WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
[
to the Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.
A BILL to amend and
reenact §49-2-913 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend and reenact said article by adding
thereto a new section, designated §49-2-914; and to amend §49-5-106 of said code, all relating to the
juvenile justice reform oversight committee and averted costs reinvestment;
creating a juvenile justice account and providing its purpose, funding and
disbursements; requiring new data to be collected and compiled to allow
calculation of juvenile recidivism and the outcome of programs and making this
information available to the public.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §49-2-913 of the
Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that said
code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §49-2-914; and that
§49-5-106 of said code be amended, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. STATE
RESPONSIBILITIES FOR CHILDREN.
§49-2-913. Juvenile
Justice Reform Oversight Committee
(a) The Juvenile Justice
Reform Oversight Committee is hereby created to oversee the implementation of
reform measures intended to improve the state's
juvenile justice system.
(b) The committee shall be
comprised of seventeen members, including the following individuals:
(1) The Governor, or his or
her designee, who shall preside as chair of the committee;
(2) Two members from the
House of Delegates, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, who
shall serve as nonvoting, ex officio members;
(3) Two members from the
Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate, who shall serve as nonvoting,
ex officio members;
(4) The Secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Resources, or his or her designee;
(5) The Director of the
Division of Juvenile Services, or his or her designee;
(6) The Superintendent of the
State Board of Education, or his or her designee;
(7) The Administrative
Director of the Supreme Court of Appeals, or his or her designee, who shall
serve as nonvoting, ex officio member;
(8) The Director of the
Division of Probation Services, or his or her designee;
(9) Two circuit court
judges, appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals, who
shall serve as nonvoting, ex officio members;
(10) One community member
juvenile justice stakeholder, appointed by the Governor;
(11) One juvenile crime
victim advocate, appointed by the Governor;
(12) One member from the
law-enforcement agency, appointed by the Governor;
(13) One member from a
county prosecuting attorney's office,
appointed by the Governor; and
(14) The Director of the
Juvenile Justice Commission.
(c) The committee shall
perform the following duties:
(1) Guide and evaluate the
implementation of the provisions adopted in the year 2015 relating to juvenile
justice reform;
(2) Obtain and review the
juvenile recidivism and program outcome data collected pursuant to section one
hundred six, article five of this chapter;
(3) Calculate any state
expenditures that have been avoided by reductions in the number of youth placed
in out-of-home placements by the Division of Juvenile Services or the
Department of Health and Human Resources as reported under section one hundred
six, article five of this chapter; and
(4) Institute a uniform
process for developing and reviewing performance measurement and outcome
measures through data analysis. The uniform process shall include:
(A) The performance and
outcome measures for the court, the Department of Health and Human Resources
and the Division of Juvenile Services; and
(B) The deadlines and
format for the submission of the performance and outcome measures; and
(5) Ensure system
accountability and monitor the fidelity of implementation efforts or programs;
(6) Study any additional
topics relating to the continued improvement of the juvenile justice system;
and
(7) Issue an annual report
to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
Delegates and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West
Virginia on or before November 30th of each year, starting in 2016, which shall
include:
(A) An assessment of the
progress made in implementation of juvenile justice reform efforts;
(B) A summary of the
committee's efforts in fulfilling its
duties as set forth in this section; and
(C) An analysis of the
recidivism data obtained by the committee under this section;
(D) A summary of The
costs to the state and federal government averted over the previous
fiscal year calculated by the committee under this section and summary of
the methodology used by the committee; a recommendation for any
reinvestment of the averted costs to fund services or programs to expand West
Virginia's continuum of
alternatives for youth who would otherwise be placed in out-of-home placement
(E) A recommendation for
any reinvestment of the averted costs to fund services or programs to expand
the state’s continuum of alternatives for youth who would otherwise be placed
in out-of-home placement;
(E) (F)
Recommendations for continued improvements to the juvenile justice system.
(d) The Division of Justice
and Community Services shall provide staff support for the committee. The committee
may has subpoena power to request and receive copies of all data,
reports, performance measures and other evaluative material regarding juvenile
justice submitted from any agency, branch of government or political
subdivision to carry out its duties.
(e) The committee shall
meet within ninety days after appointment and shall thereafter meet at least
quarterly, upon notice by the chair. Eight members shall be considered a
quorum.
(f) After initial
appointment, members appointed to the committee by the Governor, the President
of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Delegates or the Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court of Appeals, pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, shall
serve for a term of two years from his or her appointment and shall be eligible
for reappointment to that position. All members appointed to the committee
shall serve until his or her successor has been duly appointed.
(g) The committee shall
sunset on December 31, 2020, unless reauthorized by the Legislature.
§49-2-914. Creation of juvenile justice account;
purpose; funding; disbursements.
(a) There is hereby
created in the State Treasury a separate special revenue account, which shall
be an interest bearing account, to be known as the "Juvenile Justice
Account." The special revenue account shall consist of appropriations made
by the Legislature, income from the investment of moneys held in the special
revenue account and all other sums available for deposit to the special revenue
account from any source, public or private. No expenses incurred under this
section shall be a charge against the general funds of the state.
(b) The Governor shall
submit the amount of the state savings described in paragraph (D), subdivision
(7), subsection (c), section nine hundred thirteen of this article to be
deposited into the Juvenile Justice Account described in this section as part
of the annual budget submission or in an executive message to the Legislature.
