Women in Criminal Justice Reform Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2954 To provide for improvements in the treatment of women in the criminal justice system. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 27, 2023 Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE (for herself and Ms. MACE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addi- tion to the Committees on Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To provide for improvements in the treatment of women in the criminal justice system. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Women in Criminal Justice Reform Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H2954.IH H2954 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 2954 IH TITLE I—GENDER-INFORMED ARREST AND LAW ENFORCEMENT PRACTICES Sec. 101. Protection of children at arrest. Sec. 102. Grant program for gender-informed training of local law enforcement officers. Sec. 103. Representation in law enforcement grant program. TITLE II—FAMILY REUNIFICATION TO REDUCE RECIDIVISM AND PROTECT CHILDREN Sec. 201. Parent-focused bail reform. Sec. 202. Temporary release from imprisonment to maintain community ties. Sec. 203. Updating custody requirements to preserve families. TITLE III—GENDER-INFORMED ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION Sec. 301. Federal pretrial diversion. TITLE IV—CONSPIRACY REFORM ACT—FIXING THE ‘‘GIRLFRIEND PROBLEM’’ Sec. 401. Focusing penalties for drug conspiracy. Sec. 402. Increasing judicial discretion to sentence less culpable justice-involved individuals. Sec. 403. Clarifying culpability at sentencing. TITLE V—GENDER-RESPONSIVE AND TRAUMA-INFORMED IMPOSITION OF A SENTENCE Sec. 501. Gender and trauma-informed sentencing. TITLE VI—GENDER-RESPONSIVE PRISON REFORM Sec. 601. Health care needs of incarcerated women in the Bureau of Prisons. Sec. 602. Trauma-informed care. Sec. 603. Trauma-informed and gender-responsive training and staffing. Sec. 604. Improving the Bureau of Prisons Resolve Trauma Therapy Program. Sec. 605. Gender-responsive programs in the Bureau of Prisons. Sec. 606. Gender-responsive prison conditions. Sec. 607. Gender-specific posts. Sec. 608. Female incarcerated person nutritional standards. Sec. 609. Gender-responsive discipline policies. Sec. 610. Expanding access to the Mothers and Infants Nurturing Together Program and the Residential Parenting Program. Sec. 611. Report on failure to comply with the 500 mile rule. Sec. 612. GAO study on representation in the Bureau of Prisons. Sec. 613. Authorization of appropriations. TITLE VII—GENDER-INFORMED REENTRY REFORM Sec. 701. Focus on women at residential reentry centers and in community con- finement. Sec. 702. Focusing supervision on the rehabilitation of women. Sec. 703. Gender-responsive modification of supervised release restrictions. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H2954.IH H2954 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 2954 IH TITLE VIII—DEFINITIONS Sec. 801. Definitions. TITLE I—GENDER-INFORMED 1 ARREST AND LAW ENFORCE- 2 MENT PRACTICES 3 SEC. 101. PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AT ARREST. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 203 of title 18, United 5 States Code, is amended by adding the following new sec- 6 tion at the end: 7 ‘‘§ 3065. Arrest by Federal law enforcement 8 ‘‘A law enforcement officer who is authorized to make 9 arrests under any Federal law shall permit any person who 10 is arrested and is the custodial parent or guardian of a 11 minor or dependent child the opportunity to make ar- 12 rangements for such child at the time of arrest, including 13 by permitting access to a telephone and appropriate phone 14 numbers for the purposes of securing care for the child, 15 and shall not refer the child to a child welfare agency, 16 unless the custodial parent or guardian of the minor can- 17 not make arrangements for the child at the time of arrest 18 or to secure care for the child, or unless the arresting offi- 19 cer has reasonable cause to suspect the child is experi- 20 encing abuse or neglect. A drug related charge on its own 21 does not constitute sufficient cause to suspect abuse or 22 neglect.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2954.IH H2954 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 2954 IH (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con- 1 tents of chapter 203 of title 18, United States Code, is 2 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘3065. Ar- 3 rest by Federal law enforcement’’. 4 SEC. 102. GRANT PROGRAM FOR GENDER-INFORMED 5 TRAINING OF LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OF- 6 FICERS. 