A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to require the department of Juvenile justice and delinquency prevention to obtain the approval of the court before placing a juvenile committed to the department in a program not located in a youth development center or detention facility.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 7B‑2513(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	A commitment order accompanied by information requested by the Department shall be forwarded to the Department. The Department shall place the juvenile in the youth development center that would best provide for the juvenile's needs and shall notify the committing court. The Department may assign a juvenile committed for delinquency to any institution of the Department or licensed by the Department, which program is appropriate to the needs of the juvenile. 
The Department, after assessment of the juvenile, may provide commitment services to the juvenile in a program not located in a youth development center or detention facility. If the Department recommends that commitment services for the juvenile are to be provided in a setting that is not located in a youth development center or detention facility, the Department shall file a motion, along with information about the recommended services for the juvenile, with the committing court prior to placing the juvenile in the identified commitment program. The Department shall send notice of the motion to the District Attorney, the juvenile, and the juvenile's attorney. Upon receipt of the motion filed by the Department, the court may enter an order without the appearance of witnesses and without hearing if the court determines that the identified commitment program is appropriate and a hearing is not necessary. The court must hold a hearing if the juvenile or the juvenile's attorney requests a hearing. If the court notifies the Department of its intent to hold a hearing, the date for that hearing shall be set by the court and the Department shall place the juvenile in a youth development center or detention facility until the determination of the court at that hearing."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2003, and applies to dispositions entered on or after that date.