BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 1143 (Leno) - Juveniles: room confinement
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|Version: March 29, 2016 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 7 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: May 2, 2016 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 1143 would establish statutory guidelines and
restrictions, to become operative on January 1, 2018, for
confining a minor or ward in a juvenile facility in a locked
sleeping room or cell with minimal or no contact with persons
other than correctional facility staff and attorneys, as
specified.
Fiscal
Impact:
CDCR DJJ : Annual costs to the CDCR Division of Juvenile
Justice (DJJ) of approximately $650,000 (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.
Local juvenile facilities : Potentially significant ongoing
local costs, potentially state-reimbursable (General Fund)
potentially in the low millions of dollars (General Fund)
SB 1143 (Leno) Page 1 of
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statewide for over 100 local juvenile facilities with an
average daily population of approximately 7,600 youth, to meet
the operational and documentation mandates of this bill.
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 (WIC) § 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
juvenile ranches, camps, or forestry camps . . . ." (WIC § 210.)
Proposed Law:
This bill would enact new statutory provisions to be operative
on January 1, 2018, regulating the use of "room confinement" of
minors or wards in state and local juvenile facilities, as
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follows:
Defines "room confinement" to mean "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."
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, a juvenile regional facility, and any other local
or state facility used for the confinement of minors or
wards. Also defines "minor" and "ward," as specified.
Provides that room confinement shall be accomplished in
accordance with the following guidelines:
o Shall not be used before all other
less-restrictive options have been attempted and
exhausted.
o Shall not be used for the purposes of
punishment, coercion, convenience, or retaliation by
staff.
o Shall not be used to the extent that it
compromises the mental and physical health of the
minor or ward.
Provides that a minor or ward may be held up to four
hours in room confinement. After four hours, staff would be
required to do one or more of the following:
o Return the minor or ward to general
population.
o Consult with mental health or medical staff.
o Develop an individualized plan that includes
the goals and objectives to be met in order to
reintegrate the minor or ward to general population.
If room confinement must be extended beyond four hours,
staff would be required to do the following:
o Document the reason for room confinement and
the basis for the extension, the date and time the
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minor or ward was first placed in room confinement,
and when he or she is eventually released from room
confinement.
o Develop an individualized plan that includes
the goals and objectives to be met in order to
reintegrate the minor or ward to general population.
o Obtain written authorization by the facility
superintendent or the Director of Juvenile Justice or
his or her designee every four hours thereafter.
Provides that the provisions of the bill do not apply to
minors or wards in court holding facilities or adult
facilities.
Provides that the provisions of the bill 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.
Provides that nothing in the bill's provisions are to be
construed to conflict with any law providing greater or
additional protections to minors or wards.
Related
Legislation: SB 124 (Leno) 2015 would have established
standards and protocols for the use of solitary confinement in
state and local juvenile facilities, as specified. SB 124 was
held on the Suspense File of the Assembly Committee on
Appropriations.
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 of $650,000
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annually for staffing, training, and data collection to
implement the provisions of this bill that would be applied to
the DJJ population of approximately 700 youth.
Because the DJJ does not currently track the use of "room
confinement", this bill would require new reporting mechanisms
that would be required upon an individual being separated from
the general population. To collect, track, and prepare the data
that would be monitored for trends and interventions strategies,
as well as for oversight and reporting, the DJJ has indicated
the need for additional staffing.
Based on information from the BSCC juvenile detention population
survey (1st quarter, 2015), the average daily population is
approximately 6,700 youth in juvenile halls, camps, and other
facilities. It is estimated there are about 120 juvenile
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, which would potentially
include additional staff, training, as well as data collection
and reporting requirements, costs to these facilities could be
substantial when taken collectively, potentially in the millions
of dollars statewide. Additionally, imposing these standards and
documentation requirements on local facilities could create a
state-reimbursable mandate.
To the extent the establishment of standards and protocols for
the use of room confinement of minors and wards 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.
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