SB 458-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
03/17/2022 1057s
03/31/2022 1266s
03/31/2022 1272s
21Apr2022... 1470h
2022 SESSION
22-3127
07/10
SENATE BILL 458-FN
AN ACT relative to the Sununu youth services center and operation of a replacement secure facility.
SPONSORS: Sen. Daniels, Dist 11; Rep. Rice, Hills. 37
COMMITTEE: Health and Human Services
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ANALYSIS
This bill closes and dispenses of the control of the facility known as the Sununu youth services center, as well as sets out parameters for the contract for a replacement facility.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/17/2022 1057s
03/31/2022 1266s
03/31/2022 1272s
21Apr2022... 1470h 22-3127
07/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Two
AN ACT relative to the Sununu youth services center and operation of a replacement secure facility.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Statement of Findings. The general court finds that:
I. Placement in corrections settings can be harmful to children and lead to increased delinquency and adult criminal behavior. It should therefore be reserved for those circumstances in which the safety of a child or of the community requires such confinement.
II. Placement of children who are not serious violent offenders in settings other than the Sununu Youth Services Center (SYSC) complies with The Families First Act, P.L. 115-123, and the New Hampshire system of care established pursuant to 2019; 44 (SB 14), which prioritize community-based treatment of children.
III. This act is in furtherance of these goals.
2 Department of Health and Human Services; Sununu Youth Services Center; Construction and Operation of a Replacement Secure Facility.
I. The department of health and human services shall be responsible to construct a secured treatment facility that is no more than 6 beds to replace the current Sununu youth services center (SYSC). The department shall consult with any prospective community about the location and operation of any new 6 bed facility. The facility shall be operated by the department of health and human services. The facility shall be designed to meet the unique needs of youth who are at the facility pursuant to RSA 169-B:14, detention; RSA 169-B:19, commitment; RSA 169-B:24, transfer to superior court; RSA 169-B:32 or RSA 651:17-a, service of adult sentence of incarceration at the youth development center; and RSA 169-A, the interstate compact on juveniles. Upon opening, the facility shall be referred to as the youth development center as identified in RSA 169-B and RSA 621. The facility shall have the capacity for alternative flexible use when the census so permits.
II. The department of health and human services, in collaboration with the department of administrative services, shall issue a request to procure a qualified design build architect on or before August 1, 2022, and shall collaborate to select an architect, procure the resulting construction project, and complete the project on or before June 30, 2024. The SYSC shall be closed for incarceration, detention, or admission of any child upon the opening of the facility.
III. The facility shall be designed to include:
(a) A physical design that complements therapeutic and trauma-informed care of youth, including a home-like interior and exterior.
(b) Designed to maximize staff visibility and proximity to youth, including administrative offices built within the secured facility in proximity to youth and staff.
(c) Capacity to provide services to meet the medical, physical, and behavioral health needs of all potentially eligible youth.
(d) Space for no more than 6 beds, including space with flexibility to meet the needs of all genders, safety and security, crisis stabilization, admissions, and discharges.
(e) Adequate space to meet the educational needs of all youth including youth with special education needs.
(f) Adequate space for indoor and outdoor recreation.
(g) Capacity to meet the nutritional needs of all youth.
(h) Necessary elements to be architecturally secure and equipped with video surveillance.
IV. The facility programing and operations shall include:
(a) Staff qualifications, standard job descriptions, and training that emphasize the treatment of youth with behavioral health challenges and considerable trauma histories applicable to the facility as well as for supporting youth in the community for flexible assignments based upon census changes.
(b) Use of evidence-based practices, as defined in RSA 170-G:1, V-a, selected to match the needs of the population served at the facility.
(c) Utilization of the uniform assessment, as specified in RSA 170-G:4-e, for all detained and committed youth to understand treatment needs and determine if a different level of care is indicated to meet the youth’s needs, and where problem behavior appears patterned, a functional behavior analysis to inform effective behavior interventions.