7 Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 8 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.), is amended 9 by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘PART PP—GRANTS FOR GENDER-RESPONSIVE 11 TRAINING 12 ‘‘SEC. 3051. IN GENERAL. 13 ‘‘The Attorney General may make a grant to a State 14 each fiscal year for purposes of carrying out the require- 15 ments of section 3052. The term of such grant shall be 16 1 year. 17 ‘‘SEC. 3052. TRAINING ON GENDER-INFORMED LAW EN- 18 FORCEMENT PRACTICES. 19 ‘‘(a) TRAINING CURRICULA.—Not later than 180 20 days after the effective date of this section, the Attorney 21 General shall develop and identify training curricula under 22 this paragraph in consultation with relevant law enforce- 23 ment agencies of States and units of local government, as- 24 sociations that advocate on issues which disproportionately 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2954.IH H2954 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 2954 IH impact women, medical professionals, professional law en- 1 forcement organizations, mental health organizations, and 2 family advocacy organizations. 3 ‘‘(b) TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—The requirements 4 of this subsection are as follows: 5 ‘‘(1) A State shall require that all individuals 6 enrolled in an academy of a law enforcement agency 7 in the State and all chief law enforcement officers of 8 the State fulfill a training session on gender-in- 9 formed policing practices each fiscal year. In the 10 case of individuals attending an academy, such 11 training session shall be for at least 8 hours, and in 12 the case of all other law enforcement officers, the 13 training session shall be for at least 4 hours. 14 ‘‘(2) Gender-informed policing practices shall 15 include— 16 ‘‘(A) evidence-based training on the cir- 17 cumstances most likely to disproportionately or 18 differently impact women who have contact with 19 law enforcement through traffic stops, street 20 stops, searches, arrests, or any other contact, 21 and may include training on trauma, sexual and 22 physical abuse, family issues, physical and men- 23 tal health issues, hygiene issues, racial dispari- 24 ties in the arrests of and law enforcement con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2954.IH H2954 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 2954 IH tacts with women, and issues related to the ar- 1 rest of parents, including the identification and 2 appropriate responses to a child, present or not 3 present, whose parent is arrested in order to 4 help minimize potential trauma and support a 5 child’s physical safety and well-being following 6 an arrest; 7 ‘‘(B) training on a proactive, victim-cen- 8 tered approach to be used when responding to 9 domestic violence that utilizes best-practices 10 aimed at reducing risk of imminent or future 11 violence, and strongly discourages dual arrests; 12 ‘‘(C) evidence-based training on proper in- 13 terrogation techniques for individuals with a 14 history of trauma such as intimate partner vio- 15 lence or sexual assault as well as information 16 on false confessions; 17 ‘‘(D) evidence-based training on how the 18 interaction of race, class, disability, and gender 19 may influence police response as well as behav- 20 ior of an individual towards law enforcement of- 21 ficers; and 22 ‘‘(E) evidence-based training on the spe- 23 cific needs and appropriate policies and proto- 24 cols for pregnant persons who have contact with 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2954.IH H2954 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 2954 IH law enforcement through traffic stops, street 1 stops, searches, arrests, or any other contact. 2 ‘‘(3) No later than 2 years after receipt of a 3 grant under this section, a State shall certify to the 4 Attorney General of the United States that such 5 training sessions have been completed. 6 ‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE AND INELIGIBILITY.— 7 ‘‘(1) COMPLIANCE DATE.—The period specified 8 under this paragraph is the period beginning 120 9 days after the date of enactment of this part, to 10 comply with subsection (a), except that— 11 ‘‘(A) the Attorney General may grant an 12 additional 120 days to a State that is making 13 good faith efforts to comply with such sub- 14 section; and 15 ‘‘(B) the Attorney General shall waive the 16 requirements of subsection (a) if compliance by 17 a State would be unconstitutional under the 18 constitution of such State. 19 ‘‘(2) INELIGIBILITY.—A State that is not in 20 compliance with the requirements of subsection (a) 21 during a fiscal year is not eligible to apply for a 22 grant under this part during the next fiscal year. 23 ‘‘SEC. 3053. USE OF FUNDS. 