National Youth Justice Action Month, 2023

Proclamation 10639 of September 29, 2023

National Youth Justice Action Month, 2023

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

During National Youth Justice Action Month, we
recognize that young people deserve second chances, and
we recommit to transforming the juvenile justice system
by creating safer and more supportive communities where
young people can thrive.

Between 2000 and 2020, the youth population in juvenile
justice facilities declined by nearly 80 percent. But
those who do enter the juvenile justice system are
often confined in unsafe environments, live with trauma
and mental health conditions that go untreated, and
serve adult sentences. They are disproportionately
young people of color and young people with
disabilities. Without the support, resources, or
guidance for meaningful rehabilitation, many young
people who are released can fall back into old patterns
that lead to their return to the justice system.

My Administration has made historic investments in
improving our youth justice system. We are working to
shift its focus from punishment to support and making
our Nation's promise of equal justice a reality for
all. My Administration is establishing and expanding
evidence-based diversion programs when appropriate and
broadening access to lawyers who will advocate for and
advise children who are facing juvenile and criminal
justice system involvement. For those leaving the
system, our investments and programs are helping youth
find housing, educational opportunities, mentorship,
job training, and other services to support them once
they return home. My new budget also calls for $760
million to advance juvenile justice programs with the
goal of making the entire system more equitable.

I believe that to keep children out of trouble we need
to ensure all of them have a fair shot at building a
bright future with access to good schools, safe
communities, and equal opportunities. To this end, my
Administration has launched the National Partnership
for Student Success to bring together 250,000 people
across the country to serve as tutors and mentors for
our students. We have secured $1.3 billion in funding
for rural and inner-city schools to support afterschool
and summer learning programs for K-12 students.

We also doubled funding for Full-Service Community
Schools that support students and their families
outside of the classroom with services like health care
and career counseling. And when we passed the Nation's
first major gun safety law in nearly three decades, we
included measures to further increase the number of
school psychologists and mental health counselors
available to our children, and we made it easier for
schools to use Medicaid to deliver health services,
including mental health care. My Administration also
launched 988, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline,
which can connect young people experiencing a crisis
with trained crisis counselors via phone, chat, and
text. And we have invested in mobile crisis response
teams, which often work with law enforcement to deliver
immediate mental health professional support for those
in crisis.

Our young people are the kite strings that keep our
national ambitions aloft--the future of our Nation is
in their hands. During National Youth Justice Action
Month, we recommit to expanding opportunities for all
of

our Nation's children and building a justice system
that allows our youth to thrive.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of
the United States, do hereby proclaim October 2023 as
National Youth Justice Action Month. I call upon all
Americans to observe this month by taking action to
support our youth and by participating in appropriate
ceremonies, activities, and programs in their
communities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-ninth day of September, in the year of our Lord
two thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of
the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
eighth.