-  This bill is not active in this session.
 

A07939 Summary:

BILL NOA07939
 
SAME ASSAME AS S06475
 
SPONSORJaffee
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §§308.1 & 320.6, Fam Ct Act
 
Requires the probation service to consider the views of the complainant and the impact of the alleged act of juvenile delinquency to determine if an adjustment would be suitable.
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A07939 Actions:

BILL NOA07939
 
05/29/2019referred to children and families
06/04/2019reported referred to codes
06/11/2019reported referred to rules
06/19/2019reported
06/19/2019rules report cal.604
06/19/2019ordered to third reading rules cal.604
06/20/2019substituted by s6475
 S06475 AMEND= BAILEY
 06/12/2019REFERRED TO RULES
 06/19/2019ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.1727
 06/19/2019PASSED SENATE
 06/19/2019DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
 06/19/2019referred to codes
 06/20/2019substituted for a7939
 06/20/2019ordered to third reading rules cal.604
 06/20/2019passed assembly
 06/20/2019returned to senate
 09/13/2019DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR
 09/13/2019SIGNED CHAP.310
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A07939 Committee Votes:

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES Chair:Jaffee DATE:06/04/2019AYE/NAY:16/0 Action: Favorable refer to committee Codes
JaffeeAyeByrnesAye
ArroyoAyeFriendAye
FahyAyeMillerAye
DavilaAyeSmullenAye
BarnwellAye
WrightAye
VanelAye
Jean-PierreAye
FrontusAye
BurkeAye
CruzAye
RaynorAye

CODES Chair:Lentol DATE:06/11/2019AYE/NAY:22/0 Action: Favorable refer to committee Rules
LentolAyeRaAye
SchimmingerAyeGiglioAye
PretlowAyeMontesanoAye
CookAyeMorinelloAye
CymbrowitzAyePalumboAye
O'DonnellAyeGarbarinoAye
BenedettoAye
PerryAye
ZebrowskiAye
AbinantiAye
WeprinAye
MosleyAye
De La RosaAye
FahyAye
SeawrightAye
RosenthalAye

RULES Chair:Gottfried DATE:06/19/2019AYE/NAY:27/0 Action: Favorable
HeastieExcusedKolbAye
GottfriedAyeCrouchAye
LentolAyeFinchAye
GanttExcusedBarclayAye
NolanExcusedRaiaAye
WeinsteinAyeHawleyAye
OrtizAyeGiglioAye
PretlowAyeMalliotakisAye
CookAye
GlickAye
AubryAye
EnglebrightAye
DinowitzAye
ColtonAye
MagnarelliAye
PerryAye
PaulinAye
TitusExcused
Peoples-StokesAye
BenedettoAye
LavineAye
LupardoAye
ZebrowskiAye

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A07939 Floor Votes:

There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
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A07939 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A7939
 
