I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2300 
To establish a grant to provide mental health services and behavioral health 
services to at-risk youth, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 12, 2019 
Mr. CA´RDENAS (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mrs. NAPOLI-
TANO, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. LEE of Cali-
fornia, Mr. TRONE, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. SEWELL of Ala-
bama, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. MENG, Ms. ADAMS, and Ms. BASS) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Ju-
diciary, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for 
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish a grant to provide mental health services and 
behavioral health services to at-risk youth, 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 ‘‘Eliminating Debtor’s 
Prison for Kids Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH GRANT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attor-
ney General shall carry out a program under which the 
Attorney General makes grants to eligible States for the 
purpose of providing evidence-based and trauma-informed 
mental and behavioral health services to at-risk youth in 
any school, secure detention facility, or secure correctional 
facility in the State. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this section, a State shall— 
(1) certify to the Attorney General that the 
laws of the State prohibit a juvenile offender or a 
parent or guardian of such an offender from being 
ordered to pay probation supervision fees or court 
administrative fees, including the cost of court-ap-
pointed attorneys or public defenders, the cost of 
prosecution, and other administrative costs of the 
court; 
(2) certify to the Attorney General that the 
laws of the State prohibit a parent or guardian of 
a juvenile offender from paying child support or 
other costs for detention or post-adjudication place-
ment to the State; and 
(3) submit to the Attorney General an applica-
tion at such time, in such manner, and containing 
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such information as the Attorney General may re-
quire. 
(c) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives a grant 
under this section shall use the grant to provide evidence- 
based and trauma-informed mental and behavioral health 
services to at-risk youth in any school, secure detention 
facility, or secure correctional facility in the State. 
(d) CONTRACTS AND SUBAWARDS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—A State may, in using a 
grant under this section for purposes authorized by 
subsection (c), use all or a portion of that grant to 
contract with or make one or more subawards to one 
or more units of local government. 
(2) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a 
contract or a subaward under this subsection may 
use such funds to provide services or benefits de-
scribed under subsection (c). 
(e) INFORMATION FOR REPORT.—A State that re-
ceives a grant under this section shall provide to an inde-
pendent criminal justice organization, selected by the At-
torney General, such information as is necessary to com-
plete the report described in section 3. 
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024. 
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SEC. 3. NATIONAL REPORT. 
(a) INDEPENDENT REPORT.—Not later than 18 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, an 
independent criminal justice organization, selected by the 
Attorney General, shall submit to the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate a national report 
on fines and fees imposed on adults and juveniles in the 
criminal justice system, including— 
(1) information with respect to the monetary 
amount of fines and fees imposed, including the 
race, ethnicity, tribal affiliation, and other demo-
graphic data of the individuals upon whom such 
fines and fees are imposed and the rate at which in-
dividuals are reincarcerated within 1 year of release 
from a secure detention facility or a secure correc-
tional facility; 
(2) a description of each type of service for 
which a fee is imposed; 
(3) a description of each type of charge for 
which a fine is imposed; 
(4) a comparison of the average length of im-
prisonment or detention for individuals who are un-
able to pay a fine and the average length of impris-
onment or detention for individuals who are able to 
pay a fine; and 
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(5) a disclosure of the sum total of fines and 
fees collected minus the cost for efforts to collect 
such sum. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$2,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, which shall remain avail-
able until expended. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AT-RISK YOUTH.—The term ‘‘at-risk youth’’ 
means an individual who— 
(A) has not attained the age of 21; and 
(B)(i) is likely to fail academically without 
intervention, including an individual who— 
(I) has a high truancy rate; 
(II) has withdrawn from school pre-
viously; 
(III) is not less than 1 year behind 
the appropriate grade level for such indi-
vidual; or 
(IV) has limited English language 
proficiency; 
(ii) uses drugs or alcohol; 
(iii) is pregnant or a parent; 
(iv) is a gang member; 
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(v) is in contact with the juvenile justice 
system; or 
(vi) is homeless, has run away from home, 
or is in foster care. 
(2) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘‘evidence- 
based’’ has the meaning given such term in section 
103 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preven-
tion Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11103). 
(3) JUVENILE OFFENDER.—The term ‘‘juvenile 
offender’’ means an individual— 
(A) who has not attained the age of 21; 
and 
(B)(i) against whom a petition is filed for 
the adjudication of a delinquency offense under 
the laws of a State or the United States; or 
(ii) who has been adjudicated delinquent 
for a delinquency offense under the laws of a 
State or the United States. 
(4) SECURE
CORRECTIONAL
FACILITY.—The 
term ‘‘secure correctional facility’’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 103 of the Juvenile Jus-
tice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34 
U.S.C. 11103). 
(5) SECURE DETENTION FACILITY.—The term 
‘‘secure detention facility’’ has the meaning given 
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such term in section 103 of the Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 
11103). 
(6) SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘school’’ means— 
(A) an early childhood education program 
(as such term is defined in section 8101 of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)); 
(B) an elementary school (as such term is 
defined in section 8101 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
7801)); or 
(C) a secondary school (as such term is de-
fined in section 8101 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 
7801)). 
(7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 
State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United 
States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 
and any possession of the United States. 
(8) TRAUMA-INFORMED.—The term ‘‘trauma- 
informed’’ has the meaning given such term in sec-
tion 103 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11103). 
Æ 
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