BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
                             Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:    SB 1143       Hearing Date:    April 19, 2016    
          
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          |Author:    |Leno                                                 |
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          |Version:   |March 29, 2016                                       |
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          |Urgency:   |No                     |Fiscal:    |Yes              |
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          |Consultant:|AA                                                   |
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                       Subject:  Juveniles:  Room Confinement



          HISTORY
          
          Source:   Chief Probation Officers of California
                    Ella Baker Center for Human Rights

          Prior Legislation:SB 124 (Leno) - 2015 held in Assembly  
          Appropriations
                         SB 970 (Yee) (2014) - died in the Senate 
                         SB 61 (Yee) (2013) - died in the Assembly 
                         SB 1363 (Yee) (2012) - failed passage, Senate  
                    Public Safety
                                        
          Support:  American Civil Liberties Union of California; Alliance  
                    for Boys and Men of Color; American Friends Service  
                    Committee; California Attorneys for Criminal Justice;  
                    California Catholic Conference; California Prison  
                    Focus; Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice;  
                    Children Now; Children's Defense Fund - California;  
                    Children's Law and Policy; Community Works;  
                    Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice;  
                    Courage Campaign;  Equality California; First  
                    Congregational Church of Palo Alto; GSA Network of  
                    California; Immigrant Legal Resource Center; Jewish  
                    Community High School; Justice Not Jails; Law  
                    Foundation of Silicon Valley; Legal Services for  








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                    Prisoners with Children; National Center for Youth  
                    Law; National Juvenile Justice Network; National  
                    Religious Campaign Against Torture; Pacific Juvenile  
                    Defender Center; Resource Development Associates;  
                    T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights; Santa  
                    Cruz-Statewide Coordinated Actions To End Solitary  
                    Confinement ; Women's Foundation of California; W.  
                    Haywood Burns Institute; Youth Law Center; several  
                    individuals

          Opposition:None known

                                                


          PURPOSE

          The purpose of this bill is to establish statutory guidelines  
          and limits for confining a minor or ward in a juvenile facility  
          in a locked sleeping room or cell with minimal or no contact  
          with people other than staff and attorneys, as specified. 

          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  









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          their circumstances . . . (Welfare and Institutions Code ("WIC")  
          § 202.)

          Existing law provides that minors under the age of 18 years may  
          be adjudged to be a ward of the court for violating "any law of  
          this state or of the United States or any ordinance of any city  
          or county of this state defining crime," as specified. (WIC §  
          602.)

          Existing law generally provides that when a minor is adjudged a  
          ward of the court on the ground that he or she is delinquent,  
          the court may make any and all reasonable orders for the care,  
          supervision, custody, conduct, maintenance, and support of the  
          minor, including medical treatment, subject to further order of  
          the court, as specified. (WIC § 727(a).)

          Existing law authorizes the court to place a ward of the court  
          in a juvenile hall, ranch, camp, forestry camp, secure juvenile  
          home, or the Division of Juvenile Facilities, as specified.  
          (WIC§ 726.)

          Confinement of Detained Minors

          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." (WIC § 210.)

          Existing law requires the BSCC to "adopt and prescribe the  
          minimum standards of construction, operation, programs of  
          education and training, and qualifications of personnel for  
          juvenile ranches, camps, or forestry camps . . ." (WIC § 885.)

          This Bill: Proposed Statute Establishing Conditions for "Room  
          Confinement" for Minors in Juvenile Facilities 

          This bill would enact a new statute regulating the conditions  
          for "room confinement" for minors in juvenile facilities, with  
          the following requirements and definitions:

          Delayed Operational Date

          This bill provides that its provisions shall become operative on  
          January 1, 2018.









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          Definitions and Application

          This bill would apply the following definitions to its  
          provisions:

                 "Juvenile facility" includes any of the following:

             1)   A juvenile hall, as specified.

             2)   A juvenile camp or ranch, as specified.