(d) Provision of care management services by a care management entity, as established in RSA 135-F:4, to begin immediate wraparound support upon admission to plan for discharge.
(e) Frequent visitation opportunities with family, opportunities to include family in activities and daily access to family through telephonic or video conferencing.
(f) Educational programing and staffing that meets the individualized educational needs of youth, including youth with special education needs, creates meaningful educator-youth pairings, maintains connections with sending school districts, and which includes availability of Hi-SET preparation and testing as appropriate.
(g) Integration of clinical sessions and recreational large muscle movement activities throughout the day.
(h) Real-time access by the office of the child advocate, as established in RSA 21-V:4, II, to the electronic case management system used by the facility, regular access to youth placed in the facility under RSA 21-V:4, III, and video surveillance and general access to the facility pursuant to RSA 21-V:2, VII.
V. The department of health and human services shall begin to implement the programming shifts in subparagraphs IV(a) through (h) immediately upon the effective date of this act, to be implemented while children remain at the SYSC by March 1, 2023.
VI. The department of health and human services shall submit quarterly progress reports to the joint legislative committee on health and human services, established by RSA 126-A:13, and to the office of the child advocate established under RSA 21-V beginning on or before August 1, 2022 until such time as the facility is operational. Each quarterly report shall include a statement indicating whether the reported progress is sufficient to meet the June 30, 2024 deadline for the opening of the facility. In the event that sufficient progress to meet this deadline has not been made, the progress report shall include the reasons for any projected delay in meeting the June 30, 2024 deadline, a description of the efforts being undertaken to minimize any delay in the development and opening of the facility and projected completion date. In addition, the quarterly progress reports shall include the following information:
(a) Progress towards retaining an architectural consultant to design the plan for the facility;
(b) Progress towards completion of the design for the facility;
(c) Progress towards contracting with the company that will construct the replacement facility;
(d) The anticipated date construction of the replacement facility will be completed; and
(e) The anticipated date by which the replacement facility will be operational.
VII. The governor, with the approval of the fiscal committee of the general court, may delay the June 30, 2024 project completion date under paragraph II for construction delays or other unforeseen circumstances provided any such delay be no more than 2 years.
3 Possession and Disposal of Sununu Youth Services Center (SYSC). As of the date of the opening of the youth development center set forth in section 2 of this act, the department of administrative services shall take possession of the entire property currently housing the SYSC on South River Road in Manchester, New Hampshire. The department shall dispose of the property and any revenues received shall be deposited in the general fund. The department shall consult with the city of Manchester prior to any sale of the property.
4 Appropriation; Construction and Operation of a Replacement Secure Facility. The sum of $1 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023 is hereby appropriated to the department of health and human services for the design and construction of the new secured youth development facility, as described in section 2 of this act. Such funds shall be nonlapsing and continually appropriated to the department for the purposes of this act. Of this amount, the governor shall determine if any remaining discretionary funds appropriated in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Public Law 117-2 or any other federal funds can be used for this purpose and any remainder shall be general funds. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for the general fund share of said sum out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.
5 Delinquent Children; Release or Detention Pending Adjudicatory Hearing. Amend RSA 169-B:14, I(e)(3) to read as follows:
(3) Secure detention shall [not] only be ordered:
(A) For delinquency charges which may [not] form the basis for commitment under RSA 169-B:19, I(j); or
(B) When a petition does not allege a violation of RSA 262 or RSA 637, possession of a controlled drug without intent to sell under RSA 318-B, or any violation of RSA 634, RSA 635, RSA 641, or RSA 644, which would be a misdemeanor if committed by an adult.
6 Delinquent Children; Release or Detention Pending Adjudicatory Hearing. RSA 169-B:14, I(e)(3) is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
(3) Secure detention shall not be ordered for delinquency charges which may not form the basis for commitment under RSA 169-B:19, I(j).
