Provides that a child shall not be placed with the office of children and family services at the conclusion of a dispositional hearing unless the court finds that discharge would not be appropriate

6 Co-sponsors

• Eric Adams
• Thomas K. Duane
• Ruth Hassell-Thompson
• Liz Krueger
• Kevin S. Parker
• John L. Sampson

BILL NUMBER:S66

Title of bill

An act to amend the family court act, in relation to orders of disposition

Purpose of bill

To prevent the inappropriate placement of children in juvenile justice facilities.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 amends the Family Court Act to require that a youth for whom conditional discharge or probation is not appropriate to be placed in an alternative to placement program unless placement is necessary to protect the community, such placement is in the child's best interests, and no appropriate alternative to placement program are available.

Section 2 makes a corresponding change in the Family Court Act.

Section 3 contains the effective date.

Existing law

The Family Court Act currently requires family court judges to consider "the best interests of the respondent as well as the need for protection of the community" when deciding a disposition in a delinquency case. The law further directs, except for designated felony cases, "the court shall order the least restrictive available alternative...which is consistent with the needs and best interests of the respondent and the need for protection of the community." This bill clarifies that it is not in a youth's best interest or in the best interest of the public for a youth to be placed in a juvenile justice facility unless such placement is necessary to protect the community and there are no adequate means to rehabilitate the youth within their community.

Prior legislative history

Passed Senate 6/22/10; delivered to Assembly; referred to and died in Judiciary Committee.

Statement in support

This bill is in response to the Governor's Task Force on Transforming Juvenile Justice recommendation to reduce the state's reliance on institutional placements for youth who pose no significant risk to public safety.

Over 53% of the youth who were placed in institutional facilities in 2007 were admitted for low level adjudications. The Task Force reports that many of these youth were placed because judges believed that the youth's community lacked necessary mental health and substance abuse resources. This punishes children for circumstances that are beyond their control. Moreover, an investigation released by the federal Department of Justice in August of 2009 revealed that these youth do not receive the mental health and substance abuse treatment that they need in these facilities, and that indeed the problems which youth suffer from become more severe when they are

uprooted from their communities and placed in these stressful environments.

If enacted, this bill would require that judges place youth within their community, unless there are not adequate services available to avert placement, or placement is needed to protect the community. It is time New York reserved placement in juvenile justice institutions for those youth who pose a risk to public safety.

Budget implications

This legislation, if enacted, would significantly reduce juvenile justice placements. Each OCFS placement costs more than two hundred thousand dollars, for which the State reimburses the local government for fifty percent of the cost. Even a modest reduction in placements would save the State and local governments millions of dollars.

Effective date

60 days after enactment.