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January 3, 2003
Governor
Jim Geringer
Wyoming State Capitol
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Dear Governor Geringer:
The following is the 2002 Annual Report from your State Advisory Council on Juvenile Justice. We have had a productive year and this report will outline our major activities. Several attachments to the report will provide further details.
State Plan
The Council has finished it’s first State Plan in relation to Wyoming’s juvenile justice system (see Attachment A). We received OJJDP technical assistance from Randy Thomas with Necco and Associates, Inc., whose guidance through the process was invaluable. The State Plan is organized in such a way as to give the reader a historical basis regarding juvenile justice in Wyoming, and then moves through our current status into goals and objectives for the future. The Plan discusses membership, current grant monies that pass through the Council, and collaborative relationships with other agencies and organizations. The Council intends to utilize the State Plan as a working document to guide our short-term and long-term activities. We invite you to peruse this document and provide us with any comments and/or feedback you may have.
Training Opportunities
A goal outlined by the Council in our State Plan has been to help bring new training opportunities to the State and make them available to service providers and agencies involved with the youth of our state. The Council was involved with several such training activities in 2002.
DFS Youth Summit (Attachment B) – The Wyoming Department of Family Services sponsored a statewide summit June 18-20, 2002 to identify way to improve the overall system of serving high-risk youth. The Council helped support this summit by providing funding to sponsor the morning breaks provided during the summit.
Voice DISC Training (Attachment C) – The Council sponsored a presentation by Columbia University on the use of the Voice Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC) August 23, 2002 in Lander, Wyoming. The Voice DISC is a comprehensive, structured psychiatric diagnostic interview delivered via headphones and computer, and may be a useful and appropriate tool to use for mental health screening in our rural state. Currently Fremont County is utilizing Voice DISC and Columbia University is encouraging other agencies around Wyoming to utilize this tool at no cost, to assist them in their current research on the validity of the Voice DISC. Approximately twenty people attended this presentation.
Dr. Stanton Samenow (Attachment D) – Dr. Samenow is a nationally recognized clinical psychologist whose specialty is the evaluation and treatment of juvenile and adult offenders. He has conducted extensive research on the thinking patterns of offenders and has developed a treatment process called Corrective Thinking. Dr. Samenow has conducted lectures and training seminars across the country to a variety of groups, including mental health, law enforcement, corrections, education, social services, and the judiciary. The Council was pleased to co-sponsor a workshop by Dr. Samenow at Wyoming State Bar Annual Meeting in September, 2002 in Jackson, Wyoming. In conjunction with his presentation to the attorneys, Dr. Samenow spent an afternoon with the Council, and recipients of JAIBG, Title V, and Wyoming County Commissioners’ grant funds.
Coming Together (Attachment E) – The State Substance Abuse Division and our Council held a joint training conference in November at the VeeBar Ranch west of Laramie. Dr. Diane Galloway and her staff did a fine job arranging the conference and bringing in nationally recognized speakers to talk about substance abuse, treatment, and the impact on our juvenile population. Various service providers and agencies from across the State were invited to attend this conference.
Title 14 Review
As you are aware, Title 14 is currently under review by the Joint Judiciary Committee. Members of the Council have been involved with the review process and will continue to provide input as the review continues.
Grant Activities
The Council has continued to act as an agent for the pass-through of Federal grants issued through OJJDP. The Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant is a continuing grant project in which twenty-seven (27) counties and communities across the state participate. As reported to you last year, we are now involved with Federal Title V funds, providing additional grant support for communities who are in compliance with JJDPA Core Requirements. To date, seven counties meet eligibility requirements and the Council is continuing to work to make these funds available. Attachments F and G describe these two grant activities in detail.
Wyoming was fortunate to receive substantial funding through the State Incentive Grant, which was ultimately combined with several other funding streams to address substance abuse prevention in Wyoming. Many of the Council members were involved with the training and grant application process as facilitated by the State Substance Abuse Division. The SIG grants were awarded in October and the Council intends to include these grant recipients along with our own grant recipients in forming a continuum of services for our youth.
