This bill requires that, no later than January 1, 2027, the Long Creek Youth Development Center physical plant be repurposed into a secure residential treatment facility to provide services for juveniles involved in the juvenile justice system and at-risk youth, including, but not limited to, services for housing, behavioral health, education, substance use disorder prevention and treatment, wraparound case management and diversion and other services. The State must contract with community-based organizations to provide these services in conjunction with staff of the Department of Corrections. The bill also requires that, no later than January 1, 2027, the State must direct funds from the Department of Corrections' juvenile corrections and juvenile services budgets to fund community-based services for youth. The bill requires the Department of Corrections and the Department of Health and Human Services to convene a working group to study options and best practices for repurposing Long Creek Youth Development Center and reinvesting corrections funds currently designated for youth incarceration into community-based services. The working group must submit a report to the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety and the Joint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services by January 15, 2026. The joint standing committees each may report out legislation based on the report to the Second Regular Session of the 132nd Legislature. The bill authorizes the Maine Governmental Facilities Authority to issue securities in an amount not to exceed $10,000,000 outstanding at any one time to pay for capital construction, repairs and improvements to the Long Creek Youth Development Center to repurpose it into a secure residential treatment facility to provide services for juveniles and to be used to establish 2 community-based residential programs, one that supports youth leaving Long Creek Youth Development Center and one that provides an alternative to commitment at Long Creek Youth Development Center. The bill requires the Department of Corrections to develop and publish each month on its publicly accessible website data regarding the number of juveniles involved in the juvenile justice system.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 1923, HP 1284: 34-A.7009