Revision: Jan. 25, 2013, midnight
SB 129-FN –AS INTRODUCED
2013 SESSION
05/04
SENATE BILL 129-FN
AN ACT relative to court-ordered placements in shelter care facilities and at the Sununu Youth Services Center.
SPONSORS: Sen. Odell, Dist 8; Sen. Kelly, Dist 10; Rep. Harding, Graf 13
This bill:
I. Limits the commitment of children to the youth development center to cases where a court is presented with evidence that a juvenile is dangerous.
II. Provides a definition for shelter care facility in cases involving juvenile delinquency and children in need of services.
III. Requires that the department make treatment available in both non-secure and secure settings.
IV. Creates a presumption of parole after 6 months for children at the youth development center for non-violent offenses.
V. Provides for a right to counsel for children facing revocation of their parole from the youth development center, which cannot be waived if the child has a disability.
VI. Provides for periodic court review of cases where a juvenile is held at the youth development center for more than 6 months.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
13-0845
05/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Thirteen
AN ACT relative to court-ordered placements in shelter care facilities and at the Sununu Youth Services Center.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Delinquent Children; Dispositional Hearing; Commitment. Amend RSA 169-B:19, I(j) to read as follows:
(j) Commit the minor to the custody of the department of health and human services for the remainder of minority. Commitment under this subparagraph may only be made following written findings of fact by the court, supported by clear and convincing evidence, that commitment is necessary to protect the safety of the minor or of the community. Commitment may include, but is not limited to, placement by the department of health and human services at a facility certified for the commitment of minors pursuant to RSA 169-B:19, VI, administrative release to parole pursuant to RSA 621:19, or administrative release consistent with the cap on youth development center population under RSA 621:10, provided that the appropriate juvenile probation and parole officer is notified.
2 New Paragraph; Delinquent Children; Definition of Shelter Care Facility. Amend RSA 169-B:2 by inserting after paragraph XIII the following new paragraph:
XIV. “Shelter care facility” means a non-secure or staff-secure facility for the temporary care of children no less than 11 nor more than 17 years of age. Shelter care facilities may be utilized for children prior to or following adjudication or disposition. Programming at shelter care facilities is focused on providing a safe, supervised, homelike environment to allow for support and stabilization of youth who may have been removed from their families. Programming also may include education, assessment, and family intervention with access to health care and mental health services. Each facility may provide care for no more than 20 children at any one time. A shelter care facility may not be operated in the same building as a facility for architecturally secure confinement of children or adults.
3 New Paragraph; Children in Need of Services; Definition of Shelter Care Facility. Amend RSA 169-D:2 by inserting after paragraph XIII by following new paragraph:
XIV. “Shelter care facility” means a non-secure or staff-secure facility for the temporary care of children no less than 11 nor more than 17 years of age. Shelter care facilities may be utilized for children prior to or following adjudication or disposition. Programming at shelter care facilities is focused on providing a safe, supervised, homelike environment to allow for support and stabilization of youth who may have been removed from their families. Programming also may include education, assessment, and family intervention with access to health care and mental health services. Each facility may provide care for no more than 20 children at any one time. A shelter care facility may not be operated in the same building as a facility for architecturally secure confinement of children or adults.
4 New Paragraph; New Hampshire Youth Development Center; Treatment Services in Least Restrictive Environment. Amend RSA 621:1 by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:
III. To ensure that juveniles are placed in the least restrictive environment consistent with their treatment needs, their safety, and the safety of the community, the department shall not establish treatment services at the youth development center or other architecturally secure facility which are not also available to children living in the community or in settings other than architecturally secure settings.
5 New Paragraph; Release and Discharge from Youth Development Center. Amend RSA 621:19 by inserting after paragraph I the following new paragraph:
I-a. The board shall release any child committed to its care for a delinquency adjudication based on an offense other than a violent crime as defined in RSA 169-B:35-a no later than 6 months following the child's commitment pursuant to RSA 169:19, I(j). Release is not required under this paragraph during the period that a child is the subject of a delinquency petition which is awaiting adjudication or disposition. The department may seek a waiver of this provision from the court which ordered the commitment of the child, which may be granted by the court following written findings of fact supported by clear and convincing evidence that continued commitment is necessary to protect the safety of the minor or of the community. Such a waiver may be granted for up to 90 days. The number of waivers which may be granted in a particular case is not limited.
6 New Section; Parole of Delinquents; Right to Counsel of Children Subject to Parole Revocation. Amend RSA 170-H by inserting after section 10 the following new section:
170-H:10-a Right to Counsel of Children Subject to Parole Revocation.
I. Every child subject to revocation of parole has the right to the assistance of counsel, which may not be waived except following consultation between the child and a parent or counsel. Consultation between a child and parent is not sufficient to support waiver under this section if the parent was a victim or complainant in the underlying proceeding or is a witness or provided information in support of the basis for revocation in the parole revocation proceeding. Children known to the department or the board to have an emotional disorder, intellectual disability, or any other condition which may be expected to interfere with a child's ability to understand the proceedings, make decisions, or otherwise handle the proceedings without the assistance of counsel may not waive their right to counsel.
II. For purposes of this section, a child shall be considered a child who is subject to a parole revocation proceeding if the child has been released pursuant to RSA 170-H:5 or RSA 621:19, I for longer than a total of 30 days during one or more periods of release and is subject to return under RSA 621:25.
III. The commissioner shall adopt rules, pursuant to RSA 541-A, to establish procedures for providing effective notice to children subject to parole revocation proceedings of the right to counsel, for determining if a waiver of the right to counsel by a child is knowing, voluntary, and intelligent, and for the accurate determination of the existence of a disability which would interfere with a child's ability to understand the proceedings, make decisions, or otherwise handle the proceedings without the assistance of counsel.
7 Delinquent Children; Case Closure and Review of Disposition. Amend RSA 169-B:31 to read as follows:
169-B:31 Case Closure and Review of Disposition. Upon making a finding that the purposes of this chapter have been met with regard to the minor named in the petition, or for such other reason the court may deem appropriate and consistent with the purposes of this chapter, the court may order a case closed. Any case remaining open for 12 months after the date of the disposition shall be reviewed by the court annually and closed, unless the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the continued provision of services and court involvement are necessary and shall be fruitful to rehabilitate the minor or protect the public interest. All such findings shall be in writing and shall include the basis upon which those findings were made. Upon request by the child, the court shall also review any case in which the child remains at the youth development center more than 6 months after the order of commitment without having been released on parole or having been returned to the youth development center following revocation of parole. Successive requests for review shall be granted upon request by the child but the court may deny such requests without a hearing if a review was held less than 90 days prior to receipt of a request for review.
8 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
13-0845
01/22/13
SB 129-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to court-ordered placements in shelter care facilities and at the Sununu Youth Services Center.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Office of Legislative Budget Assistant is unable to complete a fiscal note for this bill, as introduced, as it is awaiting information from the Department of Health and Human Services. When completed, the fiscal note will be forwarded to the Senate Clerk's Office.