Senate Bill No. 124

Introduced by Senator Leno

January 16, 2015

An act to amend Sections 225, 226, 229, 230, and 240 of, and to add Section 208.3 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to juveniles.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 124, as introduced, Leno. Juveniles: solitary confinement.

(1) Existing law permits minors who are detained in juvenile hall for habitual disobedience, truancy, or curfew violation to be held in the same facility as minors who are detained for violating any law or ordinance defining a crime, if they do not come or remain in contact with each other. Existing law also permits the detention of minors in jails and other secure facilities for the confinement of adults if the minors do not come or remain in contact with confined adults and other specified conditions are met.

Existing law, the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, authorizes the involuntary detention for a period of 72 hours for evaluation of persons, including minors, who are dangerous to self or others, or gravely disabled, as defined.

This bill would prohibit a person confined in a juvenile facility who is a danger to himself, herself, or others as a result of a mental disorder, or who is gravely disabled, from being subject to solitary confinement, and would require that the person be transported to, and evaluated at, a designated facility. The bill would also prohibit a person, other than one described above, who is detained in any secure state or local juvenile facility from being subject to solitary confinement unless certain conditions are satisfied, including that the person poses an immediate and substantial risk of harm to the security of the facility, poses an immediate and substantial risk of harm to others that is not the result of a mental disorder, or poses a risk of harm to himself or herself that is not a result of a mental disorder. The bill would permit, if those conditions are satisfied, the person to be held in solitary confinement only in accordance with specified guidelines, including that the person be held in solitary confinement only for the minimum time required to address the risk, and that does not compromise the mental and physical health of the person, but no longer than 4 hours. The bill would require each local and state juvenile facility to document the usage of solitary confinement, as prescribed. By increasing the duties of local juvenile facilities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2) Existing law establishes a juvenile justice commission in each county, but authorizes the boards of supervisors of 2 or more adjacent counties to agree to establish a regional juvenile justice commission in lieu of a county juvenile justice commission. Existing law specifies the membership of these commissions, including that 2 or more members shall be persons who are 14 to 21 years of age, inclusive, and that a regional juvenile justice commission shall consist of not less than 8 citizens.

Existing law also establishes a probation commission, consisting of not less than 7 members, in lieu of a juvenile justice commission in counties with a population in excess of 6,000,000.

This bill would increase the membership of a regional juvenile justice commission to no less than 10 members and would require a probation commission to include 2 or more members who are 14 to 21 years of age, inclusive. The bill would also require that 2 or more members of a juvenile justice commission, a regional juvenile justice commission, or a probation commission be parents or guardians of previously or currently incarcerated youth, and one member be a licensed psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, or licensed clinical social worker with expertise in adolescent development.

Existing law requires a juvenile justice commission to annually inspect any jail or lockup that, in the preceding calendar year, was used for confinement for more than 24 hours of any minor, and to report the results of the inspection, together with its recommendations based thereon, in writing, to the juvenile court and the Board of State and Community Corrections.

This bill would instead require a juvenile justice commission and a probation commission to inspect any jail, lockup, or facility that, in the preceding calendar year, was used for confinement for more than 24 hours of any person and would require, as a part of that inspection, a review of the records of the jail, lockup, or facility relating to the use of solitary confinement. The bill would require the commission to report the results of the inspection, together with its recommendations based thereon, in writing, to the juvenile court, the Board of State and Community Corrections, and the county board of supervisors. The bill would require the commission to annually present its report at a regularly scheduled public meeting of the county board of supervisors, and to publish the report on the county government’s Internet Web site. The bill also would authorize a commission to publicize its recommendations made to any person charged with administration of the Juvenile Court Law on the county government’s Internet Web site or other publicly accessible medium.

By increasing the duties of local commissions and county boards of supervisors, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3)Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 208.3 is added to the Welfare and
Institutions Code, to read:

208.3.  

