Childhood Offenders Rehabilitation and Safety Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2908 To amend title 18, United States Code, to account for the age of certain juvenile offenders and to amend title IV of the Social Security Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award competi- tive grants to enhance collaboration between State child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 30, 2021 Ms. BASS (for herself and Mr. CA´RDENAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to account for the age of certain juvenile offenders and to amend title IV of the Social Security Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award competitive grants to enhance collaboration between State child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2908.IH H2908 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2908 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Childhood Offenders 2 Rehabilitation and Safety Act of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS. 4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 5031 of title 18, United 5 States Code, is amended— 6 (1) by striking ‘‘person who’’ and inserting 7 ‘‘person who is at least twelve years of age that has 8 not attained their’’; 9 (2) by striking ‘‘not attained’’ and inserting 10 ‘‘not attained their’’; and 11 (3) by striking ‘‘committed by a person prior 12 to’’ and inserting ‘‘committed by a person who has 13 reached their twelfth birthday but prior to their’’. 14 (b) DELINQUENCY PROCEEDINGS IN DISTRICT 15 COURTS; TRANSFER FOR CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.—Sec- 16 tion 5032 of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 17 (1) by striking ‘‘fifteen’’ and inserting ‘‘six- 18 teen’’; 19 (2) by striking ‘‘fifteenth birthday’’ and insert- 20 ing ‘‘their sixteenth birthday’’; 21 (3) by striking ‘‘ In the application of the pre- 22 ceding sentence, if the crime of violence is an offense 23 under section 113(a), 113(b), 113(c), 1111, 1113, 24 or, if the juvenile possessed a firearm during the of- 25 fense, section 2111, 2113, 2241(a), or 2241(c), 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2908.IH H2908 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2908 IH ‘‘thirteen’’ shall be substituted for ‘‘fifteen’’ and 1 ‘‘thirteenth’’ shall be substituted for ‘‘fifteenth’’.’’; 2 (4) by striking ‘‘However, a juvenile who is al- 3 leged to have committed an act after his sixteenth 4 birthday which if committed by an adult would be a 5 felony offense that has as an element thereof the 6 use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical 7 force against the person of another, or that, by its 8 very nature, involves a substantial risk that physical 9 force against the person of another may be used in 10 committing the offense, or would be an offense de- 11 scribed in section 32, 81, 844(d), (e), (f), (h), (i) or 12 2275 of this title, subsection (b)(1)(A), (B), or (C), 13 (d), or (e) of section 401 of the Controlled Sub- 14 stances Act, or section 1002(a), 1003, 1009, or 15 1010(b)(1), (2), or (3) of the Controlled Substances 16 Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 952(a), 953, 17 959, 960(b)(1), (2), (3)), and who has previously 18 been found guilty of an act which if committed by 19 an adult would have been one of the offenses set 20 forth in this paragraph or an offense in violation of 21 a State felony statute that would have been such an 22 offense if a circumstance giving rise to Federal juris- 23 diction had existed, shall be transferred to the ap- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2908.IH H2908 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2908 IH propriate district court of the United States for 1 criminal prosecution.’’; 2 (5) by striking ‘‘social background of the juve- 3 nile’’ and inserting ‘‘social background of the juve- 4 nile; the juvenile’s prior exposure to adverse child- 5 hood experiences, childhood trauma, and involvement 6 in the child welfare system;’’; 7 (6) by striking ‘‘behavioral problems’’ and in- 8 serting ‘‘juvenile’s behavioral problems; the rehabili- 9 tative potential of the juvenile within the juvenile 10 system; and the best interest of the child’’; 11 (7) by striking ‘‘leadership role’’ and inserting 12 ‘‘juvenile’s level of participation in the offense’’; 13 (8) by striking ‘‘in an organization, or other- 14 wise influenced other persons to take part in crimi- 15 nal activities, involving the use or distribution of 16 controlled substances or firearms. Such a factor, if 17 found to exist, shall weigh in favor of a transfer to 18 adult status, but the absence of this factor shall not 19 preclude such a transfer’’; 20 (9) by striking ‘‘juvenile, his parents’’ and in- 21 serting ‘‘juvenile, their parents’’; and 22 (10) by striking ‘‘custodian and to his counsel’’ 23 and ‘‘custodian and to their counsel’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2908.IH H2908 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2908 IH (c) COMMITMENT.