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AB 90 would extend juvenile bill of rights protections to regional treatment facilities
Summary
Assembly Bill 90 would extend the Juvenile Justice Bill of Rights to children placed in regional treatment and rehabilitation facilities and require juvenile courts to make the same findings before commitment as they do when committing a child to a state facility, sponsors said April 26.
Assembly Bill 90 would add regional facilities for the treatment and rehabilitation of children to the Juvenile Justice Bill of Rights and require juvenile courts to make the same findings before committing a delinquent child to a regional facility that are currently required for commitments to state facilities.
"Assembly Bill 90 ... aims to extend the juvenile justice bill of rights protections to children detained in regional treatment and rehabilitation facilities," Assemblymember Cynthia Moore told the committee. Sponsors said the bill is intended to ensure that children in regional treatment settings receive the same statutory rights — including notice of rights, access to a copy of those rights and conspicuous posting within facilities — as children in state detention facilities.
Presenters described regional treatment facilities as out-of-home placements that typically provide schooling and therapeutic programming for several months. Jennifer Fraser, chief deputy public defender in Clark County, said Spring Mountain Youth Camp (Mount Charleston) is an example in Clark County and described regional placements as roughly six-month stays, with treatment and work programs.
Supporters — including Clark and Washoe County public defender offices and community callers — argued AB 90 would add oversight and reduce unnecessary placement outside the community. Angela Knott of the Washoe County Public Defender's Office cited the Department of Justice finding that Nevada had failed to provide community-based services in some cases under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Olmstead precedent; she said AB 90 is a modest step to ensure courts consider less-restrictive alternatives before removing a child from home.
Juvenile-service directors expressed concerns with the bill's drafting. Ally Bannister, chief of juvenile services in Carson City, said the bill's use of the term "delinquent" could unintentionally bar placements made under a consent decree (where charges are suspended pending successful completion of terms), limiting access to voluntary or treatment-oriented placements. Elizabeth Flores, director of Washoe County Juvenile Services, warned that requiring courts to find a youth poses a public-safety risk under the same standard used for commitment to state correctional facilities (NRS 62E.506) could divert treatment-focused youth who need services but do not pose a public-safety risk.
The committee closed the hearing and asked sponsors to work with juvenile services and county stakeholders to refine statutory language so the bill protects children's rights without inadvertently restricting access to appropriate treatment programs. No committee vote on AB 90 was recorded in the transcript.
