North Carolina § 143B-845 - Legislative intent.

§ 143B-845. Legislative intent.

It is the intent of the General Assembly to prevent juveniles who are at risk from becoming delinquent. The primary intent of this Subpart is to develop community-based alternatives to youth development centers and to provide community-based delinquency, substance abuse, and gang prevention strategies and programs. Additionally, it is the intent of the General Assembly to provide noninstitutional dispositional alternatives that will protect the community and the juveniles. These programs and services shall be planned and organized at the community level and developed in partnership with the State. These planning efforts shall include appropriate representation from local government, local public and private agencies serving juveniles and their families, local business leaders, citizens with an interest in youth problems, youth representatives, and others as may be appropriate in a particular community. The planning bodies at the local level shall be the Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils. History (1998-202, s. 1(b); 2000-137, s. 1(b); 2001-95, s. 5; 2008-56, s. 2; 2011-145, s. 19.1(t), (eee).) Establishment of a Gang Prevention and Intervention Pilot Program - Session Laws 2009-451, s. 18.5, provides: "(a) As part of the Governor's Comprehensive Gang Initiative, the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention [Division of Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety] shall establish a two-year Gang Prevention and Intervention Pilot Program that will focus on youth at risk for gang involvement and those who are already associated with gangs and gang activity. The Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention shall: "(1) Ensure that measurable performance indicators and systems are put in place to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program, and "(2) Conduct both process- and outcome-focused evaluations of the pilot program to determine community and institutional impacts of the pilot program pertaining to gang behavior, desistance, and activities. These evaluations may consider the degree of successful implementation of the program and measurable changes in gang-related and gang-affiliated behaviors noted in institutional, court system, communities, and related programs. "(b) The Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention shall report to the Chairs of the Senate and House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittees on Justice and Public Safety and the Joint Legislative Corrections, Crime Control, and Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee on the implementation and continuing operation of the pilot program by April 1 each year. The report shall include information on the number of juveniles served and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the pilot program. In addition, the report shall include the information set out in subsection (a) of this section." Editor's Note. - Former G.S. 143B-543 was recodified as G.S. 143B-272.32 by Session Laws 2011-145, s. 19.1(t), effective January 1, 2012. It was subsequently renumbered as this section at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. Session Laws 2011-145, s. 19.1(t) recodified Article 12 of Chapter 143B as Part 3 of Article 5A of Chapter 143B . Article 5A was renumbered as Article 13 at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. Session Laws 2011-145, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2011.'" Session Laws 2011-145, s. 32.5, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2008-56, s. 2, effective July 6, 2008, in the first paragraph, deleted "and" following "delinquency" and inserted "and gang" following "substance abuse." Session Laws 2011-145, s. 19.1(eee), effective January 1, 2012, substituted "Subpart" for "Part" in the second sentence of the first paragraph.