—Section 5039 of title 18, United 1 States Code, is amended— 2 (1) by striking ‘‘or correctional institution in 3 which he has regular contact with adults incarcer- 4 ated because they have been convicted of a crime or 5 are awaiting trial on criminal charges’’ and inserting 6 ‘‘, correctional institution, or prison’’; and 7 (2) by striking ‘‘near’’ and insert ‘‘near their’’. 8 (d) MURDER.—Section 1111 of title 18, United 9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 10 lowing new subsection: 11 ‘‘(d) A person who was under the age of 18 at the 12 time of the perpetration or attempted perpetration of a 13 crime listed under subsection (a) in which the death of 14 a human being occurs is liable for murder only if one of 15 the following is proven: 16 ‘‘(1) the person who intentionally or knowingly 17 causes the death of another person; or 18 ‘‘(2) the person was not the actual killer, but, 19 with the intent to kill, aided, abetted, counseled, 20 commanded, induced, solicited, requested, or assisted 21 the actual killer in the commission of the unlawful 22 killing of another human being. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2908.IH H2908 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2908 IH ‘‘ ‘A person who is not liable for murder under subsection 1 (a) shall be sentenced in accordance with the crime they 2 committed or attempted to commit.’.’’. 3 SEC. 3. STATISTICS, DATA, AND RESEARCH ON INCARCER- 4 ATED CHILDREN AND PERSONS CONVICTED 5 OF CRIMES AS CHILDREN. 6 (a) COMPREHENSIVE STATISTICAL REVIEW.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Bu- 9 reau of Justice Statistics of the Department of Jus- 10 tice (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Bureau’’) 11 shall publish, for each calendar year, a comprehen- 12 sive statistical review and analysis of children under 13 eighteen years of age who are subject to adjudica- 14 tion, prosecution, and incarceration by the federal 15 government. The statistical review and analysis shall 16 include the following: 17 (A) The number of children adjudicated 18 delinquent in the calendar year and the offenses 19 they were adjudicated for. 20 (B) The number of children transferred to 21 district court for criminal prosecution in the 22 calendar year and the offenses they charged 23 with. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2908.IH H2908 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2908 IH (C) The number of children convicted in 1 district court in the calendar year and the of- 2 fenses they were convicted of. 3 (D) The average age of the children at the 4 time of the commission of the offense. 5 (E) The age of the child at the time of ad- 6 judication or conviction. 7 (F) Demographic information, including 8 race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, gender, 9 sex, and gender identity of each child. 10 (G) The number of children in Federal 11 custody who are being detained, housed, or in- 12 carcerated more than 100 miles from the juris- 13 diction where they were adjudicated or con- 14 victed in. 15 (H) The length of time or sentence each 16 child in Federal custody has been ordered to 17 serve for their corresponding offense. 18 (I) The number of people incarcerated in 19 Federal custody for crimes they committed as 20 children. 21 (J) Demographic information, including 22 race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, gender, 23 sex, gender identity, current age, as well as age 24 at the time of the offense for each person who 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2908.IH H2908 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2908 IH is currently incarcerated in Federal custody for 1 crimes they committed as children. 2 (K) The number of people in Federal cus- 3 tody for crimes they committed as children who 4 are incarcerated more than 100 miles from the 5 jurisdiction they were adjudicated or convicted 6 in. 7 (L) The offense and corresponding sen- 8 tence each person in Federal custody is serving 9 for the crime they committed as a child. 10 SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO AWARD COMPETITIVE GRANTS TO 11 ENHANCE COLLABORATION BETWEEN STATE 12 CHILD WELFARE AND JUVENILE JUSTICE 13 SYSTEMS. 14 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the 15 ‘‘Childhood Outcomes Need New Efficient Community 16 Teams’’ or the ‘‘CONNECT Act’’. 17 (b) IN GENERAL.