7 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] any offense other than first degree murder, second degree murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, negligent homicide under RSA 630:3, II, first degree assault, second degree assault, except when the allegation is a violation of RSA 631:2, I(d), felonious sexual assault, aggravated felonious sexual assault, kidnapping, criminal restraint, robbery punishable as a class A felony, burglary while armed or involving the infliction of bodily harm under RSA 635:1, II, or arson punishable as a felony. [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.]
8 New Subparagraph; Delinquent Children; Dispositional Hearing. Amend RSA 169-B:19, I by inserting after subparagraph (l) the following new subparagraph:
(m) Notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 169-B:19, I(l), a court may commit the minor to the custody of the department of health and human services for the remainder of minority if the minor is found delinquent for an offense which would be a felony if committed by an adult and the court finds that there is no placement or set of supervision and treatment services other than secure confinement that will protect the public from a substantial risk of serious bodily injury. A court's finding pursuant to this subparagraph shall only be sufficient to support secure confinement if it is made by clear and convincing evidence following either a stipulation by the parties or an evidentiary hearing at which the rules of evidence have been applied. Further, the court's findings shall include written, case-specific findings which identify the evidence relied upon and the basis for the determination that secure confinement is necessary. Commitment under this subparagraph 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 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.
9 Repeal. 2021, 91:329 and 91:330, relative to closure date of the Sununu youth services center, are repealed.
I. RSA 169-B:14, I(e)(3), as amended by section 5 of this act, shall apply to cases pending on September 1, 2022 in which a dispositional order has not been yet entered.
II. RSA 169-B:14, I(e)(3), as amended by section 6 of this act, shall apply to cases pending on January 1, 2023 in which a dispositional order has not yet been entered.
III. RSA 169-B:19, as amended by sections 7 and 8 of this act, shall apply to cases pending on September 1, 2022 in which a dispositional order has not yet been ordered.
I. Section 6 of this act shall take effect January 1, 2023.
II. Section 7 of this act shall take effect September 1, 2022.
III. The remainder of this act shall take effect upon its passage.
22-3127
Amended 5/16/22
SB 458-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE (AMENDMENT #2022-1470h)
AN ACT relative to the Sununu youth services center and operation of a replacement secure facility.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
Appropriation | $0 | $1 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | $13,900,000 over two years | Indeterminable Decrease | |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to construct a successor facility for the purpose of housing children committed, detained, or comprising any other status at the Sununu Youth Services Center (SYSC) by June 30, 2024. The bill repeals the SYSC closure date of March 1, 2023 found in the 2021 budget trailer bill, and states instead that the SYSC shall be closed as of the opening of the new facility. The bill permits the Joint Fiscal Committee to authorize an extension of the completion date, no later than two years following the initial anticipated completion date of June 30, 2024.
The bill contains a list of requirements for the new facility, one of which is that it contain space for no more than six beds. In addition, the bill describes a host of programmatic and operational shifts that the Department must begin to implement immediately upon passage, to be fully implemented by March 1, 2023, while the existing SYSC is still operational.
The bill appropriates $1 in FY23 for the purpose of designing and constructing a new facility.
