BILL REQ. #:  S-1942.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/28/05.   

     AN ACT Relating to studying juvenile offender case filings; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   Statistical data available from the administrative office of the courts suggests that juvenile offender case filings in King county have dropped at a faster rate than juvenile offender case filings in other counties in the state. In order to better inform the legislature in developing public policy to assist in the reduction of all juvenile offender case filings throughout the state, the legislature finds that it is important to study the factors contributing to the differences in the filing rates.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) The joint legislative audit and review committee shall study the rates of juvenile offender case filings in counties across the state and focus on factors that may contribute to the difference in filing rates. The study shall contemplate data compiled over the past ten years in at least the following areas:
     (a) Referrals to the juvenile justice system;
     (b) Arrest rates;
     (c) Incarceration rates;
     (d) Differences in risk assessment tools used over time and across geographical areas;
     (e) Rates at which moderate and high-risk juvenile offenders are receiving delivery of programs which meet the Washington state institute for public policy's effectiveness standards for juvenile accountability programs, such as aggression replacement therapy, functional family therapy, and multisystemic therapy;
     (f) Recidivism rates;
     (g) Implementation of local laws focusing on juvenile offenders;
     (h) Funding levels and sources of funding for programs directed at juvenile offenders;
     (i) Demographic factors;
     (j) Changes in the handling of cases involving juvenile offenders after implementation of the Becca bills; and
     (k) The effects of the establishment of juvenile drug courts and treatment courts.
     (2) The joint legislative audit and review committee shall report its findings and recommendations to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2005.
     (3) This section expires January 1, 2006.