Membership and Staffing
In 2002 Patricia Nagel and Judge Thomas Sullins resigned from the Council and we welcomed Sarah Ascienzo and Charles Whiton. Membership, particularly youth membership, continues to be a challenge and we are working with DFS and our state representative at OJJDP to address this issue. Our membership roster is listed as Attachment H to this report.assistance to the Council in completing projects throughout the year has been tremendous. Lesley has also had the opportunity to attend several conferences and seminars both on a state and national level. An outline and brief description of this training is included as Attachment I.
Conclusion
The Council is pleased with our accomplishments for this year and are looking forward to working more on the goals and objectives outlined in our State Plan. The climate in our state is very favorable to make some great strides in caring for Wyoming’s youth. The Council would like to thank you for the guidance and support you have provided since the Council’s inception, and for the genuine concern you have for Wyoming’s kids. We wish you well in your future endeavors.
Respectfully Submitted,
Valerie
Seidel
Chairman
cc: Governor-Elect Dave Freudenthal
Analysis of the Wyoming Juvenile Justice System
Throughout the United States each state and territory has developed its own juvenile justice system beginning with the first juvenile code established by the Illinois legislature in 1899. As a result America has 51 separate juvenile justice systems in which juvenile offenders find themselves.
This is an analysis of how juvenile offenders are processed by the justice system in Wyoming, not an analysis of the Wyoming Juvenile Code or the District Juvenile Court. When looking at the Wyoming Juvenile Justice system it becomes apparent there are two systems of justice working side by side for delinquent children. One system in which the juvenile offender has access to the resources of the Wyoming Juvenile Code, under Title 14 of the State Statutes through the District Juvenile Court, and another system whereby juvenile offenders are cited directly into adult misdemeanor courts (Municipal, Justice of the Peace and Circuit Courts) known as courts of limited jurisdiction. These courts do not have access to all of the resources of the Wyoming Juvenile Code.
Original Jurisdiction v. Concurrent Jurisdiction of Juvenile Delinquency Cases
In the majority of state juvenile justice systems, juvenile offenders are charged under one unified Juvenile Court or a Family Court system. It is in this type of juvenile court system in which all juvenile cases begin and is what is meant by having original jurisdiction of juvenile matters in the juvenile court. These courts, at a minimum, have jurisdiction over children, domestic relations, and guardianship.
In Wyoming there is not original jurisdiction of misdemeanor juvenile crime or delinquency in the District Juvenile Court but rather concurrent jurisdiction with the courts of limited jurisdiction (Municipal, Justice of the Peace and Circuit Courts). Concurrent jurisdiction allows misdemeanor offenses to be heard in either the District Juvenile Court or one of the courts of limited jurisdiction (Municipal, Justice of the Peace and Circuit Courts). A law enforcement officer who cites a juvenile offender directly into a court of limited jurisdiction (Municipal, Justice of the Peace and Circuit Courts) makes the determination of which court or jurisdiction a juvenile case is heard. In Wyoming, this is based on the offense itself and whether it is a misdemeanor or felony, where the crime occurred (e.g. within city limits) and whether the crime is a violation of municipal ordinance or state statute. In courts of limited jurisdiction there is very little distinction between juvenile and adult offenders.
National Trends Concerning Felony Level Violent and Chronic Juvenile Offenders
The trend nationwide during the past decade has been to waive more violent felony level juvenile offenders into the adult system. In most states there are exceptions whereby violent and/or particularly heinous crimes are automatically eligible for prosecution as adult felony offenders at the discretion of the prosecutor. Older and more sophisticated delinquent youth may be waived from the juvenile court jurisdiction into the adult court after all attempts at changing the youths’ criminal behavior have failed. In Wyoming, state statutes allow juvenile felony offenders as young as fourteen to be charged directly as adult felony offenders for first time violent felony offenses; and under more restrictive circumstances, repeat juvenile felony property offenders can be charged as adult offenders at fourteen as well. These laws are not uncommon across the country and in the case of the violent and chronic felony juvenile offender the Wyoming laws are consistent with those of other states.