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

             4)   A regional youth educational facility, as specified.

             5)   A youth correctional center, as specified. 

             6)   A juvenile regional facility as specified. 

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

                 "Minor" means a person who is any of the following:

             1)   A person under 18 years of age.

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

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

                 "'Room confinement' means the placement of a minor or  
               ward in a locked sleeping room or cell with minimal or no  
               contact with persons other than correctional facility staff  
               and attorneys.  Room confinement does not include  
               confinement of a minor or ward in a single-person room or  
               cell for brief periods of locked room confinement necessary  
               for required institutional operations."

                 "Ward" means a person who has been declared a ward of  









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               the court pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 602.

          Guidelines, Limits and Requirements for Placing and Retaining a  
          Minor/Ward in "Room Confinement"

          This bill would require that the placement of a minor or ward in  
          room confinement be accomplished in accordance with the  
          following guidelines:

             1)   Room confinement shall not be used before all other  
               less-restrictive options have been attempted and exhausted.

             2)   Room confinement shall not be used for the purposes of  
               punishment, coercion, convenience, or retaliation by staff.

             3)   Room confinement shall not be used to the extent that it  
               compromises the mental and physical health of the minor or  
               ward.

          This bill would allow a minor to be held up to four hours in  
          room confinement. 

          This bill would require that after the minor or ward has been  
          held in room confinement for a period of four hours, staff shall  
          do one or more of the following:

             1)   Return the minor or ward to general population.

             2)   Consult with mental health or medical staff.

             3)   Develop an individualized plan that includes the goals  
               and objectives to be met in order to reintegrate the minor  
               or ward to general population.

          This bill would require that if room confinement must be  
          extended beyond four hours, staff shall do the following:

             1)   Document the reason for room confinement and the basis  
               for the extension, the date and time the minor or ward was  
               first placed in room confinement, and when he or she is  
               eventually released from room confinement.

             2)   Develop an individualized plan that includes the goals  
               and objectives to be met in order to reintegrate the minor  









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               or ward to general population.

             3)   Obtain written authorization by the facility  
               superintendent or the Director of Juvenile Justice or his  
               or her designee every four hours thereafter.

          Limitations

          This bill states that these provisions are "not intended to  
          limit the use of single-person rooms or cells for the housing of  
          minors or wards in juvenile facilities and does not apply to  
          normal sleeping hours."

          This bill states that its provisions do "not apply to minors or  
          wards in court holding facilities or adult facilities."

          This bill states that nothing in its provisions "shall be  
          construed to conflict with any law providing greater or  
          additional protections to minors or wards."

                    RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION

          For the past several years this Committee has scrutinized  
          legislation referred to its jurisdiction for any potential  
          impact on prison overcrowding.  Mindful of the United States  
          Supreme Court ruling and federal court orders relating to the  
          state's ability to provide a constitutional level of health care  
          to its inmate population and the related issue of prison  
          overcrowding, this Committee has applied its "ROCA" policy as a  
          content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that  
          the Legislature does not erode progress in reducing prison  
          overcrowding.   

          On February 10, 2014, the federal court ordered California to  
          reduce its in-state adult institution population to 137.5% of  
          design capacity by February 28, 2016, as follows:   

              143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;

              141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and,

              137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016. 

          In December of 2015 the administration reported that as "of  









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          December 9, 2015, 112,510 inmates were housed in the State's 34  
          adult institutions, which amounts to 136.0% of design bed  
          capacity, and 5,264 inmates were housed in out-of-state  
          facilities.  The current population is 1,212 inmates below the  
          final court-ordered population benchmark of 137.5% of design bed  
          capacity, and has been under that benchmark since February  
          2015."  (Defendants' December 2015 Status Report in Response to  
          February 10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge  
          Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).)  One  
          year ago, 115,826 inmates were housed in the State's 34 adult  
          institutions, which amounted to 140.0% of design bed capacity,  
          and 8,864 inmates were housed in out-of-state facilities.   
          (Defendants' December 2014 Status Report in Response to February  
          10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge Court, Coleman  
          v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).)  

