[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2300 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2300
To establish a grant to provide mental health services and behavioral
health services to at-risk youth, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 12, 2019
Mr. Cardenas (for himself, Ms. Norton, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mrs.
Napolitano, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Payne, Ms. Lee of
California, Mr. Trone, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Sewell of Alabama,
Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Meng, Ms. Adams, and Ms. Bass) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary,
and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period
to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a grant to provide mental health services and behavioral
health services to at-risk youth, 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 ``Eliminating Debtor's Prison for Kids
Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH GRANT.
(a) In General.--Beginning not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall carry out a
program under which the Attorney General makes grants to eligible
States for the purpose of providing evidence-based and trauma-informed
mental and behavioral health services to at-risk youth in any school,
secure detention facility, or secure correctional facility in the
State.
(b) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this
section, a State shall--
(1) certify to the Attorney General that the laws of the
State prohibit a juvenile offender or a parent or guardian of
such an offender from being ordered to pay probation
supervision fees or court administrative fees, including the
cost of court-appointed attorneys or public defenders, the cost
of prosecution, and other administrative costs of the court;
(2) certify to the Attorney General that the laws of the
State prohibit a parent or guardian of a juvenile offender from
paying child support or other costs for detention or post-
adjudication placement to the State; and
(3) submit to the Attorney General an application at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the
Attorney General may require.
(c) Use of Funds.--A State that receives a grant under this section
shall use the grant to provide evidence-based and trauma-informed
mental and behavioral health services to at-risk youth in any school,
secure detention facility, or secure correctional facility in the
State.
(d) Contracts and Subawards.--
(1) In general.--A State may, in using a grant under this
section for purposes authorized by subsection (c), use all or a
portion of that grant to contract with or make one or more
subawards to one or more units of local government.
(2) Use of funds.--An entity that receives a contract or a
subaward under this subsection may use such funds to provide
services or benefits described under subsection (c).
(e) Information for Report.--A State that receives a grant under
this section shall provide to an independent criminal justice
organization, selected by the Attorney General, such information as is
necessary to complete the report described in section 3.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $500,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2020 through 2024.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL REPORT.
(a) Independent Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
the enactment of this Act, an independent criminal justice
organization, selected by the Attorney General, shall submit to the
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a national report on fines and
fees imposed on adults and juveniles in the criminal justice system,
including--
(1) information with respect to the monetary amount of
fines and fees imposed, including the race, ethnicity, tribal
affiliation, and other demographic data of the individuals upon
whom such fines and fees are imposed and the rate at which
individuals are reincarcerated within 1 year of release from a
secure detention facility or a secure correctional facility;
(2) a description of each type of service for which a fee
is imposed;
(3) a description of each type of charge for which a fine
is imposed;
(4) a comparison of the average length of imprisonment or
detention for individuals who are unable to pay a fine and the
average length of imprisonment or detention for individuals who
are able to pay a fine; and
(5) a disclosure of the sum total of fines and fees
collected minus the cost for efforts to collect such sum.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2020,
which shall remain available until expended.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) At-risk youth.--The term ``at-risk youth'' means an
individual who--
(A) has not attained the age of 21; and
(B)(i) is likely to fail academically without
intervention, including an individual who--
(I) has a high truancy rate;
(II) has withdrawn from school previously;
(III) is not less than 1 year behind the
appropriate grade level for such individual; or
(IV) has limited English language
proficiency;
(ii) uses drugs or alcohol;
(iii) is pregnant or a parent;
(iv) is a gang member;
(v) is in contact with the juvenile justice system;
or
(vi) is homeless, has run away from home, or is in
foster care.
(2) Evidence-based.--The term ``evidence-based'' has the
meaning given such term in section 103 of the Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11103).
(3) Juvenile offender.--The term ``juvenile offender''
means an individual--
(A) who has not attained the age of 21; and
(B)(i) against whom a petition is filed for the
adjudication of a delinquency offense under the laws of
a State or the United States; or
(ii) who has been adjudicated delinquent for a
delinquency offense under the laws of a State or the
United States.
(4) Secure correctional facility.--The term ``secure
correctional facility'' has the meaning given such term in
section 103 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11103).
(5) Secure detention facility.--The term ``secure detention
facility'' has the meaning given such term in section 103 of
the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34
U.S.C. 11103).
(6) School.--The term ``school'' means--
(A) an early childhood education program (as such
term is defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801));
(B) an elementary school (as such term is defined
in section 8101 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 7801)); or
(C) a secondary school (as such term is defined in
section 8101 of such Act (20 U.S.C. 7801)).
(7) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the
United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American
Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and
any possession of the United States.
(8) Trauma-informed.--The term ``trauma-informed'' has the
meaning given such term in section 103 of the Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11103).
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