FWSN-advisorybd-repo.. - The Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance

truant students who attend school
regularly.
VII. ISSUES RELATING TO THE FWSN POPULATION
REQUIRING FURTHER STUDY OR EXAMINATION BY THE
JOINT STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE
A. Impact of the “Raise the Age” legislation, specifically as it relates to
Youth In Crisis
P.A. 07-4 Section 73, drastically changes the landscape of the juvenile justice system in
Connecticut. The Act which is often referred to as “Raise the Age” expands the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court to include sixteen and seventeen year olds.
The Act eliminates the “Youth in Crisis” designation for sixteen and seventeen year old
status offenders. The changes articulated in the Act will be effective January 1, 2010. At
that point, status offenders who are sixteen or seventeen years old will be required to be
treated as children from families with service needs.
In State Fiscal Year 2006-2007, the Judicial Branch added just fewer than 1500 new
“Youth in Crisis” cases to its dockets. These cases will be FWSN matters after January
1, 2010. The influx of cases to the court and the unique needs of sixteen and seventeen
year olds are currently under consideration by the Juvenile Jurisdiction Policy and
Operations Coordinating Council (the successor to the Juvenile Jurisdication Planning
and Implementation Committee). 58
While the “Raise the Age” legislation primarily speaks to sixteen and seventeen year olds
who are alleged to have committed delinquent acts, those who will be defined as children
from Families with Service Needs will require the panoply of services and court
interventions now afforded the population under sixteen. Accordingly, the judicial
branch, DCF, and community-based public and private providers must increase their
level of service provision and further diversify the services offered.
The Juvenile Jurisdiction Planning and Implementation Committee submitted a report to
the Connecticut General Assembly in February 2007. The committee endorsed a number
of recommendations related to sixteen and seventeen year olds. The report states, “In
general, services need to be expanded in order to preserve the existing level of delivery to
younger juveniles as well as adapted to different developmental needs of older
adolescents.” 59
58 In 2006, the Connecticut General Assembly established the Juvenile Jurisdiction Planning and
Implementation Committee and charged it with creating a plan to align the state’s policies with practice
incorporating the sixteen and seventeen year olds in the state’s juvenile justice population.
59 Source: Connecticut Juvenile Jurisdiction Planning and Implementation Committee Final Report,
(Connecticut, 2007) 12.
70