(a) For purposes of this section, the following
definitions shall apply:

(1) “Juvenile facility” includes any of the following:

(A) A juvenile hall, as described in Section 850.

(B) A juvenile camp or ranch, as described in Article 24
(commencing with Section 880).

(C) A facility of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities.

(D) A regional youth educational facility, as described in Section
894.

(E) A youth correctional center, as described in Article 9
(commencing with Section 1850) of Chapter 1 of Division 2.5.

(F) Any other local or state facility used for the confinement of
minors or wards.

(2) “Minor” means a person who is any of the following:

(A) A person under 18 years of age.

(B) A person under the maximum age of juvenile court
jurisdiction who is confined in a juvenile facility.

(C) A person under the jurisdiction of the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities.

(3) “Solitary confinement” means the placement of an
incarcerated person in a locked room or cell alone with minimal
or no contact with persons other than guards, correctional facility
staff, and attorneys. Solitary confinement does not include
confinement of a person in a single-person room or cell for brief
periods of locked-room confinement necessary for required
institutional operations, including, but not limited to, shift changes,
showering, and unit movements.

(4) “Ward” means a person who has been declared a ward of
the court pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 602.

(b) A person confined in a juvenile facility who is a danger to
himself, herself, or others as a result of a mental disorder, or who
is gravely disabled, as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 5008,
shall not be subject to solitary confinement, and shall be transported
to, and evaluated at, a designated facility, as defined in subdivision
(n) of Section 5008, pursuant to section 5150 or Section 5585.50.

(c) A person confined in any secure state or local juvenile
facility, and who is not described in subdivision (b), shall be subject
to solitary confinement only if all of the following are true:

(1) The person poses an immediate and substantial risk of harm
to the security of the facility, the person poses an immediate and
substantial risk of harm to others that is not the result of a mental
disorder, or the person poses a risk of harm to himself or herself
that is not a result of a mental disorder.

(2) All other less-restrictive options to address the risk have
been attempted and exhausted.

(3) The performance of solitary confinement is done in
accordance with the following guidelines:

(A) The person may be held in solitary confinement only for
the minimum time required to address the risk, and for a period of
time that does not compromise the mental and physical health of
the minor or ward, but not to exceed four hours. After the person
is held in solitary confinement, the person shall be returned to
regular programming or placed in individualized programming
that does not involve solitary confinement. If it appears during the
time a person is held in solitary confinement that the person is
suffering from a mental disorder, and consultation with a qualified
mental health professional determines that it is appropriate, the
person shall be transported to a mental health facility.

(B) If a person in solitary confinement poses a risk of harm to
himself or herself that is not a result of a mental disorder, the
condition of the person shall be monitored closely by a qualified
mental health professional. If a qualified mental health professional
determines that the person cannot be safely released from solitary
confinement, the person shall be transported to a mental health
facility or hospital for the development and implementation of an
individualized suicide crisis intervention plan.

(C) The use of consecutive periods of solitary confinement shall
be prohibited.

(d) Solitary confinement shall not be used for the purposes of
discipline, punishment, coercion, convenience, or retaliation by
staff.

(e) Each local and state juvenile facility shall document the
usage of solitary confinement, including all of the following:

(1) The name of the person subject to solitary confinement.

(2) The date and time the person was placed in solitary
confinement.

(3) The date and time the person was released from solitary
confinement.

(4) The name and position of person authorizing the placement
of the person in solitary confinement.

(5) The names of staff involved in the incident leading to the
use of solitary confinement.

(6) A description of circumstances leading to use of solitary
confinement.

(7) A description of alternative actions and sanctions attempted
and found unsuccessful.

(8) The dates and times when staff checked in on the person
when he or she was in solitary confinement, and the person’s
behavior during the check.

(f) The records described in subdivision (e), excluding any
identifying information, shall be available for public inspection
pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5
(commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the
Government Code).

