SF 4140

as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 03/25/2022 10:42am

A bill for an act
relating to human services; establishing the Office of Juvenile Restorative Justice;
requiring local steering committees to establish local juvenile restorative justice
programs; establishing grants; requiring reports; appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 260B.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [260B.020] OFFICE OF JUVENILE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Establishment. new text end

new text begin The Office of Juvenile Restorative Justice is established
within the Children and Family Services Administration of the Department of Human
Services. The Office of Juvenile Restorative Justice shall have the powers and duties
described in this section.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Director; other staff. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner of human services shall appoint
a director to manage the Office of Juvenile Restorative Justice. The director must have
experience in restorative justice programs, including Native American sentencing circles
and knowledge about the truancy, delinquency, and juvenile safety and placement systems.
The director shall serve in the unclassified service.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner may hire additional staff to perform the duties of the Office of
Juvenile Restorative Justice. The staff shall be in the unclassified service of the state and
their compensation shall be established pursuant to chapter 43A. The staff shall be reimbursed
for the expenses necessarily incurred in the performance of their official duties in the same
manner as other state employees.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Duties. new text end

new text begin (a) The director shall work with counties and multicounty agencies to
establish sustainable programs that employ restorative practices to identify the underlying
causes of behavior and empower children, families, and communities to address and prevent
issues surrounding incidents of negative behavior by children. The director shall ensure that
every county is served by at least one local restorative justice program.
new text end

new text begin (b) The director shall consult with existing restorative justice programs in Tribal
communities, counties, multicounty agencies, other state agencies, and other jurisdictions
to identify effective restorative justice practices.
new text end

new text begin (c) The director shall communicate with county attorneys and other prosecutors, defense
attorneys, law enforcement agencies, school boards, schools, human services providers, and
other community members to explain the rigorous nature of restorative justice programs
and circle sentencing, present options for restorative practices, and describe expected
outcomes from those practices.
new text end

new text begin (d) The director shall work with local communities to identify community needs that
could be addressed through restorative practices and explore community strengths that could
support those restorative practices.
new text end

new text begin (e) The director shall provide technical support for existing local restorative justice
programs, including sharing information on successful practices in other jurisdictions,
notifying program organizers and participants about available training opportunities, and
informing program organizers about sources for financial support.
new text end

new text begin (f) The director shall coordinate the establishment of local steering committees as
described in subdivision 4.
new text end

new text begin (g) The director shall support the establishment of new local restorative justice programs
provided those programs:
new text end

new text begin (1) utilize restorative practices that:
new text end

new text begin (i) are rooted in community values;
new text end

new text begin (ii) work to restore all parties to an incident instead of focusing on punishment;
new text end

new text begin (iii) engage with those most directly affected by an incident; and
new text end

new text begin (iv) have broad authority to determine the complete and appropriate responses to specific
incidents through the use of a collaborative process involving input from the child,
community members, and others affected by an incident or the response;
new text end

new text begin (2) implement policies and procedures that are informed by the science of cognitive
development, including relevant research on the immediate and long-term impact of punitive
responses to youth behavior;
new text end

new text begin (3) recognize the multiple individual and societal factors that influence the behavior of
children;
new text end

new text begin (4) acknowledge the role that race, sex, and socioeconomic status have played in the
establishment of social systems and the effect those systems have on the development of
children;
new text end

new text begin (5) provide solutions and approaches that affirm and are tailored to specific cultures;
new text end

new text begin (6) respect a child's history of trauma and provide an individualized approach to heal
that trauma;
new text end

new text begin (7) include community representatives that reflect the diversity of the child's environment
and the individuals most frequently involved in the truancy, delinquency, and juvenile safety
and placement systems;
new text end

new text begin (8) give power to children, their families, and communities to build on individual and
community strengths, identify resources available to support the needs of children, and
develop procedures to repair and prevent harms;
new text end

new text begin (9) develop diverse, supportive relationships that reflect the fact that building community
requires a network of partnerships;
new text end

new text begin (10) respect the demands on children and coordinate programs to support and encourage
other prosocial activities;
new text end

new text begin (11) promote restorative justice practices within education, delinquency, and truancy
systems;
new text end

new text begin (12) establish policies and procedures around the confidentiality of information shared
by children to promote honesty and protect the public; and
new text end

new text begin (13) create meaningful accountability that prioritizes commitments made with children,
recognizes and addresses the underlying issues of behavior, repairs harms, and prevents
future harms.
new text end

new text begin (h) The director may provide information and technical support to local restorative justice
programs that address substance use disorders in adults, the transition of children into or
out of the foster system, and challenges facing families working to provide a safe and healthy
environment for children.
new text end

new text begin (i) The director shall establish minimum eligibility requirements for grants to local
restorative justice programs, including:
new text end

new text begin (1) requiring that recipients accept eligible children into restorative programs pursuant
to section 260B.1755 before a delinquency petition has been filed or after a delinquency
petition has been filed consistent with the eligibility determinations of the applicable local
steering committee;
new text end

new text begin (2) prohibiting recipients from utilizing involuntary out-of-home placements as part of
the program; and
new text end

new text begin (3) requiring that recipients address issues surrounding incidents of negative behavior
by children through the use of voluntary gatherings of community members that emphasize
sharing and listening, focus on accountability, are rooted in relationships, and are centered
in equity.
new text end

