June 1, 2022
Press Release
Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) Executive Director Rachel Holt today thanked Gov. Kevin Stitt for signing and legislators for their bipartisan support in passing a measure that clarifies and updates the Youthful Offender Act.
Senate Bill 217, by Sen. Brent Howard and Rep. Anthony Moore, makes the Youthful Offender Act easier to apply and reflects best practices for application across the state.
The original Youthful Offender Act was passed in 1995 to ensure public safety by holding children accountable for serious crimes while affording courts methods of rehabilitation for those children in the juvenile justice system through the custody or supervision of OJA. After 25 years of ad hoc amendments, the organizational structure of the act had become difficult to follow. It was not applied uniformly across the state. SB 217 modernizes the Youthful Offender Act.
“As a former assistant district attorney in Oklahoma County and my experiences at the Office of Juvenile Affairs as general counsel and executive director, I have prosecuted, amended and applied the Youthful Offender Act for 15 years,” said Holt. “I believe in the Youthful Offender Act and its purpose to hold children accountable for serious crimes while giving them the ability to work a treatment and rehabilitation plan in the juvenile system, but always with the hammer of being transferred to the adult system if the child is not successful in that opportunity. I have seen lives changed through that opportunity. I appreciate the cooperation from the District Attorneys Council and the diverse district attorneys who assisted in writing this legislation. I believe the updates will help apply the act uniformly across the state and lead to better outcomes. I am grateful to our authors, Senator Howard and Representative Moore, and to Governor Stitt for their support in improving our juvenile justice system to make it the best in the nation.”
The Senate unanimously approved SB 217, 43-0, and the House of Representatives passed it 74-4. The measure takes effect Nov. 1.
“Consistent and appropriate accountability of our young people is critical to their future success and to the success of our state,” said Howard. “The updates made this session to the Youthful Offender Act ensure that young people who commit serious offenses experience equally serious consequences while preventing them from participating in the adult criminal justice system. The more youth we have served in this way, the better Oklahoma will be.”
“When legislation comes along that is both tough on crime and good for our young people, carrying it is an easy yes,” Moore said. “In addition to the organizational updates made to the Youthful Offender Act’s content, I am proud we also expanded the number of avenues available for prosecutors and judges to promote public safety. With more options for early intervention, Oklahoma will be a safer place.”
SB 217 is the result of a collaborative work group. District attorneys from both rural and urban districts who have experience prosecuting youthful offenders contributed to updating the Youthful Offender Act’s language. It has the support of the District Attorneys Council.
“I appreciate the hard work of the many prosecutors, the District Attorneys Council staff, and those from OJA who worked together to produce legislation that will help provide prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and OJA workers clear guidance as youthful offender cases work through the judicial system,” said District Attorney Chris Boring, whose District 26 covers Alfalfa, Dewey, Major, Woods and Woodward counties. “This legislation will help reduce recidivism and encourage rehabilitation of youthful offenders by emphasizing the need for treatment plan compliance. This legislation also protects public safety by ensuring that violent youthful offenders who are not amenable to treatment will be held accountable. I thank Senator Brent Howard, Representative Anthony Moore, the entire Legislature and Governor Stitt for realizing the importance of this legislation.”
Since 2017, an average of 78% of youthful offenders successfully complete their rehabilitation plans and have their cases dismissed. OJA has averaged 133 youthful offenders in custody per year since 2017. Youthful offenders who are unsuccessful in their OJA programs may be transferred to the custody or supervision of the Department of Corrections to serve their sentence in the adult system.
Copyright 2022 Paragon Communications. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.
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