BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 124 (Leno) - Juveniles: solitary confinement
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|Version: April 21, 2015 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 5 - 2 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: May 28, 2015 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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SUSPENSE FILE. AS AMENDED.
Bill
Summary: SB 124 would establish standards and protocols for the
use of solitary confinement in state and local juvenile
facilities and other secure state or local facilities for the
confinement of minors or wards, as specified, and make various
changes to the composition and duties of juvenile justice
commissions and probation commissions.
Fiscal Impact (as approved May 28,
2015):
Annual costs to the CDCR Division of Juvenile Facilities (DJF)
of less than $2 million (General Fund) annually for increased
staffing, data collection, and training on new regulations.
The provisions of this bill would apply to the DJF population
of approximately 700 youth.
Ongoing likely state-reimbursable local costs potentially in
the low millions of dollars (General Fund) statewide for over
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100 local juvenile facilities with an average daily population
of approximately 7,600 youth, to meet the operational and
documentation mandates of this bill.
Minor annual local costs to effectuate the changes to juvenile
justice commission membership. Ongoing costs of about $30,000
(General Fund) to the BSCC for revised and extended training
provided to juvenile justice commission members.
Potentially significant annual state-reimbursable costs
(General Fund) for local juvenile justice commissions to
expand the list of annual inspections of jails and lockup
facilities to include any facility within the county used for
confinement for more than 24 hours of a minor.
Background: Existing law provides generally that the purpose of the
juvenile court law "is to provide for the protection and safety
of the public and each minor under the jurisdiction of the
juvenile court and to preserve and strengthen the minor's family
ties whenever possible, removing the minor from the custody of
his or her parents only when necessary for his or her welfare or
for the safety and protection of the public. If removal of a
minor is determined by the juvenile court to be necessary,
reunification of the minor with his or her family shall be a
primary objective. If the minor is removed from his or her own
family, it is the purpose of this chapter to secure for the
minor custody, care, and discipline as nearly as possible
equivalent to that which should have been given by his or her
parents . . . ` . . . Minors under the jurisdiction of the
juvenile court who are in need of protective services shall
receive care, treatment, and guidance consistent with their best
interest and the best interest of the public. Minors under the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court as a consequence of
delinquent conduct shall, in conformity with the interests of
public safety and protection, receive care, treatment, and
guidance that is consistent with their best interest, that holds
them accountable for their behavior, and that is appropriate for
their circumstances ... (Welfare and Institutions Code § 202.)
Existing law requires the Board of State and Community
Corrections (BSCC) to "adopt minimum standards for the operation
and maintenance of juvenile halls for the confinement of
minors." The BSCC is required to "adopt and prescribe the
minimum standards of construction, operation, programs of
education and training, and qualifications of personnel for
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juvenile ranches, camps, or forestry camps . . . ." (WIC § 210.)
Existing law provides that in each county there shall be a
juvenile justice commission consisting of not less than seven
and no more than 15 citizens, as specified. Current law requires
that two or more of the members be persons who are 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." (WIC § 225.)
Proposed Law:
This bill would enact new statutory provisions regulating the
use of "solitary confinement" in state and local juvenile
facilities, as follows:
Defines "solitary confinement" to mean "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."
Defines "juvenile facility" as including a juvenile hall, a
juvenile camp or ranch, a facility of the CDCR DJF, a regional
youth educational facility, a youth correctional center, and
any other local or state facility used for the confinement of
minors or wards. Also defines "minor" and "ward," as
specified.
Provides that solitary confinement shall not be used for the
purposes of discipline, punishment, coercion, convenience, or
retaliation by staff.
Provides that a person may be held in solitary confinement if
the person poses an immediate and substantial risk of harm to
others or self that is not the result of a mental disorder, or
if the person poses an immediate and substantial risk of harm
to the security of the facility.
Provides that "a person confined in any juvenile facility who
is a danger to himself, herself, or others as a result of a
mental disorder, or who is gravely disabled, as specified,
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shall not be subject to solitary confinement and shall be
transported to, and evaluated at, a designated mental health
treatment facility, as specified.
Provides that "solitary confinement" be done in accordance
with the following guidelines only after all other
less-restrictive options to address the risk have been
attempted and exhausted:
o 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. If it appears during the time a person is held
in solitary confinement that the person is suffering from
a mental disorder, the juvenile facility shall consult
with a qualified mental health professional to determine
whether the person suffers from a mental disorder. If the
person suffers from a mental disorder that may warrant
higher level of care than can be provided at the facility,
the juvenile facility shall transport the person to a
mental health facility.
o 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 custody staff of the juvenile
facility.
