Provides that prior to a dispositional hearing the judge shall order a probation investigation and a diagnostic assessment of a juvenile delinquent whom the court reasonably finds, on the record, to have a demonstrable need for a remediation of a discernible handicapping condition; allows judges to refer custody through various state agencies for placement into programs under protocol and funding provisions currently in existence.

---

S3329-2013 Actions

• Feb 1, 2013: REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

S3329-2013 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S3329

TITLE  OF BILL:   An act to amend the family court act, in relation to
probation,  investigation  and  diagnostic  assessment   of   juvenile
delinquents or any other juvenile delinquent whom the court reasonably
finds, on the record, to have a demonstrable need for a remediation of
a discernible handicapping condition

PURPOSE  OR  GENERAL  IDEA  OF  BILL:    To enable the court system to
identify youths with learning and  developmental  disabilities  at  an
early  intercept point and to enhance the courts, ability to deal with
these Problems.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:  To amend section 351.1 of the  Family
Court   Act,  which  pertains  to  Juvenile  Delinquency  (a  juvenile
delinquent being defined as an individual between the  ages  of  seven
and  fifteen  who has been found guilty in Family Court of an act that
would constitute a crime if perpetrated by an adult.)

A.) Adds to subsection I that the felony requirement before  affecting
an  action  by  assessment  with  the  phrase:  "or any other juvenile
delinquent whom the court reasonably finds, on the record, to  have  a
demonstrable  need  for  a  remediation  of a discernible handicapping
condition."

B.) Adds to sub-section 2, at  the  end,  "The  diagnostic  assessment
shall  be  completed  by an interdisciplinary team, consisting of, but
not limited to, a psychologist, a social worker, a special educator, a
physician, and a law guardian and/or legal counsel."

C.) Family Court Act -- section 353.4, sub-section 1 changes  the  law
to "or the commissioner of mental health or the commissioner of mental
retardation  and  developmental disabilities consistent with placement
provisions as outlined in chapter seven  hundred  fifty-seven  of  the
laws   of   nineteen   hundred   eighty-seven,  chapter  five  hundred
sixty-three of  the  laws  of  nineteen  hundred  eighty  and  article
eighty-one   of   the   education   law,   and/or   any  voluntary  or
not-for-profit agency licensed  under  these  provisions  of  law  not
inconsistent with the rules and regulations governing the placement of
clients."  In  sub-section 1, "the office for people with" is added to
describe the commissioner of developmental disabilities.

D.) section 353.4, sub-section 4 -- changes the law  to  include  "the
interdisciplinary  team  established  in  subdivision three of section
351.1 of this part."

E.) Where the division for youth is mentioned, the following  language
is added, "office of children and family services."

JUSTIFICATION:    Amendments  to  section  351 of the Family Court Act
would allow for the development of an interdisciplinary team that will
accept referrals from family court judges  prior  to  a  dispositional
hearing.  These  amendments will allow judges to refer custody through
various state agencies for placement into programs under protocol  and
funding  provisions  currently in state law. Under current law, family


court judges are not required to have  assessments  undertaken  for  a
youth    suspected   of   manifesting   developmental   and   learning
disabilities, mental illness and/or mental retardation.

Moreover,  probation  departments  currently  lack  the  expertise  to
conduct referrals or to interpret information gathered  for  a  family
court judge.

Recent  studies  have  shown  that  very  large  numbers of the youths
petitioned into family court (up to 7095) have some type of mental  or
developmental  handicap. Implementation of early interception programs
in areas where they can be used to assist these individuals would help
stop the steady stream of young people that are slipping  through  the
cracks in the system,

This  bill  seeks to emphasize the developing role and the capacity of
the   probation   system   in   linking    treatment,    habilitation,
rehabilitation,  and  education programs to youth at the dispositional
hearing stage when appropriate. Numerous  studies  indicate  that  the
current  process of placing these youths is neither cost-effective nor
programmatically effective, since many  youths  are  institutionalized
within  the juvenile justice system without the opportunity to receive
employable skills or appropriate services. The interdisciplinary  team
would  provide  the  probation  system  with  the  essential  tools to
reasonably determine the needs of  youth  for  mental  health,  mental
retardation,  and developmental disabilities and other services before
they become caught up in the juvenile justice system.

The cost of the interdisciplinary team would dramatically  lessen  the
costs  to the state for inappropriate placements and in many cases the
need for institutionalization. Funding provisions for such  placements
are outlined in Chapter 563 of the laws of 1980.

LEGISLATIVE  HISTORY:    Senate 2009-10: 5.7251 - Referred to Children
and Families Assembly 2009-10: A.2406(Gantt) -  Referred  to  Children
and Families

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:  Undetermined.

EFFECTIVE  DATE:   This act shall take effect on the first of November
next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.

S3329-2013 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    3329

                         2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                              February 1, 2013
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by Sens. HASSELL-THOMPSON, KRUEGER, MONTGOMERY -- read twice
    and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
    on Children and Families

  AN ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to probation, investi-
    gation and diagnostic assessment of juvenile delinquents or any  other
    juvenile delinquent whom the court reasonably finds, on the record, to
    have  a demonstrable need for a remediation of a discernible handicap-
    ping condition

    THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section  1. Subdivision 1 of section 351.1 of the family court act, as
  amended by chapter 398 of the laws  of  1983,  is  amended  to  read  as
  follows:

