonged, forced physical 

6 exercise.’’. 

7 SEC. 3. STATE PLAN. 

8 Section 223(a) of the Juvenile Justice and Delin9 quency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5633(a)) is 

10 amended— 

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

12 inserting ‘‘proven effective’’, 

13 (2) in paragraph (9)(L)(i) by striking ‘‘re14 straints’’ and inserting ‘‘requirements’’, 

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

16 end, 

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

18 the end and inserting a semicolon, and 

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

20 ‘‘(29) require that not later than 3 years after 

21 the date of enactment of this paragraph and except 

22 when under the circumstances outlined in paragraph 

23 (13), youth under the age of 18 awaiting trial or 

24 other legal process who are treated as adults for 


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1 purposes of prosecution in criminal court and housed 

2 in a secure facility— 

3 ‘‘(A) shall not have contact with adult in4 mates; and 

5 ‘‘(B) shall not be held in jail or lockup for 

6 adults; 

7 ‘‘(30) provide that the State will— 

8 ‘‘(A) develop policies and procedures to 

9 eliminate the State-supported use of dangerous 

10 practices, unnecessary isolation, unnecessary 

11 room time, and unreasonable restraint with ju12 veniles in the custody of State or local secure 

13 detention and correctional facilities and residen14 tial treatment centers and provide for data col15 lection and reporting on the use of restraints, 

16 isolation, and room time in secure detention 

17 and correctional facilities; 

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

19 facilities and programs that are safe for youth 

20 and staff, through effective behavior manage21 ment systems that clearly communicate incen22 tives and sanctions to increase appropriate be23 havior and decrease inappropriate behavior, and 

24 which are implemented through a continuum of 

25 responses that begin with verbal de-escalation 


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1 and that only allow for use of the most punitive 

2 responses as a last resort; 

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

4 training for facility staff on effective techniques 

5 for effective behavior management, de-esca6 lation and crisis intervention, adolescent devel7 opment, safe physical control techniques, devel8 opmental disabilities, mental health disorders, 

9 and cultural competence; 

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

11 engaging, effective programming, and establish 

12 safe staffing levels in secure detention and cor13 rectional facilities; and 

14 ‘‘(E) provide for a system of independent 

15 monitoring for all juvenile detention and correc16 tional facilities in the State to identify and ad17 dress dangerous practices, unnecessary uses of 

18 isolation and room time, and unreasonable re19 straint, as well as deficiencies in provision of 

20 education, medical care, mental health care, 

21 and other conditions of confinement; and 

22 ‘‘(31) provide reasonable assurance the Federal 

23 funds made available under this part for any period 

24 will not be used for dangerous practices with juveVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:07 Oct 13, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3171.IH H3171

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1 niles in the custody of State or local secure deten2 tion and correctional facilities.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. PROMOTING ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION. 

4 Section 222 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

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

6 adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(e) INCENTIVE GRANTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) INCENTIVE GRANTS FUNDS.—The Admin9 istrator shall make grants totaling at least 5 percent 

10 of the funds appropriated for this part in each fiscal 

11 year as incentive grants to States. The Adminis12 trator shall make such incentive grants consistent 

13 with the provisions of subsection (a), and shall con14 dition such grants upon— 

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

16 or promising programs, prioritizing programs 

17 that address the mental health treatment needs 

18 of juveniles; 

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

20 reduce or eliminate the State-supported use of 

21 dangerous practices; 

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

23 ensure that seclusion in secure detention or cor24 rectional facilities is limited to situations in 

25 which seclusion is the least restrictive measure 


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

2 others, used only for the amount of time nec3 essary and is terminated when there is no 

4 longer an immediate danger to the youth or 

5 others, or imposed only after applicable due 

6 process; and 

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

8 improvement of public safety and rehabilitation 

9 of delinquent and at-risk youths. 

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

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

12 reliable data reported annually showing both— 

13 ‘‘(A) a reduction in either recidivism or of14 fenses by youths under age 18, using arrest 

15 data; and 

16 ‘‘(B) either— 

17 ‘‘(i) an increase in the use of least re18 strictive placement for juveniles as appro19 priate for community safety; 

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

21 youths in the delinquency or criminal jus22 tice system; or 

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

24 disparities in the delinquency system.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. REMOVING THE VALID COURT ORDER EXCEPTION 

2 FOR STATUS OFFENDERS. 

3 Section 223(a)(11) of the Juvenile Justice and Delin4 quency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5633(a)(11)) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘shall’’, and 

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

8 follows: 

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

10 who have committed an offense that would not 

11 be criminal if committed by an adult, excluding 

12 juveniles who are charged with or who have 

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

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

15 State law, shall not be placed in secure deten16 tion facilities or secure correctional facilities; 

17 and’’. 

Æ 


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