Nevada bill would require 24‑hour staff review for youth held in corrective room restriction

Assembly Bill 167, introduced by Assemblywoman Alexis Hansen (Assembly District 32), would require that a juvenile who is held in corrective room restriction for more than 24 hours receive a review of that status by a member of facility staff at least once every 24 hours and that each review include consideration of whether a referral for mental‑health screening, evaluation or treatment is appropriate.

The bill’s sponsor and the youth legislator who helped craft the measure told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the proposal aims to reduce the harmful effects of isolation on young people while preserving staff authority to maintain safety. "At its heart, this bill is about balance," said Satara Reganti, the Nevada youth legislator who co‑presented the bill. "It recognizes the responsibility of staff to maintain safety while also recognizing that punitive isolation without reflection or support doesn't serve the long term well‑being of the child or the community they will return to."

The bill’s current language, presented as a first reprint and amended after stakeholder talks, requires documentation when corrective room restriction is continued beyond a review and specifies that the review must include, "without limitation, a review of whether a referral for a mental health screening, evaluation or treatment is appropriate." Assemblymember Hansen said the change from the original draft — replacing the word "assessment" with "review" — reflected operational realities, particularly in rural facilities that do not always have a mental‑health professional on site.

Proponents told the committee that many youth in the justice system have mental‑health needs. Hansen cited a report from the Nevada Association of Juvenile Justice Administrators, saying "over 55 percent of youth within the juvenile justice system have at least 1 mental health diagnosis." Washoe County Department of Juvenile Services Director Elizabeth Flores also noted existing state requirements, stating, "NRS 62 c dot 0 3 5 requires a mental health screening for all youth booked into juvenile detention centers."

Supporters at the hearing included the Nevada state director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center, Nick Schepack, who said, "Anytime you lock an individual in a room they cannot get out of and they are alone, that is solitary confinement." Other in‑person and remote supporters included the Washoe County Public Defender's Office, the Nevada Psychiatric Association, Teen Mental Health in Northern Nevada, Clark County public defenders, Return Strong and students who testified in favor of the bill.

Committee members asked operational questions at the hearing. Witnesses and the sponsor clarified that many confinement rooms include a toilet while showers are in a separate room and that routine welfare checks — currently described in practice as visual checks approximately every 10 minutes — would now be augmented by the 24‑hour review to surface signs such as self‑harm, prolonged crying or suicidal thoughts. Sponsors also explained that existing statute sets a 72‑hour maximum for corrective room restriction and that most uses of room restriction are short: the sponsors said a majority last less than two hours and fewer than 50 youth reached the 72‑hour statutory maximum in 2024.

The bill’s original proposal had included a provision allowing youth to petition for supervisory review if placed in restrictive rooms seven times in a month; the sponsors removed that section after discussion because grievance and petition rights already exist in statute and practice, they said. Supporters also noted training requirements for facility staff in suicide prevention and trauma‑informed care.

The committee received no opposition testimony during the hearing. After public comment and closing remarks by the sponsors, Chair Scheibel closed the hearing on AB 167 and opened consideration of AB 321.