BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Mark Leno, Chair S
2009-2010 Regular Session C
R
4
0
SCR 40 (Yee)
As Introduced April 29, 2009
Hearing date: June 23, 2009
Uncodified
AA:mc
JUVENILE JUSTICE
HISTORY
Source: National Center for Substance Abuse at Columbia
University
Prior Legislation: None
Support: California Public Defenders Association
Opposition:None known
KEY ISSUE
SHOULD THE LEGISLATURE, IN A SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION,
acknowledge the role that substance abuse plays in the lives of
juvenile offenders, set forth the rights of all juveniles in the
juvenile justice system, AND urge each facility in the state that
houses wards or is responsible for the oversight of wards to adopt
these rights into the regulations and common practices of the
facility?
PURPOSE
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The purpose of this Senate Concurrent Resolution is to
acknowledge the role that substance abuse plays in the lives of
juvenile offenders, set forth the rights of all juveniles in the
juvenile justice system, and urge each facility in the state
that houses wards or is responsible for the oversight of wards
to adopt these rights into the regulations and common practices
of the facility.
This Senate Concurrent Resolution sets forth the following
statements concerning substance abuse, education and the
juvenile justice system:
According to the National Center on Addiction and
Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, substance
abuse plays a role in the lives of up to 80 percent of
juveniles in juvenile justice systems across the United
States, as specified;<1>
Although 44 percent of juveniles arrested nationally
meet clinical criteria for a substance abuse disorder
requiring medical treatment, only 3.6 percent receive any
form of substance abuse treatment;
Up to 75 percent of all incarcerated juveniles
nationally have some diagnosable mental health disorder,
yet mental health services remain scarce;
Incarcerated juveniles have an increased need for basic
and special education, but they are left behind in the
current system. The education provided should be age
appropriate and developmentally appropriate, and the
curricula and conditions developed by the state should be
comparable to what children in public schools experience,
including credentialed teachers and adequate facilities;
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<1> Specifically: "18.2 percent are under the influence of
alcohol or drugs while committing their offenses, 53.9 percent
test positive for drugs at the time of arrest, 12.1 percent are
arrested for committing an alcohol or drug offense, 62.5 percent
report having substance abuse problems, and many exhibit some
combination of these characteristics . . . ."
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Juveniles who drink and use drugs are more likely to be
arrested multiple times, with each conviction raising the
likelihood of transfer to adult court and eventual adult
felony conviction. Juveniles whose cases are transferred
to criminal court also recidivate faster and with more
serious offenses than those retained in the juvenile court;
At least 30 percent of adults in prison for felony
crimes nationally were incarcerated as juveniles;
If treatment options are successful in only 12 percent
of cases nationally, reducing the population of adult
prisoners with juvenile records by the same amount would
create annual savings of eighteen billion dollars as well
as reducing overall crime;
Rather than spend more than two hundred fifty thousand
dollars annually in California to incarcerate a juvenile
offender as was projected for the 2008-09 year, in
appropriate cases, California could rehabilitate juveniles
who come before the juvenile court through diversion to
treatment programs and other appropriate services for a
much lower public cost;
With comprehensive screening, the needs of juveniles can
be identified and appropriate care provided while
maintaining the safety of the community; and
With appropriate care, juvenile recidivism rates will
drop and more youth can become productive, healthy, and
law-abiding members of society.
This Senate Concurrent Resolution would resolve the following:
That the California Legislature hereby recognizes that
all juveniles in the juvenile justice system (hereafter the
system) should have the following rights:
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? Right to Rehabilitation: In the handling of
each juvenile case, the state should use its best
efforts to rehabilitate the juvenile, in furtherance
of which, a comprehensive assessment should be made of
each juvenile's substance use, medical and mental
health, education, and family issues that may be
linked to the delinquency.
? Right to Treatment: All juveniles in the
system should have effective, evidence-based treatment
services for substance abuse problems and disorders as
well as health issues, including medical, mental, and
dental issues, based on a comprehensive assessment of
their needs, and provided by trained professionals.
