HB 177: "An Act relating to foster parents; relating to the right of foster parents to have notice of, and testify at, delinquency hearings and to the disclosure of minors' records to foster parents; and amending Rules 3, 7, 10, 12, 21, 23, and 25, Alaska Delinquency Rules."
00HOUSE BILL NO. 177 01 "An Act relating to foster parents; relating to the right of foster parents to have 02 notice of, and testify at, delinquency hearings and to the disclosure of minors' 03 records to foster parents; and amending Rules 3, 7, 10, 12, 21, 23, and 25, 04 Alaska Delinquency Rules." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 47.12.010(b) is amended to read: 07 (b) The purposes of this chapter are to 08 (1) respond to a juvenile offender's needs in a manner that is consistent 09 with 10 (A) prevention of repeated criminal behavior; 11 (B) restoration of the community and victim; 12 (C) protection of the public; and 13 (D) development of the juvenile into a productive citizen; 14 (2) protect citizens from juvenile crime;
01 (3) hold each juvenile offender directly accountable for the offender's 02 conduct; 03 (4) provide swift and consistent consequences for crimes committed by 04 juveniles; 05 (5) make the juvenile justice system more open, accessible, and 06 accountable to the public; 07 (6) require parental or guardian participation in the juvenile justice 08 process; 09 (7) create an expectation that parents will be held responsible for the 10 conduct and needs of their children; 11 (8) ensure that victims, witnesses, parents, foster parents, guardians, 12 juvenile offenders, and all other interested parties are treated with dignity, respect, 13 courtesy, and sensitivity throughout all legal proceedings; 14 (9) provide due process through which juvenile offenders, victims, 15 parents, and guardians are assured fair legal proceedings during which constitutional 16 and other legal rights are recognized and enforced; 17 (10) divert juveniles from the formal juvenile justice process through 18 early intervention as warranted when consistent with the protection of the public; 19 (11) provide an early, individualized assessment and action plan for 20 each juvenile offender in order to prevent further criminal behavior through the 21 development of appropriate skills in the juvenile offender so that the juvenile is more 22 capable of living productively and responsibly in the community; 23 (12) ensure that victims and witnesses of crimes committed by juveniles 24 are afforded the same rights as victims and witnesses of crimes committed by adults; 25 (13) encourage and provide opportunities for local communities and 26 groups to play an active role in the juvenile justice process in ways that are culturally 27 relevant; and 28 (14) review and evaluate regularly and independently the effectiveness 29 of programs and services under this chapter. 30 * Sec. 2. AS 47.12.050(a) is amended to read: 31 (a) Except as may be otherwise specifically provided, in all cases under this
01 chapter, the minor, each parent of the minor, the foster parent of the minor, and the 02 guardian of the minor are entitled to notice adequate to give actual notice of the 03 proceedings, taking into account education and language differences that are known 04 or reasonably ascertainable by the party giving the notice. The notice must contain all 05 names by which the minor has been identified. 06 * Sec. 3. AS 47.12.060(b) is amended to read: 07 (b) When the department or the entity selected by it decides to make an 08 informal adjustment of a matter under (a)(2) of this section, that informal adjustment 09 may not be made without the agreement or consent of the minor and the minor's 10 parents or guardian to the terms and conditions of the adjustment. In addition, the 11 department or entity shall give the minor's foster parent an opportunity to be 12 heard before the informal adjustment is made. An informal action to adjust a 13 matter is not successfully completed unless, among other factors that the department 14 or the entity selected by it considers, as to the victim of the act of the minor that is the 15 basis of the delinquency allegation, the minor pays restitution in the amount set by the 16 department or the entity selected by it or agrees as a term or condition set by the 17 department or the entity selected by it to pay the restitution. 18 * Sec. 4. AS 47.12.110(a) is amended to read: 19 (a) The court shall conduct a hearing on the petition. The court shall give 20 notice of the hearing to the department, and the department shall send a representative 21 to the hearing. The representative of the department may also be heard at the hearing. 22 The court shall give notice of the hearing and a copy of the petition to the minor's 23 foster parent and shall give the foster parent an opportunity to be heard at the 24 hearing. The public shall be excluded from the hearing, but the court, in its 25 discretion, may permit individuals to attend a hearing if their attendance is compatible 26 with the best interests of the minor. Nothing in this section may be applied in such 27 a way as to deny a minor's rights to confront adverse witnesses, to a public trial, and 28 to a trial by jury. 29 * Sec. 5. AS 47.12.120(b) is amended to read: 30 (b) If the minor is not subject to (j) of this section and the court finds that the 31 minor is delinquent, it shall