          While significant gains have been made in reducing the prison  
          population, the state must stabilize these advances and  
          demonstrate to the federal court that California has in place  
          the "durable solution" to prison overcrowding "consistently  
          demanded" by the court.  (Opinion Re: Order Granting in Part and  
          Denying in Part Defendants' Request For Extension of December  
          31, 2013 Deadline, NO. 2:90-cv-0520 LKK DAD (PC), 3-Judge Court,  
          Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (2-10-14).  The Committee's  
          consideration of bills that may impact the prison population  
          therefore will be informed by the following questions:

              Whether a proposal erodes a measure which has contributed  
               to reducing the prison population;

              Whether a proposal addresses a major area of public safety  
               or criminal activity for which there is no other  
               reasonable, appropriate remedy;

              Whether a proposal addresses a crime which is directly  
               dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there  
               is no other reasonably appropriate sanction; 

              Whether a proposal corrects a constitutional problem or  
               legislative drafting error; and

              Whether a proposal proposes penalties which are  
               proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other  
               reasonably appropriate remedy.









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          COMMENTS

          1.Stated Need for This Bill

          The author states:

               This bill seeks to limit the use of room confinement  
               in California's juvenile facilities by providing a  
               standard definition and specific guidelines around its  
               use.  The bill requires juvenile facilities to attempt  
               and exhaust less restrictive options before using room  
               confinement.  Room confinement cannot be used to the  
               extent it compromises the mental or physical health of  
               the youth and it cannot be used for the purposes of  
               punishment, retaliation, coercion or convenience by  
               staff.  Room confinement lasting beyond four hours  
               requires a sign off by the facility superintendent and  
               every four hours thereafter, documentation, and an  
               individualized plan to reintegrate the youth back into  
               general population. 

               Long-term isolation has not been shown to have any  
               rehabilitative or treatment value, and the United  
               Nations has called upon all member countries to ban  
               its use completely on minors.  It is a practice that  
               endangers mental health and increases risk of suicide,  
               and is often used as a method to control a  
               correctional environment, and not for any  
               rehabilitative purpose.   It does not properly address  
               disciplinary issues and more often, it increases these  
               behaviors in youth, especially those with mental  
               health conditions.   In 1999, the Office of Juvenile  
               Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) released a  
               study of juvenile facilities across the country which  
               found that 50% of youth who committed suicide were in  
               isolation at the time of their suicide.   Further, 62%  
               of the suicide victims had a history of isolation.  In  
               a report released by the California Department of  
               Corrections and Rehabilitation in 2012, prisoners who  
               had spent time in isolation in the Security Housing  
               Units had a higher rate of recidivism than those who  









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               had not.   This bill recognizes the importance of  
               keeping youth in the classroom, in counseling, in  
               programs, and other pro-social activities-all of which  
               will lead to reductions in recidivism. 

               Title 15 regulations do not provide specific  
               guidelines around the use of room confinement,  
               oftentimes used interchangeably with terms like  
               "separation."  Title 15 charges facility  
               administrators to develop written policies and  
               procedures regarding the use of separation, but does  
               not provide additional guidance or limitations except  
               that "separated youth shall not be denied normal  
               privileges at the facility, except when necessary to  
               accomplish the objectives of separation."    Current  
               regulations and statutes do not prevent isolation that  
               can last 21 hours or more each day.

