MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2004 Regular Session
To: Juvenile Justice; Appropriations
By: Representative Flaggs, Hines
AN ACT TO CREATE THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES, WHICH SHALL BE VESTED WITH THE EXCLUSIVE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF ALL JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES AUTHORIZED BY LAW; TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT SHALL BE HEADED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES, WHO SHALL BE APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR; TO PROVIDE THAT ALL RECORDS, PROPERTY, FUNDS, OTHER ASSETS AND PERSONNEL OF THE JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE OFFICE OF YOUTH SERVICES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES SHALL BE TRANSFERRED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES; TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THE OAKLEY TRAINING SCHOOL TO THE BOYS JUVENILE TRAINING SCHOOL, AND CHANGE THE NAME OF THE COLUMBIA TRAINING SCHOOL TO THE GIRLS JUVENILE TRAINING SCHOOL; TO AMEND SECTIONS 31-11-3, 37-31-65, 37-113-21, 37-143-15, 43-21-159, 43-21-605, 43-27-8, 43-27-20, 43-27-201, 43-27-401, 47-5-151, 47-7-45, 65-1-37 AND 99-43-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS; TO REPEAL SECTIONS 43-27-10, 43-27-11, 43-27-12, 43-27-22, 43-27-23, 43-27-25, 43-27-27, 43-27-29 AND 43-27-35, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES HAS JURISDICTION OVER THE JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) There is created the Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities, which shall be under the policy direction of the Governor.
(2) The chief executive, administrative and fiscal officer of the department shall be the Commissioner of Juvenile Correctional Facilities. The Governor shall appoint the commissioner, with the advice and consent of the Senate, and the commissioner may be removed by the Governor. The commissioner shall possess the minimum qualifications prescribed for the position by the State Personnel Board.
(2) The commissioner shall receive an annual salary fixed by the Governor, not to exceed the maximum authorized by the State Personnel Board, in addition to all actual, necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of official duties, including mileage as authorized by law.
(4) The commissioner shall be required, upon assuming the duties of his office, to execute a good and sufficient bond payable to the State of Mississippi in the sum of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00), conditioned upon an accurate accounting for all monies and property coming into his hands. The commissioner, upon approval by the Governor, may require of other officers, employees and agents of the department a good and sufficient bond in such sum as he may determine, subject to the minimum requirements set forth in this subsection, payable to the State of Mississippi upon the same condition. The bonds shall be approved by the Governor and filed with the Secretary of State, and shall be executed by a surety company authorized to do business under the laws of this state. The premium on any such bond shall be paid by the state out of the support and maintenance fund of the department.
(5) The department shall be vested with the exclusive responsibility for management and control of all juvenile correctional facilities authorized by law, and all property belonging to the juvenile correctional facilities, and shall be responsible for the proper care, treatment, feeding, clothing and management of the juveniles in the juvenile correctional facilities.
(6) All records, property, funds, other assets and personnel of the juvenile correctional facilities under the jurisdiction of the Office of Youth Services of the Department of Human Services on June 30, 2004, shall be transferred to the Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities.
SECTION 2. (1) The Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities shall exercise executive and administrative supervision over all state-owned facilities used for the detention, training, care and treatment of delinquent children properly committed to or confined in those facilities by a court on account of that delinquency. However, executive and administrative supervision under state-owned facilities shall not extend to any institutions and facilities for which executive and administrative supervision has been provided otherwise by law through other agencies.
(2) The department shall have exclusive supervisory care, custody and active control of all children properly committed to or confined in its facilities and included in its programs and shall have control of the grounds, buildings and other facilities and properties of those facilities and programs. Any child committed to a facility under the jurisdiction of the department may be transferred by the commissioner, in his discretion, to any of the other facilities under the jurisdiction of the department.
(3) The juvenile correctional facilities under the jurisdiction of the department shall include, but not be limited to, the Columbia Training School created by Chapter 111, Laws of 1916, the Oakley Training School created by Chapter 205, Laws of 1942, and those facilities authorized by Sections 43-27-201 through 43-27-233. From and after July 1, 2004, the name of the Oakley Training School is changed to the Boys Juvenile Training School, and the name of the Columbia Training School is changed to the Girls Juvenile Training School.
(4) The department may receive, hold and use personal, real and mixed property donated to or otherwise acquired by the department, and shall have such other authority as is necessary for the operation of any juvenile correctional facility. The department shall be responsible for the planning, development and coordination of a statewide, comprehensive youth services program designed to train and rehabilitate children in order to prevent, control and retard juvenile delinquency.
(5) The department may develop and implement diversified programs and facilities to promote, enhance, provide and assure the opportunities for the successful care, training and treatment of delinquent children properly committed to or confined in any facility under its control. Those programs and facilities may include, but not be limited to, training schools, foster homes, halfway houses, forestry camps, regional diagnostic centers, detention centers and other state and local community-based programs and facilities.
(6) The department may acquire whatever hazard, casualty or workers' compensation insurance is necessary for any property, real or personal, owned, leased or rented by the department or for any employees or personnel hired by the department and may acquire professional liability insurance on all employees as deemed necessary and proper by the department. All premiums due and payable on account thereof shall be paid out of the funds of the department.
SECTION 3. (1) The Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities shall succeed to the exclusive control of all records, books, papers, equipment and supplies, and all lands, buildings and other real and personal property now or hereafter belonging to or assigned to the use and benefit or under the control of the Girls Juvenile Training School and the Boys Juvenile Training School, and shall have the exercise and control of the use, distribution and disbursement of all funds, appropriations and taxes now or hereafter in possession, levied, collected or received or appropriated for the use, benefit, support and maintenance of those training schools. The department shall have general supervision of all the affairs of those training schools, and the care and conduct of all buildings and grounds, business methods and arrangements of accounts and records, the organization of the administrative plans of each training school, and all other matters incident to the proper functioning of the training schools.
