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Juvenile Justice Task Force

MINUTES OF THE
JUVENILE JUSTICE TASK FORCE

Friday, September 25, 1998 - 1:00 p.m. - Room 303 State Capitol


Members Present:
    Sen. Lyle W. Hillyard, Chair     
    Rep. J. Brent Haymond, Chair
    Sen. Joseph L. Hull
    Rep. John B. Arrington
    Rep. Steve Barth
    Rep. Blake D. Chard
    
Members Absent:
    Sen. Nathan C. Tanner
    Mr. David J. Jordan

Staff Present:
    Ms. Chyleen A. Arbon, Research Analyst


Mr. Gary K. Dalton
Hon. Andrew A. Valdez
Mr. Russ Van Vleet
    


    
Members Excused:
    Rep. Katherine Bryson
    Ms. Robin Arnold Williams    
    

    Ms. Esther D. Chelsea-McCarty, Associate General Counsel    
    Ms. Glenda S. Whitney, Legislative 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 Haymond called the meeting to order at 1:12 p.m.

     MOTION: Sen. Hillyard moved to approve the minutes of the August 28, 1998 meeting. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Barth absent for the vote.
    
2.    Interstate Compact

    Ms. Esther Chelsea-McCarty, Associate General Counsel, explained that there are currently two Interstate Compacts in Utah that concern children: the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (62A-4a-701, et seq) and the Interstate Compact on Juveniles (55-12-1, et seq). Each compact is administered by a different office, which sometimes causes confusion as to who is monitoring a child coming into the state. She said a suggestion has been made that the administration of the compacts be consolidated into one office. Currently, the Compact on Children is administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS), and the Compact on Juveniles is administered by the courts. Each compact has its own statutory clause concerning the appointment of an administrator. She explained that consolidating the administration of the compacts may require a statutory change, depending on which agency housed both compacts. She noted that the issue for this meeting is whether to consolidate the offices, and, if so, where to consolidate them.

    Mr. Mike Chapman, Deputy Compact Administrator, Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS), distributed and reviewed the booklet "Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) Training Guide." He said the compact has been in place for 35 years and has been working well with continual improvement. There are 2,200 youth coming into the state that are being processed through ICPC with about 1,000 going out of state.

    Judge Valdez expressed concern with youth being sent by their parents or by the acquiescence of the courts to be placed in facilities in Utah without any ICPC resources or services.

    Mr. Dalton concurred with this concern and said that there are probably 1,500 youth that come into the state without being tracked. He suggested combining the compact functions that are found in DCFS and the juvenile courts into one office. He said this would allow for better tracking of youth coming in and going out of the state.

    Mr. Ray Wahl, Juvenile Court Administrator, distributed and reviewed a handout "Interstate Compact on Juveniles Summary." He said his office has a cooperative relationship with other states to supervise delinquent youth that get transferred in and out of state. He does not believe that combining the two compacts into one office is in the state's best interest. He said there is room for both compacts to work together and suggested they have quarterly meetings. He said those children who are placed with relatives or foster care who are delinquent should be supervised by the court or the Division of Youth Corrections and that DCFS is in a better position to supervise child placement. He suggested leaving the administrations like they are and recommended that DCFS and the courts work together to create a common computer system to track youth.

    Mr. Wahl said the task force may want to send a letter to the Association of Juvenile Compact Administrators, stating Utah's concerns about compact supervision. He said if the task force would like, he and Mr. Chapman could draft a letter for the task force to review that would then go to the Compact Administrators Association with recommendations.
    
     MOTION: Sen. Hull moved to keep the compacts separate but encourage a common work program along with a common database. A report on the progress of these efforts should be given to the Judiciary Interim Committee in August 1999. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Barth absent for the vote.

    Chair Haymond asked Mr. Chapman and Mr. Wahl to prepare a letter to the Association of Juvenile Compact Administration for review at the next Juvenile Justice Task Force meeting.
    


3.    Youth Parole Authority

    Ms. Stephanie Carter, Administrator, Youth Parole Authority, distributed a letter to the task force from Joel L. Millard, Chair, Youth Parole Authority, asking for support on the continuation of the Youth Parole Authority in its present state.

    Mr. Charles Semken, Vice Chair, Youth Parole Authority, said the board would like the juvenile court judges to be involved in the parole guidelines and to make recommendations. He indicated the need for more vocational training for the youth in secure care.
        
    Ms. Carter requested support from the task force to allow for pro tem members to be added statutorily to the Youth Parole Authority.

    MOTION: Judge Valdez moved to support the concept and suggested that draft legislation be prepared for the task force to review. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Haymond absent for the vote. Mr. Dalton declared a conflict of interest.

4.    Restitution and Community Service Issues

    Mr. Dan Maldonado, Division of Youth Corrections, distributed a handout "Division of Youth Corrections Work Programs" and reviewed the DYC work programs by region, reporting on the fines, community service hours, and restitution balances of youth terminated from DYC custody in FY 1998.
                        
    Mr. Ray Wahl distributed a handout "Restitution and Community Service" and reported on the juvenile courts' fines, fees, and hours ordered and collected during calendar year 1996- 1997. He said DYC and the juvenile court are working together on the issue of restitution and community service: they are working on some proposals to combine both restitution funds, policies, and work crews, especially in rural areas. He reviewed the victim/offender mediation program in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Districts.

5.    Youth Court Diversion Act

    Ms. Michelle Heward, Subcommittee of the Law Enforcement, said there are approximately 25-30 youth courts in the state. She explained that the purpose of a youth court is to assist youth in developing skills that will lead them to assume a responsible role as citizens in their communities and broaden their understanding of the criminal justice system through active participation in various roles. She explained that a youth court is a juvenile diversion program where juveniles that have committed offenses go before their peers.

    Ms. Heward said the subcommittee discussed ways to help implement youth courts and to provide guidelines. She presented a draft proposal "Utah Youth Court Diversion Act" for the task force to review. She said Rep. David L. Gladwell has been working on this legislation and would like endorsement from the task force.

    Sen. Hillyard recommended that Rep. Gladwell bring the draft legislation in final form back to the task force for endorsement and final action.

6.    Serious Youth Offender

    Mr. Mike Haddon, Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ), distributed and reviewed the handout "Utah's Serious Youth Offender Law." He said the Serious Youth Offender Law went into effect July 1, 1995, and they have been tracking it since that time. It is a method of transferring serious youth offenders over to the adult system. He reported on the population of males and females, 16 or 17 years of age, who were charged with an offense during the time frame of September 1, 1997 to August 31, 1998. He identified 77 serious youth offenders and addressed their judicial outcomes.

7.    Adjournment

    MOTION: At 3:23 p.m., Sen. Hillyard moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Arrington and Rep. Barth absent for the vote.

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