I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3114 
To provide grants for Civic Justice Corps programs for court-involved, 
previously incarcerated, and otherwise disadvantaged youth and young adults. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 6, 2011 
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To provide grants for Civic Justice Corps programs for 
court-involved, previously incarcerated, and otherwise dis-
advantaged youth and young adults. 
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 ‘‘Civic Justice Corps 
Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 
The purpose of this Act is to develop, implement, and 
expand educational and work experience opportunities for 
court-involved, previously incarcerated, and otherwise dis-
advantaged youth and young adults through service and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:21 Oct 07, 2011
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3114.IH
H3114
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
conservation corps and other community-based service or-
ganizations. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) On any given day, more than 500,000 juve-
nile court cases in the United States end in incarcer-
ation or probation. 
(2) The per diem cost of locking up one young 
person in a juvenile facility ranges from $24 in Wyo-
ming to $726 in Connecticut, but the American Cor-
rectional Association estimates that, on average, it 
costs States $240.99 per day, or around $88,000 a 
year, for every young person in a juvenile facility. 
(3) States spend nearly $6,000,000,000 a year 
incarcerating youth. 
(4) Youth who are imprisoned are up to 50 per-
cent more likely to recidivate than their counterparts 
who remain in their communities. 
(5) Nearly 70 percent of youth in residential fa-
cilities have been adjudicated for nonviolent offenses 
and could be safely managed within their commu-
nities. 
(6) The most effective programs at reducing re-
cidivism rates and promoting positive life outcomes 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:21 Oct 07, 2011
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3114.IH
H3114
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
for youth are administered within communities, out-
side of the criminal juvenile justice system. 
(7) In the United States there are more than 
150 service and conservation corps, the direct de-
scendants of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 
1930s, that operate in all 50 States, provide edu-
cational and economic opportunities to more than 
30,000 young people each year, and make important 
contributions in the communities in which they are 
located. 
(8) The Civic Justice Corps Model, developed 
by The Corps Network in conjunction with the Gates 
and Open Society Foundations, utilizes community 
service projects to deliver life skills, education, work-
force readiness, and supportive and transitional serv-
ices to formerly incarcerated and court-involved 
youth and young adults between the ages of 16 and 
25. 
(9) Data from 14 original Civic Justice Corps 
sites demonstrate 80 percent post-program partici-
pant placement rates and 11 percent recidivism 
rates among program participants (as opposed to 
the prevailing recidivism rate of 50 to 70 percent). 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
23:26 Oct 07, 2011
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3114.IH
H3114
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(1) CIVIC JUSTICE CORPS MODEL.—The term 
‘‘Civic Justice Corps Model’’ refers to programs 
that— 
(A) intentionally recruit and primarily en-
roll as participants in the program court-in-
volved, previously incarcerated, and otherwise 
disadvantaged youth and young adults between 
the ages of 16 and 25; 
(B) provide such participants with edu-
cational programming and support designed to 
lead to a high school diploma or its recognized 
equivalent; 
(C) provide such participants with assess-
ment, career planning, workforce readiness, and 
service or work experience designed to lead to 
unsubsidized employment, enrollment in post-
secondary education or an apprenticeship pro-
gram, the obtainment of an industry-recognized 
credential, or some other type of career path-
way program, including military service; 
(D) demonstrate relationships with local 
criminal, juvenile justice, and other social serv-
ice agencies and provide a range of supportive 
and transitional services to participants; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:21 Oct 07, 2011
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3114.IH
H3114
tjames on DSK6SPTVN1PROD with BILLS