The RFK National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice, along with our partners and advocates throughout the country, applaud Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) for introducing a bipartisan bill (S.1169) to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). The JJDPA was first signed into law in 1974 and most recently reauthorized in 2002, but expired in 2007. As the only federal statute to set out national standards for the custody and care of youth in the juvenile justice system and provide direction and support for state juvenile justice system improvements, the reauthorization of the JJDPA is long overdue by seven years.
JJDPA supports programs and practices that have significantly contributed to the reduction of delinquency. The reauthorized bill will strengthen the JJDPA’s core protections for young people in the juvenile justice system and add accountability measures to ensure compliance with the Act; other “major” provisions identified in the new bipartisan bill:
- cap the amount of juvenile justice funds that may be devoted to mentoring grants;
- add procedural safeguards to improve juvenile reentry services;
- offer guidance to states on how to identify and reduce racial and ethnic disparities among youth who come into contact with the justice system;
- encourage states to share records relating to abused and neglected children;
- encourage greater use of community-based alternatives to youth detention, such as specialized problem-solving courts and other diversion programs; and,
- call for the development of a uniform method of data collection to evaluate data on youth recidivism.
To learn more about the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention Act, please click here and be sure to check back for more announcements from the RFK National Resource Center!