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Juvenile Justice Project

Juvenile Justice Enactments in 2002

Administrative

Corrections, Detention and Condition of Confinement

Disposition Options and Procedures

Delinquency Prevention

Juvenile Sex Offenders

Mental Health, Substance Abuse

Records/Information

Transfer/Waiver

Victims

Miscellaneous

Administrative

Requires state or municipal agencies to disclose information relating to delinquent minors to a state, municipal or federal agency of state that has the authority to license children facilities and services.

Deletes the termination date of the Expedited Youth Accountability Program thus making the provisions of the program operative indefinitely.

Requires that petitions in juvenile delinquency proceedings which the Indian Child Welfare Act applies be consistent in application and comply with the Act.

Restricts full-time juvenile court judges from serving as judge in another court. Amends current law to distinguish between deprived and delinquent or unruly children for juvenile court proceedings. Allows court to terminate a disposition order, prior to its expiration, of a child adjudicated as deprived if purposes of the order have been accomplished. Provides the court may continue a hearing for a delinquent child to allow for a reasonable time to receive evidence bearing on child's needs. Provides for the sealing of records in cases when petitions alleging delinquency or unruliness have been dismissed.

Defines "needy" or "indigent" and require that needy juveniles receive legal representation by the Department of Public Advocacy.

Maryland HB 971

Establishes the Office of the Independent Juvenile Justice Monitor within the Office of Children, Youth and Families for the purpose of evaluating and inspecting the Department's current processes, reports and services.

Minnesota HB 3190

Requires the juvenile court to send case information data in juvenile petitions for individuals under supervision by probation agencies or in out of home placement to the statewide supervision system.

Provides for state financial assistance to municipalities for delinquency and youth crime prevention through the Office of Children and Family Services. Transfers powers and duties of the Youth Commission and the Division for Youth to the Office of Children and Family Services.

Extends the definition of "youth" to individuals eighteen (18) years of age but still attending high school.

Allows Youth Courts (a diversion program for youths who need intervention to prevent further development toward juvenile delinquency) to exercise authority over a youth if the offense is not a law violation and the referring agency has notified the juvenile court of the referral.

Changes the term "community service" to "community restitution" in order to remove and distinguish the association with work performed as a result of a criminal conviction with that of the service people perform for the community as volunteers or out of altruism.

Corrections, Detention and Conditions of Confinement

Expands the definition of projects eligible to receive financing through an industrial development authority (IDA) to include new or existing correctional facilities that contract exclusively with the state of Arizona.

Requires the Department of Children and Families to notify guardians, attorneys, and others of any report of abuse of a delinquent child committed to its custody. If the Department substantiates the report, it must immediately notify the guardian, the attorney, the judge who ordered the commitment, and the child advocate.

Directs the Department of Education to provide special education services to eligible prison inmates aged eighteen (18) to twenty-one (21) through its discretionary federal special education fund.

Expands the definition of "juvenile detention facility" to include educational services and grants of state money.

Provides for detention of a juvenile charged with capital offense or a Class A or B felony. Establishes circumstances under which parent pays for child's detention cost. Establishes recapture procedures for children who escape from custody. Provides for the exclusion of mentally retarded juveniles from the definition of "juvenile sex offender," establishes treatment for juvenile sex offenders and requires that certain communications relating to their treatment remain confidential.

Come back to Limits detention of juveniles charged with a public offense from 72 to 24 hours. Requires annual inspections of detention facilities.

Requires the Department of Juvenile Justice to adopt regulations that provide standards to improve juvenile detention facilities and to adopt a code of conduct for personnel of the Department. Includes requiring private contractors to adopt the code of conduct for the private agency staff.

Requires the Department of Juvenile Justice to establish a community detention program for juvenile delinquents prior to hearing if the child needs protection, the child is likely to the leave the jurisdiction or where there is no parent or guardian to care for and return the child to court.

Creates minimum standards for the state juvenile detention centers. Includes requiring health screening upon admission for all juveniles, the development of written procedure for juveniles new to the system and that certain programs be provided in all centers. Creates a juvenile detention facility task force to develop uniform standards for all detention facilities in state.

