Senate Judiciary Leaders Introduce Bi-Partisan Legislation to Reauthorize the JJDPA
Their bill is entitled “The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2008.” In summary, the bill:
- Advances the JJDPA as a prevention-oriented statute that will continue to set and support high standards to protect youth, families and communities;
- Encourages states to make critical improvements to juvenile justice systems, including the avoidance of dangerous practices and the adoption of evidence based practices;
- Gives states authority to retain delinquent offenders under juvenile jurisdiction after they have reached the age of majority, in keeping with state law;
- Places common sense limits on the pretrial detention of juveniles in adult jails;
- Creates a meaningful approach for reducing racial and ethnic disparities in juvenile justice by strengthening the disproportionate minority contact (DMC) core requirement;
- Dramatically increases federal authorizations for core juvenile justice programs;
- Creates new incentives for improving mental health and substance abuse assessment, treatment and diversion, as well as for improving case management and re-entry services.
- Reaffirms the federal-state partnership by supporting states’ efforts to comply with JJDPA core requirements, strengthening research and technical assistance to be conducted by the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Policy (OJJDP), and increasing transparency on the part of OJJDP and the states.