status offenders

A final push to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) before the midterm elections has passed through the House of Representatives and has now moved to the Senate for an attempt at unanimous consent this week.

The Justice Department has told Youth Services Insider that the Office of Justice Programs will reduce the Office of Justice Programs’ workforce by nearly 200 positions by October of 2019, a move that could sap staff from the already-small division focused on federal juvenile justice policy.

Advocates for reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) took to the halls of House and Senate office buildings to hand-deliver Valentine’s Day gifts with a political message.

President Trump announced his intention to appoint former Arkansas prosecutor Caren Harp to serve as administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the division of the Justice Department that oversees federal funding and standards related to juvenile justice.

NOTE: This article was updated on August 2 to reflect that a phase-out of the valid court order exception was stripped from the Senate bill. Text of the legislation shared with Youth Services Insider by bill leaders included the phase-out; it was removed by amendment on the floor. 

An attempt to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) has stalled, and its most controversial provision is the reason. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) placed a hold on the JJDPA bill over his concern with a three-year phaseout of the valid court order (VCO), the one exception that allows a system to comply with federal standards while detaining youth for status offenses.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) slammed the House Appropriations Committee as its Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee prepared to mark up a bill that zeroes out juvenile justice funding. From Grassley: “Juvenile justice intervention programs are important tools to help local communities serve and protect at-risk youth who come into contact with the criminal justice system.

Money for the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) would be eliminated under the spending bill published today by the the House Committee on Appropriations. The bill, which will be taken up by the Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee tomorrow, would essentially end for at least one year the four-decade agreement between the Justice Department and states on certain basic standards for juvenile justice systems.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), speaking at a National Press Club event, said that he and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) plan to introduce a bill this week to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA).