Legislation

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974

[As Amended Through P.L. 115–385, Enacted December 21, 2018]

Excerpts as they relate to the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
(Title I, Section 101 and Title II, Section 204–206)

AN ACT To provide a comprehensive, coordinated approach to the problems of juvenile delinquency, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That this Act may be cited as the "Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974." [34 U.S.C. § 11116(a)(2)]

SUBCHAPTER I–GENERALLY

34 U.S.C. 11101 Sec. 101. Findings

(a) The Congress finds the following:

Although the juvenile violent crime arrest rate in 1999 was the lowest in the decade, there remains a consensus that the number of crimes and the rate of offending by juveniles nationwide is still too high.
According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, allowing 1 youth to leave school for a life of crime and of drug abuse costs society $1,700,000 to $2,300,000 annually.
One in every 6 individuals (16.2 percent) arrested for committing violent crime in 1999 was less than 18 years of age. In 1999, juveniles accounted for 9 percent of murder arrests, 17 percent of forcible rape arrests, 25 percent of robbery arrest, 14 percent of aggravated assault arrests, and 24 percent of weapons arrests.
More than 1/2 of juvenile murder victims are killed with firearms. Of the nearly 1,800 murder victims less than 18 years of age, 17 percent of the victims less than 13 years of age were murdered with a firearm, and 81 percent of the victims 13 years of age or older were killed with a firearm.
Juveniles accounted for 13 percent of all drug abuse violation arrests in 1999. Between 1990 and 1999, juvenile arrests for drug abuse violations rose 132 percent.
Over the last 3 decades, youth gang problems have increased nationwide. In the 1970's, 19 States reported youth gang problems. By the late 1990's, all 50 States and the District of Columbia reported gang problems. For the same period, the number of cities reporting youth gang problems grew 843 percent, and the number of counties reporting gang problems increased more than 1,000 percent.
According to a national crime survey of individuals 12 years of age or older during 1999, those 12 to 19 years old are victims of violent crime at higher rates than individuals in all other age groups. Only 30.8 percent of these violent victimizations were reported by youth to police in 1999.
One-fifth of juveniles 16 years of age who had been arrested were first arrested before attaining 12 years of age. Juveniles who are known to the juvenile justice system before attaining 13 years of age are responsible for a disproportionate share of serious crimes and violence.
The increase in the arrest rates for girls and young juvenile offenders has changed the composition of violent offenders entering the juvenile justice system.
These problems should be addressed through a 2-track common sense approach that addresses the needs of individual juveniles and society at large by promoting—

A. quality prevention programs that—
1. work with juveniles, their families, local public agencies, and community-based organizations, and take into consideration such factors as whether or not juveniles have been the victims of family violence (including child abuse and neglect); and
2. are designed to reduce risks and develop competencies in at-risk juveniles that will prevent, and reduce the rate of, violent delinquent behavior; and
B. programs that assist in holding juveniles accountable for their actions and in developing the competencies necessary to become responsible and productive members of their communities, including a system of graduated sanctions to respond to each delinquent act, requiring juveniles to make restitution, or perform community service, for the damage caused by their delinquent acts, and methods for increasing victim satisfaction with respect to the penalties imposed on juveniles for their acts.
Coordinated juvenile justice and delinquency prevention projects that meet the needs of juveniles through the collaboration of the many local service systems juveniles encounter can help prevent juveniles from becoming delinquent and help delinquent youth return to a productive life.

(b) Congress must act now to reform this program by focusing on juvenile delinquency prevention programs, as well as programs that hold juveniles accountable for their acts and which provide opportunities for competency development. Without true reform, the juvenile justice system will not be able to overcome the challenges it will face in the coming years when the number of juveniles is expected to increase by 18 percent between 2000 and 2030.

