I 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5512 
To amend the Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Programs 
under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 
to add gender-responsive services to the list of authorized grant purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 16, 2016 
Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. POCAN, and Mr. RANGEL) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Pre-
vention Programs under the Juvenile Justice and Delin-
quency Prevention Act of 1974 to add gender-responsive 
services to the list of authorized grant 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; FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Improving the Juvenile Justice System for Girls Act of 
2016’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 
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(1) The proportion of girls entering the justice 
system has increased steadily over the past several 
decades, and girls are among the fastest growing 
segment of the juvenile justice population. In 1991, 
around 20 percent of the juvenile arrests were girls. 
By 2012, girls represented nearly 30 percent. 
(2) Girls’ pathways into juvenile justice involve-
ment are distinct from boys’ pathways. Girls account 
for a much larger proportion of nonviolent status of-
fenders than delinquency offenders (40 percent com-
pared to 14 percent, respectively). 
(3) Girls are, on average, younger than boys 
when they enter the juvenile justice system and fre-
quently experience multiple traumatic events. 
(4) The trauma of untreated physical and sex-
ual abuse results in lifetime consequences for girls. 
These consequences include a higher risk for a num-
ber of negative social and health outcomes such as 
higher mortality rates, a variety of psychiatric prob-
lems, dysfunctional and violent relationships, poor 
educational achievement, less stable work histories, 
increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases and 
early pregnancy, substance abuse or addiction, and 
increased reliance on social services as compared to 
non-delinquent girls. 
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(5) A growing body of evidence suggests that 
girls who enter the juvenile justice system have 
equal if not higher rates of mental health issues 
than boys who enter the system. 
(6) Current research and data have shown that 
gender-responsive, strength-based programming pro-
viding trauma-informed care and trauma-specific 
services is the most effective means of preventing ju-
venile offenses and reducing recidivism. 
SEC. 2. INCENTIVE GRANTS FOR LOCAL DELINQUENCY 
PREVENTION PROGRAMS. 
The second title V of the Juvenile Justice and Delin-
quency Prevention Act of 1974 (relating to Incentive 
Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Programs, as 
added by Public Law 102–586 and amended by Public 
Law 107–273) is amended— 
(1) by amending section 502 (42 U.S.C. 5781) 
to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 502. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this title: 
‘‘(1) STATE
ADVISORY
GROUP.—The term 
‘State advisory group’ means the advisory group ap-
pointed by the chief executive officer of a State 
under a plan described in section 223(a). 
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‘‘(2) 
GENDER-RESPONSIVE
SERVICES.—The 
term ‘gender-responsive services’ means practices or 
evidence-based services that— 
‘‘(A) comprehensively address the unique 
social, emotional, and physical, mental, and be-
havioral health needs of girls in the juvenile jus-
tice system through the development or im-
provement of programs, treatment, counseling, 
and resources, and the selection and training of 
staff, in a manner that reflects an under-
standing of— 
‘‘(i) the unique pathways of girls into 
the juvenile justice system; 
‘‘(ii) the need for interventions that 
address experiences of girls in the juvenile 
justice system, including histories of phys-
ical, emotional, and sexual abuse, violence, 
unhealthy family relationships, and sub-
stance abuse; 
‘‘(iii) the social and cultural factors 
affecting girls in the juvenile justice system 
and girls who are at risk of entering the 
juvenile justice system; and 
‘‘(iv) the increased risk of unplanned 
pregnancy or sexually transmitted infec-
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tions among girls in the juvenile justice 
system; and 
‘‘(B) includes trauma-informed services 
and trauma-specific interventions, that are evi-
dence-based and research based. 
‘‘(3) TRAUMA-INFORMED SERVICES.—The term 
‘trauma-informed services’ means services that— 
‘‘(A) address the neurological, biological, 
psychological, and social effects of traumatic 
stress on those who have experienced such 
stressors; 
‘‘(B) provide youth, staff, and family mem-
bers with psychoeducational resources to en-
hance their understanding of trauma exposure, 
the impact of traumatic stress, and interven-
tions to address post-traumatic reactions; 
‘‘(C) engage in efforts to strengthen the 
resilience and protective factors of those who 
have experienced traumatic stress; 
‘‘(D) include trauma-informed interven-
tions that are based on an understanding of the 
triggers associated with post-traumatic stress, 
and are designed to provide support to, and 
avoid re-traumatization of, individuals who have 
experienced traumatic stressors; 
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‘‘(E) emphasize continuity of care and col-
laboration among the providers of services and 
families of youth who have experienced trau-
matic stress; and 
‘‘(F) universally screen for signs of trauma 
and traumatic stress, with additional assess-
ment and treatment performed by a mental 
health provider with specific training in, and 
qualified to provide, trauma-specific interven-
tions for those individuals who have experienced 
traumatic stress. 
‘‘(4) TRAUMA-SPECIFIC
INTERVENTION.—The 
term ‘trauma-specific intervention’ means an empiri-
cally supported therapeutic intervention designed to 
reduce or prevent the adverse impact of post-trau-
matic stress symptoms and enhance recovery and re-
silience for persons who have experienced traumatic 
stressors.’’; 
(2) in section 504 (42 U.S.C. 5783)— 
(A) in subsection (a)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semi-
colon in paragraph (7); 
(ii) by redesignating paragraph (8) as 
paragraph (9); and 
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(iii) by inserting after paragraph (7) 
the following: 
‘‘(8) gender-responsive services; and’’; and 
(B) in subsection (b)— 
(i) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, 
including a description of how the funds 
made available under this section will in-
crease the effectiveness of such plan and 
the activities to be carried out under such 
plan’’ before the semicolon; and 
(ii) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, 
including a description of how the funds 
made available under this section will in-
crease the effectiveness of such plan and 
the activities to be carried out under such 
plan’’ before the semicolon; and 
(3) in section 505 (42 U.S.C. 5784)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘2008’’; and 
(B) by inserting before the period at the 
end the following: ‘‘2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 
2021, and 2022’’. 
Æ 
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