BILL REQ. #:  S-1220.2 

Read first time 02/03/2005.   Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to the community commitment disposition alternative pilot program; amending RCW 13.40.169; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 13.40.169 and 2003 c 378 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     Any charter county with a population of not more than seventy thousand shall establish a pilot program to implement the community commitment disposition alternative contained in this section. The pilot ((project)) program shall be limited to ((five)) ten beds. Any county or group of cooperating counties may establish a program to implement the community commitment disposition alternative under this section. Any program shall be limited to ten beds. If a county does not have a program but is a member of a group of cooperating counties that has established a program to implement the community commitment disposition alternative under this section, a court in that county may impose a community commitment disposition alternative as provided in this section.
     (1) When the offender is subject to a standard range commitment of 15 to 36 weeks and is ineligible for a suspended disposition alternative, a manifest injustice disposition below the standard range, special sex offender disposition alternative, chemical dependency disposition alternative, or mental health disposition alternative, the court in a county with a pilot program under this section may impose a community commitment disposition alternative and:
     (a) Retain juvenile court jurisdiction over the youth;
     (b) Confine the youth in a county detention facility, or another alternative to secure detention as defined in subsection (4) of this section, for a period of time not to exceed ((thirty days)) the length of the original disposition; and
     (c) Impose a term of postrelease community supervision for up to one year.
     If the youth receives a standard range disposition, the court shall set the release date within the standard range. The court shall determine the release date ((prior to expiration of sixty percent of the juvenile's minimum term of confinement)) at the time of the disposition. The initial release date shall not exceed thirty days in secure detention after disposition.
     (2) The court may impose this community commitment disposition alternative if the court finds the following:
     (a) Placement in a local detention facility in close proximity to the youth's family or local support systems will facilitate a smoother reintegration to the youth's family and community;
     (b) Placement in the local detention facility will allow the youth to benefit from locally provided family intervention programs and other research-based treatment programs, school, employment, and drug and alcohol or mental health counseling; or
     (c) Confinement in a facility operated by the department would result in a negative disruption to local services, school, or employment or impede or delay developing those services and support systems in the community.
     (3) The court shall consider the youth's offense, prior criminal history, security classification, risk level, and treatment needs and history when determining whether the youth is appropriate for the community commitment disposition alternative. If the court finds that a community commitment disposition alternative is appropriate, the court shall order the youth into secure detention while the details of the reintegration program are developed.
     (4) Upon approval of the treatment and community reintegration plan, the court may order the youth to serve the term of confinement in one or more of the following placements or combination of placements: Secure detention, an alternative to secure detention such as electronic home monitoring, county group care, day or evening reporting, or home detention. The court may order the youth to serve time in detention on weekends or intermittently. The court shall set periodic reviews to review the youth's progress in the program. At least ((fifty percent)) thirty days of the term of confinement shall be served in secure detention.
     (5) If the youth violates the conditions of the community commitment program, the court may impose sanctions under RCW 13.40.200 or modify the terms of the reintegration plan and order the youth to serve all or a portion of the remaining confinement term in secure detention or another alternative to secure detention as defined in subsection (4) of this section. A maximum of fifty percent of the original disposition may be served in a secure detention facility.
     (6) A county may enter into interlocal agreements with other counties to develop joint community commitment programs or to allow one county to send a youth appropriate for this alternative to another county that has a community commitment program.
     (7) Implementation of this alternative is subject to available state funding for the costs of the community commitment program, including costs of detention and community supervision, treatment programs, and administration.
     (8) Each county or group of cooperating counties establishing a program to implement the community commitment disposition alternative under this act shall provide an interim report on a program to the Washington association of juvenile court administrators by November 1, 2006, and a final report by May 1, 2007. Each report shall include, but is not limited to, the number of offenders eligible for the program, the number of offenders sentenced to the program, evaluation and treatment costs for each participant, administrative costs, costs of detention, supervision, and other related costs, and whether an offender has reoffended after participation in the program. The Washington association of juvenile court administrators shall submit an interim report on each of the ((pilot)) programs established in this section to the legislature and appropriate committees by December 31, ((2004)) 2006, and submit a final report to the legislature and the appropriate committees by June 30, ((2005)) 2007.
     ((This section expires July 1, 2005.))

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect July 1, 2005.