Juvenile justice bill passes in Indiana Senate, advances to House

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Chicago Tribune on 2/24/2021 by Alexandra Kukulka

A juvenile justice bill that addresses expunging records, detaining young offenders and competency passed out of the state Senate Tuesday, and heads to the House for consideration.

The bill, authored by Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogeden Dunes, allows for automatic expungement of juvenile records, unless the child commits a felony, and a court has discretion in determining if the record should be expunged.

“This is important to keep poorer kids from accumulating a criminal record,” Tallian said on the Senate floor Tuesday.

The second part of the bill prohibits juveniles from being held with adult inmates as they await trial, though there are exceptions that would place a minor in an adult facility.