Misdemeanor Juvenile Offenses in Wyoming
Nationally, Wyoming is an exception to most states when dealing with the juvenile who commits a misdemeanor offense. For example, Wyoming youths who commit crimes such as shoplifting, petit larceny, misdemeanor property destruction, or violation of the liquor laws are most commonly cited directly into the adult court jurisdictions of Municipal Courts, Justice of the Peace Courts, and Circuit Courts rather than the more appropriate District Juvenile Court. These courts of limited jurisdiction are designed to deal with adult offenders and provide specific penalties of jail sentences and fines by statute or ordinance. They do not have access to the resources contained in the Wyoming Juvenile Code, nor do they have any authority over the parent or guardians of the juvenile offender.
Court Resources, and Effectiveness
To be effective in handling juvenile cases it is often necessary to conduct assessment and evaluations, and utilize resources such as supervision, counseling, placement options, and have the means and authority to order parents to be involved and contribute financially to their child's treatment. This means having adequate juvenile probation staffing to assist in obtaining information relevant to juvenile offenders and their families and making recommendations for additional services both prior to a court hearing and during the court process. All of these resources are deemed appropriate and are currently available under the Wyoming Juvenile Code, which is the standard for the treatment of children under Wyoming state statutes.
Courts
of limited jurisdiction lack staff trained in juvenile issues, who can consistently
conduct investigations and prepare reports regarding the juvenile’s
background in order for the judge to make informed decisions and appropriate
dispositions in a juvenile case; as well as supervise court ordered terms
of probation. If the court of limited jurisdiction (Municipal, Justice of
the Peace and Circuit Courts) is fortunate enough to have staff which can
assist the court with assessment, recommendations and supervision, the court
of limited jurisdiction may still find it still cannot act in the best interest
of the child and the community because the court of limited jurisdiction
lacks the authority to address the issues related to the child’s situation,
or cannot access the resources of the Wyoming Juvenile Code.
For example, a juvenile may need an evaluation or specific treatment that
they are unable to pay for. These are not isolated juvenile cases in Wyoming,
but are more the rule than the exception.
The majority of juvenile (age 17 and younger) misdemeanor offenders in Wyoming
are processed through courts of limited jurisdictions (Municipal, Justice
of the Peace and Circuit Courts) where they do not receive the age appropriate
services and resources of the Wyoming Juvenile Code. Instead
the juveniles receive criminal records, public hearings, and
they are more likely to serve a sentence in a municipal or county adult
jail. Ironically, by the laws that govern these courts of limited jurisdictions,
juveniles are not eligible to be sentenced to state institutions designed
to serve them such as the Wyoming Boys’ School and Wyoming Girls’
School. The courts of limited jurisdictions do not require any assessment
or pre-sentence investigation reports be conducted on juvenile offenders.
Juveniles cannot be placed in a Group Home or treatment program by the court
of limited jurisdiction. The court of limited jurisdiction cannot require
the parent or guardian(s) to be involved in counseling, or treatment, nor
can they be required to contribute financially to counseling or treatment.
Protections Granted Under the Juvenile Code for Felony Offenses
The process for juvenile misdemeanor offenders in the courts of limited jurisdiction contrasts sharply with the serious felony juvenile offenders who are charged in the District Juvenile Court under the Wyoming Juvenile Code. These juvenile felony offenders are handled through the Wyoming Juvenile Courts, as felony offenses and cannot be heard in courts of limited jurisdiction. Once in the Wyoming Juvenile Court the juvenile offender receives all the protections under the Wyoming Juvenile Code including: confidential hearings, no criminal conviction (rather adjudication of delinquency) and all the treatment resources available to the juvenile courts via parental and state financial resources. The juvenile court has the authority to place children in treatment programs outside of their homes and require the parents to participate in their child's treatment and contribute financially. None of these options are available to the courts of limited jurisdiction.
Inequities in the Wyoming Juvenile Justice System
Comparison of authority and resources available for juvenile services and treatment of the courts of limited jurisdiction (Municipal Court, Justice of the Peace Court, Circuit Court, and Juvenile Court:
Ability to involve families, parents, and guardians:
A. Juvenile Court The Juvenile Court has the full authority to order family, parent and guardian involvement in areas related to the child’s legal difficulties.
B. Municipal Court The Municipal Court has no authority to compel parents and guardians to become involved in the treatment of their children who are appearing before the Municipal Court.
