SB 489 - This act authorizes the Department of Corrections (DOC) to include certain elements as part of any youth offender programs that are established. This legislation would also require DOC to submit a yearly evaluation report to the Governor and General Assembly on juvenile offenders in the corrections system starting in 1999.

This act authorizes DOC to: 1) establish separate housing units for offenders under age seventeen and establish regimented training programs for these offenders; 2) provide offenders with a strict regimen of activities and training necessary to gradually reenter the community; and 3) contract with public and private agencies to provide for housing and services for offenders under age seventeen.

The Department of Corrections shall develop an evaluation process to review all juvenile offender programs and shall issue an annual report beginning in 1999 on the status and effectiveness of these programs. Prosecuting attorneys who prosecute offenders under age seventeen shall maintain records regarding the sentencing of those offenders.

A court may order any child adjudicated for a nonviolent offense, age fourteen or older, to work for any employer at a rate of compensation not to exceed minimum wage to make restitution for any damage caused by his offense.
JAMES KLAHR