Governor Hassan to Issue Executive Order on Juvenile Justice Advisory Board

Press Release

In order to strengthen protection for young people and improve New Hampshire's juvenile justice structure, management and policies, Governor Maggie Hassan announced today that she will issue an Executive Order to re-establish and clarify the responsibilities of the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board.

"An integrated, community-based approach is the most likely to help youthful offenders put their lives back on track, which is critical to ensuring public safety and assisting troubled young people in reaching their full potential," Governor Maggie Hassan said. "Senate Bill 391 was well-intentioned, but it fundamentally shifted the New Hampshire juvenile justice policy in a direction that could too strongly emphasize incarceration. In order to address the potential long-term negative impacts of incarceration on the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders, I will issue an Executive Order to re-establish and clarify the responsibilities of the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board by the end of this year."

Senate Bill 391, a measure vetoed by the Governor earlier this year, originally called for the re-establishment of a Juvenile Justice Advisory Board to provide oversight and advice to the director of juvenile justice services and the commissioner relative to programs and services provided to children at the youth development center and youth services center. However, the bill included additional changes that would have undone the state's progress to move away from an incarceration-based system into one more focused on treatment.

The membership of the reconstituted board will include a diverse group of experts in public safety, public health and child services modeled after the membership called for in SB 391, with a variety of stakeholders including law enforcement, commissioners, legislators, and a representative of state employees, to help ensure that New Hampshire's most at-risk youth receive the support that they need to rehabilitate and become successful members of society.

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