Provides that a minor over whom the court has exercised jurisdiction may be committed or continue to be committed to the youth development center until the minor's eighteenth birthday. Establishes a task force to research capacity issues for the juvenile justice system and examine youth offender programs in other jurisdictions.

Expands the list of reasons for which a child taken into custody may be confined in juvenile detention or placed in shelter care prior to the implementation of the court's final order of disposition. Provides for confinement if it is determined the child is a danger or threat to others and is charged with an adult offense.

Adds to function of the juvenile corrections monitor to require the monitor investigate incidents of abuse or neglect by staff. Provides access to any individual or employee within the juvenile correction facility and their records. Requires a semi-annual report to government, training to employees and notice of this investigatory function.

Provides for the detention of a juvenile in a secure facility pursuant to a detention order or warrant when there is probable cause to believe the terms of probation were violated and the original charge would have been a felony or Class 1 misdemeanor if committed by an adult.

Requires the Department of Juvenile justice to establish uniform risk assessment standards for use when making detention recommendations to the court. Implementation of standards must be complete by each court unit and distributed to judges no later than October 1, 2002.

Eliminates the ability of judge to order the predispositional detention of an individual eighteen (18) years or older in an adult facility.

Requires that a juvenile found guilty of rape under the juvenile court's jurisdiction be detained pending the juvenile's disposition. Allows for a youthful offender in an adult correctional facility who is eighteen (18) to remain in the separate housing unit for offenders under 18 if the secretary of the DOC determines that the offender's needs and correctional goals would be better met in separate housing; and (2) it will not substantially affect the program. The offender may remain there until the secretary determines otherwise, but in no case past the offender's 21^st birthday.

Authorizes the Director of the Division Services to determine the facility in which to place children ordered into the Director's custody.

Disposition Options and Procedures

Provides restitution is not discharged when a conviction is set aside, that a court can order a minor or the minor's parents to submit financial information, and any order of a minor to pay restitution remains enforceable after the expiration of the court's jurisdiction over the minor.

Allows a juvenile court that commits a child to a juvenile detention facility to require that the child's estate, parent, guardian or custodian to bear the cost of the child's maintenance, including food, clothing, shelter and supervision. Foster parents and group homes are excepted from provision.

Allows the court to investigate and subsequently incarcerate a child for violation of a valid court order under the "School Attendance law of 1963."

Prevents a minor (defined for purposes of this act only as any individual under the age of 22) or a minor's parents from witness examination concerning a confidential communication made by the minor to parent in the presence of an attorney, doctor, mental health professional or clergy.

Allows the court at the time of sentencing a juvenile to require parent, guardian or custodian to pay the cost of any community programs ordered by the court.

Permits a court to request and subsequently receive a report containing information about the juvenile and the juvenile's home environment, competency development, physical and mental condition to use when determining sentence.

Clarifies the jurisdiction under the Juvenile Corrections Act as applicable only to juvenile violators aged fourteen years or younger who violate traffic, watercraft, fish and game, and criminal contempt law.

Provides that an individual less than eighteen (18) years of age may not receive a sentence of death.

Provides that parent or guardians of unemancipated minors who shoplift are liable to merchants for all civil penalties and actions up to $500.

Provides right to representation by counsel when a child is charged with an offense for which the court intends to impose a detention or commitment as a disposition.

Authorizes the juvenile court to adopt a treatment service plan recommended by the Department of Juvenile Justice when making a disposition on a juvenile petition and requires the Department to implement within twenty five (25) of disposition.

Limits the right to a jury trial to minors adjudged delinquent to those individuals whose disposition includes an order of conditional release extending beyond the juvenile's age of majority, or suspended, deferred, or imposed incarceration at an adult correctional facility.

Authorizes graduated sanctions programs for juvenile offenders. Mandates that adult facilities holding juveniles must have sight and sound separation for juveniles.

Washington SB 5692

Authorizes the participation of youth as decision-makers in dispositions of minor offenses and rule violations under the jurisdiction of Youth Courts in order to emphasize accountability, problem solving, and education regarding the impact of their behavior.

