I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3132
To provide grants to assist State and local prosecutors and law enforcement
agencies with implementing juvenile and young adult witness assistance
programs that minimize additional trauma to the witness and improve
the chances of successful criminal prosecution or legal action.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 21, 1999
Mr. CAPUANO (for himself, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. HASTINGS of Flor-
ida, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mrs. MCCARTHY
of New York, Mr. MCGOVERN, MS. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. LEWIS
of Georgia, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. OLVER, Mr. HOLT, Mr. EVANS, Mr. MAS-
CARA, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. DELAURO, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. LARSON,
Mr. OWENS, Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. REYES, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr.
BONIOR, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mr. GONZALEZ, Ms.
HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. WEINER,
Mrs. LOWEY, Ms. KILPATRICK, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Ms. WA-
TERS, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. SHOWS, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr.
NEAL of Massachusetts, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mr.
DELAHUNT, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. HOEFFEL, Ms. LEE, Mr. TIERNEY, and
Mr. MALONEY of Connecticut) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To provide grants to assist State and local prosecutors and
law enforcement agencies with implementing juvenile and
young adult witness assistance programs that minimize
additional trauma to the witness and improve the
chances of successful criminal prosecution or legal action.
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 ‘‘Young Witness Assist-
ance Act of 1999’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) Witness and victim intimidation at the juve-
nile and young adult level is a serious, growing con-
cern for State and local prosecutors and law enforce-
ment agencies.
(2) Each year, thousands of young people wit-
ness violent crimes such as assaults, robbery, homi-
cide, domestic violence, and sexual abuse.
(3) In many cases, the lack of juvenile and
young adult witness participation has seriously im-
peded efforts to bring violent perpetrators to justice.
(4) Prosecutors and police officers have become
increasingly frustrated by their inability to prosecute
cases successfully when young witnesses refuse to
testify because they fear retaliation by the defend-
ant, or the defendant’s family or friends.
(5) Factors that contribute to the reluctance of
young witnesses to step forward include—
(A) the fear and trauma associated with
witnessing a violent crime;
(B) a personal connection with the perpe-
trator or their associates;
(C) geographic proximity to the perpe-
trator; and
(D) membership in a culturally vulnerable
group.
(6) The cooperation and participation of young
victims and witnesses in the criminal justice process,
from crime reporting through prosecution, are essen-
tial to the successful operation of the criminal jus-
tice system.
(7) Though most States have witness assistance
programs, very few, if any, have adequate resources
to address the unique needs associated with juvenile
and young adult witnesses.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to encour-
age and promote the creation and development of policies
and programs by State and local prosecutors and law en-
forcement authorities that provide assistance to juvenile
and young adult witnesses who cooperate with efforts to
bring violent criminals to justice.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means
the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
(2) JUVENILE.—The term ‘‘juvenile’’ means an
individual who is 17 years of age or younger.
(3) YOUNG ADULT.—The term ‘‘young adult’’
means an individual who is between the ages of 18
and 21.
(4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any
State of the United States, the District of Columbia,
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is-
lands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern
Mariana Islands.
SEC. 4. PROGRAM AUTHORIZATION.
The Director may make grants to State and local
prosecutors and law enforcement agencies in support of
juvenile and young adult witness assistance programs, in-
cluding State and local prosecutors and law enforcement
agencies that have existing juvenile and adult witness as-
sistance programs.
SEC. 5. ELIGIBILITY.
To be eligible to receive a grant under this Act, State
and local prosecutors and law enforcement officials shall—
(1) submit an application to the Director in
such form and containing such information as the
Director may reasonably require; and