New law Championed by McNamara Reforms State's Juvenile Justice System

Local Sources – The years-long effort by State Rep. Wendy McNamara (R-Evansville) came to fruition today as the governor signed her legislation into law reforming the state's juvenile justice system.

As chair of the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee and co-chair of the Juvenile Justice Reform Task Force, McNamara authored a new law to help reduce recidivism rates among nonviolent youth offenders. Rather than being incarcerated or placed in detention, nonviolent youth offenders will receive counseling for mental health and behavioral issues. A Council of State Governments report shows youth who participate in diversion programs or counseling are 40% less likely to reoffend.

"With this new law, we can do more to address the root causes of trauma and mental health issues, and help reduce the likelihood of a child returning to the criminal justice system," McNamara said. "All youth deserve the greatest chance to succeed and these policy changes will be a huge step forward in keeping our communities safe and reducing juvenile recidivism rates."

McNamara said children younger than 12 years old will not be detained unless it is essential for a community's safety and no reasonable alternative exists. Judges will still have discretion when deciding if an offender presents a flight risk or danger. Juvenile offenders will be screened and evaluated to see if they pose a danger to the community.

"Moving forward, we will hopefully no longer find children in juvenile detention centers who do not belong there," McNamara said. "Communities will have an appropriate screening tool to determine if a youth offender poses a safety risk to a community and nonviolent youth can be directed to counseling and diversion programs instead of detention. It's my expectation that we'll see fewer youth locked up and fewer youth offenders recommitting crimes."

The law also creates a new juvenile justice oversight body tasked with developing a statewide grant program to support juvenile justice initiatives focused on pre-trial diversion and behavioral health needs.

"Many communities don't have the same resources when it comes to helping at-risk youth and what we often end up seeing is justice by geography," McNamara said. "This statewide grant program can help all communities offer counseling and pre-trial diversion programs so we can encourage better outcomes for youth."