Florida Senate - 2019 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT Bill No. SB 624 Ì274848UÎ274848 LEGISLATIVE ACTION Senate . House Comm: RCS . 03/04/2019 . . . . ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— The Committee on Criminal Justice (Montford) recommended the following: 1 Senate Substitute for Amendment (366196) (with title 2 amendment) 3 4 Delete lines 104 - 201 5 and insert: 6 945.425 Youth in confinement.— 7 (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 8 (a) “Emergency confinement” means a type of confinement 9 that involves the involuntary placement of a youth in an 10 isolated room to separate that youth from the general inmate 11 population and to remove him or her from a situation in which he 12 or she presents an immediate and serious danger to the security 13 or safety of himself or herself or others. 14 (b) “Medical confinement” means a type of confinement that 15 involves the involuntary placement of a youth in an isolated 16 room to separate that youth from the general inmate population 17 to allow him or her to recover from an illness or to prevent the 18 spread of a communicable illness. 19 (c) “Mental health clinician” means a licensed 20 psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, mental health 21 counselor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant. 22 (d) “Solitary confinement” means the involuntary placement 23 of a youth in an isolated room to separate that youth from the 24 general inmate population for any period of time. 25 (e) “Youth” means a person within the custody of the 26 department who is under the age of 19 years. 27 (2) PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.—A youth 28 may not be placed in solitary confinement, except as provided in 29 this section. 30 (3) PROTECTING YOUTH IN EMERGENCY CONFINEMENT.— 31 (a) A youth may be placed in emergency confinement if all 32 of the following conditions are met: 33 1. A nonphysical intervention with the youth would not be 34 effective in preventing harm or danger to the youth or others. 35 2. There is imminent risk of the youth physically harming 36 himself or herself, staff, or others or the youth is engaged in 37 major property destruction that is likely to compromise the 38 security of the program or jeopardize the safety of the youth or 39 others. 40 3. All less-restrictive means have been exhausted. 41 (b) Facility staff shall document the placement of a youth 42 in emergency confinement. The documentation must include 43 justification for the placement, in addition to a description of 44 the less-restrictive options that the facility staff exercised 45 before the youth was so placed. 46 (c) A mental health clinician shall evaluate a youth who is 47 placed in emergency confinement within 1 hour after such 48 placement to ensure that the confinement is not detrimental to 49 the mental or physical health of the youth. Following the 50 initial evaluation, a mental health clinician shall conduct a 51 face-to-face evaluation of the youth every 2 hours thereafter to 52 determine whether the youth should remain in emergency 53 confinement. The mental health clinician shall document each 54 evaluation and provide justification for continued placement in 55 emergency confinement. 56 (d) A youth may not be placed in emergency confinement for 57 more than 24 hours unless an extension is sought and obtained by 58 a mental health clinician. 59 1. If a mental health clinician determines that release of 60 the youth would imminently threaten the safety of the youth or 61 others, the mental health clinician may grant a one-time 62 extension of 24 hours for continued placement in emergency 63 confinement. 64 2. If, at the conclusion of the 48-hour window, a mental 65 health clinician determines that it is not safe for the youth to 66 be released from emergency confinement, the facility staff must 67 prepare to transfer the youth to a facility that is able to 68 provide specialized treatment to address the youth’s needs. 69 (e) A youth who is placed in emergency confinement must be 70 provided access to the same meals and drinking water, clothing, 71 medical treatment, contact with parents and legal guardians, and 72 legal assistance as provided to youth in the general inmate 73 population. 74 (f) The use of emergency confinement is strictly prohibited 75 for the purposes of punishment or discipline. 76 (4) PROTECTING YOUTH IN MEDICAL CONFINEMENT.— 77 (a) A youth may be placed in medical confinement if all of 78 the following conditions are met: 79 1. Isolation from the general inmate population and staff 80 is required to allow the youth to rest and recover from illness 81 or to prevent the spread of a communicable illness. 82 2. A medical professional deems such placement necessary. 83 3. The use of other less-restrictive means would not be 84 sufficient to allow the youth to recover from illness or to 85 prevent the spread of a communicable illness. 86 (b) A youth may be placed in medical confinement for a 87 period of time not to exceed the time that is necessary for the 88 youth to recover from his or her illness or to prevent the 89 spread of a communicable illness to other inmates or staff in 90 the facility. 91 (c) Facility staff shall document the placement of a youth 92 in medical confinement. The documentation must include a medical 93 professional’s justification for the placement. 94 (d) A medical professional must evaluate a youth who is 95 held in medical confinement face-to-face at least once every 12 96 hours to determine whether the youth should remain in medical 97 confinement. The medical professional shall document each 98 evaluation and provide justification for continued placement in 99 medical confinement. 100 (e) The use of medical confinement is strictly prohibited 101 for the purposes of punishment or discipline. 102 (5) IMPLEMENTATION.— 103 (a) The department shall review its policies and procedures 104 relating to youth in confinement to determine whether 105 106 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================ 107 And the title is amended as follows: 108 Delete line 26 109 and insert: 110 relating to youth in confinement; requiring