CHAPTER 178
HB 1370 – FINAL VERSION
05Mar2008… 0635h
2008 SESSION
05/09
HOUSE BILL 1370
AN ACT establishing a pilot program for an integrated juvenile justice information sharing system.
SPONSORS: Rep. Millham, Belk 5; Rep. Pilliod, Belk 5; Rep. Reever, Belk 4; Rep. Arsenault, Belk 4; Rep. Bettencourt, Rock 4; Sen. Sgambati, Dist 4
COMMITTEE: Children and Family Law
This bill establishes a pilot program in Belknap county for an integrated juvenile justice information sharing system. The program permits agencies in the pilot program to share otherwise confidential information about juveniles participating in their respective programs either through diversion or a delinquency proceeding. The bill directs the Belknap County Citizens Council on Children and Families to file a report summarizing the findings and recommendations of the pilot program.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
05Mar2008… 0635h
08-2105
05/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
AN ACT establishing a pilot program for an integrated juvenile justice information sharing system.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
178:1 Belknap County Pilot Program for Integrated Juvenile Justice Information Sharing System.
I. A 2-year pilot program for integrated juvenile justice information sharing is established in Belknap county. The purpose of the program shall be to permit agencies that provide juvenile justice services to share information in order to:
(a) Improve services to juvenile offenders while engaged in a program by allowing the program to identify strategies that worked in the past for the specific juvenile and what strategies did not work.
(b) Improve program effectiveness in serving juvenile offenders by enabling the programs to identify which strategies worked in the prevention of recidivism and by allowing a program to see if a juvenile who received services from, or otherwise participated in, the program re-appears in the system in the future.
(c) Measure the effectiveness of the Belknap county juvenile justice system’s performance through the sharing of client information related to findings of recidivism.
II. Notwithstanding RSA 170-G:8-a or RSA 169-B:35, the department of health and human services division of juvenile justice services, the Youth Services Bureau, the Youth Assistance Program, and the Belknap County Restorative Justice Program shall share records and information relative to juveniles participating in their programs as the result of diversion or a court order under RSA 169-B. Records and information that may be released shall be limited to that which is provided on the standardized case closing form used by each of the agencies, including:
(a) The name, date of birth, gender, race, family composition, town of residence, and school district of the juvenile.
(b) The incident forming the basis for the juvenile’s participation in the program and program enrollment dates.
(c) Court involvement, if any, and any community service or restitution requirement.
(d) Participation in a victim empathy course, an alcohol resistance course, a drug resistance course, or community service.
(e) Education/school enrollment.
(f) Victim participation, if any.
(g) Case status and assessment of the juvenile’s success in the program.
III. Records and information provided under this section shall be confidential. It shall be unlawful for any person to disclose such records and information except as provided in paragraph II. Any person who knowingly discloses records or the information contained in them in violation of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit any person otherwise entitled by law to access the records of the agency or program.
178:2 Report by Belknap County Citizens Council on Children and Families. On or before December 1, 2010, the Belknap County Citizens Council on Children and Families shall prepare a report based on non-identifying information submitted to the council by the agencies participating in the pilot program. The council’s report shall include the findings and recommendations of the pilot program and shall include recommendations for continuation and expansion of the integrated juvenile justice information sharing system. The report shall be submitted to the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate president, the governor, the commissioner of the department of health and human services, and the state library.
178:3 Reports. The report filed on December 1, 2010, and any subsequent public reports shall not include identifying data, including name, gender, race connected with town of residence, and school district.
178:4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: June 11, 2008
Effective Date: August 10, 2008