I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3526 

To provide definitions of terms and services related to community-based 

gang intervention to ensure that funding for such intervention is utilized 

in a cost-effective manner and that community-based agencies are held 

accountable for providing holistic, integrated intervention services, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 31, 2009 

Ms. WATSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To provide definitions of terms and services related to community-based gang intervention to ensure that funding 

for such intervention is utilized in a cost-effective manner 

and that community-based agencies are held accountable 

for providing holistic, integrated intervention services, 

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 ‘‘Tony Ca ́rdenas Com5 munity-Based Gang Intervention Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 

3 (1) For the first time in American history, 

4 more than one in every 100 adults is now incarcer5 ated in prison or jail. 

6 (2) The United States incarcerates more people 

7 than any other country in the world with more than 

8 2,200,000 people behind bars and another 5,000,000 

9 people on probation or parole. 

10 (3) The growing prison system is impacting 

11 every State, with total State spending on incarcer12 ation toppling $44,000,000,000 in 2007, up from 

13 $10,000,000,000 in 1987. 

14 (4) Prisons are the fourth-largest State budget 

15 item, behind, health, education, and transportation. 

16 (5) With increased prison costs, vital social pro17 grams and services such as education, job creation, 

18 housing, and healthcare are being cut or eliminated 

19 to maintain the prison industry. 

20 (6) From 1982 to 2005, direct expenditures for 

21 the judicial system increased by 474 percent, includ22 ing an increase of 619 percent for corrections, and 

23 an increase of 396 percent for police. These in24 creases resulted in hundreds of billions of dollars in 

25 government spending. 


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1 (7) Increased spending on the major criminal 

2 justice functions (including police, corrections, and 

3 judicial functions) has forced local governments to 

4 spend more of their general fund expenditures on 

5 corrections and incarceration. 

6 (8) The United States incarcerates more people 

7 than any other country in the world, including 

8 China, whose population is more than 4 times as 

9 large. As a result the United States expends large 

10 sums on corrections and incarceration, while gang 

11 prevention and intervention resources and program12 ming continue to be under funded. 

13 (9) The most recent data for national spending 

14 on juvenile justice is from 1994, and reveals that 

15 States spent $2,600,000,000 on juvenile justice ex16 penditures. State funded residential settings, such as 

17 detention centers, accounted for 65 percent 

18 ($1,690,000,000) of total juvenile justice expendi19 tures, while delinquency prevention accounted for 

20 only 8 percent ($208,000,000) of such juvenile jus21 tice expenditures. 

22 (10) According to the Office of Juvenile Justice 

23 and Delinquency Prevention, allowing 1 youth to 

24 leave school for a life of crime and drug abuse costs 

25 society $1,700,000 to $2,300,000, annually. 


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1 (11) The State of California leads the world in 

2 incarceration rates, with more than 175,000 people 

3 in State prisons and county jails. 

4 (12) The State of California spends nearly 

5 $10,000,000,000 a year on incarceration costs, ex6 ceeding the $7,100,000,000 the State spends to fund 

7 the University of California and California State 

8 University education systems. 

9 (13) Law enforcement agencies report that, 

10 compared to 20 years ago, there are now 6 times as 

11 many gangs and at least twice the number of gang 

12 members in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. 

13 (14) The City of Los Angeles has the largest 

14 number of alleged gangs and gang members in the 

15 world, with an estimated 700 gangs and 40,000 

16 gang members. 

17 (15) The County of Los Angeles allegedly has 

18 more than 1,076 gangs and more than 80,000 gang 

19 members. 

20 (16) California taxpayers now spend roughly 

21 $46,000 a year to incarcerate one adult and 

22 $252,000 a year to incarcerate one youth in State 

23 facilities. 

24 (17) Gang and youth violence substantially de25 creases when governments address the root causes of 


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1 gang violence and adequately fund community-based 

2 programs and practices. 

3 (18) Studies continue to prove that community4 based gang intervention provides long-lasting, cost5 effective results and opportunities for the youth and 

6 families most susceptible to gang violence. 