—Section 436 of the Social Security 18 Act (42 U.S.C. 629f) is amended by adding at the end 19 the following new subsection: 20 ‘‘(d) AUTHORITY TO AWARD GRANTS TO STATES TO 21 ENHANCE COLLABORATION BETWEEN STATE CHILD 22 WELFARE AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEMS.— 23 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the subsection 24 is to authorize the Secretary to make grants to State 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2908.IH H2908 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2908 IH child welfare and juvenile justice agencies to collabo- 1 rate in the collection of data relating to children ex- 2 cluded from juvenile adjudication by age (under age 3 of 12 and over the age of 15 years old), child sur- 4 vivors of commercial sexual exploitation, dual status 5 youth (children in both foster care and juvenile jus- 6 tice systems), and cross over children (children that 7 cross between the foster care and juvenile justice 8 systems) and to develop practices, policies, and pro- 9 tocols to confront the challenges presented and expe- 10 rienced by these children and their families. 11 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY TO AWARD GRANTS.— 12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 13 award competitive grants jointly to a State 14 child welfare agency and a State juvenile justice 15 agency to facilitate or enhance collaboration be- 16 tween the child welfare and juvenile justice sys- 17 tems of the State in order to carry out pro- 18 grams to address the needs of children includ- 19 ing those excluded from juvenile adjudication by 20 age (under age of 12 and over the age of 15 21 years old), child survivors of commercial sexual 22 exploitation, dual status youth (children in both 23 foster care and juvenile justice systems), and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2908.IH H2908 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2908 IH cross over children (children that cross between 1 the foster care and juvenile justice systems). 2 ‘‘(B) FUNDING.—Any grants awarded 3 under this subsection shall be awarded from the 4 amounts made available under subsection (a) of 5 this section, after the application of subsection 6 (b) of this section and before the determination 7 of allotments under section 433. 8 ‘‘(C) LENGTH OF GRANTS.— 9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A grant shall be 10 awarded under this subsection for a period 11 of not less than 2, and not more than 5, 12 fiscal years, subject to clause (ii). 13 ‘‘(ii) EXTENSION OF GRANT.—On ap- 14 plication of the grantee, the Secretary may 15 extend for not more than 2 fiscal years the 16 period for which a grant is awarded under 17 this subsection. 18 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 19 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION.—In order for a State 20 to be eligible for a grant under this subsection, 21 it shall submit an application, to be approved 22 by the Secretary, that includes— 23 ‘‘(i) a description of the proposed 24 leadership collaboration group (including 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2908.IH H2908 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2908 IH the membership of such group), and how 1 such group will manage and oversee a re- 2 view and analysis of current practices while 3 working to jointly address enhanced prac- 4 tices to improve outcomes for children ex- 5 cluded from juvenile adjudication by age 6 (under age of 12 and over the age of 15 7 years old), child survivors of commercial 8 sexual exploitation, dual status youth (chil- 9 dren in both foster care and juvenile jus- 10 tice systems), and cross over children (chil- 11 dren that cross between the foster care and 12 juvenile justice systems); 13 ‘‘(ii) a description of how the State 14 proposes to— 15 ‘‘(I) identify any eligible children; 16 ‘‘(II) identify individuals who are 17 at risk of becoming eligible children; 18 ‘‘(III) identify common charac- 19 teristics shared by any eligible chil- 20 dren in the State; and 21 ‘‘(IV) determine the prevalence of 22 children excluded from juvenile adju- 23 dication by age (under age of 12 and 24 over the age of 15 years old), child 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:06 Jun 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2908.IH H2908 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2908 IH survivors of commercial sexual exploi- 1 tation, dual status youth (children in 2 both foster care and juvenile justice 3 systems), and cross over children 4 (children that cross between the foster 5 care and juvenile justice systems) in 6 the State; 7 ‘‘(iii) a description of current and pro- 8 posed practices and procedures that the 9 State intends to use t [Text truncated for display. 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