The primary duties of the offices of the Department are to plan, program, operate, manage, control, and maintain a juvenile justice system of care, rehabilitative service delivery, and security that meets the treatment needs of youth within the juvenile justice system and that is in accordance with national juvenile justice industry standards and best practices. These duties include:
(1) Providing services for committed and detained youth and PINS that balance the need for rehabilitation and holding youth accountable for their actions in the context of public safety;
(2) Facilitating and enhancing intra-District coordination of services and supports for youth in the juvenile justice system;
(3) Establishing and adopting best practices standards for the provision of residential, restorative, and rehabilitative services to youth in the juvenile justice system consistent with the standards of the American Correctional Association or those of another nationally accepted accrediting body;
(4) Employing a cadre of juvenile justice professionals who are highly skilled and experienced with the principles, goals, and the latest advancements of juvenile rehabilitation and treatment provision;
(5) Establishing through contracts, provider agreements, human care agreements, grants, memoranda of agreement or understanding, or other binding agreements a system of secure and community-based facilities and rehabilitative services with governmental bodies, public and private agencies, institutions, and organizations, for youth that will provide intervention, individualized assessments, continuum of services, safety, and security;
(6) Establishing a system that constantly reviews a youth’s individual strengths, needs, and rehabilitative progress and ensures placement within a continuum of least restrictive settings within secure facilities and the community;
(7) Assessing the risks and needs of youth, and determining and providing the services needed for treatment for substance abuse and other services;
(8) Developing and maintaining a system with other governmental and private agencies to identify, locate, and retrieve youth who are under the care, custody, or supervision of the Department, who have absconded from an assigned secure governmental facility, or community shelter home, group home, residential facility, or foster care placement;
(9) Developing and maintaining state-of-the-art systems to monitor accountability and to enhance performance for all Department programs, services, and facilities;
(10) Developing and maintaining an ongoing training program for employees that ensures continuous development of expertise in juvenile justice service delivery;
(11) Taking a leadership role in the provision of training and technical assistance to non-governmental juvenile justice service providers that fosters the development of high-quality, comprehensive, cost-effective, and culturally competent delinquency prevention and juvenile rehabilitative services for the youth and their families;
(12) Developing and maintaining a capital improvement, licensing, and regulating program that ensures governmental and private institutions maintain up-to-date residential facilities, group homes, and shelter facilities to serve the safety, the security, and the rehabilitative needs of youth in the juvenile justice system;
(13) Enforcing all laws, rules, regulations, court orders, policies, and procedures necessary and appropriate to accomplish the duties of the Department;
(14) Conducting a behavioral health screening and assessment as required in § 2-1515.04a;
(15) Within 180 days after December 13, 2017, developing a manual for families of juveniles residing in secure juvenile facilities that includes, at a minimum, information on the operation of the institution or facility as it relates to families of juveniles, information on government and community resources available for families of juveniles, and information and resources available for juveniles after leaving confinement;
(16) Evaluating the effectiveness of rehabilitative services by collecting any available information from other District agencies on the education, employment, criminal justice, or other outcomes of persons who are either currently committed to the Department or who were committed to the Department in the previous 3 years;
(17) Cooperating with the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council by sharing data and allowing access to individuals under 21 years of age, to the extent otherwise permissible under the law, for the purpose of preparing the report described in section § 22-4234(b-3); and
(18) In addition to any obligations imposed upon the Department due to its designation as a voter registration agency by § 1-1001.07(d)(1)(B):
(A) If a youth committed at the Department is a qualified elector, as that term is defined in § 1-1001.02(2), registering the youth to vote, unless the youth indicates that they do not want to register; and
(B) Transmitting to the Board of Elections and the Council of the District of Columbia, on an annual basis, a report containing the number of youth the agency has registered to vote and the number of youth who declined to register to vote.
(Apr. 12, 2005, D.C. Law 15-335, § 104, 52 DCR 2025; June 7, 2012, D.C. Law 19-141, § 504(b), 59 DCR 3083; Apr. 4, 2017, D.C. Law 21-238, § 402(b), 63 DCR 15312; Dec. 13, 2017, D.C. Law 22-33, § 3103, 64 DCR 7652; Apr. 26, 2019, D.C. Law 22-309, § 2, 66 DCR 909; Apr. 27, 2021, D.C. Law 23-277, § 3, 67 DCR 13867.)
Section ReferencesThis section is referenced in § 2-1515.05.
Effect of AmendmentsD.C. Law 19-141 deleted “and” from the end of par. (12), substituted “; and” for a period the end of par. (13), and added par. (14).
ApplicabilitySection 7026 of D.C. Law 22-33 amended § 701(a) of D.C. Law 21-238, removing the applicability restriction impacting this section. Therefore the changes made to this section by D.C. Law 21-238 have been implemented.
Applicability of D.C. Law 21-238: § 701 of D.C. Law 21-238 provided that the change made to this section by § 402(b) of D.C. Law 21-238 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.
Emergency LegislationFor temporary (90 days) amendment of § 701|(a) of D.C. Law 21-238, see § 7026 of Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-167, Oct. 24, 2017, 64 DCR 10802).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 3103 of Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-167, Oct. 24, 2017, 64 DCR 10802).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of § 701|(a) of D.C. Law 21-238, see § 7026 of Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-104, July 20, 2017, 64 DCR 7032).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 3103 of Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2017 (D.C. Act 22-104, July 20, 2017, 64 DCR 7032).
For temporary (90 day) addition, see § 104 of Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services Establishment Emergency Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-657, December 29, 2004, 52 DCR 481).
For temporary (90 day) addition, see § 104 of Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services Establishment Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2005 (D.C. Act 16-58, March 17, 2005, 52 DCR 3182).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of D.C. Law 19-141, § 601, see § 4112 of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-130, July 30, 2013, 60 DCR 11384, 20 DCSTAT 1827).
For temporary (90 days) amendment of D.C. Law 19-141, § 601, see § 4112 of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-204, October 17, 2013, 60 DCR 15341, 20 DCSTAT 2311).
Short TitleSection 4111 of D.C. Law 20-61 provided that Subtitle K of Title IV of the act may be cited as the “South Capitol Street Memorial Amendment Act of 2013”.
Editor's NotesSection 601 of D.C. Law 19-141 originally provided that the act shall apply upon the inclusion of its fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Section 601 of D.C. Law 19-141, as amended by D.C. Law 19-168, § 7004, provided that the applicability of only §§ 302(b)(1), 304, and 502(a) are contingent upon the inclusion of their fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan.
Section 601 of D.C. Law 19-141, as amended by D.C. Law 20-61, § 4112, provided that §§ 302(b)(1)(A) and (C) and 304(b)(1)(D) of D.C. Law 19-141 shall apply to public charter schools upon the inclusion of their fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan, as certified by the Chief Financial Officer to the Budget Director of the Council in a certification published by the Council in the District of Columbia Register. Section 302(b)(1)(A) of D.C. Law 19-141 added § 38-203(i)(A-i); Section 302(b)(1)(C) of D.C. Law 19-141 added § 38-203(i)(B-i); and Section 304(b)(1)(D) of D.C. Law 19-141 added 5 DCMR § A2103(c)(6).