7 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

8 Congress that, in developing a comprehensive violence re9 duction strategy, the United States must acknowledge and 

10 address larger, entrenched social conditions and issues 

11 such as poverty, homelessness, inadequate educational sys12 tems, and limited economic opportunities that give rise to 

13 gangs and gang violence. 

14 TITLE I—COMMUNITY-BASED 

15 GANG INTERVENTION AGENCIES 

16 SEC. 101. COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION AGEN17 CIES. 

18 The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act 

19 of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.) is amended by adding 

20 at the end the following new title: 

21 ‘‘TITLE VI—COMMUNITY-BASED 

22 GANG INTERVENTION GRANTS 

23 ‘‘SEC. 601. PURPOSE. 

24 ‘‘The purpose of this title is to offer holistic and com25 prehensive understanding and support for the variety of 


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1 community-based gang intervention activities that focus 

2 on and engage active and former gang members, their 

3 close associates, and gang members in and returning from 

4 confinement. Gang involved youth and their families re5 quire specialized intensive and comprehensive services that 

6 address the unique issues encountered by youth when they 

7 become involved with gangs. Community-based gang inter8 vention involves proactive and reactive responses to gang 

9 activities on several levels, including— 

10 ‘‘(1) the regional level, to promote and coordi11 nate peace truces and cease-fires between groups; 

12 ‘‘(2) the State and local level, including commu13 nity and the juvenile halls, camps, Division of Juve14 nile Justice facilities, county jails, and State prisons; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(3) the neighborhood and street level, includ17 ing with active gang members individually. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 602. SUPPORT OF COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTER19 VENTION AGENCIES. 

20 ‘‘(a) SUPPORT OF COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTER21 VENTION AGENCIES.—Subject to the availability of appro22 priations, the Administrator shall award grant to eligible 

23 entities to carry out the activities described in subsection 

24 (c). 


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1 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For the purposes of this 

2 section, an ‘eligible entity’ means a community-based gang 

3 intervention agency that is a nonprofit organization with 

4 a proven track record and reputation for expertise in pro5 viding community-based gang intervention activities 

6 through a community-based gang intervention model, as 

7 defined in section 603. 

8 ‘‘(c) GRANT ACTIVITIES.—Each entity awarded a 

9 grant under this section shall carry out the following: 

10 ‘‘(1) Conduct street mediation, by working with 

11 gang members and persons with influence over such 

12 member to defuse and de-escalate potential and ac13 tual violence internally between gang members and 

14 between rival gangs. 

15 ‘‘(2) Develop local and regional truces, by cre16 ating cease-fires or non-aggression agreements be17 tween rival gangs and neighborhoods. 

18 ‘‘(3) Serve as conduits who facilitate constant 

19 dialogue and maintenance between gangs and neigh20 borhoods. 

21 ‘‘(4) Provide services that respond to the high 

22 levels of anxiety experienced by gang members to de23 compress critical situations due to traumatic events. 

24 ‘‘(5) Provide 24-hour, 7-day-a-week crisis inter25 vention services by responding to requests for vioVerDate Nov 24 2008 21:18 Aug 05, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3526.IH H3526

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1 lence prevention services made by gang members, 

2 gang member’s family, school officials, intervention 

3 workers, social service agencies, or law enforcement. 

4 ‘‘(6) Provide targeted training and technical as5 sistance to violence plagued communities after a 

6 major gang-related incident occurs. 

7 ‘‘(7) Facilitate the development of a community 

8 response plan, including training protocols, situa9 tional scene scenarios, and emergency response. 

10 ‘‘(8) Make a reasonable effort to prevent gang11 related rumors from intensifying tension between 

12 gangs or igniting violent responses by gangs. 

13 ‘‘(9) Establish relationships with community 

14 stakeholders to inform and engage them in quality15 of-life activities that enhance intervention activities. 

16 ‘‘(10) Serve as intervention representatives in 

17 communities by attending local meetings involving 

18 non-profit organizations, schools, faith-based organi19 zations, and other entities. 

20 ‘‘(11) Develop conflict resolution skills and 

21 techniques to address and resolve community con22 cerns related to gang activity in order to improve the 

23 quality of life within neighborhoods. 