               The use of long-term isolation is clearly documented  
               in both state and local juvenile facilities.  Despite  
               a longstanding consent decree in effect since 2004, an  
               internal CDCR audit found continuing abuses in the  
               Division of Juvenile Facilities as late as 2011,  
               including youth locked up in their cells for more than  
               23 hours a day.   Additionally, in a recent 2014  
               report released by Barry Krisberg of the Warren  
               Institute at UC Berkeley, youth in the most  
               restrictive current program at DJJ known as the  
               "Behavior Treatment Program," were required to receive  
               only 3 hours outside of their cell, and were typically  
               there for approximately 60 days.   Despite some  
               improvements in state conditions since the 2011 audit,  
               the consent decree has since been lifted earlier this  
               year, and it is critical that statutory definitions  
               and parameters on the use of room confinement that is  
               consistent for all juvenile facilities be established  
               going forward.  At the local level, there are even  
               fewer guidelines and limitations.  A federal  
               class-action lawsuit filed against Contra Costa's  
               juvenile hall for youth with disabilities who were  
               placed in long term isolation and denied education as  
               a punishment was recently settled by the county, and  
               the conditions of the settlement are nearly identical  
               to SB 1143, clearly demonstrating that the parameters  









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               established in the bill can be implemented at the  
               county level.  There simply must be a statewide  
               standard defining room confinement, and limiting its  
               duration so that youth are in the classroom and other  
               rehabilitative programming.  This bill will lead to  
               better rehabilitative outcomes for youth, a safer  
               correctional environment for staff and youth, and the  
               avoidance of costly lawsuits.

          2.What This Bill Would Do

          As explained in detail above, this bill would establish  
          statutory guidelines and limits for confining a minor or  
          ward in a juvenile facility in a locked sleeping room or  
          cell with minimal or no contact with people other than  
          staff and attorneys.  The bill specifies that this kind of  
          confinement shall be used only as a last resort, and not be  
          used for punishment, coercion, convenience or retaliation  
          by staff, or if it compromises the mental and physical  
          health of the minor or ward.  The bill requires specified  
          measures where a minor or ward has been confined for four  
          hours, and where continuing room confinement beyond four  
          hours is necessary.

          The bill's provisions would not become operational until  
          January 1, 2018.

          

          3.Background
          
          Confining minors in detention facilities to locked rooms or  
          cells is an issue this Committee has considered on several  
          occasions in the past, including on measures carried by the  
          author of this bill.   Many commentators have written about the  
          adverse effects of "solitary confinement" on both minors and  
          adults in custodial facilities.  For example, last year a law  
          review article stated in part:

               Although there is limited research on the effects of  
               isolation on incarcerated youth, the existing studies  
               have found that it is correlated with high rates of  
               suicide as well as with post-traumatic stress disorder  
               ("PTSD"), depression, and future criminal activity.  .  









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               . .  Of course, its harmful impact on adult prisoners  
               has been well established in the scholarly literature.  
               . . .  

                

               . . .  When considering the impact of isolation on  
               incarcerated youth, it is critical to keep in mind  
               that this cohort is already psychologically  
               compromised when compared to the general teenage  
               population. Rates of mental health disorders are  
               higher among these adolescents, with studies finding  
               that up to seventy percent of incarcerated adolescents  
               satisfy the criteria for one mental health disorder  
               and many of them suffer from multiple disorders.  In  
               turn, certain groups of people with mental illness,  
               including males and those of lower socioeconomic  
               status, are at increased risk of abusing drugs such as  
               marijuana, opiates, cocaine and other stimulants, and  
               alcohol.  In addition, both drug abuse and mental  
               illness often begin "in adolescence or even childhood,  
               periods when the brain is undergoing dramatic  
               developmental changes." In fact, early exposure to  
               abused substances "can change the brain in ways that  
               increase the risk of mental illness, just as early  
               symptoms of mental illness can increase one's  
               vulnerability to drug abuse."  As a result, the  
               psychological harm caused by the solitary confinement  
               of young people in juvenile and criminal justice  
               settings can exacerbate preexisting mental illness and  
               increase the likelihood of subsequent drug abuse.  . .  
               . 

               . . .  In the case of child prisoners, one of the few  
               existing studies is a 2012 report by Human Rights  
                                                                              Watch based on interviews and correspondence with 127  
               individuals detained in U.S. jails or prisons while  
               under the age of eighteen; it concluded that solitary  
               confinement "can cause serious physical harm to  
               youth." . . .   
                
