Juvenile Justice Task Force

the second half of the year proceeds as the first half, the court will have provided the communities in the state with over 500,000 hours of community service.

    Judge Johansen reported there was a bill several years ago that proposed to allow the juvenile courts have the parent's pay for restitution; however, it did not pass.

    Ms. Diane Hamilton, Administrative Office of the Court, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinator for the State of Utah and Ms. Susan Bradshaw, Coordinator for the Victim Offender Mediation Program in the juvenile courts addressed the committee. Ms. Hamilton explained the mediation program and indicated that it had been in operation for approximately six months. She then explained that the intent of the program was to bring the victims of crime together with the perpetrator and, with the help of a neutral facilitator, have dialogue about the effect of the crime on the family and victim. A "Program Summary" handout was distributed, reflecting a basic overview of the program.

    Ms. Hamilton indicated that a survey revealed a satisfaction rate of approximately 96 percent for both victims and offenders that go through the process. She explained that there are two categories of offender mediation: one for first time offenders that are reported by a case worker and one for cases that have been adjudicated.

    Captain William Shelton, Salt Lake City Police Department, distributed a handout, "Salt Lake Peer Court," and discussed the Peer Court and how that ties in with restorative justice in the Salt Lake City high schools. He explained the process and indicated that the Peer Court develops both the defendants and the teenagers that participate on the panel. It teaches communication, caring, and responsibility and develops a positive social interaction. In 1996, the program expanded to include the entire Salt Lake City School District. Approximately 120 students and 60 volunteers have donated their time to support this program over the past four years. Over the last three years, 75-80 percent of offenders have successfully completed their dispositions. Last year 45 offenders went through the program and the indications this year are that the numbers will increase considerably.

    Sen. Hillyard commented that he would like to see the committee establish a basic philosophy.
    
3.    Overview of DYC's Budget Deficit FY 97
    
    Mr. Gary K. Dalton, Director, Division of Youth Corrections, distributed a handout, "Division of Youth Corrections 1997 Budget Deficit," from which he gave his presentation. He discussed general causes and resolutions for the budget deficit, along with the projected closeout for FY 98. He mentioned items that affect the division's budget: 1) federal funds, 2) uncertainty

of a medicaid match for Mental Health Services, and 3) uncertainty of COLAs for privatized facility contracts.     
    
    Mr. Dalton explained that group homes are the most cost effective programs we have in terms of cost and ability to normalize children. If there were no community-based alternatives, youth would have to be placed in institutional care, detention centers, and secure care facilities which would escalate costs.

    Chair Fox pointed out that if group homes are going to cause problems in communities we need to make sure the benefits are worth it. She discussed concerns with adequate supervision of the homes.

4.    Juvenile Justice Programs

        Mr. Michael R. Phillips, Deputy Juvenile Court Administrator, distributed a handout "Utah Juvenile Court Probation Department Size, Cost, and Workload." He briefed the committee on the costs of the probation services in the state, the volume of children, the workload, and the success rate. He highlighted the mission of the Juvenile Court Probation Department and its restorative justice philosophy.

    Ms. Robin Williams distributed a handout, "DHS Department of Human Services" from which she gave her presentation. She focused on family services and youth corrections. Referring to a chart in her handout, for FY 1996, she highlighted the program levels, the budget FY 1996, youth served during this time, average daily populations, daily costs, and number of youth completing programs. The cost for secure care is approximately $40 per day.

    Mr. S. Brian Lindsay, Services Executive Director, distributed a handout "Youth Reclamation." He informed the committee that in determining who was eligible for the program, the court must find that without this program the child would be faced with out of home placement. He said the involvement of parents was significant. The Youth Reclamation Program was the first attempt anywhere to gather this much data on ungovernable delinquent youth and their parents. He anticipates being able to publish the results of the program by December. Mr. Lindsay indicated that electronic monitoring had been reasonably effective so far, with minor incidents of device tampering. However, in Wisconsin, it was found that electronic monitoring was effective in only a narrow segment of the population. It was determined that often by the time it got to the point that the court was willing to consider it, there was too much anger in the ungovernable or delinquent offender to be effective.
    
    Chair Hillyard highlighted issues of concern that needed to be addressed: how money was spent with the implementation of the sentencing guidelines, the direction we are going with funding, cutting out overlaps and duplications, POST certification, private providers versus state

providers, Youth Correction's budget shortfall, and funding programs in regard to rehabilitation versus public safety.

    Mr. Eric W. Bjorklund, President, Utah Youth Private Providers' Network, distributed a handout, "Private Agencies and Supporting Materials," from which he gave his presentation. He discussed the agencies he contracts with and explained the different kinds of services offered. He noted that all private providers combined serve approximately 400 youth per day with an average cost of $80 per child. Mr. Bjorklund emphasized the importance of quality supervision in group homes.

5.    Future Focus
    
    Chair Fox distributed a handout indicating potential agenda items for committee members to review.
    
6.     Adjournment

    MOTION: Sen Hillyard moved to adjourn the meeting at 4:10 p.m. The motion passed unanimously.