KRS 15A.065: Department of Juvenile Justice -- Powers and duties -- Advisory

board.

(1) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall be headed by a commissioner and

shall develop and administer programs for:

(a) Prevention of juvenile crime;

(b) Identification of juveniles at risk of becoming status or public offenders

and development of early intervention strategies for these children, and,

except for adjudicated youth, participation in prevention programs shall be

voluntary;

(c) Providing educational information to law enforcement, prosecution,

victims, defense attorneys, the courts, the educational community, and

the public concerning juvenile crime, its prevention, detection, trial,

punishment, and rehabilitation;

(d) The operation of or contracting for the operation of postadjudication

treatment facilities and services for children adjudicated delinquent or

found guilty of public offenses or as youthful offenders;

(e) The operation or contracting for the operation, and the encouragement of

operation by others, including local governments, volunteer organizations,

and the private sector, of programs to serve predelinquent and delinquent

youth;

(f) Utilizing outcome-based planning and evaluation of programs to ascertain

which programs are most appropriate and effective in promoting the goals

of this section;

(g) Conducting research and comparative experiments to find the most

effective means of:

1. Preventing delinquent behavior;

2. Identifying predelinquent youth;

3. Preventing predelinquent youth from becoming delinquent;

4. Assessing the needs of predelinquent and delinquent youth;

5. Providing an effective and efficient program designed to treat and

correct the behavior of delinquent youth and youthful offenders;

6. Assessing the success of all programs of the department and those

operated on behalf of the department and making recommendations

for new programs, improvements in existing programs, or the

modification, combination, or elimination of programs as indicated by

the assessment and the research; and

(h) Seeking funding from public and private sources for demonstration

projects, normal operation of programs, and alterations of programs.

(2) The Department of Juvenile Justice may contract, with or without

reimbursement, with a city, county, or urban-county government, for the

provision of probation, diversion, and related services by employees of the

contracting local government.

(3) The Department of Juvenile Justice may contract for the provision of services,

treatment, or facilities which the department finds in the best interest of any

child, or for which a similar service, treatment, or facility is either not provided

by the department or not available because the service or facilities of the

department are at their operating capacity and unable to accept new

commitments. The department shall, after consultation with the Finance and

Administration Cabinet, promulgate administrative regulations to govern at

least the following aspects of this subsection:

(a) Bidding process; and

(b) Emergency acquisition process.

(4) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall develop programs to:

(a) Ensure that youth in state-operated or contracted residential treatment

programs have access to an ombudsman to whom they may report

program problems or concerns;

(b) Review all treatment programs, state-operated or contracted, for their

quality and effectiveness; and

(c) Provide mental health services to committed youth according to their

needs.

(5) (a) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall have an advisory board

appointed by the Governor, which shall serve as the advisory group under

the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, Pub. L. No.

93-415, as amended, and which shall provide a formulation of and

recommendations for meeting the requirements of this section not less

than annually to the Governor, the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, the

Department of Juvenile Justice, the Cabinet for Health and Family

Services, the Interim Joint Committees on Judiciary and on

Appropriations and Revenue of the Legislative Research Commission

when the General Assembly is not in session, and the Judiciary and the

Appropriations and Revenue Committees of the House of

Representatives and the Senate when the General Assembly is in

session. The advisory board shall develop program criteria for early

juvenile intervention, diversion, and prevention projects, develop

statewide priorities for funding, and make recommendations for allocation

of funds to the Commissioner of the Department of Juvenile Justice. The

advisory board shall review grant applications from local juvenile

delinquency prevention councils and include in its annual report the

activities of the councils. The advisory board shall meet not less than

quarterly.

(b) The advisory board shall be chaired by a private citizen member

appointed by the Governor and shall serve a term of two (2) years and

thereafter be elected by the board. The members of the board shall be

appointed to staggered terms and thereafter to four (4) year terms. The

membership of the advisory board shall consist of no fewer than fifteen

(15) persons and no more than thirty-three (33) persons who have

training, experience, or special knowledge concerning the prevention and

treatment of juvenile delinquency or the administration of juvenile justice.

A majority of the members shall not be full-time employees of any federal,

state, or local government, and at least one-fifth (1/5) of the members

shall be under the age of twenty-four (24) years at the time of

appointment. On July 15, 2002, any pre-existing appointment of a

member to the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board and the Juvenile Justice

Advisory Committee shall be terminated unless that member has been

re-appointed subsequent to January 1, 2002, in which case that

member's appointment shall continue without interruption. The

membership of the board shall include the following:

1. Three (3) current or former participants in the juvenile justice

system;

2. An employee of the Department of Juvenile Justice;

3. An employee of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services;

4. A person operating alternative detention programs;

5. An employee of the Department of Education;

6. An employee of the Department of Public Advocacy;

7. An employee of the Administrative Office of the Courts;

8. A representative from a private nonprofit organization with an

interest in youth services;

9. A representative from a local juvenile delinquency prevention

council;

10. A member of the Circuit Judges Association;

11. A member of the District Judges Association;

12. A member of the County Attorneys Association;

13. A member of the County Judge/Executives Association;

14. A person from the business community not associated with any

other group listed in this paragraph;

15. A parent not associated with any other group listed in this

paragraph;

16. A youth advocate not associated with any other group listed in this

paragraph;

17. A victim of a crime committed by a person under the age of eighteen

(18) not associated with any other group listed in this paragraph;

18. A local school district special education administrator not associated

with any other group listed in this paragraph;

19. A peace officer not associated with any other group listed in this

paragraph; and

20. A college or university professor specializing in law, criminology,

corrections, psychology, or similar discipline with an interest in

juvenile corrections programs.

(c) Failure of any member to attend three (3) meetings within a calendar year

shall be deemed a resignation from the board. The board chair shall notify

the Governor of any vacancy and submit recommendations for

appointment.

(6) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall, in cooperation with the Department

of Public Advocacy, develop a program of legal services for juveniles

committed to the department who are placed in state-operated residential

treatment facilities and juveniles in the physical custody of the department who

are detained in a state-operated detention facility, who have legal claims

related to the conditions of their confinement involving violations of federal or

state statutory or constitutional rights. This system may utilize technology to

supplement personal contact. The Department of Juvenile Justice shall

promulgate an administrative regulation to govern at least the following aspects

of this subsection:

(a) Facility access;

(b) Scheduling; and

(c) Access to residents' records.

(7) The Department of Juvenile Justice may, if space is available and conditioned

upon the department's ability to regain that space as needed, contract with

another state or federal agency to provide services to youth of that agency.