I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1924 
To provide definitions of terms and services related to community-based 
gang intervention to ensure that funding for such intervention is utilized 
in a cost-effective manner and that community-based agencies are held 
accountable for providing holistic, integrated intervention services, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 5, 2017 
Mr. CA´RDENAS (for himself, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. COHEN, Mr. 
CUMMINGS, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM 
of New Mexico, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. RASKIN, 
Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. VARGAS, and 
Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To provide definitions of terms and services related to com-
munity-based gang intervention to ensure that funding 
for such intervention is utilized in a cost-effective manner 
and that community-based agencies are held accountable 
for providing holistic, integrated intervention services, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community-Based 
Gang Intervention Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 
(1) For the first time in the history of the 
United States, more than one in every 100 adults is 
incarcerated. 
(2) The United States incarcerates more people 
than any other country in the world, with more than 
2,200,000 people behind bars and another 5,000,000 
people on probation or parole. 
(3) The United States has only 5 percent of the 
world’s population, but 25 percent of the world’s 
prisoners. 
(4) In 2007, the Federal Government spent 
$19,617,000,000 on police protection, corrections, 
and judicial and legal services, representing a 286- 
percent increase since 1982. This included a 475- 
percent increase for corrections and a 287-percent 
increase for police protection. 
(5) The growing prison system is also impact-
ing State budgets, with total State spending on in-
carceration topping $53,000,000,000 in 2012, up 
from $10,000,000,000 in 1987. 
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(6) With increased prison costs, vital social pro-
grams and services such as education, job creation, 
housing, and healthcare are being cut or eliminated 
to maintain the prison industry. 
(7) Between 1987 and 2007, the amount States 
spent on corrections increased 127 percent, while the 
increase in higher education spending was only 21 
percent. 
(8) Over the past 10 years, the State of Califor-
nia’s general fund expenditures for higher education 
have fallen 9 percent, while general fund expendi-
tures for corrections and rehabilitation have in-
creased 26 percent. 
(9) The State of California has the second larg-
est prison population in the Nation with 165,062 
prisoners under the jurisdiction of State or Federal 
correctional authorities in 2010. 
(10) According to one study, there are now 6 
times as many gangs and at least twice the number 
of gang members in Los Angeles since the start of 
the 30-year ‘‘war on gangs’’. 
(11) The city and county of Los Angeles have 
been dubbed the ‘‘gang capital’’ of the Nation with 
an estimated 463 gangs and 38,974 gang members 
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in the city, and more than 1,300 gangs and 150,000 
gang members in the county. 
(12) According to the Office of Juvenile Justice 
and Delinquency Prevention, allowing 1 youth to 
leave school for a life of crime and drug abuse costs 
society between $1,700,000 and $2,300,000. 
(13) In the State of California, the average an-
nual cost per inmate is $47,421 for an adult inmate, 
and $218,000 for a youth inmate. 
(14) The most recent data on overall State 
spending on juvenile justice programs reveals that in 
1998, States spent nearly $4,200,000,000 on juve-
nile justice related programs, which was a 65-per-
cent increase from fiscal year 1994. Of those ex-
penditures, 67 percent went towards residential 
placements, while only 8.4 percent went towards de-
linquency prevention. 
(15) Gang and youth violence substantially de-
creases when governments address the root causes of 
gang violence and adequately fund community-based 
programs and practices. 
(16) Studies continue to prove that community- 
based gang intervention provides long-lasting, cost- 
effective results and opportunities for the youth and 
families most susceptible to gang violence. 
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(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that, in developing a comprehensive violence reduc-
tion strategy, the United States should acknowledge and 
address larger, entrenched social conditions and issues 
such as poverty, homelessness, inadequate educational sys-
tems, and limited economic opportunities that give rise to 
gangs and gang violence. 
TITLE I—COMMUNITY-BASED 
GANG INTERVENTION AGENCIES 
SEC. 101. COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION AGEN-
CIES. 
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act 
of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new title: 
‘‘TITLE VI—COMMUNITY-BASED 
GANG INTERVENTION GRANTS 
‘‘SEC. 601. PURPOSE. 
‘‘The purpose of this title is to offer holistic and com-
prehensive support for the variety of community-based 
gang intervention activities that focus on and engage ac-
tive and former gang members, their close associates, and 
gang members in and returning from confinement. Gang- 
involved youth and their families require specialized inten-
sive and comprehensive services that address the unique 
issues encountered by youth when they become involved 
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with gangs. Community-based gang intervention involves 
proactive and reactive responses to gang activities on sev-
eral levels, including— 
‘‘(1) the regional level, to promote and coordi-
nate peace truces and cease-fires between groups; 
‘‘(2) the State and local level, including commu-
nity and the juvenile halls, camps, Division of Juve-
nile Justice facilities, county jails, and State prisons; 
and 
‘‘(3) the neighborhood and street level, includ-
ing with active gang members individually. 