(2) The department shall have full authority over the operation of any and all farms at each of the training schools and over the distribution of agricultural, dairy, livestock and any and all other products therefrom and over all funds received from the sale of hogs and livestock. All sums realized from the sale of products manufactured and fabricated in the shops of the vocational departments of the training schools shall be placed in the revolving fund of the respective training school in which the products were manufactured, fabricated and sold.
(3) The department shall be authorized to lease the lands for oil, gas and mineral exploration, and for such other purposes as the department deems to be appropriate, on such terms and conditions as the department and lessee agree. The granting of any leases for oil, gas and mineral exploration shall be on a public bid basis as prescribed by law. The department may contract with the State Forestry Commission for the proper management of forest lands and the sale of timber, and the department may sell timber and forestry products. The department may expend the net proceeds from incomes from all leases and timber sales exclusively for the instructional purposes or operational expenses, or both, at the training schools under its jurisdiction.
SECTION 4. (1) The Commissioner of Juvenile Correctional Facilities shall appoint the individual administrators of the facilities under the jurisdiction of the department who, in turn, shall have full power to select and employ personnel necessary to operate the facility that they direct, subject to the approval of the commissioner.
(2) In administering the juvenile correctional facilities under its jurisdiction, the department and the commissioner shall have the following duties:
(a) To operate and maintain training schools and other facilities as may be needed to properly diagnose, care for, train, educate and rehabilitate children and youths who have been committed to or confined in the facilities or who are included in the programs of the facilities.
(b) To fulfill the objectives of rehabilitation and reformation of the youths confined in the facilities, being careful to employ no discipline, training or utilization of time and efforts of the youth that under any condition or in any way interferes with those objectives.
(c) To group the youths in the facilities according to age, sex and disciplinary needs with respect to their housing, schooling, training, recreation and work, being careful to prevent injury to the morals or interference with the training and rehabilitation of the younger or correctable youths by those considered to be less amenable to discipline and rehabilitation.
SECTION 5. The administrators of the juvenile training schools under the jurisdiction of the Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities each may receive free lodging in his respective facility for himself and his family, but not free board nor free supplies from the institution. Upon each administrator's election to receive board for himself and family from the facility, the department shall enter on its records in advance the names and ages of the members of the family and fix the charges for their board at the average cost of table board in that community, but in no event at an amount less than the cost of the board to the facility. The amount of the board so fixed shall be paid by the administrator into the State Treasury before his salary for the next succeeding month will be paid. The department shall make a detailed and itemized statement thereof to the Legislature. The same restrictions shall apply to all members of the clerical force of the facilities.
SECTION 6. Academic and vocational training at all facilities under the jurisdiction of the Department of Juvenile Correctional Institutions shall meet standards prescribed by the State Department of Education based upon standards required for public schools. The department may prescribe such additional requirements as it may from time to time deem necessary. The State Superintendent of Public Education will administer the standards related to the high school and elementary school programs. Reports from the State Department of Education evaluating the educational program at all juvenile correctional facilities and indicating whether or not the program meets the standards as prescribed shall be made directly to the Commissioner of Juvenile Correctional Institutions at regularly scheduled meetings. Such State Department of Education supervisory personnel as deemed appropriate shall be utilized for evaluating the programs and for reporting to the commissioner.
SECTION 7. No person shall be committed to a facility under the control of the Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities who is seriously handicapped by mental illness or retardation. If, after a person is referred to a facility of the department, it is determined that he is mentally ill or mentally retarded to an extent that he could not be properly cared for in its custody, the administrator of the facility may institute necessary legal action to accomplish the transfer of that person to such other state facility or institution as, in his judgment, is best qualified to care for him in accordance with the laws of this state. The department shall establish standards with regard to the physical and mental health of persons that it can accept for commitment.
SECTION 8. (1) The Department of Finance and Administration, for and on behalf of the Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities and the State of Mississippi, may enter into a purchase contract, a lease-purchase agreement or other similar contract for the acquisition of land, buildings or equipment that would be suitable for use by the Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities in providing housing and facilities for youth under its jurisdiction regardless of the ages of those youths and that would assist the Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities in the performance of its duties under Sections 1 through 7 of this act. Before entering into any such contract or agreement, the Department of Finance and Administration must first demonstrate to the Public Procurement Review Board satisfactory evidence that the contract or agreement would be economically advantageous to the Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities.
(2) Acquisition of the property described in subsection (1) of this section shall be made only upon legislative approval or upon approval of the State Bond Commission in accordance with the manner and procedure prescribed in Section 27-104-107.
SECTION 9. Section 31-11-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
31-11-3. (1) The Department of Finance and Administration, for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this chapter, in addition to all other rights and powers granted by law, shall have full power and authority to employ and compensate architects or other employees necessary for the purpose of making inspections, preparing plans and specifications, supervising the erection of any buildings, and making any repairs or additions as may be determined by the Department of Finance and Administration to be necessary, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board. The department shall have entire control and supervision of, and determine what, if any, buildings, additions, repairs or improvements are to be made under the provisions of this chapter, subject to the approval of the Public Procurement Review Board.