(c) Moneys in the
special revenue account shall be appropriated to the Juvenile Justice Reform
Oversight Committee and used exclusively, in accordance with appropriations by
the Legislature, to pay costs, fees and expenses incurred, or to be incurred
for the following purposes:
(1) A per diem to
members of the committee not to exceed the per diem rate paid to members of the
West Virginia Legislature pursuant to section seven, article two-a, chapter
four of this code;
(2) Grants or funds to
establish, staff, or otherwise fund new services or programs recommended in
paragraph (E), subdivision (7), subsection (c), section nine hundred thirteen
of this article that are evidence based;
(3) Grants or funds to
establish, staff, or otherwise fund pilot programs or experimental community
based services recommended in said paragraph (E) for which there is not
substantial evidence regarding efficacy or outcomes;
(4) Grants or funds to
improve, expand, support, or expand access to juvenile justice programs
pursuant to paragraph (F), subdivision (7), subsection (c), section nine
hundred thirteen of this article: Provided,
That expanding access means providing for juveniles, parents and guardians to
receive services without a court referral; and
(5) All costs incurred
in the administration of the special revenue account.
(d) Any balance remaining
in the special revenue account at the end of any state fiscal year shall not
revert to the General Revenue Fund but shall remain in the special revenue
account and shall be used solely in a manner consistent with this section: Provided, That at the sunset of the
Juvenile Justice Committee pursuant to subsection (g) of section nine hundred
thirteen of this article, any moneys remaining in the special revenue account
shall revert to the General Revenue Fund.
(e) Disbursements from
the special revenue account shall be authorized by a simple majority vote of
present voting members of the Juvenile Justice Reform Oversight Committee: Provided, That a quorum of at least
eight voting members are present.
ARTICLE 5. RECORD
KEEPING AND DATABASE.
§49-5-106. Data
collection.
(a) The Division of
Juvenile Services, the department and the Supreme Court of Appeals shall
establish procedures to jointly collect and compile data necessary to calculate
juvenile recidivism and the outcome of programs.
(b) For each juvenile who
enters into a diversion agreement, is placed on an improvement period, is
placed on probation or is placed in an out-of-home placement as defined by
section two hundred six, article one of this chapter, the data and procedures
developed in subsection (a) shall include:
(1) New offense referrals
to juvenile court or criminal court within three years of completion of the
diversion agreement, release from court jurisdiction or release from agency
custody;
(2) Adjudications for a
delinquent or status offense by a juvenile or a conviction by a criminal court
within three years of completion of the diversion agreement, release from court
jurisdiction or release from agency custody;
(3) Commitments to the
Division of Juvenile Services, the department, excluding out-of-home placements
made for child welfare or abuse and neglect purposes, or incarceration with the
Division of Corrections within three years of completion of the diversion
agreement, release from court jurisdiction or release from agency custody; and
(4) The number of
out-of-home placements ordered where the judge found by clear and convincing
evidence the existence of a significant and likely risk of harm to the
juvenile, a family member or the public.
(5) The average length
of stay for out-of-home placements for any reason, broken down by the agency
with jurisdiction.
(6) The average daily
population in out-of-home facilities, broken down by type of facility and
agency with jurisdiction.
(7) The costs of out-of-home
placement broken down by facility, placement level and agency.
(c) For youth placed in
programs operated or funded by the Division of Juvenile Services, the
department or the Supreme Court of Appeals, including youth reporting centers,
juvenile drug courts, restorative justice programs and teen courts, the
division, department and Supreme Court shall develop procedures using, at a
minimum, the measures in subsection (b) of this section to track and record
outcomes of each program, and to demonstrate that the program reduces the
likelihood of reoffending for the youth referred to the program.
(d) For youth referred to
truancy diversion specialists or other truancy diversion programs operated or
funded by the Supreme Court of Appeals, the Division of Juvenile Services, the
Department of Health and Human Resources, the Department of Education or other
political subdivisions, that branch of government or agency shall develop
procedures to track and record outcomes of each program, and to evaluate the
effectiveness in reducing unexcused absences for the youth referred to the
program. At a minimum, this outcome data shall include:
(1) The number of youth
successfully completing the truancy diversion program;
(2) The number of youth who
are referred to the court system after failing to complete a truancy diversion
program; and
(3) The number of youth
who, after successfully completing a truancy diversion program, accumulate five
or more unexcused absences in the current or subsequent school year.
(e) The Supreme Court of
Appeals, the Division of Juvenile Services, the Department of Health and Human
Resources and the Department of Education shall also establish procedures to
jointly collect and compile data relating to disproportionate minority contact,
which is defined as the proportion of minority youth who come into contact with
the juvenile justice system in relation to the proportion of minority youth in
the general population, and the compilation shall include data indicating the
prevalence of such disproportionality in each county. Data shall include, at a
minimum, the race and gender of youth arrested or referred to court, entered
into a diversion program, adjudicated and disposed.
(f) The data collected under this section is
public information and shall be made available for public review.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is
to require the Juvenile Justice Reform Oversight committee to recommend averted
costs reinvestment; create a juvenile justice account and provide its purpose,
funding and disbursements; require new data to be collected and compiled to
allow calculation of juvenile recidivism and the outcome of programs and make
this information available to the public.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates
new language that would be added.