This bill changes federal rules about children and youth in the criminal system, and it creates a new grant program and data requirements. It updates age language in the federal juvenile code, raises some age thresholds for transfer to adult court, and adds factors courts must consider about a young person’s background, trauma, and rehabilitative potential. It narrows when a person under 18 can be found guilty of murder to cases where they intentionally or knowingly caused a death or intended to kill and aided the killer. The Bureau of Justice Statistics must publish yearly data about children under 18 who are adjudicated, prosecuted, or incarcerated by the federal government. The bill also adds authority for HHS to award competitive grants to state child welfare and juvenile justice agencies to collect data, develop practices, and improve services for certain groups of children (including those excluded from juvenile adjudication by age, survivors of commercial sexual exploitation, dual status youth, and crossover children).
The bill requires grants and new federal reporting, but it does not state total funding amounts or an overall cost estimate. The text says grants will be awarded from amounts available under the Title IV-B subsection of the Social Security Act after specified adjustments, and it sets grant length (2–5 years, with a possible 2-year extension). No publicly available information on total cost or appropriations is provided in the bill text.
According to the bill text, the purpose is to improve collaboration between child welfare and juvenile justice systems, collect better data about children involved in federal juvenile processes, and create practices and services to address the needs of children excluded from juvenile adjudication by age, survivors of commercial sexual exploitation, dual status youth, and crossover children. Supporters, per the bill, seek more data, tailored services, and joint state practices to improve outcomes for these children.
No publicly available information.