Bill > S1414

This bill revises how the state and counties share the costs of juvenile detention care, with the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) playing a central role in determining these costs and informing counties. Specifically, the bill defines "actual cost" as the department's expenses for detention care minus any funds received from specific federal and grant trust funds, and it clarifies that "detention care" includes secure detention and respite beds for juveniles accused of domestic violence. The legislation shifts the financial responsibility by requiring non-fiscally constrained counties to pay a share of the actual costs, calculated based on their proportion of statewide juvenile detention days, while the state will cover 40% of the actual costs for all counties, all costs for "fiscally constrained counties" (defined as those in rural areas of opportunity or with low property tax revenue), and costs for juveniles residing out of state. The DJJ will now determine the actual costs after the fiscal year ends, inform each non-fiscally constrained county of its share, and require monthly payments from these counties. The bill also removes a previous provision that required counties to make a specific payment to the department and eliminates a requirement for the Department of Revenue to provide technical assistance.