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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · May 6, 2009
Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act of 2009 - Requires states to: (1) enact laws and adopt policies to grant child offenders who are serving a life sentence a meaningful opportunity for parole or supervised release at least once during their first 15 years of incarceration and at least once every three years thereafter; and (2) provide notice of such laws and policies to the public and to victims of child offenders. Defines "child offender who is serving a life sentence" as an individual who is convicted of a criminal offense before attaining the age of 18 and sentenced to a term of imprisonment for life or a term exceeding 15 years.
Requires the Attorney General to: (1) establish and implement a system of early release for each child offender who is under a life sentence in a federal prison; and (2) award grants to states to improve legal representation and other services for child defendants charged with an offense carrying a possible sentence of life in prison.
People & committees
Rep. Scott, Robert C. "Bobby" [D-VA-3] · D–VA
Legislative record
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Subcommittee Hearings Held.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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