The bill eliminates eliminates Type 2 status and Type 2 facilities from the
Juvenile Justice Code.
Placement of juveniles in a juvenile detention facility
The bill eliminates as an available disposition under the Juvenile Justice Code
the placement of a juvenile in a juvenile detention facility or juvenile portion of a
county jail for more than 30 days. Under current law, the juvenile court may place
a juvenile that has been adjudicated delinquent in a juvenile detention facility or
juvenile portion of a county jail for up to 30 days or, if the facility is eligible, up to 365
days. A juvenile detention facility is eligible to accept a juvenile for more than 30
days if 1) prior to January 1, 2018, the county board of supervisors of the county
operating the facility has adopted a resolution authorizing such a placement and 2)
the county has not been awarded a grant under the juvenile corrections grant
program, which provides funding for the establishment of an SRCCCY.
Status violations
Under current law, a juvenile adjudged delinquent or to have committed a civil
law or municipal ordinance violation, including a habitual truancy violation, who
violates a condition of his or her dispositional order is subject to various sanctions,
including placement in a juvenile detention facility or a place of nonsecure custody
for not more than 10 days. Also under current law, a juvenile adjudged delinquent
who violates a condition of his or her delinquency order or aftercare supervision may,
without a hearing, be placed in a juvenile detention facility or a place of nonsecure
custody for not more than 72 hours (short-term detention) during an investigation
of the violation and potential sanctions or as a consequence of that violation. The bill
eliminates placement in a juvenile detention facility as a sanction or for short-term
detention unless the juvenile court finds that the juvenile poses a threat to public
safety and the underlying offense for which the juvenile court order was imposed is
not a status offense. The bill defines a status offense as an offense committed by a
juvenile that would not be an offense if committed by an adult (for example, truancy).
Community supervision and aftercare supervision
Under current law, when a juvenile who is placed under the supervision of DOC
under the Juvenile Justice Code is released from a juvenile correctional facility, DOC
provides community supervision for the juvenile until DOC discharges the juvenile
from supervision. When a juvenile who is placed under the supervision of a county
department is released from a juvenile correctional facility or an SRCCCY, the
county department provides aftercare supervision for the juvenile until the county
department discharges the juvenile from supervision. The bill eliminates
community supervision for a juvenile and requires a county department to provide
aftercare supervision for any juvenile who is released from a juvenile correctional
facility or an SRCCCY.
Use of restraints on a child
The bill generally prohibits the use of restraints on anyone under the age of 18
when appearing before the juvenile court or criminal court. The bill provides that,
upon a request of the district attorney, corporation counsel, or other appropriate
county official, a court may order the use of restraints on a child if, after a hearing,
it issues written findings of fact showing that the use of restraints is necessary under
certain conditions. The bill also requires that any restraints used on a child must
allow limited movement of the hands and prohibits the use of fixed restraints that
are attached to a wall, floor, or furniture.
Daily rates for juvenile correctional services
Current law establishes at $615 the per person daily rate paid by counties to
DOC for services provided to juveniles in a Type 1 juvenile correctional facility (daily
rate). The bill eliminates the daily rate set in statute and requires DOC to specify
the daily rate. Under current law and the bill, these payments are credited to a DOC
appropriation for juvenile correctional services. Under current law, if there is a
deficit in that appropriation account at the close of the fiscal biennium, the governor
must increase the daily rate by $6 in the executive budget bill for each fiscal
biennium until the deficit is eliminated. Under the bill, in the case of such a deficit,
the secretary of corrections may increase the daily rate and the daily cost assessment
for counties for care in a foster home, group home, or residential care center for
children and youth and for community supervision services by $6 until the deficit is
eliminated.
Payments to DHS for services at Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center
Under current law, DOC must transfer certain amounts to DHS for services for
juveniles placed at the Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center (MJTC). The bill
replaces those specific amounts with a requirement that DOC reimburse DHS for the
cost of providing those services at a per person daily rate specified by DHS. The bill
maintains a requirement that DHS charge DOC not more than the actual cost of
providing those services. The bill also authorizes DOC to charge counties the same
daily rate for care in a Type 1 juvenile correctional facility as DHS charges DOC for
MJTC services.
Juvenile correctional services deficit relief
The bill creates an appropriation from the general fund to DOC for juvenile
correctional services if the amount in the juvenile correctional services appropriation
under current law is insufficient. The current law juvenile correctional services
appropriation is funded by various program receipts.
Courts and procedure
Public defender
Public defender private attorney rate increases for inflation
Under current law, for any case assigned on or after January 1, 2020, the rate
at which the public defender must pay a private local attorney to whom a case is
assigned is $70 per hour for time spent related to the case, excluding travel, and $25
per hour for time spent in travel related to the case.
The bill provides that the rate at which the public defender must pay a private
local attorney to whom a case is assigned on or after January 1, 2020, must be
adjusted biennially by a percentage that correlates with the federal Department of
Labor's consumer price index. Under the bill, the first of these adjustments will be
made on July 1, 2023.
Circuit courts
Statutory addition of circuit court branches designated to begin operation
in 2021
The bill adds four new circuit court branches to the statutory list of judicial
circuit branches, as authorized by the Director of State Courts and designated to
begin operation in 2021.
Current law contains a list that sets forth the number of branches each judicial
circuit has.
2019 Wisconsin Act 184 authorized the Director of State Courts to add
four circuit court branches, by November 14, 2020, to begin operation on August 1,
2021. Act 184 further authorized the Director of State Courts to allocate one of the
newly authorized branches to any county the Director of State Courts determined to
be in need of an additional circuit court branch, but only if the county passed a
resolution requesting an additional circuit court branch and established, or will have
established by May 31, 2021, the appropriate infrastructure to support an additional
circuit court branch. Act 184 also authorized the Director of State Courts to require
any county, as a condition for receiving a circuit court branch allocation, to have
established or to apply for a grant to establish a drug court. In March 2020, the
Director of State Courts allocated new circuit court branches to Calumet, Dunn,
Jackson, and Marathon Counties. The bill updates the list of circuit court branches
to reflect the additional four circuit court branches allocated by the Director of State
Courts and authorized to begin operation on August 1, 2021.
District attorneys
Increase in deputy district attorney allocation
The bill increases the number of deputy district attorneys that may be
appointed in a prosecutorial unit with a population of more than 200,000 but less
than 750,000 from three deputy district attorneys to four deputy district attorneys.
General courts and procedure
Extreme risk protection injunctions