CHAPTER 456
FORMERLY
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 10
CREATING AN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE FOR A FERRIS RESTRUCTURING PLAN.
WHEREAS, rehabilitation services at Ferris School for Boys have been limited by the lack of adequate programs and the layout of the existing physical plant; and
WHEREAS, actual and projected increases in demand for juvenile correctional services exceed current resources of the Division of Youth Rehabilitation Services; and
WHEREAS, the Delaware Secure Care Planning Study, a study of the projected population, physical plant, programming and costs for the juvenile correction system has recently been completed and made recommendations for change; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families has undertaken short term actions to improve conditions at Ferris School, including upgraded staff training, increased use of volunteers, and initiation of a search for a new Superintendent; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families has developed a proposal to restructure the juvenile correction system; and
WHEREAS, the General Assembly wishes to take action to improve services for Delaware's adjudicated youth.
NOW THEREFORE:
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the 136th General Assembly of the State of Delaware, with the approval of the Governor, that an Oversight Committee is hereby established, the membership of which shall consist of the following:
a. Chairman of the Criminal Justice Council to be Chairman of this Committee.
b. One representative from the business community to be appointed by the Governor.
c. The Chief Judge of Family Court or his designee.
d. The New Castle County Police Chief or his designee.
e. The Public Defender or his designee
f. The Attorney General or his designee.
g. Twelve members of organizations concerned with youth rehabilitation services as follows:
a. Joe Dell'Olio, Vice President of Child, Inc.
a. Shirley Cupery, Chair of the Foster Care Review Board.
a. Christine McDermott, Executive Director of Delaware Volunteer Legal Services.
a. Art Boswell, Executive Director of People's Settlement.
a. Tyrone Jones, Director of Project Stayfree.
c. Emperatrix Alaix, Executive Director of the Latin American Community Center.
d. Lori Sitler, Executive Director of the Delaware Council on
Crime and Justice.
B. Christine M. Long, Community Legal Aid Society, Sussex CountyMyron Steele, Superior Court Judge, Kent County.
18. Don DeVore, Director Montgomery County, Youth Detention Facility.
a. William Jenkins, Volunteer, Family Court New Castle County.
a. Littleton Mitchell, Immediate Past President Delaware State NAACP.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Executive Director of the Criminal Justice Council and the Office of State Police shall serve as resources to the Oversight Committee.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oversight Committee shall:
1. Review the Department's proposed restructuring plan and the
information and studies on which it is based;
2. Consider modifications to that plan or develop another plan or other options based on the following criteria:
1. Effectiveness in rehabilitation;
1. Cost;
1. Ability to meet the projected demand for locked and nonlocked residential services as well as nonresidential services;
(a) Ability to match individual youth to appropriate levels of
security and treatment;
(a) Ability to transition youth from residential to community-based programs; and
(b) Ability to utilize community resources.
3. Report Its findings and recommendations to the Governor, Speaker of the House, and President Pro Tempore of the Senate by November 15, 1992 with an interim report to
be
presented no later than June 1, 1992.
4. Develop and oversee an implementation plan and periodically report to the Governor, Speaker of the House, and President Pro Tempore of the Senate on the progress in executing this plan. And further, oversee existing services for adjudicated youth during the transition period.
Approved April
6,
1992.