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.