[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 640 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 640

   To establish a pilot program to promote the replication of recent 
            successful juvenile crime reduction strategies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 17, 1999

 Mr. Bingaman introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish a pilot program to promote the replication of recent 
            successful juvenile crime reduction strategies.

    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 ``Safer Communities Partnership Act of 
1999''.

SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE REPLICATION OF RECENT SUCCESSFUL 
              JUVENILE CRIME REDUCTION STRATEGIES.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Attorney General (or a designee of 
        the Attorney General), in conjunction with the Secretary of the 
        Treasury (or the designee of the Secretary), shall establish a 
        pilot program (referred to in this section as the ``program'') 
        to encourage and support communities that adopt a comprehensive 
        approach to suppressing and preventing violent juvenile crime 
        and reducing drug and alcohol abuse among juveniles, patterned 
        after successful State juvenile crime reduction strategies.
            (2) Program.--In carrying out the program, the Attorney 
        General shall--
                    (A) make and track grants to grant recipients 
                (referred to in this section as ``coalitions'');
                    (B) in conjunction with the Secretary of the 
                Treasury and the Secretary of Health and Human 
                Services, provide for technical assistance and 
                training, in addition to data collection, and 
                dissemination of relevant information; and
                    (C) provide for the general administration of the 
                program.
            (3) Administration.--Not later than 30 days after the date 
        of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall appoint or 
        designate an Administrator (referred to in this section as the 
        ``Administrator'') to carry out the program.
            (4) Program authorization.--To be eligible to receive an 
        initial grant or a renewal grant under this section, a 
        coalition shall meet each of the following criteria:
                    (A) Composition.--The coalition shall consist of 1 
                or more representatives of--
                            (i) the local or tribal police department 
                        or sheriff's department;
                            (ii) the local prosecutors' office;
                            (iii) State or local probation officers;
                            (iv) religious affiliated or fraternal 
                        organizations involved in crime prevention;
                            (v) schools;
                            (vi) parents or local grass roots 
                        organizations such as neighborhood watch 
                        groups;
                            (vii) social service agencies involved in 
                        crime prevention;
                            (viii) a juvenile or youth court judge; and
                            (ix) substance and alcohol abuse counselors 
                        and treatment providers.
                    (B) Other participants.--If possible, in addition 
                to the representatives from the categories listed in 
                subparagraph (A), the coalition shall include 1 or more 
                representatives of--
                            (i) the United States Attorney's office;
                            (ii) the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
                            (iii) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and 
                        Firearms;
                            (iv) the Drug Enforcement Administration;
                            (v) the business community; and
                            (vi) researchers who have studied criminal 
                        justice and can offer technical or other 
                        assistance.
                    (C) Coordinated strategy.--A coalition shall submit 
                to the Attorney General, or the Attorney General's 
                designee, a comprehensive plan for reducing violent 
                juvenile crime. To be eligible for consideration, a 
                plan shall--
                            (i) ensure close collaboration among all 
                        members of the coalition in suppressing and 
                        preventing juvenile crime;
                            (ii) place heavy emphasis on coordinated 
                        enforcement initiatives, such as Federal and 
                        State programs that coordinate local police 
                        departments, prosecutors, and local community 
                        leaders to focus on the suppression of violent 
                        juvenile crime involving gangs;
                            (iii) ensure that there is close 
                        collaboration between police and probation 
                        officers in the supervision of juvenile 
                        offenders, such as initiatives that coordinate 
                        the efforts of parents, school officials, and 
                        police and probation officers to patrol the 
                        streets and make home visits to ensure that 
                        offenders comply with the terms of their 
                        probation;
                            (iv) ensure that a program is in place to 
                        trace all firearms seized from crime scenes or 
                        offenders in an effort to identify illegal gun 
                        traffickers;
                            (v) ensure that effective crime prevention 
                        programs are in place, such as programs that 
                        provide after-school safe havens and other 
                        opportunities for at-risk youth to escape or 
                        avoid gang or other criminal activity, and to 