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1 ‘‘(12) Work with schools to respond to gang-re2 lated issues and crises both within and outside 

3 school. 

4 ‘‘(13) Provide support services for youth and 

5 families affected by gang violence and other victims 

6 of gang violence (including any individual who is 

7 physically, emotionally, financially, or otherwise 

8 harmed by criminal activity, and those affected by 

9 harm done to or by a family member), which may 

10 include— 

11 ‘‘(A) advocating for public sector and pri12 vate sector assistance and services; 

13 ‘‘(B) grief counseling; and 

14 ‘‘(C) referrals to treatment and rehabilita15 tion for cognitive, mental, emotional, physical, 

16 or financial injury, loss, or suffering. 

17 ‘‘(14) Provide comprehensive mental health 

18 services to youth and families affected by gang vio19 lence or involvement, including— 

20 ‘‘(A) integrated services comprised of indi21 vidual, family, and group therapy modalities, 

22 and psychological education provided through 

23 youth and parent training programs; and 

24 ‘‘(B) gang-responsive services including 

25 skills training, assessing for, and servicing, 


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1 youth with developmental disabilities, behavioral 

2 modification, and services to address substance 

3 use and abuse, anger management, emotional 

4 regulation, traumatic stress, family violence, de5 pression, suicide, anxiety, and educational prob6 lems. 

7 ‘‘(15) Provide public and private sector career 

8 job training, development, and placement, includ9 ing— 

10 ‘‘(A) job-finding and job-maintaining skills, 

11 including skills related to resume writing, inter12 viewing, workplace decorum, interpersonal com13 munication, and problem-solving; 

14 ‘‘(B) information about legal rights in the 

15 workplace; and 

16 ‘‘(C) financial literacy, and assisting. 

17 ‘‘(16) Assist with substance use and abuse 

18 treatment, and domestic violence victims, and vol19 untary tattoo removal of markings on the body re20 lated to gang involvement. 

21 ‘‘(d) AVAILABILITY OF VICTIMS ASSISTANCE.—An 

22 entity awarded a grant under this section shall provide 

23 victim assistance under paragraph (13) of subsection (c) 

24 to any individual who meets the qualifications of such 

25 paragraph regardless of the background of the individual, 


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1 and shall not discriminate in the provision of such assist2 ance based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, 

3 socioeconomic level, or past record. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 603. DEFINITIONS. 

5 ‘‘In this title: 

6 ‘‘(1) COMMUNITY.—The term ‘community’ 

7 means a unit of local government or an Indian 

8 Tribe. 

9 ‘‘(2) COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVEN10 TION.—Except when used as part of the term ‘com11 munity-based gang intervention agency’ or ‘commu12 nity-based gang intervention model’, the term ‘com13 munity-based gang intervention’ means a two-prong 

14 approach to reducing gang violence that provides— 

15 ‘‘(A) specialized, gang-specific mediation 

16 and mitigation to stop or prevent violence by, 

17 within, and between gangs; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the redirection of individual gang 

19 members and their families through proactive 

20 efforts that increase peace and safety for gang 

21 members, their families, and their communities. 

22 ‘‘(3) COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION

23 AGENCY.—The term ‘community-based gang inter24 vention agency’ means a community-based organiza25 tion, association, or other entity that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) promotes public safety, with the spe2 cific objective of reducing and stopping gang-re3 lated and gang-motivated violence and crime; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(B) has a history of, or experience or spe6 cific training in, effectively working with gang7 involved youth and their families. 

8 ‘‘(4) COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION

9 MODEL.—The term ‘community-based gang inter10 vention model’ means a holistic and comprehensive 

11 two-prong approach to reducing gang violence and 

12 an integrated approach of providing rehabilitative 

13 service delivery to gang involved youth that— 

14 ‘‘(A) deploys community-based gang inter15 vention specialists who are trained in the two16 prong approach and who intercede, interact, 

17 and participate with and in into the community 

18 to quell rumors, prevent and mediate conflicts, 

19 and respond to crises related to gang activity 

20 and violence; 

21 ‘‘(B) delivers rehabilitative services to 

22 gang-involved individuals and families; and 

23 ‘‘(C) addresses the barriers that gang-in24 volved youth and their families encounter and 

25 the societal factors that promote gang violence. 


