{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-15a.065","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 15A.065","heading":"Department  of Juvenile Justice -- Powers  and duties -- Advisory","body":"board.\n(1) The  Department of Juvenile Justice shall be headed by a commissioner and\nshall develop and administer programs for:\n(a) Prevention of juvenile crime;\n(b) Identification of juveniles at risk of becoming status or public offenders\nand development of early intervention strategies for these children, and,\nexcept for adjudicated youth, participation in prevention programs shall be\nvoluntary;\n(c) Providing educational information to law enforcement, prosecution,\nvictims, defense attorneys, the courts, the educational community, and\nthe public concerning juvenile crime, its prevention, detection, trial,\npunishment, and rehabilitation;\n(d) The  operation of or contracting for the operation of postadjudication\ntreatment facilities and services for children adjudicated delinquent or\nfound guilty of public offenses or as youthful offenders;\n(e) The operation or contracting for the operation, and the encouragement of\noperation by others, including local governments, volunteer organizations,\nand the private sector, of programs to serve predelinquent and delinquent\nyouth;\n(f) Utilizing outcome-based planning and evaluation of programs to ascertain\nwhich programs are most appropriate and effective in promoting the goals\nof this section;\n(g) Conducting research and comparative experiments to find the most\neffective means of:\n1. Preventing delinquent behavior;\n2. Identifying predelinquent youth;\n3. Preventing predelinquent youth from becoming delinquent;\n4. Assessing the needs of predelinquent and delinquent youth;\n5. Providing an effective and efficient program designed to treat and\ncorrect the behavior of delinquent youth and youthful offenders;\n6. Assessing the success of all programs of the department and those\noperated on behalf of the department and making recommendations\nfor new  programs, improvements in existing programs, or the\nmodification, combination, or elimination of programs as indicated by\nthe assessment and the research; and\n(h) Seeking  funding from public and  private sources for demonstration\nprojects, normal operation of programs, and alterations of programs.\n(2) The  Department  of  Juvenile Justice may  contract, with or  without\nreimbursement, with a city, county, or urban-county government, for the\nprovision of probation, diversion, and related services by employees of the\ncontracting local government.\n(3) The Department of Juvenile Justice may contract for the provision of services,\ntreatment, or facilities which the department finds in the best interest of any\nchild, or for which a similar service, treatment, or facility is either not provided\nby  the department or not available because the service or facilities of the\ndepartment  are at their operating capacity and  unable to accept new\ncommitments. The department shall, after consultation with the Finance and\nAdministration Cabinet, promulgate administrative regulations to govern at\nleast the following aspects of this subsection:\n(a) Bidding process; and\n(b) Emergency  acquisition process.\n(4) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall develop programs to:\n(a) Ensure that youth in state-operated or contracted residential treatment\nprograms  have access to an ombudsman  to whom  they may  report\nprogram problems or concerns;\n(b) Review  all treatment programs, state-operated or contracted, for their\nquality and effectiveness; and\n(c) Provide mental health services to committed youth according to their\nneeds.\n(5) (a) The  Department of Juvenile Justice shall have  an  advisory board\nappointed by the Governor, which shall serve as the advisory group under\nthe Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, Pub. L. No.\n93-415, as amended,  and which shall provide a formulation of and\nrecommendations  for meeting the requirements of this section not less\nthan annually to the Governor, the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, the\nDepartment  of Juvenile Justice, the Cabinet for Health and  Family\nServices, the  Interim Joint Committees  on  Judiciary and  on\nAppropriations and Revenue  of the Legislative Research Commission\nwhen  the General Assembly is not in session, and the Judiciary and the\nAppropriations and  Revenue  Committees  of  the  House  of\nRepresentatives and  the Senate when  the General Assembly  is in\nsession. The advisory board shall develop program criteria for early\njuvenile intervention, diversion, and  prevention projects, develop\nstatewide priorities for funding, and make recommendations for allocation\nof funds to the Commissioner of the Department of Juvenile Justice. The\nadvisory board shall review grant applications from local juvenile\ndelinquency prevention councils and include in its annual report the\nactivities of the councils. The advisory board shall meet not less than\nquarterly.\n(b) The  advisory board shall be chaired by a private citizen member\nappointed by the Governor and shall serve a term of two (2) years and\nthereafter be elected by the board. The members  of the board shall be\nappointed to staggered terms and thereafter to four (4) year terms. The\nmembership  of the advisory board shall consist of no fewer than fifteen\n(15) persons and no more  than thirty-three (33) persons who  have\ntraining, experience, or special knowledge concerning the prevention and\ntreatment of juvenile delinquency or the administration of juvenile justice.\nA majority of the members  shall not be full-time employees of any federal,\nstate, or local government, and at least one-fifth (1/5) of the members\nshall be  under the age  of twenty-four (24) years at the time of\nappointment. On  July 15, 2002, any pre-existing appointment of a\nmember  to the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board and the Juvenile Justice\nAdvisory Committee shall be terminated unless that member  has been\nre-appointed subsequent to January 1, 2002, in which case  that\nmember's  appointment  shall continue without interruption. The\nmembership  of the board shall include the following:\n1. Three  (3) current or former participants in the juvenile justice\nsystem;\n2. An employee of the Department of Juvenile Justice;\n3. An employee of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services;\n4. A person operating alternative detention programs;\n5. An employee of the Department of Education;\n6. An employee of the Department of Public Advocacy;\n7. An employee of the Administrative Office of the Courts;\n8. A  representative from a private nonprofit organization with an\ninterest in youth services;\n9. A  representative from a  local juvenile delinquency prevention\ncouncil;\n10. A member  of the Circuit Judges Association;\n11. A member  of the District Judges Association;\n12. A member  of the County Attorneys Association;\n13. A member  of the County Judge/Executives Association;\n14. A  person from the business community not associated with any\nother group listed in this paragraph;\n15. A  parent not associated with any  other group listed in this\nparagraph;\n16. A youth advocate not associated with any other group listed in this\nparagraph;\n17. A victim of a crime committed by a person under the age of eighteen\n(18) not associated with any other group listed in this paragraph;\n18. A local school district special education administrator not associated\nwith any other group listed in this paragraph;\n19. A  peace officer not associated with any other group listed in this\nparagraph; and\n20. A  college or university professor specializing in law, criminology,\ncorrections, psychology, or similar discipline with an interest in\njuvenile corrections programs.\n(c) Failure of any member  to attend three (3) meetings within a calendar year\nshall be deemed a resignation from the board. The board chair shall notify\nthe  Governor  of any  vacancy  and  submit recommendations  for\nappointment.\n(6) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall, in cooperation with the Department\nof  Public Advocacy, develop a  program  of legal services for juveniles\ncommitted to the department who  are placed in state-operated residential\ntreatment facilities and juveniles in the physical custody of the department who\nare detained in a state-operated detention facility, who  have legal claims\nrelated to the conditions of their confinement involving violations of federal or\nstate statutory or constitutional rights. This system may utilize technology to\nsupplement  personal contact. The  Department of Juvenile Justice shall\npromulgate an administrative regulation to govern at least the following aspects\nof this subsection:\n(a) Facility access;\n(b) Scheduling; and\n(c) Access to residents' records.\n(7) The Department of Juvenile Justice may, if space is available and conditioned\nupon  the department's ability to regain that space as needed, contract with\nanother state or federal agency to provide services to youth of that agency.","path":["KRS Chapter 15A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=46873","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:35Z","sha256":"62746b4ee9309d43eb54ad414f5c2390729d4a61f5f42a86bfdd9194af402f6e","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-15a.064","next":"us-ky/krs-15a.0651"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}