Assembly Bill No. 174–Assemblyman Nolan

 

CHAPTER..........

 

AN ACT relating to juvenile courts; authorizing a juvenile court to establish a program of visitation to the office of the county coroner; authorizing a juvenile court to order a child who is adjudicated delinquent to participate in such a program of visitation; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

   Section 1. Chapter 62 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a

 new section to read as follows:

   1.  A juvenile court may establish a program of visitation to the office

 of the county coroner in cooperation with the coroner of the county

 pursuant to this section.

   2.  Before a child may participate in a program of visitation, the

 parent, guardian or custodian of the child must provide to the juvenile

 court on a form provided by the juvenile court:

   (a) Written consent for the child to participate in the program of

 visitation; and

   (b) An executed release of liability for any act or omission, not

 amounting to gross negligence or willful misconduct of the juvenile

 court, the county coroner, or any other person administering or

 conducting a program of visitation, that causes personal injury or illness

 of the child during the period in which the child participates in the

 program of visitation.

   3.  A program of visitation must include, without limitation:

   (a) A visit to the office of the county coroner at times and under

 circumstances determined by the county coroner.

   (b) A course to instruct the child concerning:

     (1) The consequences of his actions; and

     (2) An awareness of his own mortality.

   (c) An opportunity for each participant in a program of visitation to

 evaluate each component of the program.

   4.  The juvenile court may order the child, or the parent or guardian

 of the child, to pay a fee of not more than $45 based on the ability of the

 child or his parent or guardian to pay for the costs associated with the

 participation of the child in the program of visitation.

   5.  If a juvenile court establishes a program of visitation pursuant to

 this section, the juvenile court shall, on or before January 15 of each

 odd-numbered year, submit to the director of the legislative counsel

 bureau for transmittal to the legislature a report regarding the effect of

 the program on the incidence of juvenile crime and the rate of

 recidivism.

   Sec. 2.  NRS 62.211 is hereby amended to read as follows:

   62.211  1.  Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, if the court

 finds that a child is within the purview of this chapter, it shall so decree

 and may:

   (a) Place the child under supervision in his own home or in the custody

 of a suitable person elsewhere, upon such conditions as the court may

 determine. A program of supervision in the home may include electronic


surveillance of the child. The legislature declares that a program of

supervision that includes electronic surveillance is intended as an

 alternative to commitment and not as an alternative to probation, informal

 supervision or a supervision and consent decree.

   (b) Commit the child to the custody of a public or private institution or

 agency authorized to care for children, or place him in a home with a

 family. In committing a child to a private institution or agency the court

 shall select one that is required to be licensed by the department of human

 resources to care for such children, or, if the institution or agency is in

 another state, by the analogous department of that state. The court shall

 not commit a female child to a private institution without prior approval of

 the superintendent of the Caliente youth center, and shall not commit a

 male child to a private institution without prior approval of the

 superintendent of the Nevada youth training center.

   (c) Order such medical, psychiatric, psychological or other care and

 treatment as the court deems to be for the best interests of the child, except

 as otherwise provided in this section.

   (d) Order the parent, guardian, custodian or any other person to refrain

 from continuing the conduct which, in the opinion of the court, has caused

 or tended to cause the child to come within or remain under the provisions

 of this chapter.

   (e) If the child is less than 18 years of age, order:

     (1) The parent, guardian or custodian of the child; and

     (2) Any brother, sister or other person who is living in the same

 household as the child over whom the court has jurisdiction,

to attend or participate in counseling, with or without the child, including,

 but not limited to, counseling regarding parenting skills, alcohol or

 substance abuse, or techniques of dispute resolution.

   (f) Order the parent or guardian of the child to participate in a program

 designed to provide restitution to the victim of an act committed by the

 child or to perform public service.

   (g) Order the parent or guardian of the child to pay all or part of the cost

 of the proceedings, including, but not limited to, reasonable attorney’s

 fees, any costs incurred by the court and any costs incurred in the

 investigation of an act committed by the child and the taking into custody

 of the child.

   (h) Order the suspension of the child’s driver’s license for at least 90

 days but not more than 2 years. If the child does not possess a driver’s

 license, the court may prohibit the child from receiving a driver’s license

 for at least 90 days but not more than 2 years:

     (1) Immediately following the date of the order, if the child is eligible

 to receive a driver’s license.

     (2) After the date he becomes eligible to apply for a driver’s license,

 if the child is not eligible to receive a license on the date of the order.

If the court issues an order suspending the driver’s license of a child

 pursuant to this paragraph, the judge shall require the child to surrender to

 the court all driver’s licenses then held by the child. The court shall, within

 5 days after issuing the order, forward to the department of motor vehicles

 and public safety the licenses, together with a copy of the order. If,

 pursuant to this paragraph, the court issues an order delaying the ability of

 a child to receive a driver’s license, the court shall, within 5 days after


issuing the order, forward to the department of motor vehicles and public

safety a copy of the order. The department of motor vehicles and public

 safety shall report a suspension pursuant to this paragraph to an insurance

 company or its agent inquiring about the child’s driving record, but such a

 suspension must not be considered for the purpose of rating or

 underwriting. The department of motor vehicles and public safety shall not

 require the child to submit to the tests and other requirements which are

 adopted by regulation pursuant to subsection 1 of NRS 483.495 as a

 condition of reinstatement or reissuance after a suspension of his license

 pursuant to this paragraph, unless the suspension resulted from his poor

 performance as a driver.

