Senate Bill S3881

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S3881

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the family court act, in relation to juvenile
delinquency preliminary procedures and persons in need of supervision


 PURPOSE :

This bill would improve service delivery to juvenile delinquents and
persons in need of supervision (PINS) by: (1) providing probation
departments and courts with greater flexibility in resolving alleged
juvenile delinquency actions; and (2) making other technical changes
to establish a more consistent approach with respect to handling
matters involving juvenile delinquents and PINS.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 of the bill would amend Family Court Act (FCA) § 308.1(9) to
increase the time period in which probation departments may provide
"adjustment" services to alleged juvenile delinquents to six months.
"Adjustment" means the informal resolution of a case under the
auspices of the probation department. This added time for adjustment
would help facilitate early release of a child from detention when
adjustment services are rendered.
              

Section 2 of the bill would amend FCA . 351.1(5) to establish a
mechanism to afford the Family Court discretion to exempt from
disclosure certain portions of a predispositional report or memoranda
that are not relevant to a proper disposition, sources of information
which have been obtained on a promise of confidentiality, or any other
portion which it would not be in the interest of justice to disclose.
Courts would, however, be required to consider whether the exempted
material should he provided to an agency that obtains custody of the
minor.

Sections 3 and 4 of the bill would amend FCA § 351.1(6) and FCA §
750(1) to establish a mechanism to allow probation departments to
share a copy of a predispositional report and any diagnostic
assessment with other interested probation departments who have the
responsibility to conduct an investigation or supervise a respondent,
or to the Family Court for purposes of adjudication or disposition.
Section 4 would also amend FCA § 750(2) to require courts to consider
sharing excepted predispositional report material with a custodial
agency.

Section 5 of the bill would amend FCA § 779-a to remove an obsolete
reference to juvenile delinquents. It also would clarify certain
language concerning PINS declarations and the tolling of a period of
probation, by establishing that tolling occurs as of the date of
filing of a petition.

Section 6 of the bill sets forth the effective date.

 EXISTING LAW :

FCA § 308.1 sets forth the procedural rules governing preliminary
procedures in juvenile delinquency cases, including probation
adjustment of cases before a juvenile delinquency petition is filed.
FCA § 308.1 (9) provides that probation efforts at adjustment may not
extend for a period of more than two months without leave of the
Family Court, which may extend the period for an additional two
months.


FCA §351.1 governs juvenile delinquency probation investigations and
assessments.

FCA §750 governs PINS probation investigations and assessments.

FCA §779-a governs declarations of delinquency involving" PINS
probationers.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

This is a new proposal.

 STATEMENT IN SUPPORT :

Probation departments have significant responsibilities in the
juvenile justice system. They ensure that alleged and adjudicated
juvenile delinquents are appropriately screened and assessed for
criminogenic risks and needs, and that they receive essential services
to reduce those risks, meet those needs and alleviate or minimize
their likelihood of engaging in future criminal behavior. In the last
several years, the Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives
(DPCA) has promoted the adoption of evidence based practice
principles, including prompt diversion of suitable low risk cases (at
the first possible opportunity) away from the juvenile justice system.

As a result, and consistent with research on effective practice,
probation departments are now concentrating their adjustment efforts
on youths who are at moderate to high risk of future recidivism, but
are nonetheless suitable for adjustment services. By concentrating
probation efforts on these youths at their earliest contact with the
juvenile justice system, pressure can be taken off the courts and the
placement system while reducing recidivism rates and serving youth
within the context of their families and communities. To achieve these
goals, probation departments should be afforded greater opportunity
and flexibility in their attempts to adjust suitable cases. Present
law limits a department's ability to provide diversion services in
cases involving juvenile delinquency complaints to an initial
two-month period, plus another two months with court permission. These
time constraints are unnecessarily limiting and hinder efforts to
adjust more cases and/or expedite early release of a juvenile from
detention.

First, the probation department's baseline assessment phase averages
approximately 30 days for screening, assessment, and initial case
planning. Second, referrals for service may take 30 to 60 days to put
into effect because of the length of time it may take from the time of
a first intake meeting until the youth is seen by a service provider
(i.e., mental health, substance abuse and family counseling): Third,
evidence-based practice requires time for youth and family engagement,
treatment and/or intervention, and an opportunity for the youth to
practice and/or demonstrate new skills.  This generally requires a
minimum of six months. Fourth, where restitution or reparations are
part of the adjustment plan, youths need sufficient time to repair the
harm caused by their delinquent behavior. Fifth, under the current
statute, probation departments need to begin the process of making
requests for an extension very shortly after opening the case. This
causes the department to spend significant time making these requests
and awaiting judicial approval, only to allow for a very limited
amount of time to work with youths in need of adjustment services.

Allowing an initial period of up to six months for adjustment services
will provide: (1) flexibility for probation departments to take the
time that is needed to adjust suitable juvenile delinquency cases; (2)
more effective and seamless assessment, case planning and coordination
of service delivery; (3) the elimination of needless paperwork; (4) a
reduction in the frequency of juvenile delinquency cases being
referred for petitions; and (5) savings of judicial resources spent on
processing these adjustment requests and/or petitions. Moreover, at an
initial appearance after the filing of a petition, greater Family
Court flexibility in setting a time frame for the probation department
to adjust a case that the court refers back for services should lead
to more positive outcomes for youth and their families.

The probation department plays a pivotal role with respect to
conducting thorough predispositional investigations involving
adjudicated juvenile delinquents and PINS and effectively supervising
those who are placed under probation supervision. State law should
therefore recognize the importance of allowing departments to have
access to past and existing predispositional investigation reports in
the event it becomes necessary for the department to conduct a
subsequent court-ordered investigation involving the youth, or if the
youth is subsequently under supervision of another probation
department. As families frequently move to another location, access to
past report records and diagnostic assessments may be critical to
ensure that meaningful services can be delivered to the youth and
his/her family. This bill would permit a probation department to
provide this critical information to another probation department for
these purposes.

It is also appropriate that similar criteria and parameters exist with
respect to access to a part or parts of a juvenile delinquency or PINS
probation report or memorandum. This legislation establishes identical
criteria for disclosure or confidentiality of these materials.

Lastly, the other technical changes that are proposed will result in
consistent language in juvenile delinquency and PINS statutes in order
to address confusion created by existing non-conforming statutory
provisions.

 BUDGET IMPLICATIONS :

This bill is unlikely to have any significant State or local fiscal
impact. It may result in cost savings by creating efficiencies in the
adjustment process and by avoiding the filing of needless juvenile
delinquency petitions.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This bill would take effect 60 days after it becomes a law.