To repeal section 217.345, RSMo Supp. 1995, relating to youth offender programs, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to the same subject.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI,

AS FOLLOWS:

Section A. Section 217.345, RSMo Supp. 1995, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof to be known as section 217.345, to read as follows:

217.345. 1. Correctional treatment programs for first offenders in the department shall be established, subject to the control and supervision of the director, and shall include such programs deemed necessary and sufficient for the successful rehabilitation of offenders.

2. Correctional treatment programs for offenders who are younger than seventeen years of age shall be established, subject to the control and supervision of the director. By January 1, 1998, such programs shall include [physical] sight and sound separation of offenders who are younger than seventeen years of age from offenders who are seventeen years of age or older.

3. The department shall have the authority to promulgate rules to establish correctional treatment programs for offenders under age seventeen pursuant to subsection 2 of this section. Such rules may include:

(1) Establishing separate housing units for such offenders;

(2) Providing housing and program space in existing housing units for such offenders that is not accessible to adult offenders; and

(3) Establishing a regimented training program for such offenders.

4. Any regimented training program established pursuant to subdivision (3) of subsection 3 of this section shall include the following objectives:

(1) To provide a daily regimen for offenders including physical training, self-discipline, educational programs and work programs;

(2) To provide staff who have received appropriate training in the treatment of offenders under age seventeen and who are capable role models and mentors;

(3) To provide offenders with instruction on how to solve problems and strategies to change offenders' predisposition to commit crime;

(4) To provide offenders who have demonstrated positive behavioral change with the opportunity to gradually reenter the community; and

(5) To provide for parole supervision consisting of highly structured surveillance and monitoring, educational and treatment programs.

5. The department shall have the authority to determine the number of juvenile offenders participating in any treatment program depending on available appropriations. The department may contract with any private or public entity for the provision of services and facilities for offenders under age seventeen. The department shall apply for and accept available federal, state and local public funds including project demonstration funds as well as private moneys to fund such services and facilities.

6. The department shall develop and implement an ongoing evaluation process for all juvenile offender programs.

7. Any prosecuting attorney who prosecutes an offender under the age of seventeen shall maintain records regarding the sentencing of that offender, including any treatment programs to which that offender is assigned.

8. The department shall submit an evaluation report to the governor and the general assembly concerning offenders under age seventeen and the programs available to them on or before each January 30, beginning in 1999. This report shall include, but is not limited to, the following items:

(1) The specific content and structure of programs for offenders, including staffing ratios for each program, and a description of the daily routine of offenders in those programs;

(2) The process used for placing offenders on parole, including whether offenders may be returned to their original environment for the parole period, the specific means of parole supervision and the specific educational and treatment programs provided to offenders during their parole period;

(3) The procedure for transferring an offender to another facility for vocational or training services or when an offender poses a danger to himself or others, and identification of the facilities used for such purposes;

(4) The specific criteria and procedures for determining successful completion of a treatment program, whether an offender cannot successfully complete a treatment program, and whether an offender's parole shall be revoked;

(5) The recidivism rate for offenders successfully completing a treatment program compared with the recidivism rate for offenders not successfully completing a treatment program.