    1.  Following a determination that a respondent has committed a desig-
  nated felony act OR ANY OTHER JUVENILE DELINQUENT WHOM THE COURT REASON-
  ABLY FINDS, ON THE RECORD, TO HAVE A DEMONSTRABLE NEED FOR A REMEDIATION
  OF A DISCERNIBLE HANDICAPPING CONDITION and prior to  the  dispositional
  hearing,  the judge shall order a probation investigation and a diagnos-
  tic assessment. For the purposes of this article, the probation investi-
  gation shall include, but not be limited to, the history of the juvenile
  including previous conduct, the family situation, any  previous  psycho-
  logical  and  psychiatric  reports,  school  adjustment, previous social
  assistance provided by voluntary or public agencies and the response  of
  the  juvenile  to such assistance. For the purposes of this article, the
  diagnostic assessment shall include, but not be limited  to,  psycholog-
  ical  tests  and psychiatric interviews to determine mental capacity and
  achievement, emotional  stability  and  mental  disabilities.  It  shall
  include  a  clinical assessment of the situational factors that may have
  contributed to the act or acts. When feasible, expert opinion  shall  be
  rendered  as to the risk presented by the juvenile to others or himself,
  with a recommendation as to the need for a restrictive placement.

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD03488-01-3

 S. 3329                             2

    S 2. Subdivision 3 of section 351.1 of the family court act, as  added
  by chapter 920 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows:

    3. A child shall not be placed in accord with section 353.3 unless the
  court  has  ordered a probation investigation prior to the dispositional
  hearing; a child shall not be placed in accord with section 353.4 unless
  the court has ordered a diagnostic assessment prior to such hearing. THE
  DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT SHALL BE COMPLETED BY  AN  INTERDISCIPLINARY  TEAM
  CONSISTING  OF,  BUT  NOT LIMITED TO, A PSYCHOLOGIST, A SOCIAL WORKER, A
  SPECIAL EDUCATOR, A PHYSICIAN, AND A LAW GUARDIAN AND/OR LEGAL COUNSEL.
    S 3. Subdivisions 1 and 4 of section 353.4 of the  family  court  act,
  subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 465 of the laws of 1992 and subdivi-
  sion  4 as added by chapter 920 of the laws of 1982, are amended to read
  as follows:

    1. If at the conclusion of the dispositional hearing and in accordance
  with section 352.2 the court finds that  the  respondent  has  a  mental
  illness,  mental  retardation or developmental disability, as defined in
  section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law, which is  likely  to  result  in
  serious  harm to himself or others, the court may issue an order placing
  such respondent with the [division for youth]  OFFICE  OF  CHILDREN  AND
  FAMILY  SERVICES  or, with the consent of the local commissioner, with a
  local commissioner of social services, OR  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  MENTAL
  HEALTH  OR  THE COMMISSIONER OF THE OFFICE FOR PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL
  DISABILITIES CONSISTENT WITH PLACEMENT PROVISIONS AS OUTLINED IN CHAPTER
  SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY-SEVEN OF THE LAWS OF NINETEEN HUNDRED SEVENTY-SEVEN,
  CHAPTER FIVE HUNDRED SIXTY-THREE OF THE LAWS OF NINETEEN HUNDRED  EIGHTY
  AND  ARTICLE  EIGHTY-ONE  OF  THE EDUCATION LAW, AND/OR ANY VOLUNTARY OR
  NOT-FOR-PROFIT AGENCY LICENSED UNDER THESE PROVISIONS OF LAW NOT  INCON-
  SISTENT  WITH  THE  RULES  AND  REGULATIONS  GOVERNING  THE PLACEMENT OF
  CLIENTS.  Any such order shall direct the temporary transfer for  admis-
  sion  of  the  respondent  to  the custody of either the commissioner of
  mental health or the commissioner of [mental retardation and] THE OFFICE
  FOR PEOPLE WITH developmental disabilities who shall arrange the  admis-
  sion  of the respondent to the appropriate facility of the department of
  mental hygiene. The director of a hospital operated  by  the  office  of
  mental  health  may,  subject  to  the provisions of section 9.51 of the
  mental hygiene law, transfer a person admitted to the hospital  pursuant
  to this subdivision to a residential treatment facility for children and
  youth,  as  that  term  is defined in section 1.03 of the mental hygiene
  law, if care and treatment in such a facility would  more  appropriately
  meet  the  needs  of  the respondent. Persons temporarily transferred to
  such custody under this provision may be retained for care and treatment
  for a period of up to one year and whenever appropriate shall be  trans-
  ferred  back  to  the [division for youth] OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY
  SERVICES pursuant to the provisions of section five hundred nine of  the
  executive  law  or  transferred back to the local commissioner of social
  services. Within thirty days of such transfer back, application shall be
  made by the [division for youth] OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY  SERVICES
  or  the  local  commissioner  of social services to the placing court to
  conduct a further dispositional hearing at which the court may make  any
  order  authorized  under  section  352.2,  except that the period of any
  further order of disposition shall  take  into  account  the  period  of
  placement hereunder. Likelihood to result in serious harm shall mean (a)
  substantial risk of physical harm to himself as manifested by threats or
  attempts  at suicide or serious bodily harm or other conduct demonstrat-
  ing he is dangerous to himself or (b) a  substantial  risk  of  physical
  harm to other persons as manifested by homicidal or other violent behav-

 S. 3329                             3

  ior  by  which  others  are  placed in reasonable fear of serious bodily
  harm.
    4.  No  order of disposition placing the respondent in accordance with
  this section shall be entered except upon clear and convincing  evidence
  which  shall  include  the  testimony  of  [two  examining physicians as
  provided in section two hundred fifty-one]  THE  INTERDISCIPLINARY  TEAM
  ESTABLISHED IN SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION 351.1 OF THIS PART.
    S 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.