HB 2605-S - DIGEST

(DIGEST OF PROPOSED 1ST SUBSTITUTE)

     Requires that, before placing a group home in a community, the department must hold a public hearing on the subject of the placement of the group home in order to allow the community to comment on the issue.

     Requires all group homes to meet at least the following minimum security requirements:  (1) Have an alarm system designed to monitor residents and notify the staff and local police if there has been an escape or if a resident has taken an unauthorized leave of the premises;

     (2) have procedures for monitoring or supervising the residents' transit, in order to prevent or minimize the chance of escape or unauthorized activity during such transit; and

     (3) have doors and windows that are in good condition and have operative locks.

     Directs the division of juvenile rehabilitation to create a program that allows for the immediate retrieval of a juvenile offender's information and records between the department, the group home staff, the local police department, other police departments in Washington state or any other states that have had contact with the juvenile offender, the current and former school districts attended by the resident, any juvenile courts that have had contact with the resident, and any correctional facilities that have had custody of the resident.

     Provides for an information sharing program to allow all interested parties to have full access to the resident's arrest and conviction information in order to determine if the resident meets the criteria for admission to a group home, or if the resident's record indicates that he or she should be placed in a more secure facility in order to safeguard the community.