A bill that would attempt to address disproportionate minority contact concerning the juvenile justice system has moved out of committee and now goes to Senate floor for approval.
Senate Bill 20 is filed by Senator Whitney Westerfield of Christian County, who has been pushing for the legislation and advocating for disproportionate minority contact to be solved for years, so he’s excited that it passed a committee hearing with only one ‘no’ vote Monday.
He says the bill is part of broader justice reform, and would make it so agencies that deal with juveniles in the justice system would have to report their data and makes some changes to existing policy.
As a change, it would reinstate, where appropriate, a discretionary action for juvenile cases to remain in juvenile court instead of going into district or circuit court to be tried as adults.
He says the fact of the matter is that minority youth are being seen in the juvenile justice system more than white youth, and Christian County is the second worst in the state for disproportionate minority contact, beaten out only by Jefferson County. He says that by passing this bill that will allow them to collect data, the root of the problem can be discovered and corrected.
The bill’s journey has just begun as it goes to be heard by the Senate. If approved there, it will go to the house for consideration, where it must pass as well before going to the Governor’s desk. Senator Westerfield says he feels more confident in its chances after its success in committee.