It has taken over two decades but Congress has finally reauthorized the Department of Justice and its programs. Since 1979 the Department of Justice has literally been living from hand-to-mouth. That was the last time any of their programs were authorized by law. Annual appropriations for the department have been the only thing that has kept their doors open.
In July 2001, the House, by voice vote, passed H.R. 2215, the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act. Largely a non-controversial bill, the most notable provision established the Violence Against Women Office as an entity separate and distinct from the Office of Justice Programs (where most of the grant programs are located). The majority of the remainder of the bill reauthorized ongoing DOJ programs.
Then on December 20, 2001, literally on the eve of going home for the holidays, the Senate passed its amendment to the house bill that was less straight forward and more controversial adding a number of juvenile justice and drug abuse related provisions. For much of the remainder of 2002 the two houses struggled to reconcile their differences.
The amalgamated bill has incorporated several bills that NDAA has supported including S. 304, the Drug Abuse Education, Prevention, and Treatment Act of 2001; H.R. 863, the Consequences for Juvenile Offenders Act of 2002; H.R. 1900, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002; and the Paul Coverdell National Forensic Sciences Improvement Act of 2000.
The bill only authorizes funding for DOJ for two fiscal years and requires the president to submit legislation for appropriations for the subsequent two fiscal years. This is unusual and may reflect the anticipation of starting up the new Department of HomeLand Security. A number of DOJ assets would be transferred to the new department as currently envisioned and legislative and fiscal adjustment would have to be made to DOJ.
The act authorizes the AG to transfer 200 assistant U.S. attorneys from main Justice to the various U.S. attorneys’ offices around the country. It also authorizes the hiring of 94 additional attorneys to work with state and local law enforcement for identification and prosecution of violations of federal firearms laws, especially in and around schools.
It directs the AG to conduct a study of the number of untested rape examination kits that currently exist nationwide. This was a part of S. 2513, the DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2002. No funding is made available for local law enforcement to count their kits.
It also requires the AG to report to Congress on the use of the Carnivore electronic surveillance system used by the FBI to filter and conduct electronic surveillance through wiretap, pen register and trap and trace investigations for communications occurring over computer networks. The system is installed on the network of an Internet service provider to monitor communications on the network and record messages sent or received by a targeted user.
The bill will expand the purpose of truth-in-sentencing and violent offender grants to allow use of these funds to establish separate detention facilities, correctional staff and an ombudsman for juvenile offenders. This is an interesting provision since these grants were not funded last fiscal year, nor are they in the Senate version for this fiscal year (FY 2003).
The reauthorization creates a separate and independent Violence Against Women Office in the Department of Justice under the general authority of the attorney general. The office will be headed by a director who reports directly to the attorney general and has final authority over all grants, cooperative agreements and contracts awarded by the office. This removes the VAWA programs from the Office of Justice Programs and makes them a co-equal.
The Drug Abuse Education, Prevention, and Treatment Act of 2002, as S. 304, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in November 2001; there was no comparable bill in the House. NDAA had supported parts that provided funding for local prosecutors.
It authorizes the AG to make incentive grants to eligible states, local governments and Indian tribes to encourage the establishment and maintenance of drug-free prisons and jails. It would also authorize the use of residential substance abuse treatment grants to provide aftercare services and directs that at least 10 percent of the total amount made available to a state be provided to local correctional facilities to assist jail-based substance abuse treatment programs.
The bill authorizes the AG to make grants to local prosecutors to develop, implement or expand drug treatment alternatives to prison programs. It will provide 75 percent of the funding with a 25 percent match by the prosecutor.
Authorizes the AG to make grants to establish local programs that involve continuous judicial supervision over juvenile non-violent offenders with substance abuse problems. It also amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to provide grants to a consortium within a state consisting of state or local juvenile justice agencies, state or local substance abuse and mental health agencies, and child service agencies to coordinate the delivery of services to children.
Directs a study of drug-testing technologies that may be used as alternatives or complements to urinalysis, to identify and assess their efficacy, accuracy and usefulness.
Directs the AG to award grants to community-based organizations to provide youth in low-income and high-crime communities who have a parent or legal guardian incarcerated in a federal, state or local correctional facility with counseling, training and mentoring services.
