L.L. 2010/061

Enactment date: 12/7/2010

Int. No. 195-A

By Council Members Gonzalez, Palma, Comrie, Dromm, Nelson, Jackson, Gennaro, Van Bramer, Lappin, Gentile and Lander (by request of the Mayor)

A Local Law to amend the New York city charter and the administrative code of the city of New York in relation to merging the department of juvenile justice and the administration for children's services, and to repeal chapter 28 of such charter and subparagraph iii of paragraph 5 of subdivision a of section 12-307 of such code in relation thereto.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section One. Legislative history and intent. The goals of the New York City juvenile justice system are to ensure public safety and to help youth within the system become healthy, productive and law abiding New Yorkers. New York City recognizes what studies have shown: institutionalizing youth involved in the juvenile justice system does little to advance those goals. Accordingly, since 2002, the City reduced the number of youth being sent to State-administered residential facilities by 56%. The City also developed alternative to placement and detention programs that focus on addressing the underlying causes of a youth's delinquency such as the Juvenile Justice Initiative and the Collaborative Family Initiative. Most recently, in January 2010, Mayor Bloomberg announced the integration of the Department of Juvenile Justice ("DJJ") with the Administration of Children Services ("ACS") in order to expand programming designed to reduce recidivism among youth involved in the juvenile justice system. ACS will assume all of DJJ's responsibilities, including the administration of juvenile detention facilities and ensuring the well-being of youth in its care.

With the integration of DJJ into ACS, the New York City Council intends to further reduce the City's reliance on institutional placement of justice involved youth by increasing the availability of alternative to detention and placement programs. Studies show that alternative to detention and placement programs are less costly than institutionalization and that they are more effective at reducing recidivism, as youth learn how to relate to situations within their communities and with the people they interact with most. The Council further finds that the integration of DJJ into ACS will produce cost savings and operational efficiencies by combining two agencies that serve overlapping populations. With the integration of DJJ into ACS, the Council finds there is an opportunity to work with youth and their families to set youth on a path toward school, work and successful adulthood. The integration will serve to strengthen and enhance the services available to justice involved youth. These services will continue to address their special needs including, but not limited to, mental health issues or drug and alcohol dependency, so that they are able to get the help that they need and stay in their communities whenever possible.

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[Consolidated provisions are not included in this Appendix A]

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§ 7. Any agency or officer to which are assigned by or pursuant to this local law any functions, powers and duties shall exercise such functions, powers and duties in continuation of their exercise by the agency of officer by which the same were heretofore exercised and shall have power to continue any business, proceeding or other matter commenced by the agency or officer by which such functions, powers and duties were heretofore exercised. Any provision in any law, rule, regulation, contract, grant or other document relating to the subject matter of such functions, powers or duties, and applicable to the agency or officer formerly exercising the same shall, so far as not inconsistent with the provisions of this local law, apply to the agency or officer to which such functions, powers and duties are assigned by or pursuant to this local law.

§ 8. Any rule or regulation in force on the effective date of this local law, and promulgated by an agency or officer whose power to promulgate such type of rule or regulation is assigned by or pursuant to this local law to some other agency or officer, shall continue in force as the rule or regulation of the agency or officer to whom such power is assigned, except as such other agency or officer may hereafter duly amend, supersede or repeal such rule or regulation.

§ 9. If any of the functions, power or duties of any agency or part thereof is by or pursuant to this local law assigned to another agency, all records, property and equipment relating to such transferred function, power or duty shall be transferred and delivered to the agency to which such function, power or duty is so assigned.

§ 10. No existing right or remedy of any character accruing to the city shall be lost or impaired or affected by reason of the adoption of this local law.

§ 11. No action or proceeding, civil or criminal, pending at the time when this local law shall take effect brought by or against the city or any agency or officer, shall be affected or abated by the adoption of this local law or by anything herein contained; but all such actions or proceedings may be continued notwithstanding that functions, powers and duties of any agency or officer party thereto may by or pursuant to this local law be assigned or transferred to another agency or officer, but in that event the same may be prosecuted or defended by the head of the agency or the officer to which such functions, powers and duties have been assigned or transferred by or pursuant to this local law.

§ 12. Whenever by or pursuant to any provision of this local law, functions, powers or duties may be assigned to any agency or officer which have been heretofore exercised by any other agency or officer, officers and employees in the classified city civil service who are engaged in the performance of such functions, powers or duties may be transferred to the agency to which such functions, powers or duties may be assigned by or pursuant to this local law.

§ 13. Nothing contained in this local law shall affect or impair the rights or privileges of officers or employees of the city or of any agency existing at the time when this local law shall take effect, or any provision of law in force at the time when this local law shall take effect and not inconsistent with the provisions of this local law, in relation to the personnel, appointment, ranks, grades, tenure of office, promotion, removal, pension and retirement rights, civil rights or any other rights or privileges of officers or employees of the city generally or officers or employees of any agency.

§ 14. Officers and employees in the classified municipal services who are transferred to the Administration for Children's Services pursuant to the enactment of this local law shall be transferred without further examination or qualification and shall retain their respective civil service classification and status; and shall be transferred without affecting existing compensation or pension or retirement rights, or other privileges or obligations of such officers and employees.

§ 15. It is the intent of this local law to protect those rights enumerated in sections thirteen and fourteen as they apply to officers and employees in the classified municipal services of the Department of Juvenile Justice and the Administration for Children's Services who are affected by the merging of the Department of Juvenile Justice with the Administration for Children's Services. In the event of a reduction in force or the elimination of a job title at the Administration for Children's Services, all affected employees, including employees who transferred to that agency as a result of the merger authorized by this local law, shall be entitled to all the protections afforded under applicable provisions of the civil service law and collective bargaining agreements.

§ 16. Any license, permit or other authorization in force on the effective date of this local law, and issued by an agency, where the power of such agency to issue such license, permit or authorization is assigned by or pursuant to this local law to another agency or officer, shall continue in force as the license, permit or authorization of such other agency, or officer, except as such license, permit or authorization may expire or be altered, suspended or revoked by the appropriate agency or office pursuant to law. Such license, permit or authorization shall be renewable in accordance with the applicable law by the agency or officer with such power pursuant to law, including this local law.

§ 17. The provisions of this local law shall be severable and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision or section of this local law, or the applicability thereof to any person or circumstance, shall be held invalid, the remainder of this local law and the application thereof shall not be affected thereby.

§ 18. This local law shall take effect immediately or as soon as practicable thereafter as a transfer of functions may be effectuated pursuant to this local law and subdivision 2 of section 70 of the civil service law; provided, however, that any or all actions necessary to effectuate such transfer may be taken prior to such effective date, and such actions may include an agreement between the department of juvenile justice and the administration for children's services as to any matters relating to the administration of contracts entered into by the department of juvenile justice prior to such effective date.