   (i) Place the child, when he is not in school, under the supervision of:

     (1) A public organization to work on public projects;

     (2) A public agency to work on projects to eradicate graffiti; or

     (3) A private nonprofit organization to perform other public

service.

The person under whose supervision the child is placed shall keep the child

 busy and well supervised and shall make such reports to the court as it

 may require. As a condition of such a placement, the court may require the

 child or his parent or guardian to deposit with the court a reasonable sum

 of money to pay for the cost of policies of insurance against liability for

 personal injury and damage to property or for industrial insurance, or both,

 during those periods in which he performs the work, unless, in the case of

 industrial insurance, it is provided by the organization or agency for which

 he performs the work.

   (j) Permit the child to reside in a residence without the immediate

 supervision of an adult, or exempt the child from mandatory attendance at

 school so that the child may be employed full time, or both, if the child is

 at least 16 years of age, has demonstrated the capacity to benefit from this

 placement or exemption and is under the strict supervision of the juvenile

 division.

   (k) Require the child to provide restitution to the victim of the crime

 which the child has committed.

   (l) Impose a fine on the child. If a fine is imposed, the court shall

 impose an administrative assessment pursuant to NRS 62.2175.

   (m) If the child has not previously been found to be within the purview

 of this chapter and if the act for which the child is found to be within the

 purview of this chapter did not involve the use or threatened use of force

 or violence, order the child to participate in a publicly or privately

 operated program of sports or physical fitness that is adequately

 supervised or a publicly or privately operated program for the arts that is

 adequately supervised. A program for the arts may include, but is not

 limited to, drawing, painting, photography or other visual arts, musical,

 dance or theatrical performance, writing or any other structured activity

 that involves creative or artistic expression. If the court orders the child to

 participate in a program of sports or physical fitness or a program for the

 arts, the court may order any or all of the following, in the following order

 of priority if practicable:

     (1) The parent or guardian of the child, to the extent of his financial

 ability, to pay the costs associated with the participation of the child in the


program, including, but not limited to, a reasonable sum of money to pay

for the cost of policies of insurance against liability for personal injury and

 damage to property during those periods in which the child participates in

 the program;

     (2) The child to work on projects or perform public service pursuant

 to paragraph (i) for a period that reflects the costs associated with the

 participation of the child in the program; or

     (3) The county in which the petition alleging the child to be

 delinquent or in need of supervision is filed to pay the costs associated

 with the participation of the child in the program.

   (n) Order the child to participate in a program of visitation to the

 office of the county coroner pursuant to section 1 of this act. In

 determining whether to order a child to participate in such a program,

 the court shall consider whether the act committed by the child involved

 the use or threatened use of force or violence against himself or others

 or demonstrated a disregard for the safety or well-being of himself or

 others.

   2.  If the court finds that a child who is less than 17 years of age has

 committed a delinquent act, the court may order the parent or guardian of

 the child to pay any fines and penalties imposed for the delinquent act. If

 the parent or guardian is unable to pay the fines and penalties imposed

 because of financial hardship, the court may require the parent or guardian

 to perform community service.

   3.  In determining the appropriate disposition of a case concerning a

 child found to be within the purview of this chapter, the court shall

 consider whether the act committed by the child involved the use of a

 firearm or the use or threatened use of force or violence against the victim

 of the act and whether the child is a serious or chronic offender. If the

 court finds that the act committed by the child involved the use of a

 firearm or the use or threatened use of force or violence against the victim

 or that the child is a serious or chronic offender, the court shall include the

 finding in its order and may, in addition to the options set forth in

 subsections 1 and 2 of this section and NRS 62.213:

   (a) Commit the child for confinement in a secure facility, including a

 facility which is secured by its staff.

   (b) Impose any other punitive measures the court determines to be in the

 best interests of the public or the child.

   4.  Except as otherwise provided in NRS 62.455 and 62.570, at any

 time, either on its own volition or for good cause shown, the court may

 terminate its jurisdiction concerning the child.

   5.  Whenever the court commits a child to any institution or agency

 pursuant to this section or NRS 62.213, it shall transmit a summary of its

 information concerning the child and order the administrator of the school

 that the child last attended to transmit a copy of the child’s educational

 records to the institution or agency. The institution or agency shall give to

 the court any information concerning the child that the court may require.

   6.  In determining whether to place a child pursuant to this section in

 the custody of a person other than his parent, guardian or custodian,

 preference must be given to any person related within the third degree of


consanguinity to the child whom the court finds suitable and able to

provide proper care and guidance for the child.

   Sec. 3.  1.  This section and section 1 of this act become effective on

 July 1, 2001, for the purposes of establishing programs of visitation, and

 on October 1, 2001, for all other purposes, and expire by limitation on

 October 1, 2005.

   2.  Section 2 of this act becomes effective on October 1, 2001, and

 expires by limitation on October 1, 2005.

 

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