A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT no longer requiring a court order to establish local intake procedures for receiving delinquency and undisciplined complaints under the laws pertaining to undisciplined and delinquent juveniles and authorizing the department of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention to monitor county detention centers.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 7B‑1803(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	All complaints concerning a juvenile alleged to be delinquent or undisciplined shall be referred to the juvenile court counselor for screening and evaluation. Thereafter, if the juvenile court counselor determines that a petition should be filed, the petition shall be drawn by the juvenile court counselor or the clerk, signed by the complainant, and verified before an official authorized to administer oaths. If the circumstances indicate a need for immediate attachment of jurisdiction and if the juvenile court counselor is out of the county or otherwise unavailable to receive a complaint and to draw a petition when it is needed, the clerk shall assist the complainant in communicating the complaint to the juvenile court counselor by telephone and, with the approval of the juvenile court counselor, shall draw a petition and file it when signed and verified. A copy of the complaint and petition shall be transmitted to the juvenile court counselor. "
SECTION 2.  G.S. 153A‑221.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 153A‑221.1.  Standards and inspections.
The legal responsibility of the Secretary of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for State services to county juvenile detention homes under this Article is hereby confirmed and shall include the following: development of State standards under the prescribed procedures; inspection; consultation; technical assistance; and training.
The Secretary of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention shall also develop standards under which a local jail may be approved as a holdover facility for not more than five calendar days pending placement in a juvenile detention home which meets State standards, providing the local jail is so arranged that any child placed in the holdover facility cannot converse with, see, or be seen by the adult population of the jail while in the holdover facility. The personnel responsible for the administration of a jail with an approved holdover facility shall provide close supervision of any child placed in the holdover facility for the protection of the child."
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.