Wyoming lawmakers want to examine possible changes to the way the state handles juvenile offenders.
The joint judiciary interim committee intends to make juvenile justice reforms a priority in the months leading up to next year’s legislative session. The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for August.
“This is a long standing concern,” Sen. Floyd Esquibel (D-Cheyenne) a member of the interim committee said. “We want to have the best service for juveniles, without using incarceration.”
Esquibel said some counties in Wyoming lack resources for juvenile offender programs, and the committee will be addressing funding for these areas. He also said the committee will examine communication between the courts, attorneys and law enforcement.
The committee will also revisit bills that failed to pass during the most recent legislative session. They include one bill that outlined increased confidentiality for juveniles during court proceedings.
The other, House Bill 123, passed in the House but failed in the Senate and would allow for juveniles’ criminal records, aside from violent felonies, to be automatically expunged once the person becomes 18.
Donna Sheen, executive director of the Wyoming Children’s Law Center, is in favor of the committee reviewing these issues.
“I think it is very important, it is a deeply flawed system and needs attention,” she said. “The topics are timely and there is a potential for great improvement.”
Sheen said the issues that most need addressing are the bills on the confidentiality of juvenile’s records, as well as the issues of uniformity in the handling of juvenile court cases across the state.
“The bottom line is that we don’t have a uniform system,” Sheen said.
Sheen said Wyoming courts operate via concurrent jurisdiction and many juveniles are processed through adult courts and therefore should be entitled to some confidentiality in those areas, for their protection. Ultimately, she said, the goal should be to eliminate juveniles being charged in adult courts.
The current state system makes it difficult to identify and coordinate appropriate interventions for youth based upon their individual needs, Sheen said. The state, she said, does not provide adequate funding to communities for diversion programs which are far more effective than punishment alone.
“While there has been progress through the community juvenile services boards, most communities do not currently receive adequate funding for diversion and so cannot make it available to all youth who could benefit from this approach,” Sheen said.
Albany County Sheriff David O’Malley said he approves of the efforts being made to reform the juvenile justice system in Wyoming, calling it long overdue.
“It’s not that what we are doing is wrong,” O’Malley said. “There are just better ways of doing business and dealing with our youth.”