(2) The department shall have full power to erect buildings, make repairs, additions or improvements, and buy materials, supplies and equipment for any of the institutions or departments of the state subject to the approval of the Public Procurement Review Board. In addition to other powers conferred, the department shall have full power and authority as directed by the Legislature, or when funds have been appropriated for its use for these purposes, to:
(a) Build a state office building;
(b) Build suitable plants or buildings for the use and housing of any state schools or institutions, including the building of plants or buildings for new state schools or institutions, as provided for by the Legislature;
(c) Provide state aid for the construction of school buildings;
(d) Promote and develop the training of returned veterans of the United States in all sorts of educational and vocational learning to be supplied by the proper educational institution of the State of Mississippi, and in so doing allocate monies appropriated to it for these purposes to the Governor for use by him in setting up, maintaining and operating an office and employing a state director of on-the-job training for veterans and the personnel necessary in carrying out Public Law No. 346 of the United States;
(e) Build and equip a hospital and administration building at the Mississippi State Penitentiary;
(f) Build and equip additional buildings and wards at the Boswell Retardation Center;
(g) Construct a sewage disposal and treatment plant at the state insane hospital, and in so doing acquire additional land as may be necessary, and to exercise the right of eminent domain in the acquisition of this land;
(h) Build and equip the Mississippi central market and purchase or acquire by eminent domain, if necessary, any lands needed for this purpose;
(i) Build and equip suitable facilities for a training and employing center for the blind;
(j) Build and equip a gymnasium at Girls Juvenile Training School;
(k) Approve or disapprove the expenditure of any money appropriated by the Legislature when authorized by the bill making the appropriation;
(l) Expend monies appropriated to it in paying the state's part of the cost of any street paving;
(m) Sell and convey state lands when authorized by the Legislature, cause the lands to be properly surveyed and platted, execute all deeds or other legal instruments, and do any and all other things required to effectively carry out the purpose and intent of the Legislature. Any transaction which involves state lands under the provisions of this paragraph shall be done in a manner consistent with the provisions of Section 29-1-1;
(n) Collect and receive from educational institutions of the State of Mississippi monies required to be paid by these institutions to the state in carrying out any veterans' educational programs; and
(o) Purchase lands for building sites, or as additions to building sites, for the erection of buildings and other facilities which the department is authorized to erect, and demolish and dispose of old buildings, when necessary for the proper construction of new buildings. Any transaction which involves state lands under the provisions of this paragraph shall be done in a manner consistent with the provisions of Section 29-1-1.
(3) The department shall survey state-owned and state-utilized buildings to establish an estimate of the costs of architectural alterations, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 USCS Section 12111 et seq. The department shall establish priorities for making the identified architectural alterations and shall make known to the Legislative Budget Office and to the Legislature the required cost to effectuate such alterations. To meet the requirements of this section, the department shall use standards of accessibility that are at least as stringent as any applicable federal requirements and may consider:
(a) Federal minimum guidelines and requirements issued by the United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board and standards issued by other federal agencies;
(b) The criteria contained in the American Standard Specifications for Making Buildings Accessible and Usable by the Physically Handicapped and any amendments thereto as approved by the American Standards Association, Incorporated (ANSI Standards);
(c) Design manuals;
(d) Applicable federal guidelines;
(e) Current literature in the field;
(f) Applicable safety standards; and
(g) Any applicable environmental impact statements.
(4) The department shall observe the provisions of Section 31-5-23, in letting contracts and shall use Mississippi products, including paint, varnish and lacquer which contain as vehicles tung oil and either ester gum or modified resin (with rosin as the principal base of constituents), and turpentine shall be used as a solvent or thinner, where these products are available at a cost not to exceed the cost of products grown, produced, prepared, made or manufactured outside of the State of Mississippi.
(5) The department shall have authority to accept grants, loans or donations from the United States government or from any other sources for the purpose of matching funds in carrying out the provisions of this chapter.
(6) The department shall build a wheelchair ramp at the War Memorial Building which complies with all applicable federal laws, regulations and specifications regarding wheelchair ramps.
(7) The department shall review and preapprove all architectural or engineering service contracts entered into by any state agency, institution, commission, board or authority regardless of the source of funding used to defray the costs of the construction or renovation project for which services are to be obtained. The provisions of this subsection (7) shall not apply to any architectural or engineering contract paid for by self-generated funds of any of the state institutions of higher learning, nor shall they apply to community college projects that are funded from local funds or other nonstate sources which are outside the Department of Finance and Administration's appropriations or as directed by the Legislature. The provisions of this subsection (7) shall not apply to any construction or design projects of the State Military Department that are funded from federal funds or other nonstate sources.
(8) The department shall have the authority to obtain annually from the state institutions of higher learning information on all building, construction and renovation projects including duties, responsibilities and costs of any architect or engineer hired by any such institutions.
* * *
SECTION 10. Section 37-31-65, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-31-65. The funds derived from any sources for any trade school, such as the Mississippi School for the Deaf, Mississippi School for the Blind, Boys Juvenile Training School or Parchman Vocational School or other agencies or institutions receiving funds for the purposes of this chapter, which are not operated in connection with any public school, agricultural high school or community/junior college, or by virtue of any tuition, registration fees, or payment for services rendered or commodities produced, shall be the property of the State Board of Education. In the event any public school, agricultural high school or community/junior college establishes any trade school, classes or courses under Section 37-31-61, such funds shall be the property of such public school, agricultural high school or community/junior college, to be expended by the trustees thereof, and shall be expended solely for the expense of operating and conducting the trade school, classes or courses in connection with such public school, agricultural high school or community/junior college. None of such funds shall be commingled with the funds of any other of such schools, and none of such funds shall be commingled with any of the other funds of any of the public schools, agricultural high schools or community/junior colleges. All of such funds so created shall be and are * * * declared to be public funds, as defined by law.
SECTION 11. Section 37-113-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-21. (1) Agriculture is the primary industry of Mississippi and it is to the interest of * * * state agriculture that research in the fields of livestock products, pastures and forage crops, poultry, herd and flock management, horticulture, farm mechanization, soil conservation, forestry, disease and insect and parasite control, the testing of plants and livestock under different conditions, farm enterprises for different sized farms under different soil and climatic conditions and market locations, and other important phases of Mississippi's agricultural economy, be expanded in the manner provided for in this section.
(2) There is * * * authorized a branch experiment station to be known as the Brown Loam Branch Experiment Station, which is to be located on a part of that tract of land owned by the State of Mississippi and formerly operated as the Oakley Penitentiary and known as the Boys Juvenile Training School, same to be selected in accordance with Laws, 1954, ch. 159, §3, and used as an agricultural experiment station. This property is to be supplied with necessary buildings, equipment, and other facilities; and title to such Oakley Penitentiary Farm, now known as the Boys Juvenile Training School, is to be transferred to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning for the use of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experimental Station as the site of, and to be used for the Brown Loam Branch Experiment Station in accordance with Laws, 1954, Chapter 159, Section 3.
