I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1873 
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 
APRIL 2, 2009 
Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut (for himself, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of Cali-
fornia, Ms. DELAURO, and Mr. HIMES) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 
Act of 1974 with respect to juveniles who have com-
mitted offenses, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Juvenile Justice Im-
provement Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 103 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5603) is amended— 
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(1) in paragraph (25) by striking the words 
‘‘means the degree of interaction allowed between ju-
venile offenders in a secure custody status and in-
carcerated adults under section 31303(d)(1)(i) of 
title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on 
December 10, 1996.’’ and inserting ‘‘includes any 
sight or sound interaction between a youth under 18 
in a secure custody status with an adult inmate.’’, 
(2) by amending paragraph (26) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(26) the term ‘adult inmate’ means an indi-
vidual who— 
‘‘(A) has reached the age of full criminal 
responsibility under applicable State law; and 
‘‘(B) has been arrested and is in custody 
for or awaiting trial on a criminal charge, or is 
convicted of a criminal charge offense; exclud-
ing individuals who are— 
‘‘(i) at the time of the offense, young-
er than the maximum age at which a youth 
can be held in a juvenile facility under ap-
plicable State law; and 
‘‘(ii) committed to the care and cus-
tody of a juvenile correctional facility by a 
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court of competent jurisdiction or by oper-
ation of applicable State law.’’, 
(3) in paragraph (28) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at 
the end, 
(4) in paragraph (29) by striking the period at 
the end and inserting a semicolon, and 
(5) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(30) the term ‘restraint’ means a chemical or 
medical agent, physical force technique, or mechan-
ical device that restricts the movement of juveniles 
held in the custody of State or local secure detention 
or corrections facilities and youth participating in 
court-ordered delinquency prevention and juvenile 
justice programs; 
‘‘(31) the term ‘chemical agent’ means a spray 
used to temporarily incapacitate a person, such as 
oleoresin capsicum spray, tear gas, or 2-chlorobenz-
almalononitrile gas (CS gas); 
‘‘(32) the term ‘isolation’ means any instance 
when a youth is confined alone for more than 15 
minutes in a locked or unlocked room and includes 
instances when a resident is confined for cause or 
punishment in a room or cell in which he or she usu-
ally sleeps, but does not include confinement in a 
large dormitory with other youth, protective isolation 
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(for injured youths or youths whose safety is threat-
ened), program separation, routine isolation at the 
time of the youth’s admission, or isolation that is re-
quested by the youth or any medical room confine-
ment; 
‘‘(33) the term ‘room time’ means any instance 
in which a youth is confined alone for more than 15 
minutes, and includes confinement alone at the time 
of the youth’s admission as well as protective isola-
tion and program separation, administrative reasons, 
investigation purposes, low staffing and other rea-
sons, but does not include time when a youth asks 
to go to his room or confinement for medical rea-
sons; 
‘‘(34) the term ‘evidence based’ means a pro-
gram that is demonstrated with relative evidence, 
normed and validated for a diverse population, to be 
either— 
‘‘(A) exemplary, such that it is imple-
mented with a high degree of fidelity and dem-
onstrates robust empirical findings using a rep-
utable conceptual framework and an experi-
mental evaluation design of the highest quality 
(a random assignment control trial); or 
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‘‘(B) effective, such that it is implemented 
with sufficient fidelity that it demonstrates ade-
quate empirical findings using a sound concep-
tual framework and a quasi-experimental eval-
uation design of high quality (comparison group 
without random assignment control group); 
‘‘(35) the term ‘promising’ means a program 
that demonstrates effectiveness using reasonable, 
limited findings, and that has underway a more ap-
propriate evaluation that meets the criteria set forth 
in paragraph (33)(A) for determining evidence-based 
programs; and 
‘‘(36) the term ‘dangerous practice’ means an 
act, procedure, or program that creates an unreason-
able risk of physical injury, pain, or psychological 
harm to a juvenile subjected to the act, and it in-
cludes the use of chemical agents; choking; blows to 
the head; twisting body parts against joints or other 
techniques that rely on infliction of pain to secure 
compliance; restraint to fixed objects; restraint in 
any manner that creates risk of asphyxiation; use of 
belly belts or chains on pregnant girls; use of four- 
point or five-point restraints, straightjackets or re-
straint chairs, except for medical or mental health 
purposes specifically related to the safety of the 
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youth, and under the direct supervision of medical or 
mental health personnel, use of psychotropic medica-
tion without adherence to professional standards re-
garding dosage, or for purposes of coercion, punish-
ment, or convenience of staff; and use of physical 
force, chemical agents, or mechanical restraints for 
purposes of coercion, retaliation, punishment, or 
convenience of staff; and prolonged, forced physical 
exercise.’’. 
SEC. 3. STATE PLAN. 
