KRS 15A.305: Statewide detention program -- Alternatives to secure detention --

Notification system -- Per diem charge to lodge juveniles in state -owned or

contracted preadjudication facilities -- Fiscal court approval before state

takeover, purchase, or cont rol -- Provision of mental health services to

detained youth.

(1) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall develop and administer a statewide

detention program and, as each regional facility is constructed and ready for

occupancy, shall provide for:

(a) The operation of preadjudication detention facilities for children charged with

public offenses; and

(b) The operation of postadjudication detention facilities for children adjudicated

delinquent or found guilty of public offenses.

(2) In each region in which the Department of Juvenile Justice operates or contracts for

the operation of a detention facility, the department shall develop and administer a

program for alternatives to secure detention that shall provide for:

(a) The operation of or contracting for the operation of preadjudication

alternatives to secure detention and follow -up programs for juveniles who are

before the court or who enter pretrial diversion or informal adjustment

programs; and

(b) The operation of or contracting for the operation of p ostadjudication

alternatives to secure detention and follow -up programs, including but not

limited to community -based programs, mentoring, counseling, and other

programs designed to limit the unnecessary use of secure detention and ensure

public safety.

(3) The department shall develop and implement a system to immediately notify the

Cabinet for Health and Family Services when a status offender or child alleged to

be a status offender has been detained for the alleged violation of a valid court

order.

(4) The department may, except as provided in KRS 635.060, charge counties,

consolidated local governments, and urban -county governments a per diem not to

exceed ninety-four dollars ($94) for lodging juveniles in state -owned or contracted

facilities.

(5) Detention rates charged by contracting detention facilities shall not exceed the rate

in effect on July 1, 1997, subject to increases approved by the department.

(6) No juvenile detention facility, as defined in KRS 15A.200, shall be taken over,

purchased, or le ased by the Commonwealth without prior approval of the fiscal

court upon consultation with the jailer in the county where the facility is located.

The county, upon consultation with the jailer, may enter into contracts with the

Commonwealth for the holding, detention, and transportation of juveniles.

(7) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall enter into sufficient contracts to ensure the

availability of institutional treatment for children with severe emotional disturbance

or mental illness as soon as practicable.

(8) The Department of Juvenile Justice s hall, for any facility operated pursuant to

subsection (1) of this section, require that the facility:

(a) Provide children in crisis who are residing in a juvenile detention facility

access to a mental health professional whose communications with the chi ld

are privileged under the Kentucky Rules of Evidence;

(b) Conduct monthly documented training related to emergency response;

(c) Ensure that appropriate staff working with detained youth have controlled

access to, and are properly trained in the use of, appropriate defensive

equipment comparable to that utilized by the Department of Corrections,

including tasers, pepper spray, and shields;

(d) Establish a specially trained emergency response team within each juvenile

detention center and youth development center which shall be trained in

tactics related to detention facilities and engage in monthly drills as part of

emergency response training;

(e) Enter into a memorandum of understanding with local law enforcement for

emergency response and include these agencies in emergency response

trainings;

(f) Be equipped with an alarm that directly communicates an emergency situation

to the local dispatch center; and

(g) Promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A

to implement this subsection.