CHAPTER 353
FORMERLY
SENATE BILL NO. 415
AS AMENDED BY SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 1
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 42, TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Two-thirds of all members elected to each House thereof concurring therein):
Section 1. Amend Chapter 42, Title 11, of the Delaware Code by adding a new section to read as follows:
"Section 4204A Confinement of Youth Convicted in Superior Court.
(a) When a child, as defined under 10 Del. C. Section 901(3), is sentenced in Superior Court as an adult, within 30 days there shall be a joint placement decision to be made by the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections ('the Commissioner'), the Secretary of the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families ('the Secretary'), and the Director of the Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services ('the Director'), to determine whether to confine the child in a juvenile or adult correctional facility until the child reaches his or her eighteenth birthday. The Commissioner, the Secretary and the Director shall have the exclusive authority to determine placement of such a child after sentencing in Superior Court. The placement decision shall take into account such factors as the child's age and maturity, the nature and circumstances of the offense for which the child was convicted, the child's prior offense history, the security and programs at each of the correctional facilities, the child's behavior while in detention, and any other relevant factors. The placement decision
shall be reviewed by the Juvenile Dentention Oversight Committee prior to implementation, provided that such review shall occur within 30 days of the placement decision.
(b) At any point during the course of confinement, an administrative review of the placement may be requested by the Commissioner, the Secretary, or the Director for further consideration and, if appropriate, transfer to or from either of the systems. Any decision for transfer of a child shall be based on the same factors listed in subsection a of this section.
(c) No child who has been sentenced in Superior Court as an adult shall be confined in an adult correctional facility prior to the release of the decision provided for in subsection.a of this section. However, a child previously committed pretrial to an adult correctional facility pursuant to 11 Del. C. Section 2103A shall remain in the custody of that facility pending the decision of the Commissioner, the Secretary and the Director."
Section 2. The provisions of this Act shall automatically expire and cease to be effective two years after its enactment into law.
Approved July 12, 1994.