Title: Tiffany Joslyn Juvenile Accountability Block Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2017
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Tiffany Joslyn Juvenile Accountability Block Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2017
This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to revise and reauthorize through FY2022 the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) Program.
It subjects JABG grants to accountability measures. The Office of Inspector General in the Department of Justice (DOJ) must conduct annual audits of selected grant recipients. DOJ must submit an annual certification to Congress and identify and report on duplicative grant awards.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 68 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 68

  To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
 reauthorize the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant program, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2017

 Ms. Jackson Lee introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
 reauthorize the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant program, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Tiffany Joslyn Juvenile 
Accountability Block Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF JUVENILE ACCOUNTABILITY BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM.

    Part R of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 
of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796ee et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 1801(b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``graduated 
                sanctions'' and inserting ``graduated sanctions and 
                incentives'';
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``hiring juvenile 
                court judges, probation officers, and court-appointed 
                defenders and special advocates, and'';
                    (C) by striking paragraphs (4) and (7), and 
                redesignating paragraphs (5) through (17) as paragraphs 
                (4) through (15), respectively; and
                    (D) in paragraph (11), as so redesignated, by 
                striking ``research-based bullying, cyberbullying, and 
                gang prevention programs'' and inserting 
                ``interventions such as researched-based anti-bullying, 
                anti-cyberbullying, and gang prevention programs, as 
                well as mental health services and trauma-informed 
                practices'';
            (2) in section 1802--
                    (A) in subsection (d)(3), by inserting after 
                ``individualized sanctions'' the following: ``, 
                incentives,'';
                    (B) in subsection (e)(1)(B), by striking 
                ``graduated sanctions'' and inserting ``graduated 
                sanctions and incentives''; and
                    (C) in subsection (f)--
                            (i) in paragraph (2)--
                                    (I) by inserting after ``A sanction 
                                may include'' the following: ``a range 
                                of court-approved interventions, such 
                                as''; and
                                    (II) by inserting after ``a fine,'' 
                                the following: ``a restorative justice 
                                program,''; and
                            (ii) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 
                        following:
            ``(3) Incentives.--The term `incentives' means 
        individualized, goal-oriented, and graduated responses to a 
        juvenile offender's compliance with court orders and case 
        disposition terms designed to reinforce or modify the skills 
        and behaviors of the juvenile offender. An incentive may 
        include a certificate of achievement, a letter of 
        recommendation, a family or program activity, a meeting or 
        special outing with a community leader, a reduction in 
        community service hours, a reduced curfew or home restriction, 
        a decrease in required court appearances, or a decrease in the 
        term of court-ordered supervision.'';
            (3) in section 1810(a), by striking ``$350,000,000 for each 
        of fiscal years 2006 through 2009'' and inserting ``$25,000,000 
        for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 1811. GRANT ACCOUNTABILITY.

    ``(a) Definition of Applicable Committees.--In this section, the 
term `applicable committees' means--
            ``(1) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and
            ``(2) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
        Representatives.
    ``(b) Accountability.--All grants awarded by the Attorney General 
under this part shall be subject to the following accountability 
provisions:
            ``(1) Audit requirement.--
                    ``(A) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term 
                `unresolved audit finding' means a finding in the final 
                audit report of the Inspector General of the Department 
                of Justice that the audited grantee has utilized grant 
                funds for an unauthorized expenditure or otherwise 
                unallowable cost that is not closed or resolved within 
                12 months after the date on which the final audit 
                report is issued.
                    ``(B) Audit.--Beginning in the first fiscal year 
                beginning after the date of enactment of this section, 
                and in each fiscal year thereafter, the Inspector 
                General of the Department of Justice shall conduct 
                audits of recipients of grants awarded by the Attorney 
                General under this part to prevent waste, fraud, and 
                abuse of funds by grantees. The Inspector General shall 
                determine the appropriate number of grantees to be 
                audited each year.
                    ``(C) Mandatory exclusion.--A recipient of grant 
                funds under this part that is found to have an 
                unresolved audit finding shall not be eligible to 
                receive grant funds under this part during the first 2 
                fiscal years beginning after the end of the 12-month 
                period described in subparagraph (A).
                    ``(D) Priority.--In awarding grants under this 
                part, the Attorney General shall give priority to 
                eligible applicants that did not have an unresolved 
                audit finding during the 3 fiscal years before 
                submitting an application for a grant under this part.
                    ``(E) Reimbursement.--If an entity is awarded grant 
                funds under this part during the 2-fiscal-year period 
                during which the entity is barred from receiving grants 
                under subparagraph (C), the Attorney General shall--
                            ``(i) deposit an amount equal to the amount 
                        of the grant funds that were improperly awarded 
                        to the grantee into the General Fund of the 
                        Treasury; and
                            ``(ii) seek to recoup the costs of the 
                        repayment to the fund from the grant recipient 
                        that was erroneously awarded grant funds.
            ``(2) Annual certification.--Beginning in the first fiscal 
        year beginning after the date of enactment of this section, the 
        Attorney General shall submit to the applicable committees an 
        annual certification--
                    ``(A) indicating whether--
                            ``(i) all audits issued by the Inspector 
                        General of the Department of Justice under 
                        paragraph (1) have been completed and reviewed 
                        by the appropriate Assistant Attorney General 
                        or Director;
                            ``(ii) all mandatory exclusions required 
                        under paragraph (1)(C) have been issued; and
                            ``(iii) all reimbursements required under 
                        paragraph (1)(E) have been made; and
                    ``(B) that includes a list of any grant recipients 
                excluded under paragraph (1) from the previous year.
    ``(c) Preventing Duplicative Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--Before the Attorney General awards a 
        grant to an applicant under this part, the Attorney General 
        shall compare potential grant awards with other grants awarded 
        under this part by the Attorney General to determine if 
        duplicate grant awards are awarded for the same purpose.
            ``(2) Report.--If the Attorney General awards duplicate 
        grants under this part to the same applicant for the same 
        purpose, the Attorney General shall submit to the applicable 
        committees a report that includes--
                    ``(A) a list of all duplicate grants awarded under 
                this part, including the total dollar amount of any 
                duplicate grants awarded; and
                    ``(B) the reason the Attorney General awarded the 
                duplicate grants.''.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that the use of best practices is 
encouraged for all activities for which grants under part R of title I 
of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 may be used.

SEC. 4. USE OF AMOUNTS MADE AVAILABLE FOR DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, 
              GENERAL ADMINISTRATION TO CARRY OUT JUVENILE 
              ACCOUNTABILITY BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM.

    In each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022, the Attorney General 
shall use up to $25,000,000 of the amounts made available for 
Department of Justice, General Administration, to carry out part R of 
title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 3796ee et seq.).
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