Community-Based Gang Intervention Act
This bill extends federal support for juvenile justice and delinquency prevention efforts to programs and activities involving community-based gang intervention.
First, the bill authorizes community-based gang intervention grants for nonprofit community-based organizations to reduce and stop gang-related and gang-motivated violence and crime.
Second, the bill modifies the qualifications of representatives of state advisory groups to specify that (1) a representative of a public agency includes an individual from a public agency concerned with community-based gang intervention, and (2) a representative of a nonprofit organization includes a person with a special focus on community-based gang intervention.
Third, the bill adds, as a purpose area under the Incentive Youth Promise Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Programs, providing community-based gang intervention and gang prevention activities to juveniles and their families.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4743 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4743
To provide definitions of terms and services related to community-based
gang intervention to ensure that funding for such intervention is
utilized in a cost-effective manner and that community-based agencies
are held accountable for providing holistic, integrated intervention
services, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 28, 2021
Mr. Cardenas (for himself and Ms. Bass) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide definitions of terms and services related to community-based
gang intervention to ensure that funding for such intervention is
utilized in a cost-effective manner and that community-based agencies
are held accountable for providing holistic, integrated intervention
services, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Community-Based Gang Intervention
Act''.
TITLE I--COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION AGENCIES
SEC. 101. COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION AGENCIES.
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34
U.S.C. 11101 et seq.) is amended--
(1) by redesignating title VI (34 U.S.C. 11321 et seq.) as
title VII;
(2) by redesignating sections 601 and 602 (34 U.S.C. 11321,
11322) as sections 701 and 702, respectively; and
(3) by inserting after title V the following:
``TITLE VI--COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION GRANTS
``SEC. 601. PURPOSE.
``The purpose of this title is to offer holistic and comprehensive
support for community-based gang intervention activities that focus on
and engage active and former gang members, their close associates, and
gang members in and returning from confinement. Gang-involved youth and
their families require specialized intensive and comprehensive services
that address the unique issues encountered by youth when they become
involved with gangs. Community-based gang intervention involves
proactive and reactive responses to gang activities on several levels,
including--
``(1) the regional level, to promote and coordinate peace
truces and cease-fires between groups;
``(2) the State and local level, including community and
the juvenile halls, camps, Division of Juvenile Justice
facilities, county jails, and State prisons; and
``(3) the neighborhood level, including with active gang
members individually.
``SEC. 602. SUPPORT OF COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION AGENCIES.
``(a) Support of Community-Based Gang Intervention Agencies.--
Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Administrator shall
award grants to eligible entities to carry out the activities described
in subsection (c).
``(b) Eligible Entity.--For the purposes of this section, an
`eligible entity' means a community-based gang intervention agency that
is a nonprofit organization with a history of and expertise in
providing community-based gang intervention activities through a
community-based gang intervention model.
``(c) Grant Activities.--Each entity awarded a grant under this
section shall carry out activities that promote public safety, with the
specific objective of reducing and stopping gang-related and gang-
motivated violence and crime, including the following activities:
``(1) Conduct street mediation by working with gang members
and persons with influence over such member to defuse and de-
escalate potential and actual violence between gang members and
between rival gangs.
``(2) Develop local and regional truces by negotiating
cease-fires or nonaggression agreements between rival gangs and
neighborhoods.
``(3) Serve as conduits who facilitate dialogue and
relationship between gangs and neighborhoods.
``(4) Provide services that respond to the high levels of
anxiety and stress experienced by gang members due to traumatic
events.
``(5) Provide 24-hour, 7-day-a-week crisis intervention
services by responding to requests for violence prevention
services made by gang members, the families of gang members,
school officials, intervention workers, social service
agencies, or law enforcement.
``(6) Provide targeted training and technical assistance to
violence-plagued communities after a major gang-related
incident.
``(7) Facilitate the development of a community response
plan to gang-related activities, including training protocols,
situational scene scenarios, and emergency response.
``(8) Establish relationships with community stakeholders
to inform and engage them in quality-of-life activities that
enhance intervention activities.
``(9) Serve as intervention representatives in communities
by attending local meetings involving nonprofit organizations,
schools, faith-based organizations, and other entities.
``(10) Develop conflict resolution skills and techniques to
address and resolve community concerns related to gang activity
in order to improve the quality of life within neighborhoods.
``(11) Work with schools to respond to gang-related issues
and crises both in and outside of school.
