GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1989

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 429

Short Title:  Children & Youth/Juvenile Age Study.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives Easterling; and Warner.
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Referred to:  Rules.
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March 2, 1989

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO MAKE THE CHILD WELFARE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMISSION ON CHILDREN AND YOUTH THE FOCUS FOR THE STUDY OF THE RELATED ISSUES OF JURISDICTIONAL AGE OF JUVENILES AND COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE AGE.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Article 12B of Chapter 120 reads as rewritten:
"Article 12B.
"Commission on Children and Youth.
"§ 120-70.7.  Creation; appointment of members.
There is created a Commission on Children and Youth with 15 members to be appointed as follows:  five members by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, five members by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and five by the Governor.  Of the members appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, three shall be members of the Senate at the time of their appointment, one shall be an attorney, and one shall be a parent of a child under 16.  Of the members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, three shall be members of the House of Representatives at the time of their appointment, one shall be a physician licensed to practice in North Carolina and actively involved in the private practice of pediatrics, and one educator actively involved in special education.  Of the five appointed by the Governor, one shall be an attorney, one shall be an educator actively involved in the education of children, one shall be a parent of a child with special needs, one shall be a physician, and one shall be a member of the public.
"§ 120-70.8.  Time of appointments; terms of office.
Appointments to the Commission shall be made within 15 days subsequent to the close of each regular session of the General Assembly.  The term of office shall begin on the day of appointment, and shall end on the date when the next appointments are made.  Terms shall be for two years.  Members may be appointed for two consecutive terms and may be reappointed after being off the Commission for two years.  Vacancies occurring during a term shall be filled for the unexpired term by the officer who made the original appointment. 
"§ 120-70.9.  Organization of Commission; Subcommittees.
(a)	Upon its appointment, the Commission shall organize by electing from its membership a chairman and a vice-chairman.  The Commission shall meet at such times and places as the chairman shall designate.  With the approval of the Legislative Services Commission, the facilities of the State Legislative Building and the Legislative Office Building shall be available to the Commission.  The Commission is authorized to conduct hearings and to contract for and employ such clerical and other assistance, professional advice and services as may be deemed necessary in the performance of its duties or of any of its subcommittees' duties, with the approval of the Legislative Services Commission. 
(b)	The chairman, when elected, shall organize the Commission into four formal subcommittees; Child Health, Child Care, Child Support, and Child Welfare, which subcommittees shall have the duties assigned to it by the Commission.
"§ 120-70.9A.  Subcommittee on Child Welfare; jurisdictional age of juveniles; age for purposes of compulsory attendance law.
(a)	The Subcommittee shall be the lead study committee for the ongoing study of the whole issue of juvenile age jurisdiction and of compulsory attendance law age.  The study shall include:
(1)	A survey of national practices, trends, and research on the juvenile age and compulsory school attendance age, including an analysis of how these practices affect and will affect North Carolina;
(2)	A complete examination of all the philosophical, legal, fiscal, and  social considerations arguing for and against any changes in age requirements; implications of changing any ages;
(3)	A detailed plan for development, coordination, and implementation of any change proposed;
(4)	An analysis of the feasibility of implementing any such plan: which analysis shall include:
a.	The projected impact of the plan on existing direct and support legal, social, and institutional services;
b.	The need for additional direct and support legal, social, and institutional services;
c.	Any proposal for statutory revision consistent with or requisite to the successful implementation of the plan, and the rationale for these statutory changes;
d.	The need for the coordination of existing and additional direct and support legal, social, or institutional services; and
e.	The total projected  cost, broken down into its legal, social, and institutional components, together with an implementation schedule.
(b)	The Subcommittee shall accomplish this study in continuing consultation with the following agencies and groups:
(1)	The Administrative Office of the Courts;
(2)	The Department of Correction;
(3)	The Divisions of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services, of Social Services, of Health Services, and of Youth Services of the Department of Human Resources;
(4)	The Department of Public Instruction;
(5)	The Attorney General;
(6)	The Juvenile Law Study Commission;
(7)	The Juvenile Justice Committee of the Governor's Crime Commission;
(8)	The Sheriff's Association, the Juvenile Officers' Association, and the Association of Police Departments;
(9)	The Governor's Advocacy Council on Children and Youth;
(10)	The North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute;
(11)	The Alcohol/Drug Council of North Carolina/Adolescent Services;
(12)	The North Carolina Association of Educators;
(13)	The School Board Association; and
(14)	Any other group or individual the Subcommittee considers vital to its study.
These groups may form themselves into an ad hoc committee of the Subcommittee for purposes of fulfilling their role of continuing consultation to the Subcommittee who shall work with the Subcommittee.
(c)	The Subcommittee shall travel throughout the State and shall hold public hearings on the issues of its study.  The public opinions it receives shall form an important part of its deliberations.
(d)	The Subcommittee shall make a formal, written report to the Commission no later than November 1, 1990, on the results of its study, including any recommendations.  If the recommendations are that no change be made, the report shall include the detailed findings and conclusions in support of these recommendations.
"§ 120-70.10.  Members to serve without compensation; subsistence and travel expenses.
Members of the Commission shall serve without compensation but they shall be paid necessary subsistence and travel expenses in accordance with the provisions of G.S. 120-3.1, G.S. 138-5, and G.S. 138-6, as applicable.  The Commission shall be funded by the Legislative Services Commission from appropriations made to the General Assembly for that purpose. 
"§ 120-70.11.  Assistance to Commission.
The Commission, in the performance of its duties, may request and shall receive from every department, board, bureau, agency, commission, or institution of this State, or from any political subdivision of the State, information, cooperation, and assistance. 
"§ 120-70.12.  Duties of Commission.
The Commission is hereby authorized to:
(1)	Pursue an in-depth study of the services provided by other states for children.
(2)	Collect and evaluate for comprehensiveness existing legislation in North Carolina that is relevant to programs for children as well as pertinent reports, studies and findings from other states, national bodies, State agencies, advocacy groups, and other interested persons.
(3)	Collect and evaluate for comprehensiveness the reports and recommendations of the various agencies, councils, commissions, committees, and associations existing in North Carolina whose primary or partial duties are to make recommendations designed to affect services for children.
(4)	Monitor on a continuing basis the progress of the State as it moves toward meeting the service requirements for children with special needs.
(5)	Recommend legislation.
(6)	Evaluate budget trends. 
"§ 120-70.13.  Reports to General Assembly.
The Commission shall make a written report to the General Assembly not later than February 1 of each odd-numbered year.  This report shall include an analysis of the Commission's study, including any legislative recommendations. 
"§ 120-70.14.  Assistance of State Departments.
The Department of Human Resources, the Department of Public Education, the Department of Justice, the Department of Administration, and the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety are declared vital departments of State government to especially assist the Commission and to furnish it with information, and to the extent permitted by the Commission, to actively participate in the work and deliberations of the Commission."
Sec. 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the General Assembly the sum of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) for the 1989-90 fiscal year and the sum of seventy-five thousand dollars for the 1990-91 fiscal year, for the Commission on Children and Youth.  Each fiscal year these funds shall be allocated as follows: twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for the work of the Commission, excluding the work of the Child Welfare Subcommittee's study pursuant to G.S. 120-70.9A, and fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for the Child Welfare Subcommittee's study pursuant to G.S. 120-70.9A.
Sec. 3.  This act shall become effective July 1, 1989.