? Right to Education: All juveniles in the
system should have a public education, including
special education when needed, that meets criteria as
established by the State Department of Education.
? Right to Family and Social Services: All
juveniles in the system should have services to
improve family and social functioning.
? Right to Least Restrictive Alternatives: All
juveniles in the system should be entitled to the
least restrictive means appropriate to their
individual cases throughout their contact with the
system.
? Right to Reintegration: All juveniles in the
system should be provided with appropriate aftercare
to support successful reentry into the community that
incorporates a continuity of care from placement
through release.
? Right to Nondiscrimination: All juveniles in
the system have the right to have all determinations
in their cases made without regard to religion, race,
national origin, ethnicity, gender, or sexual
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orientation.
? Right to Safety and Security: All juveniles
in the system have the right to be housed in safe,
dedicated juvenile facilities, to be kept free from
any form of abuse, including protection from
disproportionate means and the use of force.
? Right to Counsel: All juveniles in the system
have the right to free, competent counsel at all
stages of proceedings.
? Right to Protection from Self-Incrimination:
All juveniles in the system have the right to
appropriate safeguards against self-incrimination,
including the vesting in the juvenile of a privilege
for any statement by the juvenile given in furtherance
of treatment or assessment for treatment.
? Right to Evidence-Based Practice: The state
should track and evaluate the effectiveness of
treatment and assessments over time to ensure that the
means employed are scientifically supported and
improved. m
? Right to Speedy Review: All juveniles in the
system have the right to have their cases processed
fairly and quickly;
That none of the foregoing rights shall abridge or
abrogate any other recognized rights, entitlements, or
privileges enjoyed by those in whom these rights are
vested; and be it further
That each facility in California housing wards of the
juvenile court, or responsible for the oversight of wards,
is urged to adopt these rights into the regulations and
common practices of the facility; and be it further
That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
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resolution regarding juvenile justice rights and
rehabilitation to the Chief Deputy Secretary for the
Division of Juvenile Facilities, to each facility in the
state housing wards of the juvenile court, or responsible
for the oversight of wards, and to the author for
appropriate distribution.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION IMPLICATIONS
California continues to face a severe prison overcrowding
crisis. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
currently has about 170,000 inmates under its jurisdiction. Due
to a lack of traditional housing space available, the department
houses roughly 15,000 inmates in gyms and dayrooms.
California's prison population has increased by 125 percent (an
average of 4 percent annually) over the past 20 years, growing
from 76,000 inmates to 171,000 inmates, far outpacing the
state's population growth rate for the age cohort with the
highest risk of incarceration.<2>
In December of 2006 plaintiffs in two federal lawsuits against
CDCR sought a court-ordered limit on the prison population
pursuant to the federal Prison Litigation Reform Act. On
February 9, 2009, the three-judge federal court panel issued a
tentative ruling that included the following conclusions with
respect to overcrowding:
No party contests that California's prisons are
overcrowded, however measured, and whether considered
in comparison to prisons in other states or jails
within this state. There are simply too many
prisoners for the existing capacity. The Governor,
the principal defendant, declared a state of emergency
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<2> "Between 1987 and 2007, California's population of ages 15
through 44-the age cohort with the highest risk for
incarceration-grew by an average of less than 1 percent
annually, which is a pace much slower than the growth in prison
admissions." (2009-2010 Budget Analysis Series, Judicial and
Criminal Justice, Legislative Analyst's Office (January 30,
2009).)
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in 2006 because of the "severe overcrowding" in
California's prisons, which has caused "substantial
risk to the health and safety of the men and women who
work inside these prisons and the inmates housed in
them." . . . A state appellate court upheld the
Governor's proclamation, holding that the evidence
supported the existence of conditions of "extreme
peril to the safety of persons and property."
(citation omitted) The Governor's declaration of the
state of emergency remains in effect to this day.