SUBCHAPTER II–JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION OFFICE PART A

34 U.S.C. 11114 Sec. 204. Concentration of Federal efforts

(a) Implementation of policy by Administrator; consultation with Council and Advisory Committee

The Administrator shall develop objectives, priorities, and a long term plan to improve the juvenile justice system in the United States, taking into account scientific knowledge regarding adolescent development and behavior and regarding the effects of delinquency prevention programs and juvenile justice interventions on adolescents, and shall implement overall policy and a strategy to carry out such plan, for all Federal juvenile delinquency programs and activities relating to prevention, diversion, training, treatment, rehabilitation, evaluation, and research.. In carrying out the functions of the Administrator, the Administrator shall consult with the Council.
(A) The plan described in paragraph (1) shall—
1. contain specific goals and criteria for making grants and contracts, for conducting research, and for carrying out other activities under this subchapter; and
2. provide for coordinating the administration programs and activities under this subchapter with the administration of all other Federal juvenile delinquency programs and activities, including proposals for joint funding to be coordinated by the Administrator.
(B) The Administrator shall review the plan described in paragraph (1) annually, revise the plan as the Administrator considers appropriate, and publish the plan in the Federal Register during the 30-day period ending on October 1 of each year—

(b) Duties of Administrator

In carrying out the purposes of this chapter, the Administrator shall—

advise the President through the Attorney General as to all matters relating to federally assisted juvenile delinquency programs and Federal policies regarding juvenile delinquency;
assist operating agencies which have direct responsibilities for the prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency in the development and promulgation of regulations, guidelines, requirements, criteria, standards, procedures, and budget requests in accordance with the policies, priorities, and objectives the Administrator establishes;
conduct and support evaluations and studies of the performance and results achieved by Federal juvenile delinquency programs and activities;
implement Federal juvenile delinquency programs and activities among Federal departments and agencies and between Federal juvenile delinquency programs and activities and other Federal programs and activities which the Administrator determines may have an important bearing on the success of the entire Federal juvenile delinquency effort;
not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018, in consultation with Indian Tribes, develop a policy for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to collaborate with representatives of Indian Tribes with a criminal justice function on the implementation of the provisions of this Act relating to Indian Tribes;
(A) develop for each fiscal year, and publish annually in the Federal Register for public comment, a proposed comprehensive plan describing the particular activities which the Administrator intends to carry out under parts D and E of this subchapter in such fiscal year, specifying in detail those activities designed to satisfy the requirements of parts D and E of this subchapter; and
(B) taking into consideration comments received during the 45-day period beginning on the date the proposed plan is published, develop and publish a final plan, before December 31 of such fiscal year, describing the particular activities which the Administrator intends to carry out under parts D and E of this subchapter in such fiscal year, specifying in detail those activities designed to satisfy the requirements of parts D and E of this subchapter;
provide for the auditing of systems required under section 223(a)(14) of this title for monitoring compliance; and

The Administrator may require, through appropriate authority, Federal departments and agencies engaged in any activity involving any Federal juvenile delinquency program to provide the Administrator with such information as may be appropriate to prevent the duplication of efforts, and to coordinate activities, related to the prevention of juvenile delinquency.

(d) Delegation of functions

The Administrator shall have the sole authority to delegate any of the functions of the Administrator under this Act.

(e) Utilization of services and facilities of other agencies; reimbursement

The Administrator is authorized to utilize the services and facilities of any agency of the Federal Government and of any other public agency or institution in accordance with appropriate agreements, and to pay for such services either in advance or by way of reimbursement as may be agreed upon.

(f ) coordination of functions of Administrator and Secretary of Health and Human Services

All functions of the Administrator under this subchapter shall be coordinated as appropriate with the functions of the Secretary of Health and Human Services under subchapter III of this chapter.

34 U.S.C. 11115 Sec. 205. Joint funding; Non-Federal share requirements

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, where funds are made available by more than one Federal agency to be used by any agency, organization, institution, or individual to carry out a Federal juvenile delinquency program or activity, any one of the Federal agencies providing funds may be requested by the Administrator to act for all in administering the funds advanced whenever the Administrator finds the program or activity to be exceptionally effective or for which the Administrator finds exceptional need. In such cases, a single non-Federal share requirement may be established according to the proportion of funds advanced by each Federal agency, and the Administrator may order any such agency to waive any technical grant or contract requirement (as defined in such regulations) which is inconsistent with the similar requirement of the administering agency or which the administering agency does not impose.