C. Circuit Court The Circuit Court does have the authority to involve parents in counseling, substance abuse, etc. and issues related to the minor in this adult court. Failure to comply could be addressed through contempt charges, which would require a trial, by the judge or jury, or the imposition of the suspended sentence, which would only affect the minor.
Ability to order Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDT’s):
A. Juvenile Court This court under the Juvenile Code “shall,” order a Multi-Disciplinary Team be convened after every delinquency adjudication.
B. Municipal Court This court has no authority to order a Multi-Disciplinary Team be convened in the interest of the child.
C. Circuit Court This court has no authority to order a Multi-Disciplinary Team be convened in the interest of the child.
Treatment resource authority and options:
A. Juvenile Court Resources for treatment of juvenile offenders principally lie with this court. This court can order and access assessments (psychiatric, substance abuse, mental health); evaluations; outpatient counseling/therapy; intensive outpatient (substance abuse, mental health, sex offenses, victim issues, anger management, etc.); residential placements to include both private and public providers, state juvenile institutions, and the state hospital. The court also has the authority to order the involvement of the parents and family, and to order the parents, guardian or custodian to pay all or part of the costs of the juvenile action including treatment expenses. The court can order the evaluation and treatment of parents.
B. Municipal court This court may place juvenile offenders on administrative probation. The court has no money available for treatment options for juveniles, though as a condition of probation or suspension of a sentence, WS 5-6-114, it does have the authority to order the minor to complete a juvenile service program with the Community Juvenile Services Act, WS 14-9-106 et seq. The juvenile services program allows for things such as assessments, evaluations, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and even placements. However, this requires a county or counties to enter agreements to create CJS boards and to receive funding. This act has not been funded and in fact is not a resource, though it is provided for in statute.
C. Circuit Court There is likely a difference of opinion on the judicial authority of this court to order assessments, counseling, in-patient treatment, etc. as well as the authority to order either the juvenile or his parents to pay for these things. Depending on the court’s interpretation some authority may derive from a common law body of law dealing with the “inherent power of the court” which concludes that parents have a responsibility to care for their children, consequently they may have to pay for some of these services. Failure to comply may result in contempt proceedings, or the imposition of the suspended sentence. There is not specific statutory authority to order these types of services. This court likely does not have the authority to send a juvenile to in-patient treatment. Also this court does not have any ability of its own to pay for these services. The Community Juvenile Services Act referenced above also applies to Circuit Courts, but again there is no funding for the community boards.
Placement resource options:
A. Municipal Court The Municipal Court has no authority to order the placement of juveniles anywhere but to city or county jails or detention centers.
B. Circuit Court The Circuit Court has no authority to order the placement of juveniles anywhere but to county jails or detention centers.
C. District Juvenile Court The District Juvenile Court has full authority and ability to order the placements of juveniles. This includes group homes, foster homes, residential facilities, state hospital, state juvenile institutions, private psychiatric hospitals, and substance abuse facilities. This also includes the authority to order payment of these placements and require parents and guardian.
Other Inherent Issues Related to the Wyoming Juvenile Justice System
•
Philosophy of juvenile court vs. criminal court
It has long been recognized (over 100 years)
that there are inherent differences between adult and juvenile offenders.
This is why Juvenile Codes have been enacted in every state beginning with
Illinois in 1899 and ending with Wyoming’s juvenile code in 1945.
The Wyoming Juvenile Code differs from the penal code with its emphasis
on rehabilitating the juvenile offender and his family, while holding him/her
responsible and accountable and protecting the community. This is reflected
in the broad discretion the Juvenile Court Judge has when making a disposition
in a juvenile case. There are not corresponding sentences or dispositions
to the various crimes, but rather each juvenile is viewed individually in
the context of his/her whole situation.
Criminal
codes greatly reduce the discretion of the judge when sentencing offenders,
and have penalties (fines and jail sentences) that correspond to the crime
committed. Discretion lies with suspended sentences and length of sentence.
• Statewide policy
The Wyoming Juvenile Code is the standard
of treatment for juvenile offenders as passed by the Wyoming Legislature.
