SCS/HS/HCS/HB 971 - This act makes juvenile court employees in multicounty judicial circuits state employees for employment benefits (salary, retirement, etc.). Multicounty circuits apply to all counties except first classification counties with a single judicial circuit and St. Louis City.

This act also transfers the state portion of juvenile court employees salaries in every first classification county with a single judicial circuit and St. Louis City to state-provided benefits, including retirement. Such employees may receive creditable prior service for that part of salary received from the state and for other forfeited service from a county retirement plan.

No juvenile court employee under this act shall be eligible to participate in the County Employees' Retirement System Fund (CERF).

Persons with prior employment as a juvenile court employee who become employed in a position with the State which is under the Missouri State Employees' Retirement System (MOSERS) or Highways and Transportation and Highway Patrol Retirement System after July 1, 1999, shall be eligible to receive creditable prior service for such prior employment.

The state shall reimburse single circuit counties for an amount equal to the greater of fifteen percent of the juvenile court personnel budget, with certain exceptions, for calendar year 1997, or the sum of the salaries of a chief deputy juvenile officer and a deputy juvenile officer class I. The percentage reimbursement increases to twenty percent for calendar year 1998; thirty percent for 1999; forty percent for 2000; and fifty percent for 2001.

This act also allows any two or more counties to form a regional juvenile detention district for the leasing or construction of a regional juvenile detention center. Any municipality or county may contract with a regional juvenile detention center commission for holding juvenile offenders. The effective date of the above provisions is July 1, 1999.

The state currently reimburses counties for the care of juvenile offenders at a rate of fourteen dollars per day; the act allows counties to receive up to thirty-seven dollars per day, subject to appropriations.

The act also provides that, for retirement purposes, each biennial assembly or partial biennial assembly either served or purchased shall be deemed and credited as two full years of creditable service as an ALJ or legal advisor.

This act requires the Division of Family Services or the Juvenile Office to share information with a school superintendent or designee, upon request, regarding an active case involving a student. The information would then be told to teachers on a need to know basis, who are required to meet confidentiality requirements.
JOAN GUMMELS