34 U.S.C. 11116 Sec. 206. Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

(a) Establishment; membership

There is hereby established, as an independent organization in the executive branch of the Federal Government a Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention composed of the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, such other officers of Federal agencies who hold significant decision making authority as the President may designate, and individuals appointed under paragraph (2).
(A) Ten members shall be appointed, without regard to political affiliation, to the Council in accordance with this paragraph from among individuals who are practitioners in the field of juvenile justice and who are not officers or employees of the Federal Government.

(B)
1. Three members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, after consultation with the minority leader of the House of Representatives.
2. Three members shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate, after consultation with the minority leader of the Senate.
3. Three members shall be appointed by the President.
4. One member shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate, in consultation with the Vice Chairman of that Committee and the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives.
(C)
1. Of the members appointed under each of clauses (i), (ii), and (iii)—
  1. 1 shall be appointed for a term of 1 year;
  2. 1 shall be appointed for a term of 2 years; and
  3. 1 shall be appointed for a term of 3 years; as designated at the time of appointment.
2. Except as provided in clause (iii), a vacancy arising during the term for which an appointment is made may be filled only for the remainder of such term.
3. After the expiration of the term for which a member is appointed, such member may continue to serve until a successor is appointed.

(b) Chairman and Vice Chairman

The Attorney General shall serve as Chairman of the Council. The Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention shall serve as Vice Chairman of the Council. The Vice Chairman shall act as Chairman in the absence of the Chairman.

The function of the Council shall be to coordinate all Federal juvenile delinquency programs (in cooperation with State and local juvenile justice programs) all Federal programs and activities that detain or care for unaccompanied juveniles, and all Federal programs relating to missing and exploited children. The Council shall examine how the separate programs can be coordinated among Federal, State, and local governments to better serve at-risk children and juveniles and shall make recommendations to the President, and to the Congress, at least annually with respect to the coordination of overall policy and development of objectives and priorities for all Federal juvenile delinquency programs and activities and all Federal programs and activities that detain or care for unaccompanied juveniles. The Council shall review the programs and practices of Federal agencies and report on the degree to which Federal agency funds are used for purposes which are consistent or inconsistent with the mandates of of the core requirements. The Council shall review, and make recommendations with respect to, any joint funding proposal undertaken by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and any agency represented on the Council. The Council shall review the reasons why Federal agencies take juveniles into custody and shall make recommendations regarding how to improve Federal practices and facilities for holding juveniles in custody.
In addition to performing their functions as members of the Council, the members appointed under subsection (a)(2) of this section shall collectively on an annual basis—

(A) make recommendations regarding the development of the objectives, priorities, and the long-term plan, and the implementation of overall policy and the strategy to carry out such plan, referred to in section 11114(a)(1) of this title; and

(B) not later than 120 days after the completion of the last meeting of the Council during any fiscal year, submit to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a report that.
(i) contains the recommendations described in subparagraph (A);

(ii) includes a detailed account of the activities conducted by the Council during the fiscal year, including a complete detailed accounting of expenses incurred by the Council to conduct operations in accordance with this section;

(iii) is published on the websites of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Council, and the Department of Justice; and

(iv) is in addition to the annual report required under section 207.

(d) Meetings

The Council shall meet at least quarterly.

(e) Appointment of personnel or staff support by Administrator

The Administrator shall, with the approval of the Council, appoint such personnel or staff support as the Administrator considers necessary to carry out the purposes of this subchapter.

(f) Expenses of Council members; reimbursement

Members appointed under subsection (a)(2) of this section shall serve without compensation. Members of the Council shall be reimbursed for travel, subsistence, and other necessary expenses incurred by them in carrying out the duties of the Council.

(g) Authorization of appropriations

Of sums available to carry out this part, not more than $200,000 shall be available to carry out this section.