Provides that the court may, as part of the dispositional proceeding, order a juvenile adjudicated delinquent to a juvenile diagnostic center for a complete examination for a period not to exceed sixty (60) days.

Delinquency Prevention

Establishes a uniform definition for "prevention" by defining prevention as creating the conditions, opportunities and experiences that encourages and develops health, self-sufficient children that occur before the onset of problems.

Extends indefinitely the Citizens Option for Public Safety (COPS) program, including juvenile crime prevention components.

Expands the definition of the crime of "contributing to a child's misconduct" to include causing or encouraging a child under the age sixteen (16) to become or remain a "child in need of care."

Authorizes the creation of truancy and assessment and service centers in various judicial districts for young children in the attempt to correct the actions of juveniles who demonstrate a propensity for criminal behavior.

Requires the Department of Human Resources and the Department of Juvenile Justice to collaborate their efforts and information in order to study and report to the General Assembly on the link between the child welfare system and the juvenile justice system.

Requires coordination among the Office of Juvenile Affairs, the Department of Human Services, State Department of Education, State Department of health, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth and the Oklahoma Care Authority to establish an out of school resource center for children.

Establishes a demonstration site for a Statewide Children's System of Care to care for children with emotional and behavioral disorders with the goals of multiagency collaboration, expansion of system capacity, strengthening the role of families in system implementation, changes in financing and contracting, and cost effectiveness.

Juvenile Sex Offenders

Adds juveniles who commit qualifying crimes to those who must register as sex offenders.

Allows parole boards to consider information listed on the juvenile sex offenders' registry if the offender being considered for parole is age17 to 21.

Clarifies juvenile sex offender as those who are 14 to 18 years old at the time of a sex offense and requires registration of those who committed a sex offense in another state. Decreases from three to two the number of qualified sex offender treatment professionals that the court must appoint to evaluate a juvenile. Permits the court to set and pay them reasonable compensation. Requires the police to make available for inspection or copying information released by a court to the public regarding juvenile sex offenders. Requires court at the time it orders juvenile sex offender to register to provide written notification of the duty to register. Establishes a maximum 90-day period after the 21^st birthday or release from the custody of Juvenile Affairs for which the DA must file a petition to transfer the juvenile's registration to adult sex offender registry.

Mental Health, Substance Abuse

Increases access to mental health services by changing the definition of "mental health professional" for the purpose of statutes relating to the evaluation of children and delinquent minors. The change adds clinical social worker, marital and family therapist, professional counselor and experienced unlicensed master level graduates under the supervision of a mental health professional to do the work of a mental health professional.

Permits a minor to be admitted to a mental health agency by a person designated by the court if the minor is under the supervision of an adult probation department and the parent, guardian or custodian of minor do not have the money or cannot be located after reasonable efforts.

Requires State Department of Mental Health to develop an analysis of the increased federal funding, savings and improvements that could be realized to county mental health, foster care, juvenile justice, and local educational agency programs for the provision of mental health.

Amends the Family Court Adjudicated Drug Program to require participating juveniles to admit to the offense by entering a plea of delinquency and subsequently receive a sentence that includes probation and participation in substance abuse evaluation and treatment services recommended by the Division of Child Mental Health.

Amends the Humane Care for Animals Act providing that the court must order a juvenile convicted of animal cruelty acts to undergo a psychological or psychiatric evaluation and take past in any treatment the court finds appropriate.

Creates the Juvenile Drug Court Treatment Act which allows the Chief Judge of a judicial circuit to establish a drug court program for minors and the format under which it operates. Allows minors with substance abuse problems who are also subject to a delinquency proceeding to be admitted to the drug court program upon the consent of the prosecution and court.

Extends the time available for juveniles to complete a juvenile drug treatment court program to fifteen (15) months.

Creates the Drug Court Initiative Committee Pilot Project to combat youth drug crimes. Provides committees located in specific counties for the purpose of providing accountability, assessment and services for individuals under 21 years of age who have been charged with committing a crime or delinquent act.