The Department states that construction of a new facility is expected to cost $13,900,000 based on estimates provided the Department of Administrative Services. Upon opening of the new facility, the Department anticipates indeterminable savings compared to the current operational costs of the SYSC. The Department notes that although the bill imposes a maximum of six beds, it contains other requirements (e.g., comparable operations of multiple units by gender and treatment needs, comparable core services in terms of medical care, education, nutrition, recreation, and behavioral healthcare, etc) that may result in the savings being less than anticipated.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Departments of Administrative Services and Health and Human Services
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Feb. 16, 2022 | Senate | Hearing |
| March 17, 2022 | Senate | Floor Vote |
| March 31, 2022 | Senate | Floor Vote |
| April 12, 2022 | House | Hearing |
| April 12, 2022 | House | Exec Session |
| House | Floor Vote | |
| April 27, 2022 | House | Exec Session |
| April 27, 2022 | House | Exec Session |
| April 27, 2022 | House | Exec Session |
June 8, 2022: Conference Committee Report: Not Filed
May 19, 2022: ==RECONVENE== Committee of Conference Meeting: 05/19/2022, 10:00 am, Room 100, SH
May 17, 2022: ==RECESSED== Committee of Conference Meeting: 05/18/2022, 12:00 pm, Room 100, SH
May 17, 2022: ==RECESSED== Committee of Conference Meeting: 05/17/2022, 09:30 am, Room 100, SH
May 18, 2022: Committee of Conference Meeting: 05/18/2022, 12:00 pm, Room 100, SH
May 12, 2022: Speaker Appoints: Reps. DeSimone, Erf, Wallner 05/12/2022 HJ 13
May 12, 2022: House Accedes to Senate Request for CofC (Reps. Rice, Umberger): MA VV 05/12/2022 HJ 13
May 17, 2022: Committee of Conference Meeting: 05/17/2022, 09:30 am, Room 100, SH
May 12, 2022: President Appoints: Senators Carson, Bradley, Rosenwald; 05/12/2022; SJ 12
May 12, 2022: Sen. Bradley Moved Nonconcur with the House Amendment; Requests C of C, MA, VV; 05/12/2022; SJ 12
May 5, 2022: Ought to Pass: MA VV 05/04/2022 HJ 11
April 28, 2022: Minority Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate
April 28, 2022: Majority Committee Report: Ought to Pass (Vote 13-7; RC)
April 22, 2022: Executive Session: 04/27/2022 03:00 pm LOB 210-211
April 22, 2022: Executive Session: 04/27/2022 03:00 pm LOB 210-211
April 22, 2022: Division Work Session: 04/26/2022 11:30 am LOB 210-211
April 22, 2022: Division Work Session: 04/25/2022 01:00 pm LOB 210-211
April 22, 2022: Division Work Session: 04/22/2022 03:00 pm LOB 210-211
April 22, 2022: Executive Session: 04/27/2022 03:00 pm LOB 210-211
April 21, 2022: Referred to Finance 04/21/2022 HJ 10
April 21, 2022: Ought to Pass with Amendment 1470h: MA DV 244-88 04/21/2022 HJ 10
April 21, 2022: FLAM # 2022-1640h (Rep. Lynn): AF DV 160-171 04/21/2022 HJ 10
April 21, 2022: Amendment # 1470h: AA RC 182-150 04/21/2022 HJ 10
April 14, 2022: Minority Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2022-1440h
April 14, 2022: Majority Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2022-1470h (Vote 13-1; RC) HC 15 P. 12
April 14, 2022: Executive Session: 04/12/2022 11:00 am LOB 206-208
April 4, 2022: Public Hearing: 04/12/2022 11:00 am LOB 206-208
April 1, 2022: Introduced 03/31/2022 and referred to Children and Family Law
March 31, 2022: Ought to Pass with Amendments 2022-1266s and 2022-1272s, MA, VV; OT3rdg; 03/31/2022; SJ 7
March 31, 2022: Sen. Rosenwald Floor Amendment # 2022-1272s, AA, VV; 03/31/2022; SJ 7
March 31, 2022: Committee Amendment # 2022-1266s, AA, VV; 03/31/2022; SJ 7
March 29, 2022: Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2022-1266s, 03/31/2022; SC 13A
March 17, 2022: Ought to Pass with Amendment 2022-1057s, MA, VV; Refer to Finance Rule 4-5; 03/17/2022; SJ 5
March 17, 2022: Committee Amendment # 2022-1057s, RC 14Y-10N, AA; 03/17/2022; SJ 5
March 9, 2022: Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2022-1057s, 03/17/2022; SC 11
Feb. 7, 2022: Hearing: 02/16/2022, Room 101, LOB, 09:00 am; SC 7
Feb. 1, 2022: Introduced 01/05/2022 and Referred to Health and Human Services; SJ 2