34 USC 10401 – Program authorized
(a) In general
The Attorney General is authorized to provide grants to States, for use by States and units of local government, and in certain cases directly to specially qualified units.
(b) Authorized activities
Terms Used In 34 USC 10401
- Attorney General: means the Attorney General of the United States or his designee. See 34 USC 10251
- court: means a tribunal recognized as a part of the judicial branch of a State or of its local government units. See 34 USC 10251
- criminal justice: means activities pertaining to crime prevention, control, or reduction, or the enforcement of the criminal law, including, but not limited to, police efforts to prevent, control, or reduce crime or to apprehend criminals, including juveniles, activities of courts having criminal jurisdiction, and related agencies (including but not limited to prosecutorial and defender services, juvenile delinquency agencies and pretrial service or release agencies), activities of corrections, probation, or parole authorities and related agencies assisting in the rehabilitation, supervision, and care of criminal offenders, and programs relating to the prevention, control, or reduction of narcotic addiction and juvenile delinquency. See 34 USC 10251
- Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
- Probation officers: Screen applicants for pretrial release and monitor convicted offenders released under court supervision.
- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
- State: means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands: Provided, That for the purposes of section 10156(a) of this title, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall be considered as one state 1 and that for these purposes 67 per centum of the amounts allocated shall be allocated to American Samoa, and 33 per centum to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. See 34 USC 10251
- unit of local government: means &mdash. See 34 USC 10251
Amounts paid to a State or a unit of local government under this subchapter shall be used by the State or unit of local government for the purpose of strengthening the juvenile justice system, which includes—
(1) developing, implementing, and administering graduated sanctions for juvenile offenders;
(2) building, expanding, renovating, or operating temporary or permanent juvenile correction, detention, or community corrections facilities;
(3) hiring juvenile court judges, probation officers, and court-appointed defenders and special advocates, and funding pretrial services (including mental health screening and assessment) for juvenile offenders, to promote the effective and expeditious administration of the juvenile justice system;
(4) hiring additional prosecutors, so that more cases involving violent juvenile offenders can be prosecuted and case backlogs reduced;
(5) providing funding to enable prosecutors to address drug, gang, and youth violence problems more effectively and for technology, equipment, and training to assist prosecutors in identifying and expediting the prosecution of violent juvenile offenders;
(6) establishing and maintaining training programs for law enforcement and other court personnel with respect to preventing and controlling juvenile crime;
(7) establishing juvenile gun courts for the prosecution and adjudication of juvenile firearms offenders;
(8) establishing drug court programs for juvenile offenders that provide continuing judicial supervision over juvenile offenders with substance abuse problems and the integrated administration of other sanctions and services for such offenders;
(9) establishing and maintaining a system of juvenile records designed to promote public safety;
(10) establishing and maintaining interagency information-sharing programs that enable the juvenile and criminal justice systems, schools, and social services agencies to make more informed decisions regarding the early identification, control, supervision, and treatment of juveniles who repeatedly commit serious delinquent or criminal acts;
(11) establishing and maintaining accountability-based programs designed to reduce recidivism among juveniles who are referred by law enforcement personnel or agencies;
(12) establishing and maintaining programs to conduct risk and need assessments of juvenile offenders that facilitate the effective early intervention and the provision of comprehensive services, including mental health screening and treatment and substance abuse testing and treatment to such offenders;
(13) establishing and maintaining accountability-based programs that are designed to enhance school safety, which programs may include research-based bullying, cyberbullying, and gang prevention programs;
(14) establishing and maintaining restorative justice programs;
(15) establishing and maintaining programs to enable juvenile courts and juvenile probation officers to be more effective and efficient in holding juvenile offenders accountable and reducing recidivism;
(16) hiring detention and corrections personnel, and establishing and maintaining training programs for such personnel to improve facility practices and programming; or
(17) establishing, improving, and coordinating pre-release and post-release systems and programs to facilitate the successful reentry of juvenile offenders from State or local custody in the community.
(c) Definition
In this section the term “restorative justice program” means a program that emphasizes the moral accountability of an offender toward the victim and the affected community and may include community reparations boards, restitution (in the form of monetary payment or service to the victim or, where no victim can be identified, service to the affected community), and mediation between victim and offender.