CTJJA | Resource Details: 7/31/08 - Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) Reauthorized

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Through Senate Judiciary Committee

On Thursday, July 31st, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed S. 3155, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization of 2008, which would reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) - one of the major federal laws focusing on juvenile justice issues. S. 3155 was adopted by the Committee by voice vote, meaning that the Senators did not cast individual, recorded votes.

S. 3155 was introduced June 18, 2008 and currently has 7 bipartisan co-sponsors. A 2-page summary of the bill as introduced can be found [1] here. The CFYJ letter in support of the bill is available [2] here.

During consideration of S. 3155 yesterday, the Committee adopted several critical amendments that significantly strengthened the bill. The Committee voted 11-7 to approve an amendment offered by Senator Cardin (D-MD) that would completely phase out the Valid Court Order (VCO) exception to the Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders (DSO) core requirement in three years. The amendment also allows States to apply for extensions if they can demonstrate hardship with meeting this requirement.

The Committee also voted 18-1 to approve an amendment offered by Senators Feinstein (D-CA), Kennedy (D-MA), and Whitehouse (D-RI) to provide greatly increased substance abuse and mental health services to youth involved in the juvenile justice system.