article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2008''. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. Section 103 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5603) is amended-- (1) by amending paragraph (25) to read as follows: ``(25) the term `contact' means any sight or sound interaction between a juvenile in a secure custody status with an adult inmate;'', (2) in paragraph (28) by striking ``and'' at the end, (3) in paragraph (29) by adding ``and'' at the end, and (4) by adding at the end the following: ``(30) the term `juvenile justice stakeholders' means individuals and representatives of agencies, institutions, and organizations with interest in the activities and outcomes of the juvenile justice system, including-- ``(A) youth and family members of youth who have had contact with the juvenile justice system; ``(B) youth and families of color; ``(C) defense attorneys for youth, prosecutors for the juvenile court, and juvenile court judges; and ``(D) representatives of school systems, law enforcement agencies, juvenile detention and corrections, juvenile probation departments, and community-based providers of gender-specific services and services to youth of color and juvenile justice- involved youth.''. SEC. 3. ANNUAL REPORT. Section 207(1) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5617(1)) is amended-- (1) in subparagraph (B) by inserting ``, ethnicity,'' after ``race'', (2) in subparagraph (E) by striking ``and'' at the end, (3) in subparagraph (F) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and'', and (4) by adding at the end the following: ``(G) how State plans are meeting the requirement under section 223(a)(7)(B)(i).''. SEC. 4. STATE PLANS. Section 223(a) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5633(a)) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (3)(A)(ii)-- (A) in subclause (VII) by striking ``and'' at the end, (B) in subclause (VIII) by adding ``and'' at the end, and (C) by adding at the end the following: ``(IX) individuals with special experience or competence in addressing the needs of girls or implementing gender responsive services;'', (2) in paragraph (7)(B)-- (A) in clause (iii) by striking ``and'' at the end, (B) in clause (iv) by adding ``and'' at the end, and (C) by adding at the end the following: ``(v) a plan for providing easily accessible, community-based and operated, culturally and linguistically appropriate services to youth at-risk or in contact with the juvenile justice system;'', (3) in paragraph (11)-- (A) by striking ``shall,'', (B) in subparagraph (A)-- (i) in clause (i) by striking the semicolon at the end, (ii) by striking ``excluding--'' and all that follows through ``(i)'' and inserting ``excluding'', (iii) by striking clauses (ii) and (iii), and (iv) by striking ``and'' at the end, and (C) by adding at the end the following: ``(C) not later than 3 years after the effective date of this subparagraph, or sooner if possible, no exceptions to this paragraph shall be permissible in relation to-- ``(i) juveniles who are charged with or who have committed a violation of a valid court order; and ``(ii) juveniles who are held in accordance with the Interstate Compact on Juveniles as enacted by the State; and ``(D) efforts shall be made to care safely for juveniles described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) by utilizing staff-secure and other community-based alternatives to secure detention, including the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act programs administered by the Family and Youth Services Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services;'', (4) in paragraph (12)-- (A) in subparagraph (A) by striking ``and'' at the end, (B) in subparagraph (B) by adding ``and'' at the end, and (C) by adding at the end the following: ``(C) not later than 3 years after the effective date of this provision, or sooner if possible, juveniles awaiting trial or any other legal process and who are treated as adults for purposes of prosecution in criminal court shall not have contact with adult inmates when held in the custody of the criminal court;'', (5) in paragraph (13)-- (A) by inserting after ``adults'' the 1st place it appears the following: ``, and provide that not later than 3 years after the effective date of this bill, or sooner if possible, juveniles treated as adults for purposes of prosecution in criminal court and juveniles prosecuted as adults in criminal court may not be held in any jail or lockup for adults while awaiting trial on a criminal charge,'', and (B) in subparagraph (A) by adding ``and'' at the end, (6) in paragraph (15) by inserting ``ethnicity,'' after ``race,'', (7) by striking paragraphs (22) and (23), (8) by redesignating paragraphs (14) through (28) as paragraphs (15) through (27), respectively, and (9) by after paragraph (13) the following: ``(14) implement policy, practice, and system improvement strategies at the State, territorial, local, and tribal levels to identify and reduce racial and ethnic disparities among youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system by-- ``(A) establishing coordinating bodies to oversee and monitor State, territorial, local, or tribal efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities, composed of juvenile justice stakeholders at the State, territorial, local, or tribal levels, including community leaders and service providers from communities in which youth of color are disproportionately represented in the juvenile justice system; ``(B) identifying and analyzing key decision points, and the criteria used to make those decisions, in State, territorial, local, or tribal juvenile justice systems, to determine which points create racial and ethnic disparities among juveniles who come into contact with the juvenile justice system and the causes of those disparities; ``(C) developing and implementing State, territorial, local, or tribal data collection and analysis systems to identify where racial and ethnic disparities exist in the juvenile justice system and to track and analyze such disparities using descriptors disaggregated, as appropriate, by factors including race, ethnicity, sex, geography, offense, delinquency history, and age; ``(D) developing and implementing a work plan that includes measurable objectives for policy changes, practice changes or other system changes, based on the needs identified in the data collection and analysis under subparagraph (B) and designed to reduce any forms of bias, differential treatment of youth of color or disparities found to be associated with race and ethnicity, including provision of culturally and linguistically competent services; and ``(E) tracking and publicly reporting, on an annual basis, the efforts and progress made in accordance with subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D).''. SEC. 5. RESEARCH AND EVALUATION. Section 251 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5661) is amended-- (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B) by-- (A) in clause (x) by striking ``and'' at the end, (B) in clause (xi) by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and'', and (C) by adding at the end the following: ``(xii) juveniles treated as adults for purposes of prosecution in criminal court.'', and (2) by adding at the end the following: ``(f) Assessment of Treating Juveniles as Adults.--The Administrator shall-- ``(1) not later than 3 years after the effective date this subsection, assess the effectiveness of the practice of treating juveniles as adults for purposes of prosecution in criminal court; and ``(2) not later than 6 months after making the assessment required by paragraph (1)-- ``(A) submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Speaker pro tempore of the Senate, and the President a report containing the findings, conclusions, and any recommended changes in law identified as a result of such assessment; and ``(B) make such report available to the public.''. SEC. 6. INCENTIVE GRANTS FOR LOCAL DELINQUENCY PREVENTIONS PROGRAMS. Section 504(a) of the Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Programs Act of 2002 (42 U.S.C. 5784(a)) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (7) by striking ``and'' at the end, (2) by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (9), and (3) by inserting the following after paragraph (7) the following: ``(8) gender specific services that address the above purpose areas; and''. SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the 1st day of the 1st fiscal year that begins after the date of the enactment of this Act.
summary: Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2008 - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to: (1) revise the definition of "contact" in such Act to include any sight or sound interaction between a juvenile in custody and an adult inmate; (2) expand eligibility for participation in grant programs under such Act to certain individuals and organizations with an interest in the juvenile justice system ("juvenile justice stakeholders"); (3) require state plans under such Act to provide for increased protections for juveniles in custody, provide for culturally and linguistically appropriate services to juveniles at risk, and establish policies and strategies to identify and reduce racial and ethnic disparities among youths in the juvenile justice system; (4) require the inclusion on state juvenile delinquency prevention advisory boards of individuals with experience and competence in addressing the needs of girls or in implementing gender responsive services; and (5) require the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to assess and report on the effectiveness of treating juveniles as adults for purposes of criminal prosecutions. Amends the Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Programs Act of 2002 to require the inclusion of gender specific services in the incentive grant program for juvenile delinquency prevention.