Alabama. Dept. of Youth Services (1973- ).

Authorities:

Code of Ala. 1975, 44:1:1-44:1:77. Charlottesville: The Michie Company, 1977.

Ala. Government Manual. Sixth edition. Atlanta: Darby Printing Company, 1982.

The Dept. of Youth Services serves to promote the welfare of the youth of the State through a program for the prevention of juvenile delinquency and the rehabilitation of delinquent youth. Social and educational services are provided for any youth whom a juvenile judge deems in need of such services. The Dept. cooperates with public and voluntary agencies and citizen groups in the development and coordination of programs directed toward the prevention, control, and treatment of delinquency. (Ala. Government Manual, p. 392)

1973 Sept., the Legislature established the Dept. of Youth Services, transferring to it control of the Ala. Boys Industrial School, the Ala. Training School for Girls, and the Ala. Industrial School. The Dept. of Youth Services is composed of the Youth Services Board and the State Youth Services Director.

The Governor serves as ex-officio Chairman of the Youth Services Board. The Board is composed of sixteen voting members: the Commissioner of the Dept. of Pensions and Security, the State Superintendent of Education, the Commissioner of the Dept. of Mental Health, the State Health Officer, and the Director of the Ala. Law Enforcement Planning Agency; and one member appointed by each of the following: the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President pro tem of the Senate, the president of the Ala. Council of Juvenile Court Judges, and the chairman of the Ala. Chief Probation Officers Association; the remaining seven members are appointed by the Governor, one from each of the congressional districts of the state as they existed on 1972 Jan. 19.

The seven members appointed by the Governor serve six-year terms. The appointed legislative members serve for the duration of their elected term of office. The members representative of the Ala. Council of Juvenile Judges and the Chief Probation Officers Association serve for six years.

Nine members constitute a quorum. None of the Board members receive a salary; the representatives of the Ala. Council of Juvenile Judges and the Chief Probation Officers Association are authorized to receive twenty-five dollars per day and mileage expenses, and the legislative members receive their regular legislative compensation and mileage when they are actively engaged in board business.

The Youth Services Board is authorized: 1) to appoint the Youth Services Director and to fix his salary; 2) to institute and defend legal proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction and proper venue; 3) to contract with any private person, organization, or entity; 4) to establish and promulgate reasonable rules, policies, orders, and regulations for the carrying out of its responsibilities and duties; and 5) to purchase or lease land or to acquire property by eminent domain and to purchase, lease, let, sell, exchange or otherwise transfer property, land or buildings in order to carry out its duties and responsibilities.

The Board is required to meet at least once each year. Special meetings may be called by the Chairman of the Board or by any three members of the Board upon one week's written notice to every member of the Board.

The Youth Services Board is required to present to the Governor at the end of each fiscal year a report of the Board's activities, the need for facilities under its jurisdiction, juvenile services conditions in the State, plans for the future, financial reports for the preceeding year, and the names and addresses of the members of the Board.

Each biennium the Youth Services Board presents to the Governor a request for funds based on projected needs and a budget showing proposed expenditures. The Governor includes in his appropriation bill a request for funds to meet the financial needs of the Dept.

The State Youth Services Director must have at least a master's degree in behavioral or social science or a related field from an accredited school and at least six years' experience in the field of services to children and youth, with at least three years of that experience in the field of juvenile delinquency services. The last three years of experience must have been in an administrative and/or management position with demonstrated competence. The Director may be removed from office by a vote of nine members of the Board.

It is the duty of the Youth Services Director: 1) to appoint all officers and employees of the Dept., subject to the provisions of the State Merit System, or to authorize any superintendent, division or bureau head or other administrator to select with his approval all staff members and employees; 2) to exercise supervision over all the officers and employees of the Dept., and to remove them for failure to perform their duties; 3) to make arrangements with the heads of other departments of the State to provide for the coordination of the functions of the various departments of the State; and 4) to serve as the administrator of the Interstate Compact on Juveniles.

