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Committee hears push for statewide diversion standards and opposition to restoring family‑service‑needs court referrals
Summary
The panel reviewed JJPOC recommendations to standardize youth diversion and discussed HB 7-071 (family with service needs). Providers urged state funding and standard tools; juvenile service stakeholders warned that returning FwSN cases to court would re‑criminalize status behaviors.
Advocates and system partners told the Judiciary Committee that implementing the Juvenile Justice Policy & Oversight Committee (JJPOC) recommendations will require standardized diversion protocols and investments so police and municipalities can refer youth consistently to services rather than arrests.
Witnesses from the Connecticut Youth Services Association and juvenile legal advocates described JJPOC’s multi‑year effort to create a statewide diversion framework. They said roughly 34 municipalities currently lack local diversion access, which means police in those…
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