Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

A bill that would finally update the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), after more than 15 years, appears headed for passage as early as Tuesday. UPDATE: The bill has passed the Senate, and now heads to the House of Representatives for approval.

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.

Since 2013, the Justice Department has not enforced a requirement that states study, and attempt to address, racial disparities in their juvenile justice systems. The department has been issuing states a “pass” on the disproportionate minority contact (DMC) requirement of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, the central piece of federal policy on juvenile justice.

The House of Representatives passed a bill to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act yesterday, something that chamber had done in the waning days of the last Congress. The next move lies with the U.S.