ASSEMBLY, No. 157

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblymen BUCCO and GREGG

An Act concerning juveniles, amending P.L.1982, c.77 and repealing section 17 of P.L.1982, c.77 (C.2A:4A-36).

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. Section 18 of P.L.1982, c.77 (C.2A:4A-37) is amended to read as follows:

    18. Place of detention or shelter. a. The State Department of Corrections shall specify the place where a juvenile may be detained; and the Department of Human Services shall specify where a juvenile may be placed in shelter.

    b. No juvenile shall be placed in detention or shelter care in any place other than that specified by the State Department of Corrections or Department of Human Services as provided in subsection a.

    c. [A] (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a juvenile being held for a charge under this act or for a violation of or contempt in connection with a violation of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes, chapter 7 of Title 12 of the Revised Statutes or N.J.S.2C:33-13, including a juvenile who has reached the age of 18 years after being charged, shall not be placed in any prison, jail or lockup nor detained in any police station, except that if no other facility is reasonably available a juvenile may be held in a police station in a place other than one designed for the detention of prisoners and apart from any adult charged with or convicted of crime for a brief period if such holding is necessary to allow release to his parent, guardian, other suitable person, or approved facility. No juvenile shall be placed in a detention facility which has reached its maximum population capacity, as designated by the Department of Corrections.

    (2) A juvenile charged with delinquency who has been waived to another court pursuant to the provisions of section 7 of P.L.1982, c.77 (C.2A:4A-26) shall be placed in any prison, jail or lockup separate and apart from any adult charged with or convicted of a crime.

    d. [No] Except as provided in paragraph (2) of subsection c. of this section, no juvenile charged with delinquency shall be transferred to an adult county jail solely by reason of having reached age 18.

    e. (1) The Department of Corrections and the Department of Human Services shall promulgate such rules and regulations from time to time as deemed necessary to establish minimum physical facility and program standards for juvenile detention facilities or shelters under their respective supervision.

    (2) The Department of Corrections and the Department of Human Services, in consultation with the appropriate county administrator of the county facility or shelter, shall assign a maximum population capacity for each juvenile detention facility or shelter based on minimum standards for these facilities.

    f. (1) Where either the Department of Corrections or the Department of Human Services determines that a juvenile detention facility or shelter under its control or authority is regularly over the maximum population capacity or is in willful and continuous disregard of the minimum standards for these facilities or shelters, the department may restrict new admissions to the facility or shelter.

    (2) Upon making such determination, the department shall notify the governing body of the appropriate county of its decision to impose such a restriction, which notification shall include a written statement specifying the reasons therefor and corrections to be made. If the department shall determine that no appropriate action has been initiated by the administrator of the facility or shelter within 60 days following such notification to correct the violations specified in the notification, it shall order that such juvenile detention facility or shelter shall immediately cease to admit juveniles. The county shall be entitled to a hearing where such a restriction is imposed by the department.

    (3) Any juvenile detention facility or shelter so restricted shall continue under such order until such time as the department determines that the violation specified in the notice has been corrected or that the facility or shelter has initiated actions which will ensure the correction of said violations.

    (4) Upon the issuance of an order to cease admissions to a juvenile detention facility or shelter, the department shall determine whether other juvenile detention facilities or shelters have adequate room for admitting juveniles and shall assign the juveniles to the facilities or shelters on the basis of available space; provided that the department shall not assign the juvenile to a facility or shelter where such facility or shelter is at the maximum population. A juvenile detention facility or shelter ordered to accept a juvenile shall do so within five days following the receipt of an order to accept admission of such juvenile.

    (5) A juvenile detention facility or shelter restricted by an order to cease admissions shall assume responsibility for the transportation of a juvenile sent to another juvenile detention facility or shelter so long as the order shall remain in effect.

    (6) A facility or shelter receiving juveniles pursuant to paragraph (4) of this subsection shall receive from the sending county a reasonable and appropriate per diem allowance for each juvenile sent to the facility, such allowance to be used for the custody, care, maintenance, and any other services normally provided by the county to juveniles in the facility or shelter and which reflects all county expenditures in maintaining such juvenile, including a proportionate share of all buildings and grounds costs, personnel costs, including fringe benefits, administrative costs and all other direct and indirect costs.

    (7) The governing body of a county whose juvenile detention facility or shelter has been prohibited from accepting new admissions, and whose juveniles have been assigned to other juvenile detention facilities or shelters, shall appropriate an amount to pay the county receiving such juveniles for all expenses incurred pursuant to paragraph (6) of this subsection.

(cf: P.L.1989, c.125, s.2)

    2. Section 17 of P.L. 1982 (C.2A:4A-36) is repealed.

    3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    Currently juveniles being held for any charge of delinquency, including juveniles who are 18 years old, are being detained in juvenile detention facilities while they are await trial. However, under the provisions of N.J.S.2A:4A-36, the court may place a juvenile in an adult detention facility after a hearing on the matter.

    This bill would require the court to place all juveniles who have been waived to adult court in any prison, jail or lockup provided that the juveniles are kept separate and apart from any adult inmate.

Requires juveniles waived to adult court to be placed in adult incarceration facilities, separate from adult inmates.