01 (1) order the minor committed to the department for a period of time 02 not to exceed two years or in any event extend past the day the minor becomes 19 03 years of age, except that the department may petition for and the court may grant in 04 a hearing (A) two-year extensions of commitment that do not extend beyond the 05 minor's 19th birthday if the extension is in the best interests of the minor and the 06 public; and (B) an additional one-year period of supervision past age 19 if continued 07 supervision is in the best interests of the person and the person consents to it; the 08 department shall place the minor in the juvenile facility that the department considers 09 appropriate and that may include a juvenile correctional school, juvenile work camp, 10 treatment facility, detention home, or detention facility; the minor may be released 11 from placement or detention and placed on probation on order of the court and may 12 also be released by the department, in its discretion, under AS 47.12.260; 13 (2) order the minor placed on probation, to be supervised by the 14 department, and released to the minor's parents, guardian, or a suitable person; if the 15 court orders the minor placed on probation, it may specify the terms and conditions 16 of probation; the probation may be for a period of time not to exceed two years and 17 in no event to extend past the day the minor becomes 19 years of age, except that the 18 department may petition for and the court may grant in a hearing 19 (A) two-year extensions of supervision that do not extend 20 beyond the minor's 19th birthday if the extension is in the best interests of the 21 minor and the public; and 22 (B) an additional one-year period of supervision past age 19 if 23 the continued supervision is in the best interests of the person and the person 24 consents to it; 25 (3) order the minor committed to the custody of the department and 26 placed on probation, to be supervised by the department and released to the minor's 27 parents, guardian, other suitable person, or suitable nondetention setting such as with 28 a relative or in a foster home or residential child care facility, whichever the 29 department considers appropriate to implement the treatment plan of the predisposition 30 report; if the court orders the minor placed on probation, it may specify the terms and 31 conditions of probation; the department may transfer the minor, in the minor's best
01 interests, from one of the probationary placement settings listed in this paragraph to 02 another, and the minor, the minor's parents or guardian, the minor's foster parent, 03 and the minor's attorney are entitled to reasonable notice of the transfer; the probation 04 may be for a period of time not to exceed two years and in no event to extend past the 05 day the minor becomes 19 years of age, except that the department may petition for 06 and the court may grant in a hearing 07 (A) two-year extensions of commitment that do not extend 08 beyond the minor's 19th birthday if the extension is in the best interests of the 09 minor and the public; and 10 (B) an additional one-year period of supervision past age 19 if 11 the continued supervision is in the best interests of the person and the person 12 consents to it; 13 (4) order the minor and the minor's parent to make suitable restitution 14 in lieu of or in addition to the court's order under (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection; 15 under this paragraph, 16 (A) except as provided in (B) of this paragraph, the court may 17 not refuse to make an order of restitution to benefit the victim of the act of the 18 minor that is the basis of the delinquency adjudication; under this 19 subparagraph, the court may require the minor to use the services of a 20 community dispute resolution center that has been recognized by the 21 commissioner under AS 47.12.450(b) to resolve any dispute between the minor 22 and the victim of the minor's offense as to the amount of or manner of payment 23 of the restitution; and 24 (B) the court may not order payment of restitution by the parent 25 of a minor who is a runaway or missing minor for an act of the minor that was 26 committed by the minor after the parent has made a report to a law 27 enforcement agency, as authorized by AS 47.10.141(a), that the minor has run 28 away or is missing; for purposes of this subparagraph, "runaway or missing 29 minor" means a minor who a parent reasonably believes is absent from the 30 minor's residence for the purpose of evading the parent or who is otherwise 31 missing from the minor's usual place of abode without the consent of the
