Bill > A1595

Introduced Session

This bill establishes in the Department of Law and Public Safety a two-year pilot program for at-risk youths to be administered by the Office of the Attorney General in consultation with the Commissioner of Education. Under the program, participating county and municipal law enforcement agencies would be required to coordinate with local school districts to identify at-risk youths within their communities and respond to their needs by providing necessary intervention resources to promote their success and prevent future criminal behavior or involvement with the criminal justice system. The bill defines an "at-risk youth" as a student under the age of 18 who has been involved in a police related incident in the school or community including, but not limited to, being: arrested; reported missing; subjected to violence, including domestic violence; witnessing the arrest of a parent or family member; habitually truant; diagnosed with a mental health issue or substance abuse issue; or affected by family substance abuse problems. The bill requires the Attorney General to select law enforcement agencies to participate in the program based on the commissioner's recommendation of the number of at-risk youths within a county or municipality. In selecting law enforcement agencies to participate, the Attorney General is to include at least two law enforcement agencies in each of the northern, central, and southern regions of the State and seek a cross section of urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Attorney General would have the discretion to expand the program to more law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement agencies participating in the program are required to conduct staff meetings comprised of members of the agency who are assigned to work with families and children. During the meetings, the staff are required to develop an action plan for each at-risk youth who has been involved with a police related incident within the local school district or community in the prior month. The purpose of the action plan is to connect each at-risk youth with certain resources. The resources may include, but are not limited to: (1) connecting the at-risk youth with a variety of available social and developmental resources; (2) identifying a teacher or other adult employed by the school district whom the at-risk youth trusts; (3) identifying an available diversion program for first time juvenile offenders; (4) informing the school principal, a school social worker, or a counselor of the specific needs of the at-risk youth; (5) initiating family counseling, if available, with a licensed social worker; (6) identifying community or support groups in which the at-risk youth may be eligible to participate; and (7) scheduling periodic visits for the at-risk youth with a safe schools resource officer or school liaison to law enforcement. In addition, the Attorney General would be required to develop and submit to participating law enforcement agencies a standard form to be used when a juvenile is present during the arrest of a parent or guardian or has witnessed a traumatic event. The form would be completed by the responding law enforcement officer and utilized to develop, if necessary, a youth's action plan. Law enforcement officers participating in the pilot program would be required to interview every at-risk youth who has been reported missing by a parent or legal guardian upon the youth's return. The interview would be a screening tool to identify at-risk youths who may have engaged in, or been exposed to, a traumatic experience, including but not limited to violence, physical or sexual abuse, substance abuse, or depression. A record of the interview would be used to develop, if necessary, a youth's action plan. Finally, the bill requires a safe schools resource officer or school liaison in the school district served by a participating law enforcement agency to report to the law enforcement agency when a student is habitually truant. The law enforcement agency would be required to maintain a record of the report for discussion at the staff meeting and, if necessary, the development of an action plan. The bill allows the Attorney General and Commissioner of Education to consult with county or municipal law enforcement agencies that have implemented similar programs when establishing the pilot program. The bill requires the Attorney General and Commissioner of Education to develop procedures for the evaluation of the impact of the pilot program and report to the Governor and the Legislature 12 months after the organization of the pilot program and within six month after the expiration of the pilot program. The reports are to include the nature and scope of intervention on behalf of participating law enforcement agencies; data pertaining to the recidivism rates of juveniles identified as at-risk youths; the success rates of the individual action plans; and recommendations for any modifications that may be made to the program. In addition, the bill requires the report to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program and recommend whether the program should be continued or expanded.

Committee Categories

Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D)*,  Michael Venezia (D)*,  Robert Karabinchak (D),  William Sampson (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Children, Families and Food Security Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document