SB125 Alabama 2019 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Cam Ward

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2019

Title

Juvenile Justice, provisions relating to the juvenile justice system substantially revised, adoption of policies for absenteeism and school misconduct required, Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Fund, created, Secs, 12-15-102, 12-15-107, 12-15-119, 12-15-120, 12-15-126, 12-15-127, 12-15-128, 12-15-132, 12-15-207, 12-15-209, 12-15-211, 12-15-215, 12-15-221, 12-15-701, 12-25-9, 15-20A-5, 16-28-2.2, 16-28-8, 16-28-13, 16-28-14, 16-28-16, 16-28-17, 16-28-18, 44-1-24, 44-1-36 am'd.

Summary

This bill overhauls Alabama's juvenile justice system by expanding early intervention, adding statewide risk/needs assessments, and reinvesting savings into community programs to reduce detention and improve school-based responses.

What This Bill Does

Expands early interventions before court and creates a statewide detention risk assessment tool to guide pre-adjudication detention decisions, including potential video detention hearings. Creates a risk and needs assessment to help courts decide when a youth should be placed in the Department of Youth Services and specifies offenses that make a child eligible for DYS custody, along with presumptions for supervision length and sex offender registration discretion. Requires local boards of education to inform parents about absenteeism and school misconduct and requires annual multi-disciplinary agreements with community partners to respond to school offenses and referrals. Creates the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Fund to reinvest savings from reduced custody costs into local programs, plus a Fund Oversight Committee to supervise funding, data sharing, and program effectiveness.

Who It Affects

• Juvenile offenders and youth in Alabama (and their families) who would experience new risk assessments, detention alternatives, and potential placement decisions.
• Schools, parents, local governments, and agencies (including school boards, law enforcement, district attorneys, DOE, DYS, DHHR, and Mental Health) who would implement multi-disciplinary agreements, truancy programs, and fund community-based services.

Key Provisions

• Development of a statewide detention risk assessment tool for pre-adjudication detention decisions by the Administrative Office of Courts, with validation by 2022 and a scoring system for detention eligibility and alternatives.
• Risk and needs assessment to guide disposition and DYS custody eligibility, with defined offenses for DYS placement and presumptions on supervision length; courts gain discretion on sex offender registration under certain conditions.
• Expansion of early interventions and school-led responses: local boards must inform parents about absenteeism and school misconduct; annual multi-disciplinary agreements to respond to school offenses and court referrals.
• Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Fund and Oversight Committee: funds from averted custody costs are reinvested into local community-based programs; oversight, performance-based distribution, and data sharing are prioritized, with emphasis on rural and low-access counties.
• Non-custodial alternatives to detention and home detention: higher reimbursement for non-custodial options; home detention available in every county; funding aimed at in-home and community services.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Juvenile Justice