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1 ‘‘(5) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘evidence2 based’, when used with respect to a practice relating 

3 to gang activity prevention and intervention (includ4 ing community-based gang intervention), means a 

5 practice (including a service, program, or strategy) 

6 that has statistically significant outcomes that in7 clude a reduction in gang-related violence and an in8 creased number of youth in job development, recre9 ation, arts-based activities, or faith-based activities. 

10 Such outcomes may be determined by— 

11 ‘‘(A) an experimental trial, in which par12 ticipants are randomly assigned to participate 

13 in the practice that is the subject of the trial; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(B) a quasi-experimental trial, in which 

16 the outcomes for participants are compared 

17 with outcomes for a control group that is made 

18 up of individuals who are similar to such par19 ticipants. 

20 ‘‘(6) GANG.—The term ‘gang’ means a group of 

21 individuals— 

22 ‘‘(A) organized by geography, culture, or 

23 activity; 


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1 ‘‘(B) that have a group name, and may 

2 have other identifying characteristics of the 

3 group such as colors and nicknames; and 

4 ‘‘(C) who engage in the use of violence to 

5 defend the members or territory of the group. 

6 ‘‘(7) PROMISING.—The term ‘promising’, when 

7 used with respect to a practice relating to commu8 nity-based gang intervention, means a practice that 

9 is not evidence-based, but— 

10 ‘‘(A) that has outcomes from an evaluation 

11 that demonstrate that such practice reduces 

12 gang-related violence and crime; or 

13 ‘‘(B) about which a study is being con14 ducted to determine if such practice is evidence15 based. 

16 ‘‘(8) YOUTH.—The term ‘youth’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) an individual who is 18 years of age 

18 or younger; or 

19 ‘‘(B) in any State in which the maximum 

20 age at which the juvenile justice system of such 

21 State has jurisdiction over individuals exceeds 

22 18 years of age, an individual who is such max23 imum age or younger.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE 

2 OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUS3 TICE AND DELINQUENCY 

4 PREVENTION 

5 SEC. 201. DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTER6 VENTION. 

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 (28), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

10 the semicolon; 

11 (2) in paragraph (29), by striking the period at 

12 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

14 paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(30) COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVEN16 TION.—Except when used as part of the term ‘com17 munity-based gang intervention agency’ or ‘commu18 nity-based gang intervention model’, the term ‘com19 munity-based gang intervention’ means a two-prong 

20 approach to reducing gang violence that provides— 

21 ‘‘(A) specialized, gang-specific mediation 

22 and mitigation to stop or prevent violence by, 

23 within, and between gangs; and 

24 ‘‘(B) the redirection of individual gang 

25 members and their families through proactive 


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1 efforts that increase peace and safety for gang 

2 members, their families, and their commu3 nities.’’. 

4 SEC. 202. COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION REP5 RESENTATIVE TO STATE ADVISORY BOARDS. 

6 Section 223(a)(3)(ii) of the Juvenile Justice and De7 linquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 

8 5633(a)(3)(ii)) is amended— 

9 (1) in subclause (III), by inserting ‘‘, commu10 nity-based gang intervention,’’ after ‘‘delinquency 

11 prevention’’; and 

12 (2) in subclause (IV), by inserting ‘‘community13 based gang intervention,’’ after ‘‘prevention and 

14 treatment,’’. 

15 SEC. 203. GRANTS FOR DELINQUENCY PREVENTION PRO16 GRAMS. 

17 Section 504 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 

18 Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5783) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)— 

20 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (7) and 

21 (8) as paragraphs (8) and (9), respectively; and 

22 (B) by inserting after paragraph (6) the 

23 following new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(7) community-based gang intervention and 

25 prevention activities;’’; and 


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1 (2) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting ‘‘and com2 munity-based gang intervention’’ before ‘‘activities;’’. 

Æ 


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