Permits the family court to retain jurisdiction over juveniles and allow the family court to order juveniles detained in the training school until the age of twenty-one if the court finds that it is in the best interest of the child.

Rhode Island House Bill Summary

This bill would give Rhode Island's Family Court the authority to keep jurisdiction over juvenile offenders — and potentially keep them at the state's training school (a secure juvenile facility) — until they turn 21 years old. Currently, Family Court's authority over juveniles typically ends when they reach a certain age, at which point older teens may be transferred to the adult criminal justice system. This bill would create an option for judges to extend that juvenile court oversight if they determine it is in the child's best interest.

The key factor in any such decision would be what the judge believes is best for the young person involved. Rather than automatically transitioning an older teenager into the adult system, a judge could weigh the individual circumstances and decide that keeping the youth under Family Court supervision — and if necessary, at the training school — better serves their rehabilitation and wellbeing.

This bill primarily affects teenagers who are already under Family Court jurisdiction for delinquency cases and are approaching the age at which they would normally "age out" of the juvenile system. It could also affect their families, victims, and the staff and administrators of the state's training school. Supporters of similar laws often argue they give young people more time to rehabilitate in a youth-focused setting, while critics sometimes raise questions about the length of detention for juveniles. The bill has been introduced and referred to the House Judiciary Committee for further review.