SPONSOR: Jaffee
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the family court act, in relation to adjustment of juvenile delinquency cases by local departments of probation in the family court This is one in a series of measures being introduced at the request of the Chief Administrative Judge upon the recommendation of his Family Court Advisory and Rules Committee. This measure would amend the Family Court Act to reduce barriers to adjustment of juvenile delinquency cases. One of the major strengths of the juvenile justice system, recognized both in New York State and nationally, is its mechanism for local probation departments to divert non-serious cases from formal processing before petitions are filed. The Final Report of the Governor's Commis- sion on Youth, Public Safety and Justice (2015), noting that approxi- mately 38% of juvenile delinquency complaints statewide are adjusted, indicated that, in addition to the lower cost of diversion as compared to placements or other interventions, "research has demonstrated that low-risk youth who are drawn into 'deep-end' interventions (like out-of- home placement or intensive community-based programming) actually are more likely to re-offend than if such interventions are not used." Id. at 39, 45. The report noted that, in part because of statutory restrictions, a sizable number of cases are referred to Family Court that could be successfully adjusted. One out of three cases referred to Family Court in 2013, for example, were for misdemeanors and over half of the total cases petitioned in Family Court resulted in nonincarcera- tive outcomes. Id., at 46. While not addressing the serious crimes in which adjustment is either precluded or restricted, this measure would modify three statutory provisions that pose barriers to adjustment of cases that may lend themselves to successful informal resolution. First, along with the Governor's Commission, id., at pages 47, 49, we believe that the two-month limit on the initial adjustment period is too short. Accordingly, this measure would amend Family Court Act § 308.1(9) to lengthen that period to three months. Balancing the length of the adjustment period with the need for prompt adjudication of the rare cases where adjustment fails, the measure does not alter the authori- zation for probation departments to seek a two month extension of the adjustment period. Consistent with this measure, the 50-state survey, conducted as part of the MacArthur Foundation's Models for Change Juvenile Diversion Guide- book (Mar., 2011), at p. 80, indicated that 44% of the states utilize adjustment periods of between three and six months; 30% use periods under three months and 19% utilize periods of six months to one year. Probation Departments have reported a frequent need for an initial peri- od of over two months in order for all parties to come together to engage in the process, for appropriate referrals to be made and for actual program services to begin. By adding a modest initial extension, this measure seeks to balance this need with a need to provide a timely fact-finding should formal court process prove necessary. Second, in lieu of according the complainant an absolute right to veto adjustment, this measure would amend Family Court Act § 308.1(8) to require the probation department to "consider the views of the complain- ant and the impact of the alleged act or acts of juvenile delinquency upon the complainant and upon the community in determining whether adjustment under this section would be suitable." Many cases, most particularly nonviolent misdemeanor cases in which accused juveniles are determined by a risk assessment instrument to pose a low risk of re-of- fending, are precluded from appropriate adjustment because current law accords complainants an absolute right to access the presentment agency for the purpose of filing a petition. Since access to the presentment agency does not guarantee that the presentment agency will actually file a petition, Professor Merril Sobie, in his McKinney's Practice Commen- tary to Family Court Act § 308.1, indicated that: (A) complainant's refusal to consent to an adjustment proposed by the probation service may be self-defeating. Any benefit which an informal resolution might provide to the complainant (such as restitution or an agreement to desist from further complained of activity) is forfeited when the presentment agency exercises its right to decline prose- cution... Many of the cases that would benefit from this measure involve shop- lifting in a setting in which the complainant is a corporation or chain store with a rigid, zero-tolerance policy against adjustment of any cases, no matter how low-risk the alleged offender may be to re-offend and no matter how much the alleged offender might benefit from adjust- ment services. The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, in its Enhanced Juvenile Justice Guidelines: Improving Court Practice in Juvenile Justice Cases (Jan, 2019), emphasized that judges " should ensure that their systems divert cases to alternative systems "whenever possible and appropriate." Id., at ch. 3, p. 9. Consistent with the instant measure, the Guidelines suggest that serious consideration be given to the position of the victim but do not give the victim veto power over adjustment. Ibid. Third, this measure amends Family Court Act § 320.6 to provide that, notwithstanding the filing of a juvenile delinquency petition, Family Court may refer a case to the probation department for possible adjust- ment not simply at the initial appearance but, alternatively, at any subsequent appearance. Sometimes the suitability of a case for adjust- ment, including the willingness of an accused juvenile and his or her family to engage in the process and cooperate with services, becomes evident at a later point in the proceeding. There is no reason to prevent appropriate diversion efforts in such cases. The complainant would not have an absolute veto over the referral for adjustment but the probation department would be required to "consider the views of the complainant and the impact of the alleged act or acts of juvenile delin- quency upon the complainant and upon the community." Enactment of this measure would remove significant obstacles to the diversion of appropriate cases from formal juvenile delinquency process- ing. In so doing, the resources of Family Court would be reserved for those cases requiring more intensive intervention. This measure would take effect 90 days after becoming law.   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:: S7887 (Avella) (Children & Families) A10609 (Jaffee) (Children & Families)
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A07939 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          7939
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      May 29, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  JAFFEE -- (at request of the Office of Court
          Administration) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Children
          and Families
 
        AN ACT to amend the family court act, in relation to adjustment of juve-
          nile delinquency cases by local departments of probation in the family
          court

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  Subdivisions 8 and 9 of section 308.1 of the family court
     2  act, subdivision 8 as amended by chapter 398 of the  laws  of  1983  and
     3  subdivision  9  as added by chapter 920 of the laws of 1982, are amended
     4  to read as follows:
     5    8. The probation service [may not prevent any  person  who  wishes  to
     6  request  that  a petition be filed from having access to the appropriate
     7  presentment agency for that purpose] shall consider  the  views  of  the
     8  complainant and the impact of the alleged act or acts of juvenile delin-
     9  quency upon the complainant and upon the community in determining wheth-
    10  er adjustment under this section would be suitable.
    11    9. Efforts at adjustment pursuant to rules of court under this section
    12  may  not  extend  for  a  period of more than [two] three months without
    13  leave of the court, which may extend the period for  an  additional  two
    14  months.
    15    §  2.  Subdivision  2  of  section  320.6  of the family court act, as
    16  amended by chapter 926 of the laws  of  1982,  is  amended  to  read  as
    17  follows:
    18    2.  At  the  initial  appearance  or at any subsequent appearance, the
    19  court may[, with the consent  of  the  victim  or  complainant  and  the
    20  respondent,]  refer  a  case  to  the  probation  service for adjustment
    21  services.   The probation  service  shall  consider  the  views  of  the
    22  complainant and the impact of the alleged act or acts of juvenile delin-
    23  quency upon the complainant and upon the community in determining wheth-
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10679-01-9

        A. 7939                             2
 
     1  er  adjustment  under  this  section would be suitable. In the case of a
     2  designated felony petition, the consent of the presentment agency  shall
     3  [also]  be  required to refer a case to the probation [services] service
     4  for adjustment services.
     5    §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
     6  have become a law.
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A07939 LFIN:

 NO LFIN
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A07939 Chamber Video/Transcript:

6-20-19Video (@ 05:41:23)Transcript pdf Transcript html
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