There is * * * authorized a branch experiment station to be known as the Coastal Plain Branch Experiment Station to be located on a suitable tract of approximately 900 acres to be purchased in the upper coastal plain or short leaf pine area of east central Mississippi and to be supplied with necessary buildings, equipment, and other facilities.
The enlargement of the Holly Springs Branch Experiment Station, hereafter to be known as the North Mississippi Branch Experiment Station, is * * * authorized, by the purchase of approximately 500 acres of additional land adjacent to or in the vicinity of either of the two farms now operated by the branch stations, and by the provision of the necessary buildings, equipment, and other facilities, and the sale as, hereinafter provided, of that farm of the branch station which is not adjacent to the additional land to be purchased.
There is * * * authorized the reactivation of the former McNeil Branch Experiment Station to be operated as a part of the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station at Poplarville, and to be supplied with necessary buildings, equipment, and other facilities.
There is * * * authorized a branch experiment station to be known as the Black Belt Branch Experiment Station to be located on a suitable tract of approximately 640 acres of land to be purchased in Noxubee County, Mississippi, and to be supplied with the necessary buildings, equipment, and other facilities.
There is * * * authorized a branch experiment station to be known as the Northeast Mississippi Branch Experiment Station to be located on a suitable tract of approximately 200 acres of land to be purchased in Lee County, Mississippi. The station shall be primarily devoted to the development of the dairy industry and shall be supplied with necessary buildings, equipment, and other facilities.
There is * * * authorized the expansion of the office and laboratory building at the Delta Branch Experiment Station at Stoneville and of the office and laboratory and dwellings for station workers at the Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station at Crystal Springs.
(3) The governing authorities of any municipality, town, or county in the state may, in their discretion, donate land, money or other property to the board of trustees of state institutions of higher learning in furtherance of the purposes of this section.
For the purpose of securing funds to carry out this subsection, the governing authorities of such municipality, town, or county are * * * authorized and empowered, in their discretion, to issue bonds or negotiate notes for the purpose of acquiring by purchase, gift, or lease real estate for the purpose herein authorized. Such issuance of bonds or notes shall be issued in an amount not to exceed the limitation now or hereafter imposed by law on counties, municipalities and towns, and shall be issued in all respects including interest rate, maturities and other details as is now or may hereafter be provided by general law regulating the issuance of bond or notes by the governing authorities of such municipality, town, or county.
(4) Any person, firm or corporation may contribute or donate real or other property to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning in furtherance of the purpose of this section.
(5) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning is * * * authorized, upon recommendation of the Director of the Agricultural and Forestry Experimental Station at the Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science, which recommendation is approved by and transmitted to the board by the president of the university, to carry out the provisions of this section with particular reference to the establishment, reactivation, expansion, and the discontinuance of branch stations as herein provided, to receive and accept title to any land or property or money herein authorized, to buy or sell and dispose of any real or personal property herein authorized, to make available for carrying into effect the provisions of this section all money received from such sale or sales, and to do any and all things necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section. One-half interest in and to all oil, gas and other minerals shall be retained under any lands sold hereunder.
(6) A gift of One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), authorized by the general education board of the Rockefeller Foundation for the development of agricultural research, with particular reference to expanding the branch experiment stations and conditioned upon a general program of expansion substantially, as herein provided, is * * * accepted. The Director of the Agricultural and Forestry Experimental Station at the Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science is authorized and instructed to control and expend such fund in the same manner as other funds appropriated to carry out the provisions of this section.
(7) The experiment station in Clay County, Mississippi, shall not be affected by this section.
SECTION 12. Section 37-143-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-143-15. The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning is authorized and empowered to establish loan or scholarship programs of like character, operation and purpose to the foregoing enumerated programs to encourage the participation of eligible worthy persons in courses of instruction in its institutions, and in furtherance of such power and authority is authorized: to adopt and implement rules and regulations declaring and describing the goals and objectives of such loan or scholarship programs; to establish the eligibility requirements for entry into such program and required for continuing participation for succeeding years; to determine the maximum amount to be made available to recipients; to delineate the terms and conditions of contracts with recipients and establish the service requirements for such contracts, if any; to enter into contracts pertaining to such programs with recipients; to enter into loan agreements and other contracts with financial institutions or other providers of loan monies for scholarship or loan participants; and to allocate and utilize such funds as may be necessary for the operation of such loan or scholarship programs from the annual appropriation for student financial aid.
In issuing rules and regulations governing the administration of the Graduate Teacher Summer Scholarship (GTS) Program, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall provide that certified teachers at the Girls Juvenile Training School and the Boys Juvenile Training School under the jurisdiction of the Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities shall be fully eligible to participate in the program.
SECTION 13. Section 43-21-159, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-21-159. (1) When a person appears before a court other than the youth court, and it is determined that the person is a child under jurisdiction of the youth court, such court shall, unless the jurisdiction of the offense has been transferred to such court as provided in this chapter, or unless the child has previously been the subject of a transfer from the youth court to the circuit court for trial as an adult and was convicted, immediately dismiss the proceeding without prejudice and forward all documents pertaining to the cause to the youth court; and all entries in permanent records shall be expunged. The youth court shall have the power to order and supervise the expunction or the destruction of such records in accordance with Section 43-21-265. Upon petition therefor, the youth court shall expunge the record of any case within its jurisdiction in which an arrest was made, the person arrested was released and the case was dismissed or the charges were dropped or there was no disposition of such case. In cases where the child is charged with a hunting or fishing violation or a traffic violation whether it be any state or federal law, a violation of the Mississippi Implied Consent Law,or municipal ordinance or county resolution or where the child is charged with a violation of Section 67-3-70, the appropriate criminal court shall proceed to dispose of the same in the same manner as for other adult offenders and it shall not be necessary to transfer the case to the youth court of the county. Unless the cause has been transferred, or unless the child has previously been the subject of a transfer from the youth court to the circuit court for trial as an adult, except for violations under the Implied Consent Law, and was convicted, the youth court shall have power on its own motion to remove jurisdiction from any criminal court of any offense including a hunting or fishing violation, a traffic violation, or a violation of Section 67-3-70, committed by a child in a matter under the jurisdiction of the youth court and proceed therewith in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(2) After conviction and sentence of any child by any other court having original jurisdiction on a misdemeanor charge, and within the time allowed for an appeal of such conviction and sentence, the youth court of the county shall have the full power to stay the execution of the sentence and to release the child on good behavior or on other order as the youth court may see fit to make unless the child has previously been the subject of a transfer from the youth court to the circuit court for trial as an adult and was convicted. When a child is convicted of a misdemeanor and is committed to, incarcerated in or imprisoned in a jail or other place of detention by a criminal court having proper jurisdiction of such charge, such court shall notify the youth court judge or the judge's designee of the conviction and sentence prior to the commencement of such incarceration. The youth court shall have the power to order and supervise the destruction of any records involving children maintained by the criminal court in accordance with Section 43-21-265. However, the youth court shall have the power to set aside a judgment of any other court rendered in any matter over which the youth court has exclusive original jurisdiction, to expunge or destroy the records thereof in accordance with Section 43-21-265, and to order a refund of fines and costs.
