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COMMONWEAL
THE JUVENILE JUSTICE PROGRAM
P.O. BOX 316, BOLINAS, CA 94924 — (415) 388-6666 — commonweal.org
MARCH 20, 2006
by David Steinhart
Juvenile Justice Bills Pending In The 2005-06 Session Of The California Legislature
This memo contains brief digests of selected bills introduced in 2005 (two year bills, still pending) and in 2006 (new bills) on the subjects of juvenile justice, youth corrections (CYA/DJJ) and related youth services. Committee status as shown is current to 3/20/06.
AB 314 (Parra, D.- Hanford). Case planning and program requirements for the Division of Juvenile Justice. Mandates changes in DJJ processing and programming for wards including: a) DJJ must perform a detailed study of ward needs within 30 days of commitment, b) DJJ must meet minimum standards for education and counseling services as detailed in the bill, c) DJJ must hold quarterly case conferences to assess each ward's progress, and d) DJJ must prepare a study not less than 60 days prior to the ward's first release from custody, identifying the ward's re-entry needs in relation to a legal means of support, level of supervision and services needed to complete a successful community transition. Provides that if the DJJ Director cannot comply with any of these requirements, he/she must report the deficiency to the budget and relevant policy committees of the Legislature. Two year bill, in Senate Public Safety Committee.
AB 1945 (Coto, D.- San Jose ). Health insurance for minors released from detention. For minors released from detention exceeding 48 hours in a juvenile hall, camp or ranch, AB 1945 requires the "releasing authority" to determine whether the minor will have health insurance upon release, and if the minor lacks such coverage, it requires the releasing authority to take steps to enroll the minor in Medi-Cal, Healthy Families or another appropriate "need-based program". To Assembly Health Committee.
AB 2004 (Yee, D- S.F.). Medi-Cal eligibility for incarcerated minors. Requires the state Department of Health services to suspend health care benefits under Medi-Cal for incarcerated minors, rather than terminate eligibility as provided by current law. Further requires the Department to ensure that a minor who is no longer an inmate of an institution has immediate access to health care services under Medi-Cal. Also, maintains Medi-Cal eligibility and services for minors who are securely detained pending a non-secure placement ordered by the court. To Assembly Health Committee.
AB 2798 (Goldberg, D- LA). Juvenile justice services. Spot bill stating legislative intent to coordinate and fund educational, vocational and other services in the juvenile justice system. Not yet assigned to committee.
AB 2923 (Calderon, D. - Montebello). Graffiti penalty collections by DMV and longer driver license suspensions for graffiti crimes. Requires the Dept. of Motor Vehicles to collect graffiti abatement costs assessed by local governments from minors or parents when they register a vehicle. Increases the DMV penalties for vandalism or graffiti convictions, including juvenile court adjudications for these offenses, from a one year license delay or suspension to a suspension of not less than one nor more than three years. To the Assembly Transportation Committee.
AB 2944 (Baca, D.- San Bernardino). GPS tracking devices for street gang members. States the intent of the Legislature to require criminal street gang members who are released on parole to be outfitted with global positioning system tracking devices. Not assigned yet to committee.
AB 3006 (Assembly Committee on Public Safety— Leno, D.- SF, Chair). Re-entry Advisory Committee within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Requires CDCR to establish a Re-entry Advisory Committee of criminal justice stakeholders to advise the Secretary of CDCR on "all matters related to the successful planning, implementation and outcomes of all re-entry programs and services provided by the Department". To the Assembly Public Safety Committee.
SB 609 (Romero, D.- LA). CYA/Division of Juvenile Justice reform. Introduced as a global CYA reform bill in 2005, the bill has been stripped to a single provision stating the intent of the legislature to transfer CYA parole responsibilities to local government. This was done to move it beyond Sen. Appropriations Committee last year and to sustain it as a vehicle for future amendment. In the Assembly, not assigned.
SB 795 (Romero, D.- LA). CYA/ Division of Juvenile Justice parole reform. Like SB 609, this bill was introduced as a broad CYA parole reform measure but was stripped down to a single provision on notifying counties of the prospective date of a ward release from CYA/DJJ. A two year bill and vehicle for author's amendments. In the Assembly, not assigned to committee.
SB 1288 (Cedillo, D. - L.A. ). Medi-Cal drug/alcohol services for children and youth. As amended March 20, adds--to the list of benefits covered by Medi-Cal--a range of residential and non-residential programs for children and youth (age 12-20) who need treatment for drug or alcohol abuse. Also, requires the state Department of Health Services to "use its best efforts" to obtain a federal Medicaid plan amendment that would support Medicare (federal share) coverage of these drug and alcohol services for children and youth. To Senate Health Committee.