new text begin (j) The director shall review newly established local restorative justice programs two
years after their establishment and shall perform an updated review five years after their
establishment. At a minimum, the review shall include the following information:
new text end

new text begin (1) the number and demographic makeup of program participants;
new text end

new text begin (2) the effect, if any, on the demographic makeup of individuals in the traditional school
disciplinary, community violence prevention, truancy, delinquency, and juvenile safety and
placement systems;
new text end

new text begin (3) the total number of out-of-home placements involving children in the county and
the number of out-of-home placements for children in the program;
new text end

new text begin (4) the rate of high school graduation in the county; the rate for individuals who
participated in the program; and the rate for individuals in the traditional school disciplinary,
community violence prevention, truancy, delinquency, and juvenile safety and placement
systems;
new text end

new text begin (5) the rate of recidivism for children in the program and the rate of recidivism for
children in the traditional delinquency system; and
new text end

new text begin (6) a review of locally developed implementation measures that assess the extent to
which children, their families, victims, and community members believe that the program
encourages their input, responds to their recommendations, and improves outcomes.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Local steering committees; program organization. new text end

new text begin (a) The director shall
work with counties and multicounty agencies to establish a local steering committee in each
jurisdiction by January 1, 2024.
new text end

new text begin (b) If a county or multicounty agency does not participate in establishing a local steering
committee, the director shall establish a local steering committee by June 30, 2024.
new text end

new text begin (c) Each local steering committee shall develop and implement a local restorative justice
program that meets the requirements described in subdivision 3, paragraph (g), and is eligible
for grant funding under the requirements established pursuant to subdivision 3, paragraph
(i). Local steering committees must establish eligibility requirements designed to provide
the maximum benefit to children in the community and may include separate standards for
children referred:
new text end

new text begin (1) pursuant to section 260B.1755;
new text end

new text begin (2) before a delinquency petition has been filed;
new text end

new text begin (3) after a delinquency petition has been filed;
new text end

new text begin (4) while serving an existing sentence of incarceration or probation;
new text end

new text begin (5) from a school;
new text end

new text begin (6) from a county social services agency; or
new text end

new text begin (7) from any other source, including self-referral.
new text end

new text begin (d) The director shall coordinate or establish a sufficient number of local steering
committees to ensure that every county is served by at least one local restorative justice
program.
new text end

new text begin (e) To the extent possible, local steering committees must include:
new text end

new text begin (1) the chief judge of a county that will be served by the local restorative justice program
or a designee;
new text end

new text begin (2) the county attorney of a county that will be served by the local restorative justice
program or a designee;
new text end

new text begin (3) the chief district public defender in the district that will be served by the local
restorative justice program or a designee;
new text end

new text begin (4) a representative from the county social services agency that has responsibility for
public child welfare and child protection services in a county that will be served by the local
restorative justice program;
new text end

new text begin (5) a representative from the community corrections agency that has responsibility for
supervising juveniles adjudicated delinquent in a county that will be served by the local
restorative justice program;
new text end

new text begin (6) a representative from a local law enforcement agency that operates in a county that
will be served by the local restorative justice program;
new text end

new text begin (7) a school principal or member of a school board for a school located in a county that
will be served by the local restorative justice program; and
new text end

new text begin (8) multiple community members that reflect the diversity of the population of a county
that will be served by the local restorative justice program and the individuals most frequently
involved in the truancy, delinquency, and juvenile safety and placement systems.
new text end

new text begin (f) Community members described in paragraph (e), clause (8), must have representation,
input, and the authority to make decisions that is equal to the members identified in paragraph
(e), clauses (1) to (7).
new text end

new text begin (g) Once a local restorative justice program has been established, a local steering
committee may permit a county attorney, county social services agency, or local nonprofit
agency to operate and oversee the program. Local steering committees must establish
budgetary guidance about how grants established in subdivision 5 will be leveraged alongside
a reallocation of local funds from the education, public health, social services, truancy, and
delinquency sectors to be employed for the maximum benefit to children in the community.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Grants. new text end

new text begin Within available appropriations, the director shall award grants to
support existing local restorative justice programs and to establish new local restorative
justice programs. Grants to support existing local restorative justice programs shall not
exceed $50,000 each year. Grants to establish new local restorative justice programs shall
not exceed $150,000 and a recipient may receive only one grant in this category. Grant
recipients must meet the requirements established pursuant to subdivision 3, paragraph (i).
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Report. new text end

new text begin By February 15 of each year, the director shall report to the chairs and
ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over human
services, education, and public safety on the work of the Office of Juvenile Restorative
Justice, any grants issued pursuant to this section, and the status of local restorative justice
programs in the state that were reviewed in the previous year.
new text end

Sec. 2. new text begin OFFICE OF JUVENILE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE; APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin $....... in fiscal year 2023 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of
human services to establish and maintain the Office of Juvenile Restorative Justice.
new text end

Sec. 3. new text begin LOCAL JUVENILE RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROGRAMS;
APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin $....... in fiscal year 2023 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of
human services for grants administered by the Office of Juvenile Restorative Justice and
issued pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 260B.020, subdivision 5. The Office of
Juvenile Restorative Justice may use up to four percent of this amount to administer the
program.
new text end