                        reduce recidivism; and
                            (vi) ensure that a program is in place to 
                        divert nonviolent juvenile offenders into 
                        substance or alcohol abuse treatment, 
the successful completion of which may result in a suspended sentence 
for the offense, and the unsuccessful completion of which may result in 
an enhanced sentence for the offense.
                    (D) Accountability.--A coalition shall--
                            (i) establish a system to measure and 
                        report outcomes consistent with common 
                        indicators and evaluation protocols established 
                        by the Administrator and that receives the 
                        approval of the Administrator; and
                            (ii) devise a detailed model for measuring 
                        and evaluating the success of the plan of the 
                        coalition in reducing violent juvenile crime, 
                        and provide assurances that the plan will be 
                        evaluated on a regular basis to assess progress 
                        in reducing violent juvenile crime.
            (5) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
        Attorney General shall give priority to coalitions representing 
        communities with demonstrated juvenile crime and drug abuse 
        problems.
            (6) Grant amounts.--
                    (A) In general.--The Administrator may award a 
                grant to an eligible coalition under this section, in 
                an amount not to exceed the lesser of--
                            (i) the amount of non-Federal funds raised 
                        by the coalition, including in-kind 
                        contributions, for that fiscal year; and
                            (ii) $400,000.
                    (B) Nonsupplanting requirement.--A coalition 
                seeking funds shall provide reasonable assurances that 
                funds made available under this program to States or 
                units of local government shall be so used as to 
                supplement and increase (but not supplant) the level of 
                the State, local, and other non-Federal funds that 
                would in the absence of such Federal funds be made 
                available for programs described in this section, and 
                shall in no event replace such State, local, or other 
                non-Federal funds.
                    (C) Suspension of grants.--If a coalition fails to 
                continue to meet the criteria set forth in this 
                section, the Administrator may suspend the grant, after 
                providing written notice to the grant recipient and an 
                opportunity to appeal.
                    (D) Renewal grants.--Subject to subparagraph (D), 
                the Administrator may award a renewal grant to grant 
                recipient under this subparagraph for each fiscal year 
                following the fiscal year for which an initial grant is 
                awarded, in an amount not to exceed the amount of non-
                Federal funds raised by the coalition, including in-
                kind contributions, for that fiscal year, during the 4-
                year period following the period of the initial grant.
            (7) Permitted use of funds.--A coalition receiving funds 
        under this section may expend such Federal funds on any use or 
        program that is contained in the plan submitted to the 
        Administrator.
            (8) Congressional consultation.--
                    (A) In general.--Two years after the date of 
                implementation of the program established in this 
                section, the Comptroller General of the United States 
                shall submit to Congress a report reviewing the 
                effectiveness of the program in suppressing and 
                reducing violent juvenile crime in the participating 
                communities.
                    (B) Contents of report.--The report submitted under 
                subparagraph (A) shall include--
                            (i) an analysis of each community 
                        participating in the program, along with 
                        information regarding the plan undertaken in 
                        the community, and the effectiveness of the 
                        plan in reducing violent juvenile crime; and
                            (ii) recommendations regarding the efficacy 
                        of continuing the program.
    (b) Information Collection and Dissemination With Respect to 
Coalitions.--
            (1) Coalition information.--For the purpose of audit and 
        examination, the Attorney General--
                    (A) shall have access to any books, documents, 
                papers, and records that are pertinent to any grant or 
                grant renewal request under this section; and
                    (B) may periodically request information from a 
                coalition to ensure that the coalition meets the 
                applicable criteria.
            (2) Reporting.--The Attorney General shall, to the maximum 
        extent practicable and in a manner consistent with applicable 
        law, minimize reporting requirements by a coalition and 
        expedite any application for a renewal grant made under this 
        section.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated to 
        carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 
        through 2003, of which--
                    (A) not less than $1,000,000 in each fiscal year 
                shall be used for coalitions representing communities 
                with a population of not more than 50,000; and
                    (B) not less than 2 percent in each fiscal year 
                shall be used for technical assistance and training 
                under subsection (a)(2)(B).
            (2) Source of sums.--Amounts authorized to be appropriated 
        pursuant to this subsection may be derived from the Violent 
        Crime Reduction Trust Fund.
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