BILL WATCH
Bill Watch is a service of the Knoxville Bar Association Legislative Committee. During each week of the legislative session, the KBA will distribute an updated report, through the support of Stephanie D. Coleman of Owings, Wilson & Coleman. The report will indicate progress and recent actions taken on the bills of interest to KBA members.
You can also get information about the General Assembly, including the text of bills and floor and committee calendars, by accessing the legislative web site at www.capitol.tn.gov.
Juvenile Records – Recommendation is to allow confidential juvenile records to be shared among juvenile court judges across the state. Currently, juvenile records such as programs and services received, adjudications, and what has been successful and unsuccessful do not follow juveniles to different jurisdictions across the state. In addition, each court has its own system which makes it very difficult to combine data. SB610 is a first step towards data sharing.
Escapes Charges –Recommendation is to increase penalties for juveniles in youth development centers who try to escape. SB611 would allow juvenile escapees to be charged as an adult and moved to a Tennessee Department of Corrections facility. Under the bill, the juvenile would only be charged as an adult for the crime of escaping.
“Incorrigible” designation – SB608 proposes to lower the age eligible for an incorrigible designation from 18 to 17 years old. This would allow superintendents at Wilder and other youth development centers to transfer extremely uncooperative and violent 17-year-olds to Department of Corrections facilities.
Employee training and compensation – SB617 would require the Department of Children’s Services to expand training for youth services officers on best practices for behavior management and conflict resolution when supervising juveniles with severe behavioral issues. Additionally, the bill requires the department to make chaplain services available on a regular basis.
Juvenile Justice Review Commission – SB609 would create a Juvenile Justice Review Commission under DCS and the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth (TCCY). The commission would regularly review juvenile justice cases and provide an annual report with recommendations to the General Assembly. It would be modeled after the Second Look Commission which reviews severe child abuse cases.
Juvenile step-down pilot program – In order to incentivize good behavior among juveniles, SB607 is being proposed to establish a pilot program with DCS on compliance programming. It would provide ways for juveniles to step down from secure facilities into a homelike setting with more freedom.
Mental health services – SB616 requires the department to provide juveniles who are in the department's custody and housed in a juvenile detention facility approved, certified, or licensed by the department, including youth development centers, with 24-hour access, seven days a week, to psychological and behavioral health services.