BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1447
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Date of Hearing: June 15, 2010
Counsel: Nicole J. Hanson
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
SB 1447 (Padilla) - As Introduced: February 19, 2010
SUMMARY : Provides that in accordance with the federal Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2002 (JJDPA) (42
U.S.C. Sec. 5601, et seq.), the Corrections Standards Authority
(CSA) shall inspect and collect relevant data from any facility
that may be used for the secure detention of minors.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes within the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) the CSA. (Penal Code Section 6024.)
2)Holds the CSA responsible for establishing minimum standards
for state and local correctional facilities. (Penal Code
Section 6030.)
3)Requires the CSA to inspect each local detention facility in
the state biennially. (Penal Code Section 6031.)
4)Mandates the CSA to adopt minimum standards for the operation
and maintenance of juvenile halls for the confinement of
minors. [Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 210.]
5)Asks the CSA to develop guidelines for the operation and
maintenance of nonsecure placement facilities for persons
alleged or found to be persons coming within the terms of
delinquent minors. (WIC Section 210.1.)
6)Requests the CSA to adopt regulations establishing standards
for law enforcement facilities which contain lockups for
adults and which are used for the temporary, secure detention
of minors upon arrest. (WIC Section 210.2.)
7)Demands the CSA to conduct a biennial inspection of each jail,
juvenile hall, lockup, or special purpose juvenile hall
situated in this state that, during the preceding calendar
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year, was used for confinement, for more than 24 hours, of any
minor. [WIC Section 209(a).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author of this bill, "SB
1447 would grant the CSA the statutory authority to conduct
inspections and collect data from facilities that may be used
to house minors, in accordance with the federal JJDPA. The
JJDPA provides grants to participating states to combat
juvenile delinquency. The act requires the State's designated
state agency, which is CSA for California, to inspect these
facilities ensuring they meet certain criteria, such as
adequate sight and sound separation between juveniles and
adult males. The act also requires annual reporting of CSA's
inspections. The JJDPA requires the CSA to inspect all
facilities that may house juveniles. Currently, the CSA does
not have authority to enter all of these facilities. CSA is
required under the JJDPA to inspect these facilities in order
to remain in compliance with the Act and continue to receive
federal Title II Formula Grants for juvenile justice and
delinquency prevention."
2)Origin of this Bill : The CSA monitors California's compliance
with the core requirements of the federal JJDPA. (See Pub. L.
No. 93-415 (1974), 42 U.S.C. 5601.) This bill authorizes the
CSA to inspect and collect relevant data relating to any
facility that has the potential to hold juveniles in secure
detention. This change is proposed by the administration in
response to recommendations made during a field audit (July 28
to 31, 2008) of California's compliance monitoring system by
the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
(OJJDP).
3)History of the JJDPA : The JJDPA was originally enacted in
1974, and most recently revised in 2002, to provide state and
local agencies with support to prevent juvenile delinquency
and establish a juvenile justice system with the best
interests of the juvenile as a priority. The JJDPA requires
that states comply with the following four core protections in
order to receive formula grants, which target juvenile
delinquency and prevention: deinstitutionalization of status
offenders, separation of juveniles from adults in
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institutions, removal of juveniles from adult jails and
lockups, and reduction of disproportionate minority contact.
One of the goals of the JJDPA was to eliminate both
inappropriate placement and exposure of juveniles to adult
offenders while under the jurisdiction of the juvenile justice
system.
4)California JJDP Compliance : California is committed to
ensuring the welfare of all juveniles involved in the juvenile
justice system. The following summary from a CSA document<1>
provides information concerning California's commitment to
ensure the welfare of all juveniles involved in the juvenile
justice system:
The CSA, among its various duties, is statutorily mandated to
establish regulations for local detention facilities and local
juvenile detention facilities, and to biennially inspect these
facilities for compliance with these regulations. The CSA is
also responsible for monitoring compliance with three of the
four core protections of the JJDPA. The CSA monitors
compliance with the JJDPA in conjunction with its biennial
inspection cycle and through data collection and verification.
The CSA annually reports its compliance monitoring findings
to OJJDP.
The CSA queries each local adult and juvenile detention facility
on an annual basis to determine their status and to verify
whether or not minors and/or status offenders and nonoffenders
will be held. Facilities are required to respond to such
query by February of each year. Based upon these responses,
the CSA compiles its monitoring universe for the year.
California Code of Regulations, Title 15, Minimum Standards for
Local Detention Facilities and Title 15, Minimum Standards for
Juvenile Facilities, defines these types of facilities to be
queried based upon their potential to hold minors. These
facilities are also monitored for compliance with JJDPA
regulations and state law.
---------------------------
<1>Compliance Monitoring Manual, CSA (Dec. 2006)
.
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5)Argument in Support : According to the California Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation (the sponsor of this bill),
"Under JJDPA, in order to receive federal funds, state are
required to maintain compliance with the Federal JJDPA's
monitoring requirements. The JJDPA requires the Designated
State Agency (DSA) - for California, the DSA is the CSA - to
inspect and monitor all detention facilities that fall into
the compliance monitoring universe that may house juveniles.
This includes facilities that do not currently fall under the
CSA's statutory authority, such as police department that use
only cuffing fixtures for secure detention and police
department that have a lockup (jail), but were built prior to
1978. This proposal is in response to a July 2008 Compliance
Monitoring Audit Report conducted by the federal OJJDP.
"The CSA is already monitoring these facilities for compliance
with the federal JJDPA, although there is no current statutory
authority. However, if CSA is unable to inspect such
facilities, OJJDP may find CSA noncompliant with requirements
for an adequate compliance monitoring system and this finding
could negatively affect California's Title II federal formula
grants for juvenile justice and delinquency prevention. This
bill would create the statutory authority for CSA to conduct
inspections as required under the JJDPA and would ensure that
California law is in accord with the federal statute and
guidelines."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(Sponsor)
California State Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention
Chief of Police, Watsonville Police Department
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Nicole J. Hanson / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
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