HB2347: JUV CT-COMMITMENT-AGE

Legislative Summary

Reinserts the provisions of the bill as amended by House Amendment No. 1. Further amends the Children and Family Services Act. Provides that the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission shall study and make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding the impact and advisability of raising the minimum age of detention to 14, and develop a process to assist in the implementation of the provisions of the amendatory Act. Further amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Provides that probation and court services shall document and share on a monthly basis with the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission each instance where alternatives to detention failed or were lacking, including the basis for detention, the providers who were contacted, and the reason alternatives were rejected, lacking, or denied. Provides that instead of detention, minors under the age of 13 who are in conflict with the law may be held accountable through a petition under the Minors Requiring Authoritative Intervention Article of the Act, or may be held accountable through a community mediation program. Provides that on or after July 1, 2025, with the exception of minors age 12 years or older and charged with first degree murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated battery in which a firearm was used in the offense, or aggravated vehicular hijacking, any minor 13 years of age or older arrested pursuant to the Act where there is probable cause to believe that the minor is a delinquent minor and that secure custody is a matter of immediate and urgent necessity in light of a serious threat to the physical safety of a person or persons in the community, or to secure the presence of the minor at the next hearing as evidenced by a demonstrable record of willful failure to appear at a scheduled court hearing within the past 12 months may be kept or detained in an authorized detention facility. Deletes the provisions raising the minimum age from 13 to 14 in which the minor may be committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice.