[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6361 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6361

To amend the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to 
establish a demonstration grant program for nonprofit organizations to 
 partner with juvenile justice agencies to monitor juvenile facilities 
 and provide youth in the facilities and their families with increased 
                   positive engagement in the system.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 29, 2010

  Mrs. McCarthy of New York introduced the following bill; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to 
establish a demonstration grant program for nonprofit organizations to 
 partner with juvenile justice agencies to monitor juvenile facilities 
 and provide youth in the facilities and their families with increased 
                   positive engagement in the system.

    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 ``Family Justice Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the National Center for Mental Health and 
        Juvenile Justice, the successful rehabilitation of youth in the 
        juvenile justice system, and their sustained reintegration into 
        the community rely upon the mutual support of juvenile justice 
        systems and families in the accomplishment of their goals.
            (2) Involving families benefits the youth, the family, the 
        juvenile justice system, and the community.
            (3) Valid information and consistent communication between 
        families and juvenile justice facilities reduces confusion, 
        frustration, and disappointment.
            (4) Training of juvenile justice personnel on the 
        importance of involving families can help the former better 
        understand the family perspective and the potential 
        opportunities for families to be educated about the system, its 
        processes and protocols.
            (5) Families working together with juvenile justice systems 
        can improve outcomes for justice-involved youth with mental 
        health issues.

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Establishment of Demonstration Grant Program.--Title II of the 
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5611 
et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating part (F) as part (G), and
            (2) by inserting after part (E) the following:

