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119-hr-8547119th CongressWALLET

'Directly Impacted Child Rehab and Safety Act

Sponsored By: Representative Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37]

Introduced

Summary

Would raise the federal juvenile age to treat more teens as juveniles. It would also narrow when young people can face federal murder charges, require new Bureau of Justice Statistics reporting, and create grant support for better child welfare and juvenile justice collaboration.

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  • Youth and families: The bill would redefine a juvenile to start at age 12 and raise the usual transfer threshold from age 15 to 16, with limited exceptions for violent or firearm offenses that can be treated as if the youth were 13. It would also limit federal murder liability for people under 18 to two narrow situations: intentionally causing death or aiding with intent to kill.
  • Data and oversight: The Bureau of Justice Statistics would be required to do a comprehensive review within one year and then report annually. Reports must include adjudication, transfer, conviction details, demographic breakdowns, custody status, and special reporting for cases where custody is more than 100 miles from the adjudication or conviction jurisdiction.
  • States, Tribal governments, and providers: The bill would add a competitive grant program under the Social Security Act to improve cross-system collaboration for age-excluded youth, survivors of commercial sexual exploitation, dual-status youth, and cross-over youth. Grants would run 2 to 5 years plus up to 2 years extension, require data-sharing plans and leadership structures, and explicitly include Tribal entities as eligible State-equivalent agencies.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

5 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.

Limit murder liability for minors

If enacted, the bill would limit when a person under 18 can be charged with murder. A person under 18 would be guilty of murder only if they intentionally or knowingly caused the death, or if they were not the killer but helped the killer knowing and intending the victim would die. If murder liability does not apply, the person would be sentenced for the crime they actually committed or attempted.

New rules for juvenile transfers

If enacted, the bill would change who can be moved from juvenile court to federal court. General age references would rise from 15 to 16. For certain violent crimes or when a firearm was possessed, the statute would treat the age reference as 13. The bill would require transfer to federal court for acts after a juvenile's 16th birthday when the offense meets specific force-based elements or is among listed federal crimes, or if there was a prior qualifying finding. Courts would also have to consider trauma, child welfare history, behavior, rehabilitative potential, the child's role in the offense, and the child's best interests.

Annual federal juvenile data reports

If enacted, the bill would make the Bureau of Justice Statistics publish a full report within one year and every year after. The report would list counts of adjudications, transfers, and convictions for people under 18 in federal cases. It would show ages at offense and disposition, race and disability data, sentence lengths, custody status, and who is held more than 100 miles from the adjudicating jurisdiction. The reports would also cover people now imprisoned for crimes committed as children.

Grants to improve child welfare help

If enacted, the bill would create competitive grants for state child welfare and juvenile justice agencies to work together. Grants would target kids excluded by age, survivors of commercial sexual exploitation, dual‑status youth, and crossover youth. Grants would run 2 to 5 fiscal years, with up to 2 extra years on application, and must add to, not replace, state spending. States would have to show leadership structures, data sharing with privacy protections, tribal and local involvement, and annual reporting. The Secretary could give training and technical help.

New juvenile age and placement rules

If enacted, the bill would define a 'juvenile' as a person who is at least 12 and under 18. That change decides who is handled as a juvenile in federal law. The bill would also update placement language to add "correctional institution, or prison" as a possible placement and make small pronoun fixes. The definition change affects who is eligible for juvenile processes, while the placement wording could broaden where a committed juvenile might be sent.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37]

CA • D

Cosponsors

  • Rep. McIver, LaMonica [D-NJ-10]

    NJ • D

    Sponsored 4/28/2026

  • Rep. Velázquez, Nydia M. [D-NY-7]

    NY • D

    Sponsored 4/28/2026

  • Rep. Tlaib, Rashida [D-MI-12]

    MI • D

    Sponsored 4/28/2026

  • Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4]

    GA • D

    Sponsored 4/28/2026

  • Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1]

    IL • D

    Sponsored 4/28/2026

  • Rep. Simon, Lateefah [D-CA-12]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 4/28/2026

  • Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9]

    TN • D

    Sponsored 4/28/2026

  • Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13]

    MI • D

    Sponsored 4/28/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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