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Juvenile Justice Task Force

MINUTES OF THE
JUVENILE JUSTICE TASK FORCE

January 10, 1997 - 12:30 p.m. - Room 303, State Capitol


Members Present:
    Sen. Lyle W. Hillyard, Senate Chair     
    Sen. Joseph L. Hull
    Sen. Nathan C. Tanner
    Rep. John B. Arrington
    Rep. Steve Barth
    Rep. Blake D. Chard
    Mr. Gary K. Dalton
    Hon. Andrew A. Valdez
    Mr. Russ Van Vleet
    Ms. Robin Arnold Williams
    

Members Absent:
    Rep. Christine R. Fox, House Chair     Rep. J. Brent Haymond
    Mr. David J. Jordan

Staff Present:
    Mr. Kim S. Christy,
     Research Analyst
    Ms. Esther D. Chelsea-McCarty,      Associate General Counsel
    Ms. Glenda S. Whitney,
     Secretary

    
     Note:    A list of others present and a copy of materials distributed in the meeting are on file in the         Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.

1.    Call to Order and Task Force Business - Chair Hillyard called the meeting to order at 12:35 p.m. He noted that the Juvenile Justice Task Force will not meet again until after the 1997 General Session.

     MOTION: Rep. Arrington moved to approve the minutes of the November 15, 1996 meeting. The motion passed unanimously.

2.    Report from Task Force Members on Visits to Youth Correction Facilities

    Judge Valdez discussed the patterns of drug and alcohol abuse in juveniles being affected by habits of other family members. He described a recent interview involving eight girls committed to the Salt Lake Detention Center who admitted that their involvement with drugs and alcohol largely stemmed from their parent's and grandparent's substance abuse problems. He also discussed an incident involving a fifteen year old girl with a history of drug dependancy and who recently gave birth to a child while doing time in a secure confinement facility. Due to circumstances the child was placed in a shelter home.

    Mr. Van Vleet reported on his recent visit to a correction facility in South Carolina. Sen. Tanner and Rep. Arrington reporting on their visits to the new court facility in Ogden.

    Mr. Dalton invited the Juvenile Justice Task Force and staff to the grand opening and dedication of the new Salt Lake Valley Detention Center. He said the 160 bed facility will open February 5, 1997 with a dedicatory program and a special session for legislators at 5:00 p.m..

3.    Presumptive Standards for Juvenile Sentencing - Continued Discussion and Action on Draft Legislation

    Hon. Kay A. Lindsay, Chair, Board of Juvenile Court Judges, explained the she was pleased to report that the most recent version of the matrix model of the presumptive sentencing guidelines has been unanimously approved by the board. She expressed appreciation for the cooperative efforts of the various parties involved in the process of formulating the model and how the concerns initially expressed by juvenile court judges had been worked out. She added that the judges firmly believe that the matrix in its latest form provides for earlier intervention and promotes public safety.

    Judge Lindsay referred to her letter found in the mailing packet on page 17, urging the task force to adopt the board's recommended statutory language governing the Sentencing Commission. She also referred to page 19 of the mailing packet and suggested deleting "use" and inserting "consider" in the draft legislation, "Sentencing Guidelines."

    Judge Lindsay emphasized that the board applauds the governor for his proposed budget package for the 1997 General Session supporting the implementation of the guidelines model. She said that the chief probation officers and other court personnel are working on defining what constitutes "state supervision" and studying programs that will enable the system to effectively intervene earlier in the lives of troubled youth. She also noted that they are looking at ways to involve private providers more heavily.

    Mr. Edward S. McConkie, Director, Utah Sentencing Commission, explained that the latest version of the matrix had also been unanimously endorsed by the Sentencing Commission. He also explained that the draft legislation provides for the commission to monitor the progress of the guidelines model and will include input from all interested parties. He distributed a handout, "Juvenile Sentencing Guidelines" and summarized the elements of the model and its operational costs, including $11 million for construction costs for facilities.

    Mr. Charlie Johnson, Governor's Office, said in behalf of the governor he commended the Juvenile Justice Task Force and also staff for the work done on the matrix concept and the presumptive guidelines. He spoke in support of earlier intervention and being tougher on repeat offenders. He said the governor has responded to the task force and the concepts that have been asked for in conjunction to the matrix concept. He explained the governor is proposing $22 million for the implementation and support of the guidelines model, half of which is for operations and the other half for new facilities. He referred to Mr. McConkie's handout and further explained that on the facility side, the governor has recommended a 72 bed secure facility in the Ogden area and the conversion of the Salt Lake Detention Center to a secure facility giving another 72 beds.

