JJDPA Reauthorized
16 Years Since Last Authorization
On December 13, 2018, Congress passed H.R. 6964 with broad bipartisan support, and the President signed the bill into law the following week.
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, first passed in 1974, was last reauthorized in 2002 and expired in 2007. In the interim, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has seen its budget slashed dramatically. More recently, under the leadership of Administrator Caren Harp, OJJDP has loosened federal reporting requirements and reduced states’ accountability for measuring racial and ethnic disparities. Reauthorization will strengthen data reporting requirements and make it tougher for states to place youth in adult jails, among other provisions. The legislation also contains a two-year reauthorization of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act.
Click here to read the text of the bill.
The Coalition for Juvenile Justice has written a concise summary of the bill, including a brief history of the JJDPA and key changes included in the reauthorization.
Click here to read the summary.