(g) This section is not intended to limit the use of single-person
rooms or cells for the housing of persons in juvenile facilities.

(h) This section does not apply to minors or wards in court
holding facilities or adult facilities.

(i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to conflict with
any law providing greater or additional protections to minors or
wards.

SEC. 2.  

Section 225 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:

225.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert In each county there shall be a juvenile justice
commission consisting of not less than 7 and no more than 15
citizens. Two or more of the members shall be persons who are
begin delete between 14 and 21 years of age, provided there are available
persons between 14 and 21 years of age who are able to carry out
the duties of a commission member in a manner satisfactory to the
appointing authority. end delete begin insert 14 to 21 years of age, inclusive. Two or more
of the members shall be parents or guardians of previously or
currently incarcerated youth. One member shall be a licensed
psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, or licensed clinical social
worker with expertise in adolescent development. end insert Each person
serving as a member of a probation committee immediately prior
to September 15, 1961, shall be a member of the juvenile justice
commission and shall continue to serve begin delete as such end delete until begin delete such time as end delete
his or her term of appointment as a member of the probation
committee would have expired under any prior begin delete provision of end delete law.
Upon a vacancy occurring in the membership of the begin delete commission end delete
begin insert commission, end insert and upon the expiration of the term of office of any
member, a successor shall be appointed by the presiding judge of
the superior court with the concurrence of the judge of the juvenile
court or, in a county having more than one judge of the juvenile
court, with the concurrence of the presiding judge of the juvenile
court for a term of four years. begin delete When end delete begin insert If end insert a vacancy occurs for any
reason other than the expiration of a term of office, the appointee
to fill begin delete such end delete begin insert the end insert vacancy shall hold office for the unexpired term of
his or her predecessor.

begin insert (b) end insert begin insert   end insert Appointments may be made by the presiding judge of the
superior court, in the same manner designated in this section for
the filling of vacancies, to increase the membership of a
commission to the maximum of 15 begin insert members end insert in any county begin delete which end delete
begin insert that end insert has a commission with a membership of less than 15 members.

begin insert (c) end insert begin insert   end insert In any county in which the membership of the commission,
on the effective date of amendments to this section enacted at the
1971 Regular Session of the Legislature, exceeds the maximum
number permitted by this section, no additional appointments shall
be made until the number of commissioners is less than the
maximum number permitted by this section. In any case, such
county’s commission membership shall, on or after January 1,
1974, be no greater than the maximum begin insert number end insert permitted by this
section.

SEC. 3.  

Section 226 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:

226.  

In lieu of county juvenile justice commissions, the boards
of supervisors of two or more adjacent counties may agree to
establish a regional juvenile justice commission consisting of not
less than begin delete eight end delete begin insert ten end insert citizens, and having a sufficient number of
members so that their appointment may be equally apportioned
between the participating counties. Two or more of the members
shall be persons who are begin delete between 14 and 21 years of age, provided
there are available persons between 14 and 21 years of age who
are able to carry out the duties of a commission member in a
manner satisfactory to the appointing authority. end delete begin insert 14 to 21 years of
age, inclusive end insert begin insert . Two or more of the members shall be parents or
guardians of previously or currently incarcerated youth. One
member shall be a licensed psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, or
licensed clinical social worker with expertise in adolescent
development. end insert The presiding judge of the superior court with the
concurrence of the judge of the juvenile court or, in a county having
more than one judge of the juvenile court, with the concurrence
of the presiding judge of the juvenile court of each of the
participating counties shall appoint an equal number of members
to the regional justice commission and begin delete they end delete begin insert the members end insert shall hold
office for a term of four years. Of those first appointed, however,
if the number begin insert of members end insert appointed begin delete be end delete begin insert is end insert an even number, begin delete half end delete
begin insert one-half end insert shall serve for a term of two years and begin delete half end delete begin insert one-half end insert shall
serve for a term of four begin delete years and if end delete begin insert years. If end insert the number of
members first appointed begin delete be end delete begin insert is end insert an odd number, the greater number
nearest begin delete half end delete begin insert one-half end insert shall serve for a term of two years and the
remainder shall serve for a term of four years. The respective terms
of the members first appointed shall be determined by lot as soon
as possible after their appointment. Upon a vacancy occurring in
the membership of the begin delete commission end delete begin insert commission, end insert and upon the
expiration of the term of office of any member, a successor shall
be appointed by the presiding judge of the superior court with the
concurrence of the judge of the juvenile court or, in a county having
more than one judge of the juvenile court, with the concurrence
of the presiding judge of the juvenile court of the county begin delete which end delete
begin insert that end insert originally appointed begin delete such end delete begin insert the end insert vacating or retiring member.
begin delete When end delete begin insert If end insert a vacancy occurs for any reason other than the expiration
of a term of office, the appointee shall hold office for the unexpired
term of his or her predecessor.