               . . .  Young people in solitary confinement experience  
               a wide range of social and developmental harms as a  
               result of being isolated in penal settings. As with  









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               increased rates of mental illness, young people often  
               enter the juvenile justice system with a prior history  
               of trauma and victimization, with research showing  
               that up to forty-two percent of juvenile  
               justice-involved youth also report involvement with  
               child protective services as victims of abuse and  
               neglect.  In addition, disproportionate numbers of  
               youth in juvenile detention and correctional  
               facilities have special needs, with one recent federal  
               study showing thirty percent have learning  
               disabilities and forty-five percent have attention  
               deficit problems. Thus, for these children with  
               preexisting disabilities or histories of trauma, the  
               developmental harm of solitary confinement can be  
               significantly exacerbated, as isolation itself can be  
               re-traumatizing. 

               Further, children in isolation are denied contact with  
               their families as well as access to education,  
               vocational training, and other forms of  
               rehabilitation, including drug and alcohol treatment.   
               Recent empirical data on incarcerated youth have  
               demonstrated that visits from family members correlate  
               with improved behavior and school performance.    
               Providing adolescents with opportunities for skill  
               acquisition (gained through educational, vocational,  
               or other training) is necessary for the development of  
               "mastery," just as nurturing by caring adults and  
               opportunities for self-expression are crucial for the  
               development of "identity" (developing a stable  
               definition of themselves and their outlook on life -  
               both of which are critical stages of adolescent  
               psychosocial development).   For children in  
               isolation, the denial of these basic needs - access to  
               family, education, and treatment - decreases the  
               likelihood that they will be able to successfully  
               reintegrate into the community upon their release from  
               detention.<1>  

          4.  Current Regulations


          ---------------------------
          <1>   Birckhead, Children In Isolation: The Solitary Confinement  
          Of Youth (Spring 2015) 50 Wake Forest L. Rev. 1 (citations  
          omitted).








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          As noted above, current statute requires the BSCC to promulgate  
          regulations establishing minimum standards in juvenile halls.   
          Current regulations pertaining to the segregation of confined  
          minors provide:

               The facility administrator shall develop written  
               policies and procedures concerning the need to  
               segregate minors.  Minors who are segregated shall not  
               be denied normal privileges available at the facility,  
               except when necessary to accomplish the objectives of  
               segregation.  Written procedures shall be developed  
               which provide a review of all minors to determine  
               whether it is appropriate for them to remain in  
               segregation and for direct visual observation.  When  
               segregation is for the purpose of discipline, Title  
               15, Section 1390 shall apply.<2>

          Current regulations further provide:

               The facility administrator shall develop written  
               policies and procedures for the discipline of minors  
               that shall promote acceptable behavior.  Discipline  
               shall be imposed at the least restrictive level which  
               promotes the desired behavior.  Discipline shall not  
               include corporal punishment, group punishment,  
               physical or psychological degradation or deprivation  
               of the following:
                         
               (a) bed and bedding;
               (b) daily shower, access to drinking fountain, toilet  
          and personal hygiene items, 
                 and clean clothing;    
               (c) full nutrition;
               (d) contact with parent or attorney;
               (e) exercise;
               (f) medical services and counseling;
               (g) religious services;
               (h) clean and sanitary living conditions;
               (i) the right to send and receive mail; and,
               (j) education.

               The facility administrator shall establish rules of  
               conduct and disciplinary penalties to guide the  



               ----------------------
          <2>   15 CCR § 1354.








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               conduct of minors.  Such rules and penalties shall  
               include both major violations and minor violations, be  
               stated simply and affirmatively, and be made available  
               to all minors.  Provision shall be made to provide the  
               information to minors who are impaired, illiterate or  
               do not speak English.<3>

           

                                      -- END -





          






























          ---------------------------
          <3>   15 CCR 1390.