(3) Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) shall apply to a youth who has a pending charge or a conviction for any crime over which circuit court has original jurisdiction.
(4) In any case wherein the defendant is a child as defined in this chapter and of which the circuit court has original jurisdiction, the circuit judge, upon a finding that it would be in the best interest of such child and in the interest of justice, may at any stage of the proceedings prior to the attachment of jeopardy transfer such proceedings to the youth court for further proceedings unless the child has previously been the subject of a transfer from the youth court to the circuit court for trial as an adult and was convicted or has previously been convicted of a crime which was in original circuit court jurisdiction, and the youth court shall, upon acquiring jurisdiction, proceed as provided in this chapter for the adjudication and disposition of delinquent child proceeding proceedings. If the case is not transferred to the youth court and the youth is convicted of a crime by any circuit court, the trial judge shall sentence the youth as though such youth was an adult. The circuit court shall not have the authority to commit such child to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities for placement in a state-supported training school.
(5) In no event shall a court sentence an offender over the age of eighteen (18) to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities for placement in a state-supported training school.
(6) When a child's driver's license is suspended by the youth court for any reason, the clerk of the youth court shall report the suspension, without a court order under Section 43-21-261, to the Commissioner of Public Safety in the same manner as such suspensions are reported in cases involving adults.
(7) No offense involving the use or possession of a firearm by a child who has reached his fifteenth birthday and which, if committed by an adult would be a felony, shall be transferred to the youth court.
SECTION 14. Section 43-21-605, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-21-605. (1) In delinquency cases, the disposition order may include any of the following alternatives:
(a) Release the child without further action;
(b) Place the child in the custody of the parents, a relative or other persons subject to any conditions and limitations, including restitution, as the youth court may prescribe;
(c) Place the child on probation subject to any reasonable and appropriate conditions and limitations, including restitution, as the youth court may prescribe;
(d) Order terms of treatment calculated to assist the child and the child's parents or guardian which are within the ability of the parent or guardian to perform;
(e) Order terms of supervision which may include participation in a constructive program of service or education or civil fines not in excess of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or restitution not in excess of actual damages caused by the child to be paid out of his own assets or by performance of services acceptable to the victims and approved by the youth court and reasonably capable of performance within one (1) year;
(f) Suspend the child's driver's license by taking and keeping it in custody of the court for not more than one (1) year;
(g) Give legal custody of the child to any of the following:
(i) The Department of Human Services for appropriate placement; or
(ii) Any public or private organization, preferably community-based, able to assume the education, care and maintenance of the child, which has been found suitable by the court; or
(iii) The Department of Human Services for placement in a wilderness training program; or
(iv) The Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities for placement in a state-supported training school, except that no child under the age of ten (10) years shall be committed to a state training school. The training school may retain custody of the child until the child's twentieth birthday but for no longer. The superintendent of a state training school may parole a child at any time he may deem it in the best interest and welfare of such child. Twenty (20) days prior to such parole, the training school shall notify the committing court of the pending release. The youth court may then arrange subsequent placement after a reconvened disposition hearing, except that the youth court may not recommit the child to the training school or any other secure facility without an adjudication of a new offense or probation or parole violation. Prior to assigning the custody of any child to any private institution or agency, the youth court through its designee shall first inspect the physical facilities to determine that they provide a reasonable standard of health and safety for the child. The youth court shall not place a child in the custody of a state training school for truancy, unless such child has been adjudicated to have committed an act of delinquency in addition to truancy;
(h) Recommend to the child and the child's parents or guardian that the child attend and participate in the Youth Challenge Program under the Mississippi National Guard, as created in Section 43-27-203, subject to the selection of the child for the program by the National Guard; however, the child must volunteer to participate in the program. The youth court may not order any child to apply or attend the program;
(i) (i) Adjudicate the juvenile to the Statewide Juvenile Work Program if the program is established in the court's jurisdiction. The juvenile and his parents or guardians must sign a waiver of liability in order to participate in the work program. The judge will coordinate with the youth services counselors as to placing participants in the work program;
(ii) The severity of the crime, whether or not the juvenile is a repeat offender or is a felony offender will be taken into consideration by the judge when adjudicating a juvenile to the work program. The juveniles adjudicated to the work program will be supervised by police officers or reserve officers. The term of service will be from twenty-four (24) to one hundred twenty (120) hours of community service. A juvenile will work the hours to which he was adjudicated on the weekends during school and week days during the summer. Parents are responsible for a juvenile reporting for work. Noncompliance with an order to perform community service will result in a heavier adjudication. A juvenile may be adjudicated to the community service program only two (2) times;
(iii) The judge shall assess an additional fine on the juvenile which will be used to pay the costs of implementation of the program and to pay for supervision by police officers and reserve officers. The amount of the fine will be based on the number of hours to which the juvenile has been adjudicated;
(j) Order the child to participate in a youth court work program as provided in Section 43-21-627; or
(k) Order the child into a juvenile detention center operated by the county or into a juvenile detention center operated by any county with which the county in which the court is located has entered into a contract for the purpose of housing delinquents. The time period for such detention cannot exceed ninety (90) days. The youth court judge may order that the number of days specified in the detention order be served either throughout the week or on weekends only.