SEC. 4.  

Section 229 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:

229.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert It shall be the duty of a juvenile justice commission
begin insert or a probation commission end insert to inquire into the administration of
the juvenile court law in the county or region in which the
commission serves. For this purpose the commission shall have
access to all publicly administered institutions authorized or whose
use is authorized by this chapter situated in the county or region,
shall inspect begin delete such institutions no less frequently than end delete begin insert those
institutions at least end insert once a year, and may hold begin insert public end insert hearings. A
judge of the juvenile court begin delete shall have the power to end delete begin insert may end insert issue
subpoenas requiring attendance and testimony of witnesses and
production of papers at hearings of the commission.

begin insert (b) end insert begin insert   end insert A juvenile justice commission begin insert or probation commission end insert
shall annually inspect any begin delete jail or lockup end delete begin insert jail, lockup, or facility end insert
within the county begin delete which end delete begin insert that, end insert in the preceding calendar begin delete year end delete begin insert year, end insert
was used for confinement for more than 24 hours of any begin delete minor. It end delete
begin insert person. As a part of the annual inspection, a juvenile justice
commission or probation commission shall review the records of
the jail, lockup, or facility relating to the use of solitary
confinement, as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of
Section 208.3. The commission end insert shall report the results of begin delete such
inspection end delete begin insert the inspection, end insert together with its recommendations based
thereon, in writing, to the juvenile begin delete court end delete begin insert court, the county board
of supervisors, end insert and to the Board of begin insert State and Community end insert
Corrections. begin insert The report shall be presented annually as part of a
regularly scheduled public meeting of the county board of
supervisors, and may be published on the county government’s
Internet Web site. end insert

SEC. 5.  

Section 230 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:

230.  

A juvenile justice commission begin insert or probation commission end insert
may recommend to any person charged with the administration of
any of the provisions of this chapter begin delete such end delete begin insert those end insert changes begin delete as end delete it has
concluded, after investigation, will be beneficial. A commission
may publicize its begin delete recommendations. end delete begin insert recommendations on the
county government’s Internet Web site or other publicly accessible
medium. end insert

SEC. 6.  

Section 240 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:

240.  

In counties having a population in excess of 6,000,000 in
lieu of a county juvenile justice commission, there shall be a
probation commission consisting of not less than seven members
who shall be appointed by the same authority as that authorized
to appoint the probation officer in that county. begin insert Two or more of the
members shall be 14 to 21 years of age, inclusive. Two or more
of the members shall be parents or guardians of previously or
currently incarcerated youth. One member shall be a licensed
psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, or licensed clinical social
worker with expertise in adolescent development. end insert

SEC. 7.  

The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of
this act, which adds Section 208.3 to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the
meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and
agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the
California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision,
the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the
interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting
that interest:

In order to protect the privacy and medical information of
persons confined in secure state and local juvenile facilities and
held in solitary confinement, it is necessary that identifying
information about those persons be kept confidential.

SEC. 8.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.