On Dec. 11, 2014, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced legislation that would reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). The bill would strengthen the JJDPA’s core protections for youth involved in the juvenile justice system. This bill serves as the first step towards reauthorization of the JJDPA, which expired in 2007. It would, among other things, eliminate use of the Valid Court Order (VCO) exception, provide further assurances that children who are facing charges are not housed with adult inmates, and require communities to address racial and ethnic disparities within their systems.
Click here to view the bill text. Click here to read a summary of the bill. Click here to view the section by section from Senator Whitehouse's Judiciary Committee staff.
The following organizations support the 2014 Reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, as sponsored by Senators Whitehouse and Grassley:
Afterschool Alliance
Alameda County Office of Education (CA)
American Bar Association
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of West Virginia
American Legion Auxiliary Unit 312 (NJ)
Campaign for Youth Justice
Center for Children’s Law and Policy
Center for Educational Excellence in Alternative Settings (CEEAS)
Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University
Children's Action Alliance (AZ)
Children’s Defense Fund
Children’s Policy and Law Initiative of Indiana
Citizens for Juvenile Justice (MA)
Coalition for Juvenile Justice
Community Law in Action, Baltimore, MD
Conference of Chief Justices
Conference of State Court Administrators
Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance
Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators
DC Alliance of Youth Advocates
DC Lawyers for Youth
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights (CA)
Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children
Futures Without Violence
Girls Inc.
Hawaii Juvenile Justice State Advisory Council
Illinois Juvenile Justice Advisory Group
Iowa Coalition 4 Juvenile Justice
Iowa CURE
JustChildren (VA)
JustGeorgia
Justice for Families
Justice Policy Institute
Juvenile Justice Initiative of Illinois
Juvenile Justice Project
Juvenile Law Center
Juvenile Justice Coalition (OH)
Kansas Appleseed
Kentucky Youth Advocates
Kentucky Juvenile Justice Advisory Board
Learning Disabilities Association of America
Louisiana Center for Children's Rights
Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office
Missouri Juvenile Justice Association
Mississippi Juvenile Justice Advisory Group
Montgomery County Collaboration Council for Children, Youth and Families, Inc. (MD)
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Association of School Psychologists
National Collaboration for Youth
National Council for Behavioral Health
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
National Crittenton Foundation
National Disability Rights Network
National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health
National Juvenile Defender Center
National Network for Youth
National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives
National PTA
National Juvenile Justice Network
New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
New Jersey Parents Caucus
New Jersey Statewide Parent Advocacy Network
New Mexico Council on Crime and Delinquency
Northeast Juvenile Defender Center
Office of Restorative Justice Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy
Peace Alliance
Rhode Island KIDS COUNT
Rhode Island State Advisory Group
Rights4Girls
Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps
Robert F. Kennedy Juvenile Justice Collaborative
Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice
Rutgers Criminal and Youth Justice Clinic
SAY San Diego (Social Advocates for Youth San Diego)
School Social Work Association of America
Southern Poverty Law Center
SparkAction
St. James A.M.E. Church of Somerset, N.J.
Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (NJ)
Student Peace Alliance
Texans Care for Children
Texas Appleseed
Texas Criminal Justice Coalition
The Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth
The Correctional Association of New York
The Equity Project
The Sentencing Project
True Colors Fund
Utah State Advisory Group
Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles
Voices for Ohio’s Children
W. Haywood Burns Institute
Wisconsin Council on Children and Families
Youth Advocate Programs
Youth Justice Coalition
Youth Law Center (CA)
Youth Represent
Last updated: December 17, 2014 at 12:00pm ET