Testimony of Josh Rovner - Director of Youth Justice The Sentencing Project

To be clear: current law already allows courts to extend probation if there is good cause to extend the probation and the purpose of the extension is to ensure the child completes a treatment or rehabilitative program or service. [...] Instead of finding the youth most in need of supervision and services, the legislature now intends to more closely monitor those at the lowest risk of reoffending. [...] The legislature cannot return to the superpredator era, wherein Black youth were targeted by law enforcement, prosecution and the courts leading to more than 100,000 youth locked up on a typical day at the turn of the last century.10 WE OPPOSE THE WAY THIS BILL IS BEING RUSHED THROUGH THE LEGISLATURE. [...] The recommendations shaped a bill, the Juvenile Justice Reform Act (JJRA), that passed the House and stalled in the Senate in 2021. [...] This bill, on the other hand, was not drafted with the input of those same national or local experts who appeared by invitation at the JJRC (and certainly not those most impacted by the justice system) and without running drafts past the Department of Juvenile Services or the Office of Public Defender.