24 ‘‘A grantee may use the grant to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2954.IH H2954 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 2954 IH ‘‘(1) pay for costs associated with carrying out 1 section 3052(b), including attendance by law en- 2 forcement officers or professionals at an approved 3 training course, including a course provided by a law 4 enforcement training academy of a State or unit of 5 local government; 6 ‘‘(2) procure training continuing education on 1 7 or more of the topics described in section 3052(b) 8 from a certified entity; 9 ‘‘(3) in the case of a law enforcement agency of 10 a unit of local government that employs fewer than 11 50 law enforcement officers (determined on a full- 12 time equivalent basis), pay for the costs of overtime 13 accrued as a result of the attendance of a law en- 14 forcement officer or covered professional at an ap- 15 proved training course for which the costs associated 16 with conducting the approved training course are 17 paid using amounts provided under this section; and 18 ‘‘(4) pay for the costs of developing mechanisms 19 to comply with the certification requirement estab- 20 lished under section 3052(b)(3), in an amount not to 21 exceed 5 percent of the total amount of the grant 22 award. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2954.IH H2954 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 2954 IH ‘‘SEC. 3054. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 1 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 2 this part $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 3 through 2028.’’. 4 SEC. 103. REPRESENTATION IN LAW ENFORCEMENT GRANT 5 PROGRAM. 6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a grant 7 program to improve recruitment and retention of women 8 law enforcement officers. 9 (b) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 60 days after the 10 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office 11 of Community Oriented Policing Services of the Depart- 12 ment of Justice shall make a grant to a law enforcement 13 agency or department eligible for a grant under part Q 14 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 15 Act of 1968. 16 (c) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Amounts from a grant 17 made under this section may be used only for the fol- 18 lowing: 19 (1) Establishing working groups, committees, or 20 advisory boards to review current hiring practices to 21 include— 22 (A) recruitment procedures; 23 (B) advertised job descriptions; 24 (C) images used on recruitment materials; 25 (D) the process of reviewing applications; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2954.IH H2954 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 2954 IH (E) required tests; and 1 (F) the procedures and individuals or 2 groups selected to interview candidates. 3 (2) Producing and distributing recruitment ma- 4 terials with inclusive racial and gender representa- 5 tion as well as language focused on a variety of im- 6 portant skills and/or qualifications for law enforce- 7 ment officers. 8 (3) Outreach to groups or locations with pre- 9 dominantly women in attendance. 10 (4) Providing on-site child care at law enforce- 11 ment academies. 12 (5) Improving parental and family leave poli- 13 cies. 14 (6) Establishing mentoring programs. 15 (7) Training recruiters and academy staff on 16 the importance of a diverse workforce, implicit bias, 17 and equal employment opportunity matters. 18 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 19 authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fis- 20 cal years 2024 through 2028. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:24 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2954.IH H2954 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 2954 IH TITLE II—FAMILY REUNIFICA- 1 TION TO REDUCE RECIDIVISM 2 AND PROTECT CHILDREN 3 SEC. 201. PARENT-FOCUSED BAIL REFORM. 4 Section 3142(g)(3)(A) of title 18, United States 5 Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘minor or dependent chil- 6 dren and whether detention would negatively impact a 7 child, including through potential loss of custody,’’ after 8 ‘‘family ties,’’. 9 SEC. 202. TEMPORARY RELEASE FROM IMPRISONMENT TO 10 MAINTAIN COMMUNITY TIES. 11 Title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking 12 section 3622 and inserting: 13 ‘‘§ 3622. Temporary release 14 ‘‘(a) GENERALLY.—The Bureau of Prisons and the 15 United States Marshals Service shall release an individual 16 from imprisonment for a limited period if such release is 17 authorized by the warden or a judicial officer under sub- 18 section (c) and in accordance with the facility or officer’s 19 prescribed conditions, to— 20 ‘‘(1) visit a designated place for a period not to 21 exceed thirty days without specific authorization, 22 and then retur [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]