# 119-hr-8976: Women in Criminal Justice Reform Act

119-hr-8976, Women in Criminal Justice Reform Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37] (D-CA); status introduced (as of 2026-07-17).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8976
- As of: 2026-07-17
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-8976
- Congress: 119
- Title: Women in Criminal Justice Reform Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-05-21
- Sponsor: Rep. Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37] (D-CA)
- Cosponsors: 7
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-17

## Summary

**Gender-informed criminal justice reform for women and children**. This bill creates rules across arrest, pretrial diversion, sentencing, prisons, and grants so policing, courts, and corrections better address women’s health, trauma, and family needs. - Families and children: At arrest, minor or dependent children must have phone access and an opportunity to arrange care, and judges must weigh child welfare and custody risk in pretrial-release decisions. - Incarcerated women and reentry: Sets gender-responsive Bureau of Prisons standards for health care, trauma treatment, nutrition, menstrual dignity, discipline alternatives, and expands the Resolve Trauma Therapy Program with specified timelines and reporting. It authorizes $5 million per year for FY2027–2031 with at least 30% reserved for staffing and employment mandates. - Law enforcement, pretrial, and sentencing: Creates a gender-informed training grant with mandatory curricula and minimum training (8 hours per year for academy students) and authorizes $20 million per year for FY2027–2031. It also establishes a federal pretrial diversion program with gender-responsive recidivism-reduction plans, a separate grant to boost women’s representation in policing, limits some conspiracy penalties, and expands judicial discretion for below-guideline sentences in qualifying cases. *Authorizes new federal spending including $20 million per year for training grants, $5 million per year for recruitment grants, and $5 million per year for Bureau of Prisons staffing and programs, increasing federal spending over FY2027–2031.*

## Cosponsors (7)

- Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4] (D-GA), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Beatty, Joyce [D-OH-3] (D-OH), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Simon, Lateefah [D-CA-12] (D-CA), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Watson Coleman, Bonnie [D-NJ-12] (D-NJ), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Summer L. [D-PA-12] (D-PA), 2026-05-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McClellan, Jennifer L. [D-VA-4] (D-VA), 2026-07-15T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Gender‑informed arrest, diversion, sentencing, and release: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would create a federal pretrial diversion program that lets a court move a defendant or juvenile into a voluntary, gender‑responsive recidivism reduction plan before sentence. Diversion would require a signed waiver of speedy trial and advice of counsel, with counsel appointed…
- Better health, care, and privacy in prisons: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would require the Bureau of Prisons to provide gender-responsive medical, dental, and trauma care for people in women’s facilities. It would require OB‑GYN access, intake and annual screenings, Pap/HPV testing at least every three years (or within 48 hours if needed), targeted…
- Grants to train and recruit women officers: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Attorney General would run a state grant program to fund gender‑informed police training with $20 million authorized each year for FY2027–2031. The Attorney General must identify curricula within 180 days and training would require at least 8 hours per year for academy students and…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025
- 119-hr-6390: Make Housing Affordable and Defend Democracy Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-8976 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8976)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-20: Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-20)
- [119-hr-6390: Make Housing Affordable and Defend Democracy Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6390)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8976 (as of 2026-07-17).