(2) In addition to any of the disposition alternatives authorized under subsection (1) of this section, the disposition order in any case in which the child is adjudicated delinquent for an offense under Section 63-11-30 shall include an order denying the driver's license and driving privileges of the child as required under subsection (8) of Section 63-11-30.
(3) Fines levied under this chapter shall be paid into the general fund of the county but, in those counties wherein the youth court is a branch of the municipal government, it shall be paid into the municipal treasury.
(4) Any institution or agency to which a child has been committed shall give to the youth court any information concerning the child as the youth court may at any time require.
(5) The youth court shall not place a child in another school district who has been expelled from a school district for the commission of a violent act. For the purpose of this subsection, "violent act" means any action which results in death or physical harm to another or an attempt to cause death or physical harm to another.
(6) The youth court may require drug testing as part of a disposition order. If a child tests positive, the court may require treatment, counseling and random testing, as it deems appropriate. The costs of such tests shall be paid by the parent, guardian or custodian of the child unless the court specifically finds that the parent, guardian or custodian is unable to pay.
SECTION 15. Section 43-27-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-27-8. The Department of Human Services, shall administer the following duties and responsibilities through the Office of Youth Services:
(a) To implement and administer laws and policy relating to youth services and coordinate the efforts of the department with those of the federal government and other state departments and agencies, county governments, municipal governments and private agencies concerned with providing youth services.
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(b) To promulgate and publish such rules, regulations and policies of the department as are needed for the efficient government and maintenance of all * * * programs in accord, insofar as possible, with currently accepted standards of juvenile care and treatment.
SECTION 16. Section 43-27-20, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-27-20. (1) Within the Office of Youth Services there shall be a Division of Community Services, which shall be headed by a director appointed by and responsible to the Director of the Office of Youth Services. He shall hold a master's degree in social work or a related field and shall have no less than three (3) years' experience in social services, or in lieu of that degree and experience, he shall have a minimum of eight (8) years' experience in social work or a related field. He shall employ and assign the community workers to serve in the various areas in the state and any other supporting personnel necessary to carry out the duties of the Division of Community Services.
(2) The Director of the Division of Community Services shall assign probation and aftercare workers to the youth court or family court judges of the various court districts upon the request of the individual judge on the basis of case load and need, when funds are available. The probation and aftercare workers shall live in their respective districts except upon approval of the Director of the Division of Community Services. The Director of the Division of Community Services is authorized to assign a youth services counselor to a district other than the district in which the youth services counselor lives upon the approval of the youth court judge of the assigned district and the Director of the Division of Youth Services. Every placement shall be with the approval of the youth court or the family court judge, and a probation and aftercare worker may be removed for cause from a youth or family court district.
(3) Any counties or cities which, on July 1, 1973, have court counselors or similar personnel may continue using this personnel or may choose to come within the statewide framework.
(4) A probation and aftercare worker may be transferred by the division from one court to another after consultation with the judge or judges in the court to which the employee is currently assigned.
(5) The Division of Community Services shall have such duties as the Office of Youth Services * * * assigns to it, which shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(a) Preparing the social, educational and home-life history and other diagnostic reports on the child for the benefit of the court or a training school under the jurisdiction of the Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities; however, this provision shall not abridge the power of the court to require similar services from other agencies, according to law.
(b) Serving in counseling capacities with the youth or family courts.
(c) Serving as probation agents for the youth or family courts.
(d) Serving, advising and counseling of children in the various facilities under the jurisdiction of the Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities as may be necessary to the placement of the children in proper environment after release and the placement of children in suitable jobs where necessary and proper.
(e) Supervising and guiding of children released or conditionally released from facilities under the jurisdiction of the Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities.
(f) Counseling in an aftercare program.
(g) Coordinating the activities of supporting community agencies which aid in the social adjustment of children released from the facility and in an aftercare program.
(h) Providing or arranging for necessary services leading to the rehabilitation of delinquents, either within the division or through cooperative arrangements with other appropriate agencies.
(i) Providing counseling and supervision for any child under ten (10) years of age who has been brought to the attention of the court when other suitable personnel is not available and upon request of the court concerned.
(j) Supervising the aftercare program and making revocation investigations at the request of the court.
(6) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2009.
SECTION 17. Section 43-27-201, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-27-201. (1) The purpose of this section is to outline and structure a long-range proposal in addition to certain immediate objectives for improvements in the juvenile correctional facilities of the Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities in order to provide modern and efficient correctional and rehabilitation facilities for juvenile offenders in Mississippi, who are committing an increasing percentage of serious and violent crimes.
(2) The Department of Finance and Administration, acting through the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management, using funds from bonds issued under this chapter, monies appropriated by the Legislature for such purposes, federal matching or other federal funds, federal grants or other available funds from whatever source, shall provide for, by construction, lease, lease-purchase or otherwise, and equip the following juvenile correctional facilities under the jurisdiction and responsibility of the Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities:
(a) Construct an additional one-hundred-fifty-bed, stand-alone, medium security juvenile correctional facility for habitual violent male offenders, which complies with American Correctional Association Accreditation standards and applicable building and fire safety codes. The medium security, male juvenile facility location shall be on property owned by the Office of Youth Services, or its successor, or at a site selected by the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management on land which is hereafter donated to the state specifically for the location of such facility.
(b) Construct an additional one-hundred-bed minimum security juvenile correctional facility for female offenders, and an additional stand-alone, fifteen-bed maximum security juvenile correctional facility for female offenders, which complies with American Correctional Association Accreditation standards and applicable building and fire safety codes. The minimum security and maximum security female juvenile facilities location shall be on property owned by the Office of Youth Services, or its successor, or at a site selected by the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management on land which is hereafter donated to the state specifically for the location of such facility.