    Ms. Sue Geary, Director, Division of Services for People with Disabilities, distributed a handout, "Juvenile Justice Task Force Recommendations." She expressed concerns with the definition of "mental retardation" that appears in the draft, "Juvenile Justice Task Force 1996 Recommendations." She explained that mental retardation is not the only developmental disability that might warrant special consideration by the juvenile justice system. Individuals who have autism and individuals who have acquired brain injury may also be especially vulnerable.

    MOTION: Rep. Barth moved to delete "use" and insert "consider" on page 1 line 30 of the draft legislation, "Sentencing Guidelines." The motion passed unanimously.

4.    Serious Habitual Offender Comprehensive Action Program - Review of Draft Legislation

    Rep. Blake Chard reviewed the draft legislation, "Serious Habitual Youth Offender Program." He explained that it is created to establish a database to identify and track youthful offenders in order to assist agencies in providing collaborative and comprehensive services for one another. It provides for maintenance of and access to the database, leaving ownership of information to the agencies that provide it.

    Chief Doyle Talbot, Pilot Project Chair, helped with Rep. Chard's review of the draft legislation and answered questions of the task force. He indicated the task force is in the process of implementing the project in Davis County and putting the database together. He also said an interlocal agreement is being developed by the Davis County Attorney's Office.

    Sen. Hull and Sen. Tanner spoke in support of the concept but expressed concerns regarding access to confidential or privileged information.

    Mr. Mike Phillips, Deputy Juvenile Court Administrator, explained that current law provides that the records of youth 16 and older and charged with a felony are public information. He said that other legislation pending for the 1997 General Session will address whether to drop that age limit down to 14. He also explained that there are other pieces of information that are being planned to be in the database system that are not considered confidential.

    Ms. Williams said there are several regulations in working through the existing Families and Agencies Coming Together Program that other agencies have responded to in the classification of data.

    Ms. Williams made a technical correction on page 1 line 26, stating that the local mental health agencies are under The Department of Human Services and not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health.

    Rep. Chard said there are some other technical changes that have already been identified and will be corrected for the session.

    Mr. Dalton also offered a technical correction referring to the director of Youth Corrections and director of Division of Family Services. He said that it should read "Child and Family Services" and also suggested adding "or designee." He said it is important that local representatives that are with the Division of Youth Corrections or the Division of Child and Family Services be included.

    Mr. Bill Dinehart recommended on page 1 line 28, that "county and municipal" should be on a separate line and separately labeled. He also noted that since there will be a creation of a database requiring agencies to be tied into the database, there would be some fiscal impact on the bill.

    Mr. Wayne Holland, representing private providers, suggested that a representative from the private providers should be represented on the SHOCAP Task Force.

     MOTION: Rep. Barth moved that the Juvenile Justice Task Force support the concept of the "Serious Habitual Youth Offender Program." The motion passed unanimously.     

5.    Proposed Revisions to the 1996 Recodification of the Juvenile Court Act - Review of Draft Legislation
    
    Ms. Esther Chelsea-McCarty, Associate General Counsel, distributed handouts:, "Part 1, General Provisions;" "Part 5, Delinquency and Criminal Actions;" and "Part 9, Miscellaneous Provisions." She explained that the reason for the recodification of the Juvenile Court Act last year was to make it more user friendly. She then explained the reasons for the changes now and reviewed the handouts, noting that the bulk of the sections in Part 5 were renumbered and moved to Part 1.

     MOTION: Sen. Tanner moved to approve the "Juvenile Court Recodification - Phase 2" as a committee bill. The motion passed unanimously.

    Mr. Dalton referred to the mailing packet page 96, "Juvenile Judges-Short Term Commitment of Youth" legislation that was adopted by the Judiciary Interim Committee on November 20, 1996. He questioned if the draft legislation makes it clear what is considered as a place of detention. He then referred to page 101 of the mailing packet, draft legislation, "Juvenile Court Powers" that was also adopted by the Judiciary Interim Committee on November 20, 1997 and expressed concerns. He said he had understood that the court was willing to give an exclusion for contempt orders to secure care. He said the bill is now written to allow a judge to hold a youth in contempt of court and place the youth in secure care. Judge Lindsay responded that there has been no youth placed in secure care for contempt and recommended leaving the

language as written. Judge Valdez agreed with Judge Lindsay and did not see a problem with the language.

    Sen. Hillyard thanked the members of the task force for their input and encouraged them to follow the task force bills through the session as they are debated in standing committees.

6.    Adjournment -

    MOTION: Rep. Barth moved to adjourn the meeting at 2:00 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.

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