text: 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.
target: 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.
feat_title: To amend and improve the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, and for other purposes.