(3) Upon the selection of a proposed site for a correctional facility for juveniles authorized under subsection (2), the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management of the Department of Finance and Administration shall notify the board of supervisors of the county in which such facility is proposed to be located and shall publish a notice as hereinafter set forth in a newspaper having general circulation in such county. Such notice shall include a description of the tract of land in the county whereon the facility is proposed to be located, the nature and size of the facility and the date on which the determination of the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management shall be final as to the location of such facility, which date shall not be less than forty-five (45) days following the first publication of such notice. Such notice shall include a brief summary of the provisions of this section pertaining to the petition for an election on the question of the location of the juvenile housing facility in such county. Such notice shall be published not less than one (1) time each week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper published in such county.
If no petition requesting an election is filed before the date of final determination stated in such notice, then the bureau shall give final approval to the location of such facility.
If at any time before the aforesaid date a petition signed by twenty percent (20%), or fifteen hundred (1500), whichever is less, of the qualified electors of the county involved shall be filed with the board of supervisors requesting that an election be called on the question of locating such facility, then the board of supervisors shall adopt a resolution calling an election to be held within such county upon the question of the location of such facility. Such election shall be held, as far as practicable, in the same manner as other elections are held in counties. At such election, all qualified electors of the county may vote, and the ballots used at such election shall have printed thereon a brief statement of the facility to be constructed and the words "For the construction of the facility in (here insert county name) County" and "Against the construction of the facility in (here insert county name) County." The voter shall vote by placing a cross (X) or check mark (√) opposite his choice on the proposition. When the results of the election on the question of the construction of the facility shall have been canvassed by the election commissioners of the county and certified by them to the board of supervisors, it shall be the duty of the board of supervisors to determine and adjudicate whether or not a majority of the qualified electors who voted thereon in such election voted in favor of the construction of the facilities in such county. Unless a majority of the qualified electors who voted in such election shall have voted in favor of the construction of the facilities in such county, then such facility shall not be constructed in such county.
(4) The Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities shall establish, maintain and operate an Adolescent Offender Program (AOP), which may include non-Medicaid assistance eligible juveniles. The department may establish at least twelve (12) AOP sites at various locations throughout the state based upon the needs of the population, as determined by the department. AOP professional services, salaries, facility offices, meeting rooms and related supplies and equipment may be provided through contract with local mental health or other nonprofit community organizations.
(5) The Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities shall operate and maintain the Forestry Camp Number 43 at the Girls Juvenile Training School, originally authorized and constructed in 1973, to consist of a twenty-bed dormitory, four (4) offices, a classroom, kitchen, dining room, day room and apartment. The purpose of this camp shall be to train juvenile detention residents for community college and other forestry training programs.
(6) The Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities shall establish a ten-bed transitional living facility for the temporary holding of training school adolescents who have reached their majority, have completed the GED requirement, and are willing to be rehabilitated until they are placed in jobs, job training or postsecondary programs. Such transitional living facility may be operated pursuant to contract with a nonprofit community support organization.
SECTION 18. Section 43-27-401, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-27-401. (1) The Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities shall establish a pilot program to be known as the "Amer-I-Can Program." The program is designed for youths who have been committed to or are confined in the Girls Juvenile Training School or the Boys Juvenile Training School. The objectives of this program are:
(a) To develop greater self-esteem, assume responsible attitudes and experience a restructuring of habits and conditioning processes;
(b) To develop an appreciation of family members and an understanding of the role family structure has in achieving successful living;
(c) To develop an understanding of the concept of community and collective responsibility;
(d) To develop a prowess in problem solving and decision making that will eliminate many of the difficulties that were encountered in past experiences;
(e) To develop skills in money management and financial stability, thus relieving pressures that have contributed to previous difficulties;
(f) To develop communication skills to better express thoughts and ideas while acquiring an understanding of and respect for the thoughts and ideas of others; and
(g) To acquire employment seeking and retention skills to improve chances of long term, gainful employment.
(2) The department shall develop policies and procedures to administer the program and shall choose which youths are eligible to participate in the program.
(3) The department may accept any funds, public or private, made available to it for the program.
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SECTION 19. Section 47-5-151, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-151. The superintendent (warden) or other person in charge of prisoners, upon the death of any prisoner under his care and control, shall at once notify the county medical examiner or county medical examiner investigator (hereinafter "medical examiner") of the county in which the prisoner died, of the death of the prisoner, and it shall be the duty of such medical examiner, when so notified of the death of such person, to obtain a court order and notify the State Medical Examiner of the death of such prisoner. It shall be mandatory that the State Medical Examiner cause an autopsy to be performed upon the body of the deceased prisoner. Furthermore, the State Medical Examiner shall investigate any case where a person is found dead on the premises of the correctional system, in accordance with Sections 41-61-51 through 41-61-79. The State Medical Examiner shall make a written report of his investigation, and shall furnish a copy of the same, including the autopsy report, to the superintendent (warden) and a copy of the same to the district attorney of the county in which the prisoner died. The copy so furnished to the district attorney shall be turned over by the district attorney to the grand jury, and it shall be the duty of the grand jury, if there be any suspicion of wrongdoing shown by the inquest papers, to thoroughly investigate the cause of such death.
It shall be the duty of the medical examiner of the county in which the prisoner died to arrange for the remains to be transported to the State Medical Examiner for the autopsy, and accompanying the remains shall be the court order for autopsy and any documents or records pertaining to the deceased prisoner, institutional health records or other information relating to the circumstances surrounding the prisoner's death. The State Medical Examiner shall arrange for the remains to be transported to the county in which the prisoner died following completion of the autopsy. If the remains are not claimed for burial within forty-eight (48) hours after autopsy, then the remains may be delivered to the University of Mississippi Medical Center for use in medical research or anatomical study.