Permits the court to grant a disposition for juveniles outside the standard range for chemical dependency disposition, limited to a 52 week total confinement sentence.

Records/Information

Changes the school crime reporting requirements to allow a school district with an intergovernmental agreement with a law enforcement agency or county attorney to report and provide student attendance, disciplinary or other educational records crime to local law enforcement agencies.

Colorado SB 19

Extends DNA testing requirements to apply to all juveniles adjudicated for an offense that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult and who consequently are committed to the Department of Human Services or placed on probation.

Authorizes law enforcement agencies to photograph every child who has absconded and subsequently been returned to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Permits court to expunge a juvenile arrest record upon written application by the person or minor's parent. Requires that the arrest was not referred to the prosecutor or family court or if it was referred to the prosecutor or family court then person was not adjudicated or the matter was dismissed with prejudice.

Ohio HB 247

Requires an officer making a presentence investigation report regarding a criminal offender to ask about all available information concerning prior adjudications and dispositions of the defendant as a delinquent child.

Ohio 427

Expands the list of delinquent acts for which a DNA specimen must be collected from the juvenile by Youth Services, school, camp, institution or other facility for delinquent children.

Modifies the procedures for the release of juvenile records by requiring the court upon receiving a request for a record to first determine whether it falls within one of the listed exceptions to the general confidentiality of juvenile records.

Includes juveniles in those who must provide DNA sample for a felony conviction.

Allows pretrial services agencies and probation officers access to juvenile court records, without a court order for preparing pre- and post-sentence reports and risk assessment instruments.

Allows the Commonwealth attorney and probation and parole officers access to juvenile's criminal record without a court order for the purpose of preparing pre-sentence reports, sentencing guidelines or risk assessment instruments.

Provides the attorney for the Commonwealth and probation officers direct access to the defendant's juvenile court delinquency records if they are maintained in an electronic formation for the sole purpose of preparing a pre-sentence report, sentencing guidelines or preparing for any transfer or sentence hearing.

Established procedures for the Division of Juvenile Services to have access to all court records concerning a juvenile delinquent to help in determining the appropriate disposition.

Transfer/Waiver

Provides that 15 years olds and younger who commit cannabis or controlled substance offenses can be prosecuted as adults only if those crimes occur on school or public housing property.

Gives circuit courts options to secure detention for certain juveniles more than 14 years old for whom the law requires automatic transfer to adult court upon probable cause that a felony involving a firearm has been committed.

Allows criminal court exercising jurisdiction over a juvenile to transfer the case to the juvenile court before trial or plea is entered if the court determines by a preponderance of the evidence it is in the interest of child or society. Establishes factors the court must consider in determining whether to transfer the juvenile.

Expands the circumstances that require the mandatory transfer of a delinquent child to criminal court to also include a child who receives a "serious youth offender" disposition sentence.

Provides that the court may impose an adult sentence on a juvenile tried as an adult and convicted of a violent juvenile felony but may order that a portion of it be served in a juvenile correctional facility.

Victims

Requires the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections (ADJC) to provide notice to victims that a juvenile's discharge in under consideration and that the victims have the opportunity to submit statements to the ADJC regarding the discharge. Requires victims' requests for notification of a juvenile's release or discharge to be transferred to the ADJC.

Miscellaneous

Creates a misdemeanor for a minor to purchase or possess etching cream (cream, gel, liquid, or solution capable, by means of a chemical action, of defacing, damaging, or destroying hard surfaces in a manner similar to acid) in a public place for the purpose of defacing property. Creates a misdemeanor for a person, other than a supervising parent, instructor, or employer, to sell or furnish etching cream to a minor.

Requires a person, including a minor, who commits criminal mischief to pay, in addition to any other penalty, $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second offense, and $1000 for a third or subsequent offense. The parent or legal guardian is liable for payment of a fine. Permits the court to decline to impose a fine if the court finds that the person is indigent. If the offense is related to graffiti, the person is required to perform at least 40 hours of community service with a possibility of 100 hours involving the removal of graffiti.

For more information regarding juvenile justice, contact the juvenile justice project staff at 303/364-7700.