‘‘SEC. 602. SUPPORT OF COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTER-
VENTION AGENCIES. 
‘‘(a) SUPPORT OF COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTER-
VENTION AGENCIES.—Subject to the availability of appro-
priations, the Administrator shall award grants to eligible 
entities to carry out the activities described in subsection 
(c). 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For the purposes of this 
section, an ‘eligible entity’ means a community-based gang 
intervention agency that is a nonprofit organization with 
a proven track record and expertise in providing commu-
nity-based gang intervention activities through a commu-
nity-based gang intervention model. 
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‘‘(c) GRANT ACTIVITIES.—Each entity awarded a 
grant under this section shall carry out the following ac-
tivities: 
‘‘(1) Conduct street mediation by working with 
gang members and persons with influence over such 
member to defuse and de-escalate potential and ac-
tual violence internally between gang members and 
between rival gangs. 
‘‘(2) Develop local and regional truces by cre-
ating cease-fires or nonaggression agreements be-
tween rival gangs and neighborhoods. 
‘‘(3) Serve as conduits who facilitate constant 
dialogue and maintenance between gangs and neigh-
borhoods. 
‘‘(4) Provide services that respond to the high 
levels of anxiety experienced by gang members to de-
compress critical situations due to traumatic events. 
‘‘(5) Provide 24-hour, 7-day-a-week crisis inter-
vention services by responding to requests for vio-
lence prevention services made by gang members, 
the families of gang members, school officials, inter-
vention workers, social service agencies, or law en-
forcement. 
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‘‘(6) Provide targeted training and technical as-
sistance to violence-plagued communities after a 
major gang-related incident. 
‘‘(7) Facilitate the development of a community 
response plan, including training protocols, situa-
tional scene scenarios, and emergency response. 
‘‘(8) Make a reasonable effort to prevent gang- 
related rumors from intensifying tension between 
gangs or igniting violent responses by gangs. 
‘‘(9) Establish relationships with community 
stakeholders to inform and engage them in quality- 
of-life activities that enhance intervention activities. 
‘‘(10) Serve as intervention representatives in 
communities by attending local meetings involving 
nonprofit organizations, schools, faith-based organi-
zations, and other entities. 
‘‘(11) Develop conflict resolution skills and 
techniques to address and resolve community con-
cerns related to gang activity in order to improve the 
quality of life within neighborhoods. 
‘‘(12) Work with schools to respond to gang-re-
lated issues and crises both in and outside of school. 
‘‘(13) Provide support services for youth and 
families affected by gang violence and other victims 
of gang violence (including any individual who is 
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physically, emotionally, financially, or otherwise 
harmed by criminal activity, and those affected by 
harm done to or by a family member), which may 
include— 
‘‘(A) advocating for public sector and pri-
vate sector assistance and services; 
‘‘(B) grief counseling; and 
‘‘(C) referrals to treatment and rehabilita-
tion for cognitive, mental, emotional, physical, 
or financial injury, loss, or suffering. 
‘‘(14) Provide comprehensive mental health 
services to youth and families affected by gang vio-
lence or involvement, including— 
‘‘(A) integrated services comprised of indi-
vidual, family, and group therapy modalities, 
and psychological education provided through 
youth and parent training programs; and 
‘‘(B) gang-responsive services including 
skills training, assessing and servicing youth 
with developmental disabilities, behavioral modi-
fication, and services to address substance use 
and abuse, anger management, emotional regu-
lation, traumatic stress, family violence, depres-
sion, suicide, anxiety, and educational problems. 
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‘‘(15) Provide public and private sector career 
job training, development, and placement, includ-
ing— 
‘‘(A) job-finding and job-maintaining skills, 
including skills related to resume writing, inter-
viewing, workplace decorum, interpersonal com-
munication, and problem-solving; 
‘‘(B) information about legal rights in the 
workplace; and 
‘‘(C) financial literacy. 
‘‘(16) Assist with substance use and abuse 
treatment, domestic violence victims, and voluntary 
tattoo removal of markings on the body related to 
gang involvement. 
‘‘(d) AVAILABILITY OF VICTIMS ASSISTANCE.—An 
entity awarded a grant under this section that provides 
victim assistance under paragraph (13) of subsection (c) 
shall not discriminate in the provision of such assistance 
to an individual based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual 
orientation, socioeconomic level, or past record. 
‘‘SEC. 603. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this title: 
‘‘(1) COMMUNITY.—Notwithstanding the defini-
tion of ‘community based’ in section 103, the term 
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‘community’ means a unit of local government or an 
Indian Tribe. 