  ``PART F--ESTABLISHING INCREASED FAMILY ENGAGEMENT AND INDEPENDENT 
                          MONITORING PROGRAMS

``SEC. 271. GRANT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are the following:
            ``(1) To strengthen the relationships between--
                    ``(A) individuals who are employed by juvenile 
                justice or adult criminal justice agencies, including 
                individuals employed at juvenile detention or 
                corrections facilities or adult jails or prisons; and
                    ``(B) individuals who are not employed in the 
                agencies or facilities, but are involved with the 
                juvenile justice or adult criminal justice system, 
                particularly youth held in juvenile detention or 
                corrections facilities or adult jails or prisons and 
                their families.
            ``(2) To create a process through which administrators and 
        staff at such facilities engage in a dialogue with individuals 
        the facilities incarcerate, including youth in juvenile 
        detention or corrections facilities or adult jails or prisons 
        and families of these youth, as well as other community-based 
        stakeholders, to collect feedback and input about the 
        facilities' policies, procedures, and practices.
            ``(3) To ensure that the feedback and input from youth in 
        these facilities, their families, and community-based 
        stakeholders are integrated into the facilities' policies, 
        procedures, and practices.
            ``(4) To allow families of youth incarcerated in a facility 
        and community-based stakeholders access to the facility and the 
        youth in order to conduct an initial assessment of the 
        facility, to assess which policies and practices help families 
        support youth's rehabilitation prior to, during, and after 
        their stay in a facility, and as well as to monitor the 
        facility's progress towards recommendations made by a panel 
        described in subsection (b)(1).
    ``(b) Grants Authorized.--
            ``(1) Family engagement demonstration grants.--The 
        Administrator may make grants in each fiscal year to local or 
        statewide nonprofit organizations proven to be family oriented 
        and based in best practices to establish panels to monitor 
        juvenile detention and corrections facilities in which youth 
        are held and provide youth in those facilities and their family 
        members with the ability to assist in the development of 
        policies, procedures, and practices in these facilities to 
        improve outcomes for youth and better prepare families to 
        support youth's rehabilitation and transition back into the 
        community.
            ``(2) Geographic distribution.--Grants shall be made with 
        preference given to those organizations that have a 
        demonstrable track record of working with families of 
        incarcerated youth and incorporating family input into their 
        decisionmaking processes. In making grants under this section, 
        the Administrator shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that 
        a grant is made to one nonprofit organization in each State.
    ``(c) Applications.--
            ``(1) Submissions.--Each local or statewide nonprofit 
        organization that desires a grant under this section shall 
        submit an application, in partnership with State or local 
        juvenile justice and criminal justice agencies, courts, or 
        juvenile detention or corrections facilities or adult jails or 
        prisons, to the Administrator in such manner, and accompanied 
        by such information, as the Administrator may require.
            ``(2) Contents.--Each application submitted under paragraph 
        (1) shall, at a minimum, include the following:
                    ``(A) A description of the organization's 
                experience working with youth involved in the juvenile 
                justice or adult criminal justice system and their 
                families.
                    ``(B) A description of the organization's approach 
                to family engagement in the juvenile justice or adult 
                criminal justice system, including the organization's 
                use of parent advocates.
                    ``(C) A list of the juvenile detention or 
                correctional facilities or adult jails and prisons 
                holding youth that the panel will monitor.
                    ``(D) A description of the State or local partner 
                with which the monitoring panel will work and which has 
                the authority to make the changes in the facilities 
                listed under subparagraph (C).
                    ``(E) Assurances that the organization will create 
                a monitoring panel that shall include--
                            ``(i) two representatives from each of--
                                    ``(I) family members of youth 
                                currently incarcerated or incarcerated 
                                within the last 2 years in the 
                                particular monitored facility;
                                    ``(II) youth currently incarcerated 
                                or incarcerated within the last 2 years 
                                in the particular monitored facility or 
                                a youth advocate who is in regular 
                                contact with the facility; and
                                    ``(III) nonprofit organizations 
                                that provide assistance to youth 
                                involved in the juvenile justice or 
                                adult criminal justice systems or their 
                                families; and
                            ``(ii) one representative from each of--
                                    ``(I) a public defender's office or 
                                court-appointed private attorney 
                                representing youth in one of the 
                                jurisdictions served by a facility that 
                                the panel will monitor;
                                    ``(II) the State Attorney General's 
                                office or a prosecutor's office in one 
                                of the jurisdictions served by a 
                                facility that the panel will monitor;
                                    ``(III) a representative from the 
                                State Advisory Group (SAG) or a JJDPA 
                                State staff representative;
                                    ``(IV) the family liaison for 
                                mental health services or a State or 
                                local children's mental health 
                                provider;
                                    ``(V) the Governor's office;
                                    ``(VI) a State or local child 
                                welfare agency; and
                                    ``(VII) the family liaison for 
                                special education or a State or local 
                                education agency representative.
                    ``(F) Assurances that administrators of the State 
                or local juvenile justice and criminal justice 
                agencies, courts, juvenile detention or corrections 
                facilities, or adult jails or prisons with which the 
                nonprofit is partnering will create a facility 
                implementation team that will include two individuals 
                employed by each facility being monitored who have the 
                authority to make changes recommended by the panel.
                    ``(G) Assurances that the applicant, as part of its 
                application, has consulted, or will within 30 days of 
                being notified of an award will consult, with the State 
                Advisory Group (SAG) or the JJDPA State staff to 
                discuss how the activities of the monitoring panel can 
                support and strengthen the State's JJDPA compliance 
                monitoring activities.
    ``(d) Uses of Funds.--Grants received under this section shall be 
