HB 211 Summary

• Creates authority for circuit courts to set reasonable conditions of preadjudicatory release for children charged with felonies or with prior delinquent acts, including conditions prohibiting weapon possession, drug use, and contact with alleged victims.

• Expands detention criteria to allow secure detention for children who abscond from home/nonsecure detention or commit new violations after adjudication and commitment but before residential placement.

• Permits children taken into custody for preadjudicatory release violations to appear before a judge within 24 hours and allows contempt of court charges against parents who prevent children from appearing for trial.

• Allows courts to commit juveniles to different restrictiveness levels than recommended by the Department of Juvenile Justice, with courts required to state reasons for disposition on the record.

• Establishes optional county juvenile crime prevention funds with up to $50 court cost assessments per juvenile delinquency case (waived for indigent juveniles), with collected funds supporting local juvenile crime prevention and truancy programs.