Finds that: (1) This state, more than any other state in the country, has been using the valid court order exception of the juvenile justice and delinquency prevention act, a loophole in federal law allowing judges to detain status offenders for disobeying court orders;

(2) Use of the exception to detain youth for acts like truancy, breaking curfew, or running away from home is counterproductive;

(3) These youth should not be confined with or treated with the same intervention as criminal offenders; and

(4) Studies show a disproportionality in race, gender, and socioeconomic status of youth referred to courts or detained, or both.

Strengthens and funds community-based programs that are culturally relevant and focuses on addressing disproportionality of youth of color, especially at-risk youth.