Requires each local and state juvenile facility to document
the usage of solitary confinement, including specified
information for each case.
Requires the documentation records to be available without
identifying information to public disclosure, as specified.
Provides that the provisions of the section of the bill are
not to apply to minors or wards in court holding facilities or
adult facilities.
Requires that two or more of the members of the county and
regional juvenile justice commissions, shall be persons who
are 14 to 21 years of age, inclusive; two or more of the
members to 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.
Increases the regional juvenile justice commission to no less
than ten, instead of eight, members.
Extends the duties of juvenile justice commissions to
probation commissions, as specified.
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Expands requirements for annual inspections from jails and
lockups to include any facility within the county that was
used for confinement for more than 24 hours of any person
(existing law is restricted to minors).
Expands duties of the commissions to review records of jails,
lockups, and facilities relating to the use of solitary
confinement.
Expands written reporting distribution to include the county
board of supervisors and BSCC.
Related
Legislation: SB 970 (Yee) 2014 would have established standards
and protocols for the use of solitary confinement in state and
local juvenile facilities, as specified, and would have made
some changes to the composition and duties of local juvenile
justice commissions. This bill was re-referred to the Senate
Rules Committee without further action.
SB 61 (Yee) 2013 was substantially similar to SB 970. This bill
was referred to the inactive file on the Assembly Floor.
SB 1363 (Yee) 2012 was substantially similar to SB 970. This
bill failed passage in the Senate Committee on Public Safety.
Staff
Comments: The CDCR has indicated estimated costs at a minimum
of $2.5 million annually for staffing, data collection, and
training to implement the provisions of this bill that would be
applied to the DJF population of less than 700 youth. The CDCR
has also indicated the DJF could incur potential future costs of
an unknown amount in such areas as increased injuries to youth,
potential increased lengths of stay, increased injuries to
staff/workers compensation claims, increased administrative
resources for investigations, disciplinary processes, and report
writing, increased litigation, increased use of force incidents,
additional referrals to outside mental health hospitals, and
extended oversight by the Farrell court and Special Master.
Based on information from the BSCC juvenile detention population
survey (2nd quarter, 2014), the average daily population is
approximately 7,600 youth in juvenile halls, camps, and other
facilities. It is estimated there are about 120 juvenile
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facilities located in 49 of the 58 counties across the state. To
the extent county facilities incur additional workload and costs
to meet the standards in the bill, notably the transportation,
evaluation, and documentation requirements, costs to these
facilities could be substantial, potentially in the millions of
dollars statewide. Additionally, imposing these standards and
documentation requirements on local facilities could create a
state-reimbursable mandate.
It is estimated the costs to effectuate the changes in
membership to local juvenile justice commissions would be minor.
However, is estimated that local juvenile justice commissions
could potentially incur significant ongoing costs, potentially
state-reimbursable, to expand the list of annual inspections of
jails and lockup facilities to include any facility within the
county used for confinement of a person (instead of minor) for
more than 24 hours. Additional state-mandated costs to expand
its review to records of solitary confinement newly required
under the bill's provisions, as well as increased reporting
requirements to the county board of supervisors, could also be
incurred.
This bill extends the duties of juvenile justice commissions to
local probation commissions. To the extent probation commissions
reduce the existing and new workload of juvenile justice
commissions would serve to reduce in part the level of
state-reimbursable costs to juvenile justice commissions noted
above. To the extent the increase in probation commission
workload qualifies as a reimbursable state mandate, local
probation commissions could submit claims for reimbursement of
those costs.
To the extent the establishment of standards and protocols for
the use of solitary confinement results in more limited use of
youth isolation could lead to improved outcomes for youth,
including a reduction in the adverse long-term mental health
outcomes for youth subjected to such isolation.
Author amendments (as adopted May 28, 2015):
Narrow the definition of 'solitary confinement' to mean
the placement of an incarcerated person in a locked sleep
room or cell, as specified.
Remove the requirement for transportation to, and
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evaluation at, a designated mental health facility of
specified persons.
Prohibit the use of solitary confinement for consecutive
periods in excess of four hours.
Clarify reporting requirements.
Delete the additional membership of parents of currently
incarcerated youth as members of juvenile justice
commissions.
Revert to existing law the juvenile justice commission
mandate to inspect facilities that are used for confinement
for more than 24 hours of a minor.
Remove the mandate on local probation commissions.
Make other technical changes.
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