BILL REQ. #:  H-0659.1 

Read first time 01/20/2003.   Referred to Committee on Juvenile Justice & Family Law.

     AN ACT Relating to the placement of juveniles under the age of eighteen who have been convicted as adults; and amending RCW 72.01.410.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 72.01.410 and 2002 c 171 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) Whenever any child under the age of eighteen is convicted in the courts of this state of a crime amounting to a felony, and is committed for a term of confinement in a correctional institution wherein adults are confined, the secretary of corrections, after making an independent assessment and evaluation of the child and determining that the needs and correctional goals for the child could better be met by the programs and housing environment provided by the juvenile correctional institution, with the consent of the secretary of social and health services, may transfer such child to a juvenile correctional institution, or to such other institution as is now, or may hereafter be authorized by law to receive such child, until such time as the child arrives at the age of twenty-one years, whereupon the child shall be returned to the institution of original commitment. Retention within a juvenile detention facility or return to an adult correctional facility shall regularly be reviewed by the secretary of corrections and the secretary of social and health services with a determination made based on the level of maturity and sophistication of the individual, the behavior and progress while within the juvenile detention facility, security needs, and the program/treatment alternatives which would best prepare the individual for a successful return to the community. Notice of such transfers shall be given to the clerk of the committing court and the parents, guardian, or next of kin of such child, if known.
     (b) An offender under the age of eighteen who has been convicted in adult criminal court and committed to a term of confinement at the department of corrections must be evaluated by the secretary of corrections upon the offender's initial intake and classification to determine if the offender is eligible to be transferred to a juvenile facility under this section. The secretary of corrections shall consult with the secretary of the department of social and health services when making the evaluation.
     (c) The secretary of corrections and the secretary of the department of social and health services shall jointly develop screening criteria for the transfer of offenders under this section.
     (2)(a) Except as provided in (b) and (c) of this subsection, an offender under the age of eighteen who is convicted in adult criminal court and who is committed to a term of confinement at the department of corrections must be placed in a housing unit, or a portion of a housing unit, that is separated from offenders eighteen years of age or older, until the offender reaches the age of eighteen.
     (b) An offender who reaches eighteen years of age may remain in a housing unit for offenders under the age of eighteen if the secretary of corrections determines that: (i) The offender's needs and the correctional goals for the offender could continue to be better met by the programs and housing environment that is separate from offenders eighteen years of age and older; and (ii) the programs or housing environment for offenders under the age of eighteen will not be substantially affected by the continued placement of the offender in that environment. The offender may remain placed in a housing unit for offenders under the age of eighteen until such time as the secretary of corrections determines that the offender's needs and correctional goals are no longer better met in that environment but in no case past the offender's twenty-first birthday.
     (c) An offender under the age of eighteen may be housed in an intensive management unit or administrative segregation unit containing offenders eighteen years of age or older if it is necessary for the safety or security of the offender or staff. In these cases, the offender shall be kept physically separate from other offenders at all times.