Bill > H2028

This bill aims to improve juvenile justice data collection by establishing comprehensive reporting requirements for various government agencies involved in the juvenile justice system. The bill requires the Child Advocate to produce an annual report by December 31st detailing statistical data on juveniles' interactions with the justice system, which will be shared with key government officials and made publicly available. The legislation mandates that multiple agencies, including police departments, court systems, district attorneys, probation offices, and the Department of Youth Services, collect and provide detailed data on various decision points in the juvenile justice process, such as arrests, diversions, court proceedings, detentions, and sentencing. The data must be categorized and allow for cross-tabulation analysis by demographics including age, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and geographic location. The bill also adds definitions for terms like "gender identity" and "sexual orientation" and expands the scope of data collection to include child welfare systems. Importantly, the legislation ensures that individual-level data remains confidential and is used only for statistical purposes, with agencies required to explain any limitations in data collection and provide potential budget requirements for fuller reporting.

Justice

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H2028