Secure youth treatment facilities.

Senator Menjivar's juvenile justice reform legislation enhances California's framework for rehabilitating youth in secure treatment facilities by mandating more comprehensive transition planning and oversight. The bill requires individual rehabilitation plans to specifically detail how programming and services will facilitate a youth's progression to less restrictive environments, including measurable progress criteria, opportunities for community reintegration, and support services needed for successful rehabilitation.

Courts must now hold dedicated hearings to review rehabilitation plans before approval, with plans provided to prosecutors and defense counsel at least two days in advance. During mandatory six-month progress reviews, judges must evaluate whether youth have received adequate opportunities to transition to less restrictive settings and can modify orders to prioritize such progress. The court must transfer youth to less restrictive programs when evidence indicates this would better serve their rehabilitation goals than continued secure confinement.

The legislation directs the Judicial Council to develop standardized offense-based classifications for determining baseline confinement terms, replacing the previous system based on Division of Juvenile Justice guidelines. A stakeholder working group including prosecutors, defenders, probation officers, behavioral health experts, and youth advocates will inform this framework. The Board of State and Community Corrections must establish comprehensive standards for secure youth treatment facilities covering design, security, programming, education and staffing by July 2023.

The changes create new duties for county probation departments in developing rehabilitation plans. If the Commission on State Mandates determines these constitute state-mandated costs, counties will receive reimbursement through established statutory procedures.