01 parent; 02 (5) order the minor committed to the department for placement in an 03 adventure-based [ADVENTURE BASED] education program established under 04 AS 47.21.020 with conditions the court considers appropriate concerning release upon 05 satisfactory completion of the program or commitment under (1) of this subsection if 06 the program is not satisfactorily completed; 07 (6) in addition to an order under (1) - (5) of this subsection, order the 08 minor to perform community service; for purposes of this paragraph, "community 09 service" includes work 10 (A) on a project identified in AS 33.30.901; or 11 (B) that, on the recommendation of the city council or 12 traditional village council, would benefit persons within the city or village who 13 are elderly or disabled; or 14 (7) in addition to an order under (1) - (6) of this subsection, order the 15 minor's parent or guardian to comply with orders made under AS 47.12.155, including 16 participation in treatment under AS 47.12.155(b)(1). 17 * Sec. 6. AS 47.12.120(d) is amended to read: 18 (d) A minor found to be delinquent is a ward of the state while committed to 19 the department or while the department has the power to supervise the minor's actions. 20 The court shall review an order made under (b) of this section annually [,] and may 21 review the order more frequently to determine if continued placement, probation, or 22 supervision, as it is being provided, is in the best interest of the minor and the public. 23 The department, the minor, and the minor's parents, guardian, or custodian are entitled, 24 when good cause is shown, to a review on application. If the application is granted, 25 the court shall afford these parties and their counsel and the minor's foster parent 26 reasonable notice in advance of the review and hold a hearing where these parties and 27 their counsel and the minor's foster parent shall be afforded an opportunity to be 28 heard. The minor shall be afforded the opportunity to be present at the review. 29 * Sec. 7. AS 47.12.250(b) is amended to read: 30 (b) A peace officer who has a minor detained under (a) of this section shall 31 immediately, and in no event more than 12 hours later, notify the court and make
01 reasonable efforts to notify the minor's parents or guardian , the minor's foster parent, 02 and the department of the officer's action. The department may file with the court a 03 petition alleging delinquency before the detention hearing. 04 * Sec. 8. AS 47.12.250(c) is amended to read: 05 (c) The court shall immediately, and in no event more than 48 hours later, hold 06 a hearing at which the minor and the minor's parents or guardian if they can be found 07 shall be present. The court shall determine whether probable cause exists for believing 08 the minor to be delinquent. The court shall inform the minor of the reasons alleged 09 to constitute probable cause and the reasons alleged to authorize the minor's detention. 10 The minor is entitled to counsel. The court shall give the minor's foster parent the 11 opportunity to be heard at the hearing. 12 * Sec. 9. AS 47.12.300(e) is amended to read: 13 (e) The court's official records prepared under this chapter and not made public 14 under this section are confidential and may be inspected only with the court's 15 permission and only by persons having a legitimate interest in them. A person with 16 a legitimate interest in the inspection of a confidential record maintained by the court 17 includes a foster parent who requests information about a child who is already 18 placed with the foster parent or who is recommended for placement with the 19 foster parent and a victim who suffered physical injury or whose real or personal 20 property was damaged as a result of an offense that was the basis of an adjudication 21 or modification of disposition. If the victim knows the identity of the minor, identifies 22 the minor or the offense to the court, and certifies that the information is being sought 23 to consider or support a civil action against the minor or against the minor's parents 24 or guardian under AS 34.50.020, the court shall, subject to AS 12.61.110 and 25 12.61.140, allow the victim to inspect and use the following records and information 26 in connection with the civil action: 27 (1) a petition filed under AS 47.12.040(a) seeking to have the court 28 declare the minor a delinquent; 29 (2) a petition filed under AS 47.12.120 seeking to have the court 30 modify or revoke the minor's probation; 31 (3) a petition filed under AS 47.12.100 requesting the court to find that
01 a minor is not amenable to treatment under this chapter and that results in closure of 02 a case under AS 47.12.100(a); and 03 (4) a court judgment or order entered under this chapter that disposes 04 of a petition identified in (1) - (3) of this subsection. 05 * Sec. 10. COURT RULE CHANGE. (a) AS 47.12.050, 47.12.060, 47.12.110, 47.12.120, 06 and 47.12.250, amended by secs. 2 - 8 of this Act, have the effect of amending Rules 3, 7, 07 10, 12, 21, 23, and 25, Alaska Delinquency Rules, by requiring certain information about 08 delinquency hearings to be sent to foster parents and by providing that foster parents are 09 entitled to testify at the hearings. 10 (b) Sections 2 - 8 of this Act take effect only if this section receives the two-thirds 11 majority vote of each house required by art. IV, sec. 15, Constitution of the State of Alaska. 12 * Sec. 11. APPLICABILITY. The changes made by secs. 2 - 8 of this Act apply to 13 hearings described in this Act for which notice has not been sent by the court or the 14 Department of Health and Social Services before the effective date of this Act.