HB 1597-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
11Mar2020... 0543h
2020 SESSION
20-2445
05/04
HOUSE BILL 1597-FN
AN ACT relative to dispositional hearings under RSA 169-B.
SPONSORS: Rep. Wallner, Merr. 10; Rep. Berch, Ches. 1; Rep. Hennessey, Graf. 1; Sen. Hennessey, Dist 5; Sen. Sherman, Dist 24
COMMITTEE: Children and Family Law
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill provides that, if a minor diagnosed with a serious emotional disturbance or other behavioral health issues is committed to the department of health and human services for the remainder of their minority, the minor shall be referred to a care management entity under RSA 135-F for a care plan intended to reduce the period of commitment.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11Mar2020... 0543h 20-2445
05/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty
AN ACT relative to dispositional hearings under RSA 169-B.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Delinquent Children; Dispositional Hearing. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 169-B:19, I to read as follows:
I. The department of health and human services shall provide the court with costs of the recommended services, placements and programs. If the court finds that a minor is delinquent, the court [may] shall order the least restrictive of the following dispositions, which the court finds is the most appropriate:
2 Delinquent Children; Dispositional Hearing. 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, and may only be made if the minor has not waived the right to counsel at any stage of the proceedings. If there is a diagnosis or other evidence that a minor committed under this subparagraph may have a serious emotional disturbance or other behavioral health disorder, the minor shall, with the consent of the minor and the minor's family, be referred to a care management entity pursuant to RSA 135-F:4, III. The care management entity shall develop and oversee the implementation of a care plan for the minor, intended to reduce the period of commitment. Commitment may not be based on a finding of contempt of court if the minor has waived counsel in the contempt proceeding or at any stage of the proceedings from which the contempt arises. 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. Commitment under this subparagraph shall not be ordered as a disposition for a violation of RSA 262 or 637, possession of a controlled drug without intent to sell under RSA 318-B, or violations of RSA 634, 635, 641, or 644, which would be a misdemeanor if committed by an adult. However, commitment may be ordered under this subparagraph for any offense which would be a felony or class A misdemeanor if committed by an adult if the minor has previously been adjudicated under this chapter for at least 3 offenses which would be felonies or class A misdemeanors if committed by an adult. A court shall only commit a minor based on previous adjudications if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that each of the prior offenses relied upon was not part of a common scheme or factual transaction with any of the other offenses relied upon, that the adjudications of all of the prior offenses occurred before the date of the offense for which the minor is before the court, and that the minor was represented by counsel at each stage of the prior proceedings following arraignment.
3 Delinquent Children; Dispositional Hearing. Amend RSA 169-B:19, III-a(e) to read as follows:
(e) When a dispositional order is extended beyond the minor's [seventeenth] eighteenth birthday, the court may enforce its order with a finding of criminal contempt. Notwithstanding RSA 169-B:35, the state may utilize any relevant portion of a juvenile's records in a criminal contempt proceeding.
4 Release and Discharge from the Youth Services Center. Amend RSA 621:19, III-a to read as follows:
III-a. In every case in which there is a diagnosis or other evidence that a minor at the center may have a serious emotional disturbance or other behavioral health disorder, the center shall, with the consent of the minor and the minor's family, refer the minor to a care management entity, as defined in RSA 135-F:4, III, for evaluation and recommendations for behavioral health services to be coordinated and supervised by that entity before and after discharge from the facility. Such referral shall be made upon the minor's confinement at the center and, in no event, later than 7 days after the confinement begins. Discharge plans shall incorporate the recommendations of the care management entity whenever appropriate. In any case where the recommendations of the care management entity are not incorporated into the discharge planning process, the minor, the minor's family, and counsel for the minor shall be notified in writing of the decision and of the basis for the decision.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
20-2445
Amended 6/9/20
HB 1597-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE (AMENDMENT #2020-0543h)
AN ACT relative to dispositional hearings under RSA 169-B.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill amends RSA 169-B:19 by directing the juvenile court to refer minors committed to the Department of Health and Human Services for the remainder of their minority to the care management entity (CME) under RSA 135-F, which shall then develop and oversee the implementation of a care plan intended to reduce the period of commitment. The Department notes that this requirement represents an expansion of the CME's current responsibilities. Further, because this change in the scope of responsibilities pertains to the committed youth population, the CME's primary funding source of Medicaid will be unavailable. Based on an average of 59 youth committed per year, the Department assumes an annual cost of $14,000 related to the development of care plans, but is unable to determine the cost of overseeing implementation of said plans. The Department also did not identify any offsetting savings from reducing the period of commitment.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Health and Human Services
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Feb. 18, 2020 | House | Hearing |
| March 3, 2020 | House | Exec Session |
| House | Floor Vote | |
| March 11, 2020 | House | Floor Vote |
June 16, 2020: No Pending Motion; 06/16/2020 SJ 8
June 16, 2020: Introduced 06/16/2020, and Laid on Table, MA, VV; 06/16/2020; SJ 8
March 11, 2020: Ought to Pass with Amendment 2020-0543h: MA VV 03/11/2020
March 11, 2020: Reconsider (Rep. Ley): MA DV 213-121 03/11/2020
March 11, 2020: Ought to Pass with Amendment 2020-0543h: MA VV 03/11/2020 HJ 7 P. 96
March 11, 2020: Amendment # 2020-0543h: AA VV 03/11/2020 HJ 7 P. 96
: Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2020-0543h (Vote 18-0; RC)
March 11, 2020: Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2020-0543h for 03/11/2020 (Vote 18-0; RC) HC 10 P. 34
March 3, 2020: Executive Session: 03/03/2020 03:00 pm LOB 206
Feb. 18, 2020: Public Hearing: 02/18/2020 02:00 pm LOB 206 (exec. session may follow public hearing schedule)
Jan. 8, 2020: Introduced 01/08/2020 and referred to Children and Family Law HJ 1 P. 28