The provisions herein set forth in the first paragraph shall likewise apply to any case in which any person is found dead on the premises of the Mississippi State Penitentiary, except that the autopsy to be performed on the body of such a person shall not be mandatory upon a person who is not a prisoner unless the medical examiner determines that the death resulted from circumstances raising questions as to the cause of death, in which case the medical examiner may cause an autopsy to be performed upon the body of such deceased person in the same manner as authorized to be performed upon the body of a deceased prisoner.
* * * The provisions of this section shall apply with respect to any deceased prisoner who at the time of death is being detained by duly constituted state authority such as the Girls Juvenile Training School, Boys Juvenile Training School, Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield, East Mississippi State Hospital, or any other state institution.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to a prisoner who was lawfully executed as provided in Sections 99-19-49 through 99-19-55.
Any officer or employee of the prison system or any other officer, employee or person having charge of any prisoner who shall fail to immediately notify the medical examiner of the death of such prisoner, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Five Hundred dollars ($500.00) and by confinement in the county jail for not more than one (1) year.
SECTION 20. Section 47-7-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-45. The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to probation under the Youth Court Law nor to parole from the Girls Juvenile Training School and the Boys Juvenile Training School.
SECTION 21. Section 65-1-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
65-1-37. The Mississippi Transportation Commission is * * * authorized and empowered to have the Mississippi Department of Transportation construct, repair and maintain the driveways and streets on the grounds of the universities and colleges under the jurisdiction of the Board of Trustees of the State Institutions of Higher Learning, state, and/or county supported junior colleges, the state hospitals, and institutions under the jurisdiction of the Department of * * * Mental Health * * * the Girls Juvenile Training School, the Boys Juvenile Training School, the Mississippi Schools for the Deaf and Blind, and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks in the manner provided herein, including bypasses to connect those driveways and streets with roads on the state highway system, and the main thoroughfare running east and west through the grounds of the Mississippi Penitentiary, provided that the institutions obtain the necessary rights-of-way, those institutions being * * * authorized so to do by this section.
The Transportation Commission and the governing boards of the institutions shall enter into an agreement prior to undertaking any of the work mentioned in the first paragraph of this section, and the agreement shall be based on the Transportation Department's furnishing equipment, equipment operators, skilled labor, supervision, and engineering services, and the governing bodies of the aforementioned institutions shall furnish material, supplies and common labor. This agreement shall further provide for reimbursement of the Mississippi Department of Transportation, in full, for the expenditures incurred in the construction, repair and maintenance of driveways and streets at the institutions hereinabove mentioned, such reimbursement to be made directly to the Mississippi Transportation Commission from the institutions. Upon the execution of an agreement as set out herein, the Mississippi Department of Transportation may provide all the necessary engineering, supervision, skilled labor, equipment, and equipment operators to perform such work.
SECTION 22. Section 99-43-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
99-43-3. As used in this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed to them, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Accused" means a person who has been arrested for committing a criminal offense and who is held for an initial appearance or other proceeding before trial or who is a target of an investigation for committing a criminal offense.
(b) "Appellate proceeding" means an oral argument held in open court before the Mississippi Court of Appeals, the Mississippi Supreme Court, a federal court of appeals or the United States Supreme Court.
(c) "Arrest" means the actual custodial restraint of a person or his submission to custody.
(d) "Community status" means extension of the limits of the places of confinement of a prisoner through work release, intensive supervision, house arrest, and initial consideration of pre-discretionary leave, passes and furloughs.
(e) "Court" means all state courts including juvenile courts.
(f) "Victim assistance coordinator" means a person who is employed or authorized by a public entity or a private entity that receives public funding primarily to provide counseling, treatment or other supportive assistance to crime victims.
(g) "Criminal offense" means conduct that gives a law enforcement officer or prosecutor probable cause to believe that a felony involving physical injury, the threat of physical injury, or a sexual offense, or any offense involving spousal abuse, domestic violence or burglary of a dwelling house has been committed.
(h) "Criminal proceeding" means a hearing, argument or other matter scheduled by and held before a trial court but does not include a lineup, grand jury proceeding or other matter not held in the presence of the court.
(i) "Custodial agency" means a municipal or county jail, the Department of Corrections, juvenile detention facility, Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities or a secure mental health facility having custody of a person who is arrested or is in custody for a criminal offense.
(j) "Defendant" means a person or entity that is formally charged by complaint, indictment or information of committing a criminal offense.
(k) "Final disposition" means the ultimate termination of the criminal prosecution of a defendant by a trial court, including dismissal, acquittal or imposition of a sentence.
(l) "Immediate family" means the spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent or guardian of the victim, unless that person is in custody for an offense or is the accused.
(m) "Lawful representative" means a person who is a member of the immediate family or who is designated as provided in Section 99-43-5; no person in custody for an offense or who is the accused may serve as lawful representative.
(n) "Post-arrest release" means the discharge of the accused from confinement on recognizance, bond or other condition.
(o) "Post-conviction release" means parole, or discharge from confinement by an agency having custody of the prisoner.
(p) "Post-conviction relief proceeding" means a hearing, argument or other matter that is held in any court and that involves a request for relief from a conviction, sentence or adjudication.
(q) "Prisoner" means a person who has been convicted or adjudicated of a criminal offense against a victim and who has been sentenced to the custody of the sheriff, the Department of Corrections, Department of Juvenile Correctional Facilities, juvenile detention facility, a municipal jail or a secure mental health facility.
(r) "Prosecuting attorney" means the district attorney, county prosecuting attorney, municipal prosecuting attorney, youth court prosecuting attorney, special prosecuting attorney or Attorney General.
(s) "Right" means any right granted to the victim by the laws of this state.
(t) "Victim" means a person against whom the criminal offense has been committed, or if the person is deceased or incapacitated, the lawful representative.
SECTION 23. Sections 43-27-10, 43-27-11, 43-27-12, 43-27-22, 43-27-23, 43-27-25, 43-27-27, 43-27-29 and 43-27-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, which provide that the Department of Human Services has jurisdiction over the juvenile correctional facilities, are repealed.
SECTION 24. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2004.