Secure youth treatment facilities.

Existing law authorizes a court to order a ward who is 14 years of age or older to be committed to a secure youth treatment facility, operated by the county of commitment, for a period of confinement if the ward is adjudicated and found to be a ward based on the commitment of a specified serious offense committed when the juvenile was 14 years of age or older, that adjudication is the most recent offense for which the ward has been adjudicated, and the court has made a finding on the record that a less restrictive, alternative disposition for the ward is unsuitable. Existing law requires, within 30 judicial days of making an order of commitment to a secure youth treatment facility, the court to receive, review, and approve an individual rehabilitation plan that includes specific components, including, among others, a description of the programming, treatment, and education to be provided to the ward in relation to their identified needs during the commitment period. Existing law requires the court to schedule and hold a review hearing every 6 months during the term of commitment. Existing law also authorizes the court, upon a motion from the probation department or the ward, to order that the ward be transferred from a secure youth treatment facility to a less restrictive program, such as a halfway house, a camp or ranch, or a community residential or nonresidential service program, if the court determines that the ward has made substantial progress toward the goals of the individual rehabilitation plan. This bill would require the individual rehabilitation plan to also describe how the programming, treatment, and education to be provided to the ward is designed to facilitate the ward's potential transition to a less restrictive program, and would require the description to include, among other things, how the individual rehabilitation plan will be implemented to facilitate the ward's progress toward transfer to a less restrictive program when the ward has met the criteria for transfer. The bill would require the court, prior to approving the individual rehabilitation plan, to hold a hearing on the matter, and would require the prosecutor and the counsel for the ward to be provided a copy of the individual rehabilitation plan at least 2 days prior to that hearing. The bill would also require the court, at each review hearing, to assess the ward's progress toward transferring to a less restrictive program and would authorize the court to make or modify orders for the purpose of improving and prioritizing that progress. The bill would require the court to order that the ward be transferred to a less restrictive program if it makes the determination described above and finds that it is reasonably likely that transferring the ward to a less restrictive program will better facilitate fulfillment of the goals in the individual rehabilitation plan than would the ward's continued confinement in a secure youth treatment facility. By imposing new duties on county probation departments relating to the development of an individual rehabilitation plan, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.