``(12) Provide support services for youth and families
affected by gang violence and other victims of gang violence
(including any individual who is physically, emotionally,
financially, or otherwise harmed by criminal activity, and
those affected by harm done to or by a family member), which
may include--
``(A) advocating for public sector and private
sector assistance and services;
``(B) grief counseling; and
``(C) referrals to treatment and rehabilitation for
cognitive, mental, emotional, physical, or financial
injury, loss, or suffering.
``(13) Provide comprehensive mental health services to
youth and families affected by gang violence or involvement,
including--
``(A) integrated services comprised of individual,
family, and group therapy modalities, and psychological
education provided through youth and parent training
programs; or
``(B) gang-responsive services including skills
training, assessing and servicing youth with
developmental disabilities, behavioral modification,
and services to address substance use and abuse, anger
management, emotional regulation, traumatic stress,
family violence, depression, suicide, anxiety, and
educational problems.
``(14) Provide public and private sector career job
training, development, and placement, including--
``(A) job-finding and job-maintaining skills,
including skills related to resume writing,
interviewing, workplace decorum, interpersonal
communication, and problem-solving;
``(B) information about legal rights in the
workplace; or
``(C) financial literacy.
``(15) Assist with substance use and abuse treatment,
domestic violence victims, and voluntary tattoo removal of
markings on the body related to gang involvement.
``(d) Availability of Victims Assistance.--An entity awarded a
grant under this section that provides victim assistance under
paragraph (13) of subsection (c) shall not discriminate in the
provision of such assistance to an individual based on race, ethnicity,
gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic level, or criminal history.
``SEC. 603. DEFINITIONS.
``In this title:
``(1) Community.--Notwithstanding the definition of
`community based' in section 103, the term `community' means a
unit of local government or an Indian Tribe.
``(2) Community-based gang intervention agency.--The term
`community-based gang intervention agency' means a community-
based organization, association, or other entity that--
``(A) promotes public safety, with the specific
objective of reducing and stopping gang-related and
gang-motivated violence and crime; and
``(B) has a history of, or training in, effectively
working with gang-involved youth and their families.
``(3) Community-based gang intervention model.--The term
`community-based gang intervention model' means a holistic and
comprehensive approach to reducing gang violence that uses the
2-prong approach of community-based intervention as defined in
section 103 and an integrated approach of providing
rehabilitative service delivery to gang-involved youth through
trained specialists in community-gang intervention.
``(4) Gang.--The term `gang' means a group of individuals--
``(A) organized by geography, culture, or activity;
``(B) that have a group name, and may have other
identifying characteristics of the group such as colors
and nicknames; and
``(C) who engage in the use of violence to defend
the members or territory of the group.
``(5) Youth.--The term `youth' means--
``(A) an individual who is 18 years of age or
younger; or
``(B) in any State in which the maximum age at
which the juvenile justice system of such State has
jurisdiction over individuals exceeds 18 years of age,
an individual who is such maximum age or younger.''.
TITLE II--AMENDMENTS TO THE OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY
PREVENTION
SEC. 201. DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION.
Section 103 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11103) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``except as provided in
title VI,'' before ``the term'';
(2) in paragraph (44)(C), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(3) in paragraph (45), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(46) except when used as part of the term `community-
based gang intervention agency' or `community-based gang
intervention model', the term `community-based gang
intervention' means a 2-prong approach to reducing gang
violence that--
``(A) provides specialized, gang-specific mediation
and mitigation to stop or prevent violence by, within,
and between gangs; and
``(B) provides the redirection of individual gang
members and their families through proactive efforts
that increase peace and safety for gang members, their
families, and their communities.''.
SEC. 202. COMMUNITY-BASED GANG INTERVENTION REPRESENTATIVE TO STATE
ADVISORY BOARDS.
Section 223(a)(3)(ii) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11133(a)(3)(ii)) is amended--
(1) in subclause (III), by inserting ``, or community-based
gang intervention'' after ``delinquency prevention or
treatment''; and
(2) in subclause (IV), by inserting ``community-based gang
intervention,'' after ``prevention and treatment,''.
SEC. 203. GRANTS FOR DELINQUENCY PREVENTION PROGRAMS.
Section 504 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11313) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a) by inserting after ``programs'' the
following: ``, including community-based gang intervention and
gang prevention activities,''; and
(2) in subsection (e)(1)(B)(ii), by striking ``activities''
and inserting ``programs and community-based gang
intervention''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
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