Grants to States to enhance collaboration between State child welfare and juvenile justice systems

The purpose of this section is to authorize the Secretary, in collaboration with the Attorney General and the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice— to develop practices, policies, and protocols— Subject to the availability of appropriations, from amounts reserved under section 623(a)(2) of this title for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall award competitive grants jointly to a State child welfare agency and a State juvenile justice agency to facilitate or enhance collaboration between the child welfare and juvenile justice systems of the State in order to carry out programs to address the needs of dual status youth and their families. Subject to subparagraph (B), a grant shall be awarded under this section for a period of not less than 2 fiscal years and not more than 5 fiscal years. Upon the application of the grantee, the Secretary may extend the period for which a grant is awarded under this section for not more than 2 fiscal years. In order for a State to be eligible for a grant under this section, the State shall submit an application, subject to the approval of the Secretary, that includes— a description of how the State proposes— a description of current and proposed practices and procedures that the State intends to use— Any amounts paid to a State under a grant under this section shall be used to supplement and not supplant other State expenditures on dual status youths or children involved with either the child welfare or juvenile justice systems. Up to 10 percent of the amount made available to carry out this section for a fiscal year shall be made available to the Secretary to evaluate the effectiveness of the projects funded under this section, using a methodology that— A State child welfare agency and a State juvenile justice agency receiving a grant under this section shall jointly submit to the Secretary, the Attorney General, and the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice, a report on the evaluation of the activities carried out under the grant at the end of each fiscal year during the period of the grant. Such report shall include— an analysis of the effects of such practices and procedures, including information regarding— aggregate data related to the dual status youth population, including— the extent to which such practices and procedures have contributed to— The Secretary may support State child welfare agencies and State juvenile justice agencies by offering a program, developed in consultation with organizations and agencies with subject matter expertise, of training and technical assistance to assist such agencies in developing programs and protocols that draw on best practices for serving dual status youth in order to facilitate or enhance— Not later than 3 years after January 5, 2023, and every 3 years thereafter, the Secretary, the Attorney General, and the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice shall jointly submit to the Committee on Finance and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives, a report on the grants provided under this section. In this section: The term “dual status youth” means a child who has come into contact with both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems and occupies various statuses in terms of the individual’s relationship to such systems. The term “leadership collaboration group” means a group composed of senior officials from the State child welfare agency, the State juvenile justice agency, and other relevant youth and family-serving public agencies and private organizations, including, to the extent practicable, representatives from the State judiciary branch. The term “State juvenile justice agency” means the agency of the State or Indian tribe responsible for administering grant funds awarded under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (34 U.S.C. 11101 et seq.). The term “State child welfare agency” means the State agency responsible for administering the program under this subpart, or, in the case of a tribal organization that is receiving payments under section 628 of this title, the tribal agency responsible for administering such program.