‘‘(2) COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION 
AGENCY.—The term ‘community-based gang inter-
vention agency’ means a community-based organiza-
tion, association, or other entity that— 
‘‘(A) promotes public safety, with the spe-
cific objective of reducing and stopping gang-re-
lated and gang-motivated violence and crime; 
and 
‘‘(B) has a history of, or experience or spe-
cific training in, effectively working with gang- 
involved youth and their families. 
‘‘(3) COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION 
MODEL.—The term ‘community-based gang inter-
vention model’ means a holistic and comprehensive 
approach to reducing gang violence that utilizes the 
two-prong approach of community-based intervention 
and an integrated approach of providing rehabilita-
tive service delivery to gang-involved youth that— 
‘‘(A) deploys specialists in community- 
based gang intervention who are trained to uti-
lize the two-prong approach of community- 
based gang intervention and who intercede, 
interact, and participate with and in the com-
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munity to quell rumors, prevent and mediate 
conflicts, and respond to crises related to gang 
activity and violence; 
‘‘(B) delivers rehabilitative services to 
gang-involved individuals and families; and 
‘‘(C) addresses the barriers that gang-in-
volved youth and their families encounter and 
the societal factors that promote gang violence. 
‘‘(4) EVIDENCE-BASED.—The term ‘evidence- 
based’, when used with respect to a practice relating 
to gang activity prevention and intervention (includ-
ing community-based gang intervention), means a 
practice (including a service, program, or strategy) 
that has statistically significant outcomes that in-
clude a reduction in gang-related violence and an in-
creased number of youth in job development, recre-
ation, arts-based activities, or faith-based activities. 
Such outcomes may be determined by— 
‘‘(A) an experimental trial, in which par-
ticipants are randomly assigned to participate 
in the practice that is the subject of the trial; 
or 
‘‘(B) a quasi-experimental trial, in which 
the outcomes for participants are compared 
with outcomes for a control group that is made 
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up of individuals who are similar to such par-
ticipants. 
‘‘(5) GANG.—The term ‘gang’ means a group of 
individuals— 
‘‘(A) organized by geography, culture, or 
activity; 
‘‘(B) that have a group name, and may 
have other identifying characteristics of the 
group such as colors and nicknames; and 
‘‘(C) who engage in the use of violence to 
defend the members or territory of the group. 
‘‘(6) PROMISING.—The term ‘promising’, when 
used with respect to a practice relating to commu-
nity-based gang intervention, means a practice that 
is not evidence-based, but— 
‘‘(A) that has outcomes from an evaluation 
that demonstrate that such practice reduces 
gang-related violence and crime; or 
‘‘(B) about which a study is being con-
ducted to determine if such practice is evidence- 
based. 
‘‘(7) YOUTH.—The term ‘youth’ means— 
‘‘(A) an individual who is 18 years of age 
or younger; or 
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‘‘(B) in any State in which the maximum 
age at which the juvenile justice system of such 
State has jurisdiction over individuals exceeds 
18 years of age, an individual who is such max-
imum age or younger.’’. 
TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE 
OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUS-
TICE 
AND 
DELINQUENCY 
PREVENTION 
SEC. 201. DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTER-
VENTION. 
Section 103 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5603) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘except when 
used in title VI,’’ before ‘‘the term’’; 
(2) in paragraph (28), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 
the semicolon; 
(3) in paragraph (29), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(30) except when used as part of the term 
‘community-based gang intervention agency’ or 
‘community-based gang intervention model’, the 
term ‘community-based gang intervention’ means a 
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two-prong approach to reducing gang violence 
that— 
‘‘(A) provides specialized, gang-specific me-
diation and mitigation to stop or prevent vio-
lence by, within, and between gangs; and 
‘‘(B) provides the redirection of individual 
gang members and their families through 
proactive efforts that increase peace and safety 
for gang members, their families, and their 
communities.’’. 
SEC. 202. COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION REP-
RESENTATIVE TO STATE ADVISORY BOARDS. 
Section 223(a)(3)(ii) of the Juvenile Justice and De-
linquency 
Prevention 
Act 
of 
1974 
(42 
U.S.C. 
5633(a)(3)(ii)) is amended— 
(1) in subclause (III), by inserting ‘‘, or com-
munity-based gang intervention’’ after ‘‘delinquency 
prevention or treatment’’; and 
(2) in subclause (IV), by inserting ‘‘community- 
based gang intervention,’’ after ‘‘prevention and 
treatment,’’. 
SEC. 203. GRANTS FOR DELINQUENCY PREVENTION PRO-
GRAMS. 
Section 504 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5783) is amended— 
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(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (7) and 
(8) as paragraphs (8) and (9), respectively; and 
(B) by inserting after paragraph (6) the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(7) community-based gang intervention and 
gang prevention activities;’’; and 
(2) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting ‘‘and com-
munity-based gang intervention’’ before ‘‘activities;’’. 
Æ 
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