Reauthorizes the drug courts program. Directs the AG to prevent participation by violent offenders. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2002 through 2004, reserving a specified percent for program research and evaluation.
Establishes a State Reentry Grant Program for adult and juvenile offender reentry demonstration projects and conduct research on a range of issues pertinent to reentry programs.
Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 that denies some assistance and benefits to individuals for certain drug-related convictions, to restore the benefits to those who have successfully completed a controlled substance abuse treatment program and have not committed a subsequent drug offense.
The reauthorization act amends federal law to clarify that a law enforcement officer does not need to be present for a warrant to be served or executed “for service or execution of a search warrant directed to a provider of electronic communication service or remote computing service for records or other information pertaining to a subscriber to or customer of such service.” Due to the nature of electronic communications, much of this information is in the possession of Internet Provider Services (ISPs) and law enforcement officials often serve such warrants over facsimile machines and are not present at the site of the ISP. The ISP accepts these warrants.
The bill also reauthorizes funds for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) for FY 2003 and 2004. This program has been zeroed out the last two years in the president’s budget request. Last fiscal year the funds were restored by Congress; in the Senate version for the next fiscal year the program is not funded.
A program was established to assist rural communities and has $30 million to spend over three years for grants to state criminal justice, Byrne or other designated agencies to develop rural states’ capacity to assist local communities in the prevention and reduction of crime, violence and substance abuse.
Consequences for Juvenile Offenders Act of 2002. This section originally passed the House as H.R. 863 by voice vote (no opposition) in October 2001. It replaces provisions regarding grants to develop alternative methods of punishment for young offenders with provisions authorizing the AG to provide grants to promote greater accountability in the juvenile justice system, including grants to provide funding to enable prosecutors to address drug, gang and youth violence problems more effectively and for technology, equipment and training.
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002. This section originally passed the House as H.R. 1900 on September 20, 2001. It amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA) to permit the use of federal funds to support state juvenile justice programs.
Establishes prohibitions against detained juveniles having physical and sustained oral and visual contact with adult inmates. Requires the state to have in effect a policy that requires individuals who work with both such juveniles and adult inmates in collocated facilities to have been trained and certified to work with juveniles.
Extends the period of time that a juvenile may be held while awaiting an initial court appearance to up to 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays.
Allows juveniles to be held in adult facilities for a period not to exceed 20 days as long as the parent or guardian consents, the juvenile’s counsel has the opportunity to present the juvenile’s position regarding the detention, the court hears from the juvenile prior to approval of placement and there is no existing acceptable placement.
Eliminates the need for a judge to receive a report from an appropriate public agency (other than a court or law enforcement agency) before the issuance of a valid court order allowing a juvenile (status offender) to be held in a secure facility. But does require the agency to be promptly notified if a juvenile is held under a valid court order and to interview the juvenile within 24 hours of the referral and to submit an assessment to the court regarding the juvenile’s immediate needs.
Authorizes the use of Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Block Grants for:
- projects that provide treatment to juvenile offenders, including treatment for mental health problems and for juveniles who have experienced violence
- projects which provide for an assessment of, and individualized treatment plans for, incarcerated juveniles suspected to be in need of mental health services
- after-school programs for at-risk juveniles
- programs related to the establishment and maintenance of a school violence hotline
- programs designed to reduce the unlawful acquisition and illegal use of guns by juveniles
- projects that include collaboration on prenatal care for pregnant juvenile offenders
- programs designed to prevent animal cruelty by juveniles and to counsel juveniles who commit animal cruelty offenses
- programs that provide suicide prevention services for incarcerated juveniles and for juveniles leaving the incarceration system
- programs to establish partnerships between state educational agencies and local educational agencies for the design and implementation of character education and training programs
- programs that foster strong character development in at-risk juveniles and juveniles in the juvenile justice system
- local programs that provide for immediate psychological evaluation and follow-up treatment for juveniles who bring a gun on school grounds without permission from appropriate school authorities.
Prohibits the payment of funds to residential programs (excluding a program in a private residence) unless there is a requirement that the provider may be licensed only after satisfying explicit standards of discipline that prohibit neglect and physical and mental abuse.
|
