AB 695: Juvenile Detention Facilities Improvement Grant Program.

Existing law requires the Board of State and Community Corrections to adopt minimum standards for the operation and maintenance of juvenile halls for the confinement of minors. Existing law requires the judge of the juvenile court of the county to annually inspect any jail or juvenile hall that was used for the confinement of any minor and to notify the operator of the jail or juvenile hall of any observed noncompliance with the minimum standards of the juvenile facility adopted by the board. Existing law defines a county of the first class as a county containing a population of 4,000,000 and over.

Upon appropriation by the Legislature, this bill would create the Juvenile Detention Facilities Improvement Grant Program, to be administered by the board, to provide grants to a county of the first class to address the critical infrastructure needs of the states detained and supervised youth in the county. The bill would require, as a condition for receiving a grant, a county of the first class to prepare a juvenile detention facilities improvement plan for the expenditure of funds for capital improvements that are necessary to preserve and protect the countys juvenile detention facilities to enhance each facilitys rehabilitation function. The bill would require the plan to be approved by both the board and the governing body of the county. The bill would require the board, by January 1, 2025, to submit a report to the budget and public safety committees of the Legislature detailing the grants awarded and the projects funded through the program.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Los Angeles.