In 2022, the Indiana General Assembly adopted H.E.A. 1359, creating the Youth Justice Oversight Committee (YJOC) tasked with comprehensive juvenile justice system reform. Chief Justice Loretta Rush appointed Justice Steven David (ret.) as YJOC chair and other youth justice professionals to serve as members. Justice David completed his term as chair in June 2023. Chief Justice Rush appointed Judge Dana Kenworthy of the Indiana Court of Appeals as the new chair in October 2023.
YJOC Deliverables
The General Assembly directed the YJOC to prepare a report including the following deliverables:
- a plan for collecting and reporting statewide juvenile justice data
- policies, procedures, and an implementation plan for use of a validated risk screening tool to inform statewide diversion decisions, dispositional decisions, and secure detention
- criteria for diagnostic assessments
- a statewide behavioral health plan for services to youth in the juvenile justice system
- policies and protocols for research-based pretrial diversion and informal adjustment programs and practices
- a plan for juvenile diversion and community alternatives grants and behavioral health competitive grant pilots
- policies, protocols, and a statewide implementation plan for transitional services for youth who are wards of the Department of Correction
- statewide juvenile probation standards, with input from the Judicial Conference of Indiana