AN ACT CONCERNING CHILDREN CONVICTED AS DELINQUENT WHO ARE COMMITTED TO THE CUSTODY OF THE COMMISSIONER OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 17a-7a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2011):

(a) The Commissioner of Children and Families shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, [setting] to establish standard leave and release policies for juvenile delinquents committed to the Department of Children and Families and assigned to state facilities and private residential programs. Such regulations shall provide that juvenile delinquents shall not be eligible for:

(1) Any leave without an initial sixty-day evaluation of fitness and security risk, including a trial leave not exceeding one day; or [. Such regulations shall provide that juvenile delinquents shall not be eligible for any]

(2) Any leave or release without [(1)] (A) an evaluation of fitness and security risk, [(2)] (B) the assignment of supervision and clear identification of custody of a parent, legal guardian or other responsible adult, [(3)] (C) confidential notification of local police for a leave or release granted to a serious juvenile offender, and [(4)] (D) a determination of eligibility immediately prior to granting the leave or release of a delinquent.

(b) The commissioner may waive the requirement for a sixty-day evaluation of fitness and security risk pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of this section for a juvenile delinquent who is transferred from one facility to another if the juvenile delinquent has had a satisfactory sixty-day evaluation of fitness and security risk pursuant to said subdivision.

Sec. 2. Section 17a-3 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2011):

(a) The department shall plan, create, develop, operate or arrange for, administer and evaluate a comprehensive and integrated state-wide program of services, including preventive services, for children and youths whose behavior does not conform to the law or to acceptable community standards, or who are mentally ill, including deaf and hearing impaired children and youths who are mentally ill, emotionally disturbed, substance abusers, delinquent, abused, neglected or uncared for, including all children and youths who are or may be committed to it by any court, and all children and youths voluntarily admitted to, or remaining voluntarily under the supervision of, the commissioner for services of any kind. Services shall not be denied to any such child or youth solely because of other complicating or multiple disabilities. The department shall work in cooperation with other child-serving agencies and organizations to provide or arrange for preventive programs, including, but not limited to, teenage pregnancy and youth suicide prevention, for children and youths and their families. The program shall provide services and placements that are clinically indicated and appropriate to the needs of the child or youth. In furtherance of this purpose, the department shall: (1) Maintain the Connecticut Juvenile Training School and other appropriate facilities exclusively for delinquents; (2) develop a comprehensive program for prevention of problems of children and youths and provide a flexible, innovative and effective program for the placement, care and treatment of children and youths committed by any court to the department, transferred to the department by other departments, or voluntarily admitted to the department; (3) provide appropriate services to families of children and youths as needed to achieve the purposes of sections 17a-1 to 17a-26, inclusive, 17a-28 to 17a-49, inclusive, and 17a-51; (4) establish incentive paid work programs for children and youths under the care of the department and the rates to be paid such children and youths for work done in such programs and may provide allowances to children and youths in the custody of the department; (5) be responsible to collect, interpret and publish statistics relating to children and youths within the department; (6) conduct studies of any program, service or facility developed, operated, contracted for or supported by the department in order to evaluate its effectiveness; (7) establish staff development and other training and educational programs designed to improve the quality of departmental services and programs, provided no social worker trainee shall be assigned a case load prior to completing training, and may establish educational or training programs for children, youths, parents or other interested persons on any matter related to the promotion of the well-being of children, or the prevention of mental illness, emotional disturbance, delinquency and other disabilities in children and youths; (8) develop and implement aftercare and follow-up services appropriate to the needs of any child or youth under the care of the department; (9) establish a case audit unit to monitor each area office's compliance with regulations and procedures; (10) develop and maintain a database listing available community service programs funded by the department; (11) provide outreach and assistance to persons caring for children whose parents are unable to do so by informing such persons of programs and benefits for which they may be eligible; and (12) collect data sufficient to identify the housing needs of children served by the department and share such data with the Department of Economic and Community Development.

(b) (1) The department, with the assistance of the State Advisory Council on Children and Families, and in consultation with representatives of the children and families served by the department, providers of services to children and families, advocates, and others interested in the well-being of children and families in this state, shall develop and regularly update a single, comprehensive strategic plan for meeting the needs of children and families served by the department. In developing and updating the strategic plan, the department shall identify and define agency goals and indicators of progress, including benchmarks, in achieving such goals. The strategic plan shall include, but not be limited to: (A) The department's mission statement; (B) the expected results for the department and each of its mandated areas of responsibility; (C) a schedule of action steps and a time frame for achieving such results and fulfilling the department's mission that includes strategies for working with other state agencies to leverage resources and coordinate service delivery; (D) priorities for services and estimates of the funding and other resources necessary to carry them out; (E) standards for programs and services that are based on research-based best practices, when available; and (F) relevant measures of performance.

(2) The department shall begin the strategic planning process on July 1, 2009. The department shall hold regional meetings on the plan to ensure public input and shall post the plan and the plan's updates and progress reports on the department's web site. The department shall submit the strategic plan to the State Advisory Council on Children and Families for review and comment prior to its final submission to the General Assembly and the Governor. On or before July 1, 2010, the department shall submit the strategic plan, in accordance with section 11-4a, to the General Assembly and the Governor.

(3) The commissioner shall track and report on progress in achieving the strategic plan's goals not later than October 1, 2010, and quarterly thereafter, to said State Advisory Council. The commissioner shall submit a status report on progress in achieving the results in the strategic plan, in accordance with section 11-4a, not later than July 1, 2011, and annually thereafter to the General Assembly and the Governor.

[(c) The department shall prepare a plan to keep children who are convicted as delinquent and will be committed to the Department of Children and Families and placed in the Connecticut Juvenile Training School in such facility for at least one year after their referral to the department, which plan shall include provisions for development of a comprehensive approach to juvenile rehabilitation.]