House Bill 1350 Summary

• Prohibits statements, admissions, confessions, or incriminating information obtained from a child during screening or assessment in youth court proceedings from being admitted as evidence to determine if the child committed a delinquent act or to establish guilt in criminal proceedings.

• Adds definitions of "assessment" and "screening" to Mississippi youth court law, defining assessment as an individualized examination of a child's psychosocial needs including mental health and substance abuse evaluation, and screening as a process to identify children at risk of mental health or substance abuse disorders.

• Applies the prohibition to any screening or assessment undertaken in conjunction with youth court proceedings, including court-ordered evaluations, while preserving all existing statutory and constitutional protections against admission of such information.

• Amends Sections 43-21-559, 43-21-561, and 43-21-603 of the Mississippi Code to implement the prohibition consistently across adjudicatory and disposition hearing procedures.

• Takes effect July 1, 2015.