used to ensure meaningful input from youth in juvenile detention and 
corrections facilities and adult jails and prisons, their families, and 
community-based stakeholders by providing funds--
            ``(1) to allow the monitoring panel to conduct an initial 
        assessment and continued monitoring of the facility to 
        determine how the facility collects, analyzes, and integrates 
        the input from youth in the facility, their families, and other 
        community-based stakeholders into the facility's policies, 
        practices, and procedures, including by--
                    ``(A) conducting confidential interviews with youth 
                and staff in the facility for the purpose of evaluating 
                the facility for the purposes above; and
                    ``(B) making unannounced visits to the facility to 
                observe and assess conditions of confinement;
            ``(2) to allow the monitoring panel to make recommendations 
        to the facility implementation team on how to integrate input 
        from youth, their families, and community-based stakeholders 
        into the facility's policies, procedures, and practices, 
        including--
                    ``(A) creating more access to the facility for 
                outside groups, including--
                            ``(i) allowing additional community-based 
                        organizations that work with youth or 
                        individuals to conduct visits to the facility;
                            ``(ii) providing office space in the 
                        facility for entities that act in the interest 
                        of youth in the facility, including community-
                        based advocacy groups, guardians ad litem, and 
                        public defender offices; or
                            ``(iii) assigning a court-appointed 
                        attorney to be available in the facilities on a 
                        regular basis for youth to speak with about 
                        their grievances with the facility;
                    ``(B) creating a support group for families of 
                youth in the facility;
                    ``(C) improving communications between facility 
                administrators and staff and families, and encouraging 
                dialogue between these individuals and staff in the 
                facility (such as officers, medical professionals, and 
                educators) by--
                            ``(i) providing regular updates on 
                        individual youth's status and progress while in 
                        the facility;
                            ``(ii) integrating family input into the 
                        process of making decisions regarding youth, 
                        such as medical, mental health, or educational 
                        decisions;
                            ``(iii) creating a youth and family liaison 
                        position or point of contact for youth and 
                        their families to help advocate for the youth 
                        and their families;
                            ``(iv) providing an orientation for youth 
                        and families to the facility, the programs, and 
                        the formal grievance system of the facility 
                        that includes information on how youth and 
                        families can express problems, questions, or 
                        comments; and
                            ``(v) ensuring that youth and their 
                        families receive information on the research on 
                        the consequences of juvenile justice system 
                        involvement, including the long-term effects of 
                        this involvement and how it can affect a child 
                        later in life;
                    ``(D) improving visitation and contact policies 
                with youth in the facilities, including--
                            ``(i) reducing restrictions on who can 
                        visit, including allowing visitation from 
                        individuals outside the youth's immediate 
                        family that provide positive support to the 
                        youth, such as siblings, godparents, a parent's 
                        unmarried partner, aunts, uncles, cousins, 
                        nieces, nephews, mentors, teachers, coaches, 
                        and pastors;
                            ``(ii) modifying or extending visitation 
                        time to include additional hours or days of the 
                        week to facilitate visitation with youth; and
                            ``(iii) reducing transportation barriers 
                        for individuals to visit the facility, 
                        particularly if the facility is not located 
                        near public transit or near the communities 
                        from which the youth in the facility are 
                        referred; and
                    ``(E) ensuring that quality and effective after 
                care plans are established that reduce recidivism and 
                help youth successfully reintegrate into their 
                communities; and
            ``(3) to provide funds to the facility to implement the 
        recommendations of the monitoring panel, only to be available 
        to the facility after--
                    ``(A) the monitoring panel has presented a publicly 
                available written report with its recommendations to 
                the facility;
                    ``(B) the monitoring panel and the facility 
                implementation team meet to discuss the recommendations 
                and the facility implementation team have a meaningful 
                opportunity to provide input into the recommendations; 
                and
                    ``(C) the monitoring panel and the facility 
                implementation team agree by a vote on which 
                recommendations to fund, in order for any funds to be 
                spent by the facility to implement a recommendation, 
                the use of those funds must be supported by the votes 
                of two-thirds of individuals on the monitoring panel 
                and the facility implementation team, and by the vote 
                of at least one individual as follows:
                            ``(i) A representative from the facility 
                        implementation team.
                            ``(ii) A representative from the monitoring 
                        panel.
                            ``(iii) A representative from the 
                        monitoring panel who is a youth or family 
                        member.
    ``(e) Funds for Evaluation.--The Administrator shall reserve 10 
percent of the amount made available to carry out this section for the 
purpose of evaluating such demonstrations conducted under this section 
and issuing a report describing the approaches and aspects of the 
demonstrations that the Administrator determines to be most effective 
and appropriate for fulfilling the purposes of juvenile justice 
detention and corrections facilities and adult jails and prisons, 
integrating input from youth in the facilities and their families in 
the facility's polices, procedures, and practices, taking into account 
the demographics of the various localities to be served.''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 299 of the Juvenile 
Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5671) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                            (A) in the heading by striking ``Parts C 
                        and E'' and inserting ``Parts C, E, and F'', 
                        and
                            (B) in paragraph (2) by striking ``parts C 
                        and E'' and inserting ``parts C, E, and F'',
            (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e), and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations for Part F.--There are 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out part F such sums as may be 
necessary for fiscal years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.''.
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