. . . the evidence is compelling that there is no
relief other than a prisoner release order that will
remedy the unconstitutional prison conditions.
. . .
Although the evidence may be less than perfectly
clear, it appears to the Court that in order to
alleviate the constitutional violations California's
inmate population must be reduced to at most 120% to
145% of design capacity, with some institutions or
clinical programs at or below 100%. We caution the
parties, however, that these are not firm figures and
that the Court reserves the right - until its final
ruling - to determine that a higher or lower figure is
appropriate in general or in particular types of
facilities.
. . .
Under the PLRA, any prisoner release order that we
issue will be narrowly drawn, extend no further than
necessary to correct the violation of constitutional
rights, and be the least intrusive means necessary to
correct the violation of those rights. For this
reason, it is our present intention to adopt an order
requiring the State to develop a plan to reduce the
prison population to 120% or 145% of the prison's
design capacity (or somewhere in between) within a
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period of two or three years.<3>
The final outcome of the panel's tentative decision, as well as
any appeal that may be in response to the panel's final
decision, is unknown at the time of this writing.
This SCR does not appear to aggravate the prison overcrowding
crisis outlined above.
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<3> Three Judge Court Tentative Ruling, Coleman v.
Schwarzenegger, Plata v. Schwarzenegger, in the United States
District Courts for the Eastern District of California and the
Northern District of California United States District Court
Composed of three judges pursuant to Section 2284, Title 28
United States Code (Feb. 9, 2009).
COMMENTS
1. Stated Need for This SCR
The author states:
Up to 80% of arrested juveniles are involved with
alcohol and/or drug abuse. Without intervention and
treatment, these juveniles are at a high risk for
future crimes.
By the time children reach the juvenile justice
system, virtually every prevention and support
system-family, neighborhoods, schools, health care-has
failed. Juvenile offenders are likely to have been
neglected and abused by parents; many have grown up in
impoverished and dangerous neighborhoods; schools,
teachers and administrators have been unable to engage
them; they have either slipped through the cracks in
our nation's health system or providers have failed to
diagnose and treat their problems; and they are likely
to be hanging out with other troubled peers and lack
spiritual grounding.
At least 30% of adults in prison for felony crimes
nationally were incarcerated as juveniles. California
is missing a profound opportunity to rehabilitate
children and prevent future crimes. Research shows
that a high percentage of juvenile offenders could
instead become productive citizens, responsible
parents and taxpaying, law-abiding members of society
if they could only receive the help they so
desperately need.
SCR 40 urges that instead of spending more than
$250,000 annually in California to incarcerate each
juvenile offender, in appropriate cases, California
should rehabilitate court-involved juveniles in need
through diversion to treatment programs and other
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appropriate services for a much lower public cost.
Based on extensive research, this resolution urges the
California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, the Division of Juvenile Justice, and
county facilities to join other states in adopting the
guidelines set forth in this "Children's Bill of
Rights."
2. Recent Related Legislation
SB 518 (Migden), Ch. 649, Statutes of 2007, contained the
following uncodified legislative findings:
(a) Youth confined in a facility of the Department of
Corrections and
Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities, are
harmed by discrimination
based on actual or perceived race, ethnic group
identification, ancestry,
national origin, color, religion, sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity,
mental or physical disability, and HIV status.
(b) Youth are committed to the Department of
Corrections and
Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities in
order to provide them an
opportunity for rehabilitation. These rehabilitation
opportunities shall include
the provision of educational, therapeutic, and other
necessary services to
ensure that these youth can become successful and
productive members of
their communities.
(c) All youth confined in the Division of Juvenile
Facilities have the
constitutional right to a safe and secure environment.
(d) The Division of Juvenile Facilities is committed
to treating all people
with dignity, respect, and consideration and
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demonstrating behavior which
is fair, honest, and ethical.
(e) There is a need to inform youth confined in the
Division of Juvenile
Facilities about their rights.
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