SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 4
(By Senators Anderson, Craigo, Ball,
Ross,
Jackson, Kessler,
Love, Fanning, White, Scott, Snyder, Dittmar, Hunter, Prezioso,
Helmick, Sprouse, Bailey, Kimble, Walker, McKenzie, Buckalew,
Schoonover and Tomblin, Mr. President)
Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance to make a
study of the feasibility and effectiveness of repurchasing the
former Andrew S. Rowan home and converting it into a secure
facility for the detention of juveniles who have been
transferred to the jurisdiction of the circuit court for trial
as adults and have either appealed such transfer or are
awaiting trial as an adult and for the detention of persons
who, having been so transferred to adult status, have been
tried and convicted and are awaiting placement in an adult
correctional facility operated by the division of corrections.
Whereas, West Virginia's existing juvenile detention centers
were designed and intended for the short-term predipositional
detention of juveniles pending disposition by the juvenile court;
and
Whereas, West Virginia's five existing juvenile detention
centers are consistently over capacity; and
Whereas, Many juveniles who are presently detained in West
Virginia's juvenile detention centers stand accused of serious
violent crimes and, as a consequence, have been transferred to adult status; and
Whereas, Juveniles awaiting trial as adults often spend
several years in detention before they are tried; and
Whereas, Many more such juveniles who have been transferred to
adult status have had to be detained in out-of-state facilities
pending appeal of their transfer to adult status or to await trial
because of the shortage of beds in secure juvenile facilities in
this state; and
Whereas, By virtue of their violent natures, all such
juveniles who have been transferred to adult status pose a threat
to the safety of other juveniles who are held in the same facility,
to the facilities' staffs and to the citizens who reside nearby;
and this threat is increased significantly because the security
measures in place at these facilities are inadequate to meet the
demands created by housing such dangerous youth for long periods;
and
Whereas, The needs of juveniles who require short-term
detention pending disposition in the juvenile court are not being
met because the number of detention beds available are finite and,
of the beds that do exist, a large percentage are being used for
adult transfers and for juveniles awaiting placement in
correctional facilities; and
Whereas, The needs of juveniles who are detained for long
periods of time in the detention centers similarly are not being
met because the programming and services provided in the detention
centers have been designed primarily for the benefit of juveniles who are to be temporarily detained for short periodsa pending
disposition by the juvenile court; and
Whereas, The former Andrew S. Rowan home is located in the
southeastern part of West Virginia where a secure juvenile facility
could be conveniently located and so designed and constructed as to
potentially be amenable to conversion into a suitable secure
facility for a designated juvenile population; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby
requested to review, examine and study the feasibility and
effectiveness of repurchasing the former Andrew S. Rowan home and
converting it into a secure facility for the detention of juveniles
who have been transferred to the adult status and who have appealed
such transfer or who are awaiting trial and for those persons who,
having been so transferred, have been tried as adults and convicted
and are awaiting placement in a correctional facility operated by
the division of corrections; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and
Finance report to the regular session of the Legislature, 1999one
thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, on
its findings, conclusions and recommendations, together with drafts
of any legislation necessary to effectuate its recommendations;
and, be it
Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this
study, to prepare a report and to draft necessary legislation be
paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on
Government and Finance.