The Dept. of Youth Services provides services for youths who have run away from their own communities in this state or from their home communities in other states to this state, and provides for the cost and care of such youths persuant to the Interstate Compact on Juveniles.

The Dept. provides for the expansion of local detention care for youths alleged to be delinquent pending court hearing. The Dept. works to expand juvenile probation services by establishing minimum standards juvenile probation officers must meet for certification.

The Dept. provides medical, hospital, psychiatric, surgical or dental services or payment of the cost of such services, for youths in its custody. It is responsible for licensing and subsidizing foster care facilities and group homes.

The Dept. maintains training programs for its employees and those of the juvenile courts and law enforcement agencies to assure efficient and effective administration. It also engages in research in the field of youth services with public and private institutions and individuals, and makes provisions for any pay grants to such organizations or individuals to secure the performance of such research.

The Dept. is authorized to enter into contracts with any State or federal agency or any private person, organization or group capable of contracting. With the approval of the Attorney General, the Dept. is authorized to file and prosecute civil actions in any court in the name of the Dept. to enforce the Dept.'s rules and regulations.

The Dept. is authorized to accept gifts, trusts, bequests, grants, endowments or transfers of property of any kind and prudently to manage such property in accordance with sound financial principles.

The Dept. collects statistics, information and data concerning the need for and condition of rehabilitative services to delinquent youth or youth in need of supervision throughout the State. It is authorized to disseminate information to the public and to appropriate public and private agencies and organizations within the State on the conditions and needs thus ascertained.

The Dept. serves in a consultative and licensing capacity in developing materials and standards concerning delinquent youth. It enlists the participation of citizens and representatives of other agencies in the planning and developing of an adequate youth services program. It cooperates with and assists other public and voluntary agencies in the development and coordination of programs and activities which contribute to the prevention of juvenile delinquency.

The Dept. collaborates with other groups in the establishment of statewide and local planning bodies concerned with promoting the physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being of youths. It assists local communities in making surveys of conditions contributing to delinquency and of the facilities and services provided to rehabilitate committed youths.

The Dept. prescribes uniform procedures for all law enforcement agencies and court clerks to use in reporting contacts with youths. It provides the forms to clerks of probate and juvenile courts for use in connection with any action to be taken. (Acts of Ala. 1973, No. 816)

As of 1982, the Dept. has been composed of the following divisions:

Alabama. Dept. of Youth Services. Community/Regional Services Division.

Authority: Ala. Government Manual, 1982.

This division assists local communities in the establishment of juvenile probation services. It serves as a licensing agency for child-care institutions throughout the State.

Alabama. Dept. of Youth Services. Institutional Services Division.

This division controls and operates the Chalkville Campus, Mt. Meigs Campus, and Roebuck Campus. These campuses provide education and rehabilitation for juvenile delinquents committed by court order.

Alabama. Dept. of Youth Services. Administrative Services and Management Control Division.

This division provides for the administration of personnel programs and accounting and purchasing systems. It conducts research, prepares federal and state grant proposals, conducts program and management evaluation, and implements planning and control.

Alabama. Dept. of Youth Services. Planning Research and Development Division.

This division operates all departmental subsidy programs, all federal grants and other funds, all research and evaluation of data, and the public information and citizen participation unit.

Alabama. Dept. of Youth Services. Diagnostic and Evaluation Division.

This division receives all committed children and develops individual treatment plans, as well as recommends placement within the system, for each committed child. (Ala. Government Manual, p. 395)

1983 Oct. the Legislature provided that the Dept. of Youth Services be designated as a special school district of the State, known as the "Youth Services Dept. District." The relationship existing between the district and the State Board of Education is the same as that of local boards of education to the State. (Acts of Ala. 1982, No. 82-485)

The Dept. of Youth Services receives appropriations from the Ala. Special Eduction Trust Fund. It may also receive gifts and grants. (Ala. Government Manual, p. 393)