General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7042
January Session, 2015 LCO No. 5520
*05520_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 7042
January Session, 2015
LCO No. 5520
*05520_______JUD*
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN BY THE COMMISSIONER OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 17a-12 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2015):
(a) When the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, determines that a change of program is in the best interest of any child or youth committed or transferred to the department, the commissioner or the commissioner's designee, may transfer such person to any appropriate resource or program administered by or available to the department, to any other state department or agency, or to any private agency or organization within or without the state under contract with the department; [provided no] except: (1) No child or youth voluntarily admitted to the department under section 17a-11 shall be placed or subsequently transferred to the Connecticut Juvenile Training School; [and further provided] (2) no transfer shall be made to any institution, hospital or facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Correction, except as authorized by section 18-87 [,] ; [unless it is so ordered by the Superior Court after a hearing. When, in the opinion of the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, a person fourteen years of age or older is dangerous to himself or herself or others or cannot be safely held at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School, if a male, or at any other facility within the state available to the Commissioner of Children and Families, the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, may request an immediate hearing before the Superior Court on the docket for juvenile matters where such person was originally committed to determine whether such person shall be transferred to the John R. Manson Youth Institution, Cheshire, if a male, or the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Niantic, if a female. The court shall, within three days of the hearing, make such determination. If the court orders such transfer, the transfer shall be reviewed by the court every six months thereafter to determine whether it should be continued or terminated, unless the commissioner has already exercised the powers granted to the commissioner under section 17a-13 by removing such person from the John R. Manson Youth Institution, Cheshire or the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Niantic. Such transfer shall terminate upon the expiration of the commitment in such juvenile matter] and (3) no transfer shall be made to any other state department or agency unless such transfer is ordered by the Superior Court after a hearing, at which (A) the child or youth is represented by counsel, and (B) a finding is made by the court that such transfer is in the best interests of the child or youth.
(b) Any delinquent child, if a male, may be placed at any time in the Connecticut Juvenile Training School. The commissioner may transfer any child or youth committed to the commissioner to any institution, hospital or facility for mentally ill children under the commissioner's jurisdiction for a period not to exceed fifteen days if the need for such emergency treatment is certified by a psychiatrist licensed to practice medicine by the state.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2015 17a-12
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2015
17a-12
Statement of Purpose:
To ensure the safety and well-being of children and youth transferred by the Department of Children and Families to residential facilities operated or administered by other state agencies.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]