§ 11162 — Training And Technical Assistance

(a) The Administrator— (1) shall develop and carry out projects for the purpose of training representatives and personnel of public and private agencies, including practitioners in juvenile justice, law enforcement, courts (including model juvenile and family courts), corrections, schools, and related services, to carry out the purposes specified in section 11102 of this title; (2) may make grants to and contracts with public and private agencies, institutions, and organizations for the purpose of training representatives and personnel of public and private agencies, including practitioners in juvenile justice, law enforcement, courts (including model juvenile and family courts), corrections, schools, and related services, to carry out the purposes specified in section 11102 of this title; and (3) shall provide periodic training for States regarding implementation of the core requirements, current protocols and best practices for achieving and monitoring compliance, and information sharing regarding relevant Office resources on evidence-based and promising programs or practices that promote the purposes of this chapter. (b) The Administrator— (1) shall develop and implement projects for the purpose of providing technical assistance to representatives and personnel of public and private agencies and organizations, including practitioners in juvenile justice, law enforcement, courts (including model juvenile and family courts), corrections, schools, and related services, in the establishment, implementation, and operation of programs, projects, and activities for which financial assistance is provided under this subchapter, including compliance with the core requirements; (2) may make grants to and contracts with public and private agencies, institutions, and organizations, for the purpose of providing technical assistance to representatives and personnel of public and private agencies, including practitioners in juvenile justice, law enforcement, courts (including model juvenile and family courts), corrections, schools, and related services, in the establishment, implementation, and operation of programs, projects, and activities for which financial assistance is provided under this subchapter; (3) shall provide technical assistance to States and units of local government on achieving compliance with the amendments to the core requirements and State Plans made by the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018, including training and technical assistance and, when appropriate, pilot or demonstration projects intended to develop and replicate best practices for achieving sight and sound separation in facilities or portions of facilities that are open and available to the general public and that may or may not contain a jail or a lock-up; and (4) shall provide technical assistance to States in support of efforts to establish partnerships between a State and a university, institution of higher education, or research center designed to improve the recruitment, selection, training, and retention of professional personnel in the fields of medicine, law enforcement, the judiciary, juvenile justice, social work and child protection, education, and other relevant fields who are engaged in, or intend to work in, the field of prevention, identification, and treatment of delinquency. (c) The Administrator shall provide training and technical assistance to mental health professionals and law enforcement personnel (including public defenders, prosecutors, police officers, probation officers, judges, parole officials, and correctional officers) to address or to promote the development, testing, or demonstration of promising or innovative models (including model juvenile and family courts), programs, or delivery systems that address the needs of status offenders and juveniles who are alleged or adjudicated delinquent and who, as a result of such status, are placed in secure detention or confinement or in nonsecure residential placements. (d) In consultation with experts in the field of juvenile defense, the Administrator shall— (1) share best practices that may include sharing standards of practice developed by recognized entities in the profession, for attorneys representing children; and (2) provide a State, if it so requests, technical assistance to implement any of the best practices shared under paragraph (1). (e) Based on the available research and State practices, the Administrator shall— (1) disseminate best practices for the treatment of status offenders with a focus on reduced recidivism, improved long-term outcomes, and limited usage of valid court orders to place status offenders in secure detention; and (2) provide a State, on request, technical assistance to implement any of the best practices shared under paragraph (1). (f) The Administrator shall coordinate training and technical assistance programs with juvenile detention and corrections personnel of States and units of local government— (1) to promote methods for improving conditions of juvenile confinement, including methods that are designed to minimize the use of dangerous practices, unreasonable restraints, and isolation and methods responsive to cultural differences; and (2) to encourage alternative behavior management techniques based on positive youth development approaches that may include methods responsive to cultural differences. (g) The Administrator shall provide training and technical assistance, in conjunction with the appropriate public agencies, to individuals involved in making decisions regarding the disposition and management of cases for youth who enter the juvenile justice system about the appropriate services and placement for youth with mental health or substance abuse needs, including— (1) juvenile justice intake personnel; (2) probation officers; (3) juvenile court judges and court services personnel; (4) prosecutors and court-appointed counsel; and (5) family members of juveniles and family advocates. (h) The Attorney General, acting through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Office of Justice Programs in consultation with entities in the profession, shall provide directly, or through grants or contracts, training and technical assistance to enhance the capacity of State and local courts, judges, and related judicial personnel to— (1) improve the lives of children currently involved in or at risk of being involved in the juvenile court system; and (2) carry out the requirements of this chapter. (i) The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall provide guidance to States relating to existing options for school food authorities in the States to apply for reimbursement for free or reduced price lunches under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) for juveniles who are incarcerated and would, if not incarcerated, be eligible for free or reduced price lunches under that Act.