Section 223(a) of the Juvenile Justice and Delin-
quency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5633(a)) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (8) by striking ‘‘existing’’ and 
inserting ‘‘proven effective’’, 
(2) in paragraph (9)(L)(i) by striking ‘‘re-
straints’’ and inserting ‘‘requirements’’, 
(3) in paragraph (27) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end, 
(4) in paragraph (28) by striking the period at 
the end and inserting a semicolon, and 
(5) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(29) require that not later than 3 years after 
the date of enactment of this paragraph and except 
when under the circumstances outlined in paragraph 
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(13), youth under the age of 18 awaiting trial or 
other legal process who are treated as adults for 
purposes of prosecution in criminal court and housed 
in a secure facility— 
‘‘(A) shall not have contact with adult in-
mates; and 
‘‘(B) shall not be held in jail or lockup for 
adults; 
‘‘(30) provide that the State will— 
‘‘(A) develop policies and procedures to 
eliminate the State-supported use of dangerous 
practices, unnecessary isolation, unnecessary 
room time, and unreasonable restraint with ju-
veniles in the custody of State or local secure 
detention and correctional facilities and residen-
tial treatment centers and provide for data col-
lection and reporting on the use of restraints, 
isolation, and room time in secure detention 
and correctional facilities; 
‘‘(B) increase the State’s efforts to operate 
facilities and programs that are safe for youth 
and staff, through effective behavior manage-
ment systems that clearly communicate incen-
tives and sanctions to increase appropriate be-
havior and decrease inappropriate behavior, and 
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which are implemented through a continuum of 
responses that begin with verbal de-escalation 
and that only allow for use of the most punitive 
responses as a last resort; 
‘‘(C) increase the State’s efforts to provide 
training for facility staff on effective techniques 
for effective behavior management, de-esca-
lation and crisis intervention, adolescent devel-
opment, safe physical control techniques, devel-
opmental disabilities, mental health disorders, 
and cultural competence; 
‘‘(D) increase the State’s efforts to develop 
engaging, effective programming, and establish 
safe staffing levels in secure detention and cor-
rectional facilities; and 
‘‘(E) provide for a system of independent 
monitoring for all juvenile detention and correc-
tional facilities in the State to identify and ad-
dress dangerous practices, unnecessary uses of 
isolation and room time, and unreasonable re-
straint, as well as deficiencies in provision of 
education, medical care, mental health care, 
and other conditions of confinement; and 
‘‘(31) provide reasonable assurance the Federal 
funds made available under this part for any period 
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will not be used for dangerous practices with juve-
niles in the custody of State or local secure deten-
tion and correctional facilities.’’. 
SEC. 4. PROMOTING ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION. 
Section 222 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5632) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) INCENTIVE GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) INCENTIVE GRANTS FUNDS.—The Admin-
istrator shall make grants totaling at least 5 percent 
of the funds appropriated for this part in each fiscal 
year as incentive grants to States. The Adminis-
trator shall make such incentive grants consistent 
with the provisions of subsection (a), and shall con-
dition such grants upon— 
‘‘(A) the State’s support for evidence-based 
or promising programs, prioritizing programs 
that address the mental health treatment needs 
of juveniles; 
‘‘(B) the State’s support of reforms that 
reduce or eliminate the State-supported use of 
dangerous practices; 
‘‘(C) the State’s support for reforms that 
ensure that seclusion in secure detention or cor-
rectional facilities is limited to situations in 
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which seclusion is the least restrictive measure 
sufficient to address a youth’s danger to self or 
others, used only for the amount of time nec-
essary and is terminated when there is no 
longer an immediate danger to the youth or 
others, or imposed only after applicable due 
process; and 
‘‘(D) the demonstration by the State of an 
improvement of public safety and rehabilitation 
of delinquent and at-risk youths. 
‘‘(2) The State shall make the demonstration 
required by paragraph (1)(D) by using accurate and 
reliable data reported annually showing both— 
‘‘(A) a reduction in either recidivism or of-
fenses by youths under age 18, using arrest 
data; and 
‘‘(B) either— 
‘‘(i) an increase in the use of least re-
strictive placement for juveniles as appro-
priate for community safety; 
‘‘(ii) an increase in the safety of 
youths in the delinquency or criminal jus-
tice system; or 
‘‘(iii) a decrease in racial and ethnic 
disparities in the delinquency system.’’. 
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SEC. 5. REMOVING THE VALID COURT ORDER EXCEPTION 
FOR STATUS OFFENDERS. 
Section 223(a)(11) of the Juvenile Justice and Delin-
quency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5633(a)(11)) 
is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘shall’’, and 
(2) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(A) juveniles who are charged with or 
who have committed an offense that would not 
be criminal if committed by an adult, excluding 
juveniles who are charged with or who have 
committed a violation of section 922(x)(2) of 
title 18, United States Code, or of a similar 
State law, shall not be placed in secure deten-
tion facilities or secure correctional facilities; 
and’’. 
Æ 
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