Revision: Dec. 4, 2019, 12:51 p.m.
HB 1597-FN - AS INTRODUCED
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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ANALYSIS
This bill directs 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 under RSA 135-F for further support, assessment, and services.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
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. All minors committed pursuant to this subparagraph shall be referred to the care management entity pursuant to RSA 135-F upon commitment. The care management entity shall assess the minor for appropriate services 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 Delinquent Children; Dispositions and Case Closure in Certain Cases. Amend RSA 169-B:31-c, I to read as follows:
I. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the court shall close all cases, other than those involving serious violent offenses or those adjudicated under RSA 169-B:19, I(j), no later than 2 years after the date of adjudication. This section shall not apply if, with the assistance of counsel, the minor consents to continued jurisdiction.
I. Sections 2 and 4 of this act shall take effect November 1, 2021.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
20-2445
12/3/19
HB 1597-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
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 | $14,000 | $21,000 | $21,000 |
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 assess the minor for appropriate services 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. Assuming an average of 59 youth committed annually, a daily CME rate of $70, and an average of five days per assessment, the Department has determined that the bill will result in an annual general fund expenditure of $20,650 once fully implemented. Because the assessment responsibility would be effective November 1, 2021, the prorated cost in FY 2021 is expected to be $13,767.
The Department notes that RSA 135-F was amended by Chapter 44:3, Laws of 2019 (SB 14) to require the CME to oversee, and not merely assess the needs of, youth in residential treatment. As written, the language in the current bill differs from that of the amended RSA 135-F with respect to the oversight of youths in out-of-home placement. The calculations provided above assume the CME will be responsible only for conducting the assessments, and not for overseeing or coordinating the services resulting from said assessments. If the CME is expected to oversee and coordinate services as well, actual costs may be significantly higher than those presented in this fiscal note.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Health and Human Services