I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5960 
To direct the Attorney General to make grants to regional gang task forces 
to prevent violence committed by and against youths, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 24, 2018 
Mr. CONNOLLY (for himself and Mr. RUTHERFORD) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To direct the Attorney General to make grants to regional 
gang task forces to prevent violence committed by and 
against youths, 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 ‘‘Preventing Gang Vio-
lence Act of 2018’’. 
SEC. 
2. 
COMMUNITY-BASED 
VIOLENCE 
PREVENTION 
GRANTS PROGRAM. 
(a) NAME OF PROGRAM.—The grant program estab-
lished under this section shall be known as the ‘‘Commu-
nity-Based Violence Prevention Grants Program’’. 
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(b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General is au-
thorized to award grants, on a competitive basis, to re-
gional gang task forces in order to reduce and prevent vio-
lence committed by and against youths. 
(c) APPLICATION.—A regional gang task force, or a 
State or unit of local government on behalf of a regional 
gang task force, seeking a grant under this section shall 
submit to the Attorney General an application at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
the Attorney General may reasonably require. At a min-
imum, each such application shall include each of the fol-
lowing: 
(1) Documentation of the applicant’s record of 
addressing youth violence by— 
(A) addressing multiple influences in a 
child’s life, including individual, family, school, 
community, and societal influences; 
(B) embracing positive youth development 
and well-being; 
(C) ensuring prevention, intervention, and 
treatment strategies are trauma-informed; 
(D) using a comprehensive spectrum of 
evidence-based (research and practice) strate-
gies; 
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(E) considering the differential impact on 
populations and how they should be factored 
into strategy development; 
(F) involving stakeholders from various 
sectors, including youth and families, Federal, 
State, and local governments, tribal law en-
forcement, and faith and community-based or-
ganizations; 
(G) training all professionals who interact 
with youth on their role in preventing and re-
ducing trauma and violence, promoting well- 
being, and avoiding retraumatization through 
the use of gender-responsive and culturally 
competent programming for impacted commu-
nities; 
(H) making effective and appropriate use 
of data; 
(I) supporting long-term investment to sus-
tain initial changes, including public-private 
funding and development; and 
(J) allocating efforts and resources based 
on potential impact and outcome. 
(2) Evidence of collaboration between the State 
agency designated by the Governor under section 
223(a)(1) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
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Prevention Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11133(a)(1)) 
and relevant stakeholders in developing the grant 
implementation plan described in paragraph (5). 
(3) Annual performance measures and targets 
for the activities intended to be carried out with the 
grant. 
(4) A description of the applicant’s plan to con-
duct a rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of the 
activities carried out with the grant. 
(5) A grant implementation plan, including a 
proposed strategy to reduce the violence described in 
subsection (b) that is evidence-based. 
(6) In the case of an applicant that is a State 
or unit of local government, a designation of a re-
gional gang task force that will be the beneficiary of 
the funds. 
(d) EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—In evaluating an application 
submitted under subsection (c), the Attorney Gen-
eral shall evaluate— 
(A) the applicant’s record of addressing 
youth violence described in subsection (c)(1); 
(B) the applicant’s evaluation plan de-
scribed in subsection (c)(4); and 
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(C) the quality and likelihood of success of 
the applicant’s grant implementation plan de-
scribed in subsection (c)(5), including the appli-
cant’s capacity to implement the plan, and evi-
dence of the collaboration described in sub-
section (c)(2). 
(2) PUBLICATION.—The Attorney General shall 
publish an explanation of how applications for 
grants submitted under subsection (c) will be evalu-
ated in order to ensure an objective and fair review 
process. 
(e) MATCHING FUNDS.—The Federal share of a 
grant received under this part may not exceed 75 percent 
of the total program costs. 
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out the grant pro-
gram under this section $18,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2019 through 2023. 
Æ 
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