SB 1373 (Romero, D- LA). Length of stay in California state youth corrections facilities. Requires the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to limit time-adds to not more than one month per ward-per year on average; requires DJJ to establish a system of good-time credits for the DJJ mainstream population; and requires DJJ to review initial sentences (Parole Consideration Dates) assigned upon commitment based on average lengths of stay for juvenile offenders in other-state youth corrections systems. To Senate Public Safety Committee.
SB 1382 (Morrow, R. - Oceanside). Mandatory curfew for parolees. Requires that each person released from prison on parole shall be subject to a curfew and must remain at his or her place of residence between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. for the entire duration of the parole term. Not specifically applicable to DJJ parolees but would affect juveniles sentenced to prison and housed temporarily in DJJ facilities under WIC 1731.5. To Senate Public Safety Committee.
SB 1502 (Hollingsworth, R.- Murrieta). Prohibition against felons working in group homes housing sex offenders. Prohibits any person convicted of a felony from owning, operating, managing or being employed in a group home that houses one or more convicted sex offenders. Extends the same prohibition to residential facilities for parolees operated under a contract with CDCR if the facility has one or more convicted sex offenders in residence. Provides license revocation penalties for failure to comply. This assault on peer-counseling in sex offender treatment facilities is technically perhaps not applicable to minors adjudicated as juveniles, but the bill is trend-setting nevertheless. To the Senate Public Safety Committee.
SB 1504 (Hollingsworth, R. - Murrieta ). Local business licensing of community care facilities serving juvenile or adult offenders. Reverses current state law by allowing local governments to require a licensed community care facility to obtain a local business license, if the facility serves any person under the jurisdiction or supervision of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or if it serves any adult or juvenile offender pursuant to a court order. To Senate Human Services Committee.
SB 1570 (Alquist- D.- Santa Clara). State plan on residential care alternatives for children. Requires the State Interagency Team for Children and Youth, within the Health and Human Services Agency, to produce a statewide plan to transform California's present group home structure into a new system of residentially-based services for children in the child welfare, juvenile justice and mental health systems. The new system would change how group homes are utilized, the services they provide and the state-county payments they receive. The plan must incorporate a detailed list of objectives, program elements, client target groups, and funding options described in the bill. The plan must contemplate shorter lengths of stay for children in foster care and redeployment of related savings to cover the costs of services made available in the restructured system. The plan must also provide DSS with the authority to suspend foster care regulations and rates in order to support new and innovative approaches to children's residential care based on agreements between counties and care providers. Appropriates $1 million for a consultant to prepare the plan. To Senate Human Services Committee.
SB 1589 (Romero, D.- L.A.). DJJ custody options for high-risk/ high-needs offenders and for female offenders. Requires the Division of Juvenile Justice to explore program options outside of DJJ facilities for high risk or high needs offenders and requires DJJ to transfer all female offenders out of DJJ facilities by January 1, 2008. To Senate Public Safety Committee.
SB 1595 (Machado, D- Stockton). Commitments to the Division of Juvenile Justice. Spot bill making non-substantive changes to WIC 1730 which prohibits the commitment of adults to DJJ facilities. To Senate Public Safety Committee.
SB 1616 (Kuehl, D.- Santa Monica.). Medi-Cal services for incarcerated minors with disabilities. Requires the Dept. of Health services to suspend rather than terminate Medi-Cal eligibility for minors who are incarcerated in a state youth correctional (DJJ) facility, and requires the Department to restore services to these minors upon release under defined circumstances. Requires the Division of Juvenile Justice in CDCR to take steps to qualify disabled minors for Medi-Cal services upon release and to ask the federal Social Security Administration in each case to allow, continue or renew SSI and SSDI benefits for incarcerated and disabled DJJ wards. To Senate Health Committee.
SB 1626 (Ashburn, R. - Bakersfield ). Exclusions from eligibility for Deferred Entry of Judgment. Reintroduces last year's failed bill to bar minors with listed sex offenses from eligibility for Deferred Entry of Judgment (the Proposition 21 program of supervision for first-time felonies that can result in dismissal of the original charge). To Senate Public Safety Committee.
SB 1743 (Machado, D. - Stockton ) Division of Juvenile Justice acceptance criteria. Modifies the criteria at WIC 736 for DJJ acceptance of a delinquent ward committed to it by a Juvenile Court, by a) requiring DJJ to determine prior to acceptance that it has not only adequate facilities but also adequate staff and programs to care for the ward and b) by eliminating archaic language on acceptance of "sex deviates" and others and substituting instead a requirement that DJJ coordinate with the Department of Mental Health to determine how minors with mental and behavioral disorders can best be served. To Senate Public Safety Committee.
SB 1777 (Alarcon, D.- Sun Valley). Juvenile court schools. States the intent of the legislature to increase funding for incarcerated and transition foster youth attending juvenile court schools. In Senate Rules Committee for assignment.