The Department of Family Services promotes “Restorative Justice”
concepts of a balanced approach to juvenile delinquency, which includes
accountability, community safety, and competency development in the Juvenile
Court. This policy and these concepts do not come into play in the handling
of juvenile cases in courts of limited jurisdiction, yet this is where the
majority of juvenile offenders enter the system. In order to be an effective
statewide policy, the policy must be implemented consistently across the
state and in all jurisdictions that handle juvenile cases.
Juvenile Drug Courts are being promoted under recently passed legislation of House Bill 59. How will Juvenile Drug Courts be implemented if the vast majority of juvenile alcohol and substance abuse cases are handled in the courts of limited jurisdiction (Municipal, Justice of the Peace and Circuit Courts)?
•
Equal protection
The Wyoming juvenile justice system is fraught
with inconsistency in the treatment of juvenile offenders. The system is
ambiguous in the treatment of like offenders, and often times the geographic
location of the delinquency determines the level of services received. This
pertains to the variety in the level of services available to courts of
limited jurisdiction in different locations in the state. It also pertains
to which jurisdiction (Municipal Court, Justice of the Peace Court, or Circuit
Court) a juvenile is cited. There is gross inequity in the handling of juvenile
cases when the more serious offenders (felony) receive the protections of
the Wyoming Juvenile Code (confidential hearings, no criminal record) while
the less serious offenders, misdemeanors in courts of limited jurisdiction
do not receive these same protections. A small percentage of juvenile felony
offenders are filed on in District Court. There is an inequity when one
juvenile offender is serving a lengthy sentence in an adult jail or detention
center, while another is serving an indeterminate time at a state institution
designed for juveniles (Wyoming Girls’ School and Wyoming Boys’
School) with educational programming, counseling, etc. for the same offense.
• Impacts of this system
The Wyoming Juvenile Justice system should
not limit services, protections and treatment for the more serious, disturbed,
or violent juvenile offenders; but rather once they are assessed, minor
offenders may be in as great of need of these services, and should at least
have equal access to them through the Wyoming Juvenile Code. Just because
the presenting offense is less severe in nature does not necessarily mean
the individual child does not require Juvenile Court services. Because a
youth is arrested for shoplifting does not preclude that he/she has a substance
abuse problem or is in a dysfunctional family. Committing a misdemeanor
instead of a felony crime should not mean you are more likely to get an
adult criminal record and are less likely to have access to a plethora of
juvenile services under the Wyoming Juvenile Code. Numerous opportunities
to intervene with the juvenile offenders and their family at the earliest
stages of alcohol/controlled substance use and other delinquent behaviors,
when they are often younger and more amenable to changing behaviors are
missed in our present system. This inefficient system invariably costs the
State dollars in the long run in terms of out of home placement costs, and
victimization of citizens.
Wyoming
has a higher than average rate of out of home placement of children. This
has been a fiscal issue for the past twenty years. Numerous studies (seven
or more) beginning in 1981 have been commissioned to address this issue
along with other juvenile justice issues. At least half of these studies
have recommended a unified juvenile court system of original jurisdiction.
• Meeting the Demand of a Unified Juvenile Court
A unified juvenile or family court system
does not require that each juvenile offender appear in court, but rather
that they be assessed and have equal access to the District Juvenile Court
and its resources in a seamless system. Pre-court diversion and deferred
prosecution programs, which hold children accountable and responsible and
involve their parents, should be an integral part of any juvenile justice
system. This type of programming can limit the number of juveniles appearing
in the Juvenile Court while at the same time insuring they all have access
to the Juvenile Court and resources based on the best interest of the child
and in balance with his/her community.
•
Course of Action
The Council recognizes that the present system
creates a process that is flawed with inequities and inefficiencies. Reform
is especially important to consider as we expend a growing amount of our
resources for out of home juvenile placements and adult corrections. As
a short-term goal the Council will conduct a detailed study that considers
alternatives to this system.
The Council
will make recommendations for court reforms and will issue a policy report
outlining our findings. The Council will use all resources available including
the current Title 14 Review Committee.
Programs
and Trainings attended by
Lesley Osen, Council Coordinator