Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 18–
Committee on Judiciary

 

FILE NUMBER..........

 

Assembly Concurrent RESOLUTION—Directing the Legislative Commission to conduct an interim study of the juvenile justice system in Nevada.

 

    Whereas, The juvenile court system was created in the United

States in the early 20th century on the philosophy that children are

inherently different from adults and that states should take on the

responsibility of protecting and rehabilitating young offenders; and

    Whereas, The fundamental difference between the juvenile

justice system and the criminal justice system is that rehabilitation is

considered to be the primary goal for young offenders and, despite

actual declines in youth crime rates, research indicates an increasing

emphasis on punishment and detention and a decreasing emphasis

on treatment and rehabilitation; and

    Whereas, Institutionalization of young offenders has proven

expensive and Nevada spends an average of $95 to $105 per day, or

almost $40,000 per year, on each such offender, which is more than

four times the cost of full-time enrollment at a state university for 1

year; and

    Whereas, Serious concerns have been raised regarding the

resources available to rehabilitate young offenders and the quality of

supervision and treatment of such youth in state juvenile

correctional facilities; and

    Whereas, The Legislative Commission’s Subcommittee to

Study the System of Juvenile Justice in Nevada (A.C.R. 13, Statutes

of Nevada 1999) identified numerous areas of concern and

recommended that the 2001 Legislature create a statutory committee

to continue its study of the juvenile justice system, but this

committee was not created; and

    Whereas, Because the Legislature is responsible for funding

the State’s juvenile justice system and addressing the needs of

young offenders, continued study of the juvenile justice system will

assist the Legislature in making informed decisions concerning such

funding and care; now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the Assembly of the State of Nevada, the

Senate Concurring, That the Legislative Commission is hereby

directed to appoint a committee consisting of three members of the

Assembly and three members of the Senate who are representative

of the various geographical areas of this state to conduct an interim

study of the juvenile justice system in Nevada; and be it further

    Resolved, That the study must include, without limitation,

consideration of:

    1.  A coordinated continuum of care wherein a broad array of

community-based program and service options are combined to

ensure that health services, substance abuse treatment, education,

training and care are compatible with each youth’s specific needs;

    2.  Individualized supervision, care and treatment to

accommodate the individual needs and potential of the youth and his

family, and treatment programs which integrate such youth into

situations of living and interacting that are consistent with a healthy,

stable and family-like environment;

    3.  Aftercare and reintegration wherein youth continue to

receive the support of treatment services following their active

rehabilitation in a facility to prevent the relapse or regression of

progress achieved during the recovery process;

    4.  Overrepresentation and disparate treatment of minority

youth in the juvenile justice system, including a review of the

various places where bias may influence decisions concerning

minority youth;

    5.  Gender specific services, including programs that consider

female development in their design and implementation and that

address girls’ needs, including victimization and abuse issues,

substance abuse, mental health and educational needs, and

vocational and skills training that may provide a meaningful life and

livable wage following release;

    6.  Quality of care in state facilities, including staff

qualifications and training, documentation of agency and facility

performance, coordination and collaboration of agencies,

availability of services relating to mental health, substance abuse,

education, vocational training, and treatment of sexual offenders and

violent offenders, and the feasibility and necessity for independent

monitoring of state facilities; and

    7.  Programs utilized by different states such as Missouri which

has developed a system of community-based residential and non-

residential programs that allow young offenders to be placed in

more specialized programs according to their needs and which has

produced recidivism rates as low as 11 percent; and be it further

    Resolved, That any recommended legislation proposed by the

committee must be approved by a majority of the members of the

Assembly and a majority of the members of the Senate appointed to

the committee; and be it further

    Resolved, That the Legislative Commission shall submit a

report of the results of the study and any recommendations for

legislation to the 73rd Session of the Nevada Legislature.

 

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