Wis. Stat. § 938.999 — WI Code / Chapter 938 / Section 938.999
Interstate Compact for Juveniles.
Status: in_force

(1) Article I — Purpose.

(a) The compacting states to this interstate compact recognize that each state is responsible for the proper supervision or return of juveniles, delinquents, and status offenders who are on probation or parole and who have absconded, escaped, or run away from supervision and control and in so doing have endangered their own safety and the safety of others. The compacting states also recognize that each state is responsible for the safe return of juveniles who have run away from home and in doing so have left their state of residence. The compacting states also recognize that the U.S. Congress, by enacting the Crime Control Act, 4 USC 112 , has authorized and encouraged compacts for cooperative efforts and mutual assistance in the prevention of crime.

(b) It is the purpose of this compact, through means of joint and cooperative action among the compacting states, to do all of the following:

1. Ensure that the adjudicated juveniles and status offenders who are subject to this compact are provided with adequate supervision and services in the receiving state as ordered by the adjudicating judge or parole authority in the sending state.

2. Ensure that the public safety interests of the citizens, including the victims of juvenile offenders, in both the sending and receiving states are adequately protected.

3. Return juveniles who have run away, absconded, or escaped from supervision or control or who have been accused of an offense to the state requesting their return.

4. Make contracts for the cooperative institutionalization in public facilities in member states of delinquent youth needing special services.

5. Provide for the effective tracking and supervision of juveniles.

6. Equitably allocate the costs, benefits, and obligations of the compact among the compacting states.

7. Establish procedures to manage the movement between states of juvenile offenders who are released to the community under the jurisdiction of courts, juvenile departments, or other criminal or juvenile justice agencies that have jurisdiction over juvenile offenders.

8. Ensure that immediate notice is given to jurisdictions where defined offenders are authorized to travel or to relocate across state lines.

9. Establish procedures to resolve pending charges or detainers against juvenile offenders before transfer or release to the community under this compact.

10. Establish a system of uniform data collection of information pertaining to juveniles who are subject to this compact that allows access by authorized juvenile justice and criminal justice officials and a system of regular reporting of compact activities to heads of state executive, judicial, and legislative branches and juvenile and criminal justice administrators.

11. Monitor compliance with the rules governing the interstate movement of juveniles and intervene to address and correct any noncompliance with those rules.

12. Coordinate training and education regarding the regulation of the interstate movement of juveniles for officials who are involved in that activity.

13. Coordinate the implementation and operation of this compact with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children under ss. 48.988 and 48.989 , the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children under s. 48.99 , the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision under s. 304.16 , and other compacts affecting juveniles, particularly in those cases in which concurrent or overlapping supervision issues arise.

(c) It is the policy of the compacting states that the activities conducted by the interstate commission are the formation of public policies and, therefore, are public business. Furthermore, the compacting states shall cooperate with each other and observe their individual and collective duties and responsibilities for the prompt return and acceptance of juveniles who are subject to this compact.

(d) The compact shall be reasonably and liberally construed to accomplish the purposes and policies of the compact.

(2) Article II — Definitions. In this section:

(a) “Bylaws” means the bylaws established by the interstate commission for its governance or for directing or controlling its actions or conduct.

(b) “Commissioner” means the voting representative of each compacting state appointed under sub. (3) (b) .

(c) “Compact administrator” means the person appointed under this compact in each compacting state who is responsible for the administration and management of the state’s supervision and transfer of juveniles who are subject to this compact, the rules, and the policies adopted by the state board under this compact.

(d) “Compacting state” means a state that has enacted the enabling legislation for this compact.

(e) “Court” means a court having jurisdiction over delinquent, neglected, or dependent juveniles.

(f) “Deputy compact administrator” means the person, if any, appointed in each compacting state to act on behalf of a compact administrator in the administration and management of the state’s supervision and transfer of juveniles who are subject to this compact, the rules, and the policies adopted by the state board under this compact.

(g) “Interstate commission” means the interstate commission for juveniles established under sub. (3) (a) .

(h) “Juvenile” means a person who is defined as a juvenile under the law of any compacting state or by the rules, including all of the following:

1. An accused delinquent. For purposes of this subdivision, “accused delinquent” means a person who is charged with an offense that, if committed by an adult, would be a criminal offense.

2. An adjudicated delinquent. For purposes of this subdivision, “adjudicated delinquent” means a person who has been found to have committed an offense that, if committed by an adult, would be a criminal offense.

3. An accused status offender. For purposes of this subdivision, “accused status offender” means a person who is charged with an offense that would not be a criminal offense if committed by an adult.

4. An adjudicated status offender. For purposes of this subdivision, “adjudicated status offender” means a person who has been found to have committed an offense that would not be a criminal offense if committed by an adult.

5. A nonoffender. For purposes of this subdivision, “nonoffender” means a person who is in need of supervision, but who has not been charged with or found to have committed an offense.

(i) “Noncompacting state” means a state that has not enacted the enabling legislation for this compact.

(j) “Probation or parole” means any kind of supervision or conditional release of a juvenile that is authorized under the laws of a compacting state.

(k) “Rule” means a written statement by the interstate commission promulgated under sub. (6) that is of general applicability; that implements, interprets, or prescribes a policy or provision of the compact or an organizational, procedural, or practice requirement of the interstate commission; and that has the force of statutory law in a compacting state. “Rule” includes the amendment, repeal, or suspension of an existing rule.

(L) “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, or the Northern Marianas Islands.

(m) “State board” means the state board for interstate juvenile supervision created by each compacting state under sub. (9) .

(3) Article III — Interstate Commission for Juveniles.

(a) There is created the interstate commission for juveniles. The interstate commission shall be a body corporate and joint agency of the compacting states. The interstate commission shall have all of the responsibilities, powers, and duties specified in this section and such additional powers as may be conferred upon the interstate commission by subsequent action of the respective legislatures of the compacting states exercised in accordance with this compact.

(b) The interstate commission shall consist of commissioners appointed by the appropriate appointing authority in each compacting state under the requirements of the compacting state and in consultation with the state board of the compacting state. The commissioner shall be the compact administrator, deputy compact administrator, or designee from the compacting state and shall serve on the interstate commission in that capacity under the applicable law of the compacting state.

(c) In addition to the commissioners who are the voting representatives of each compacting state, the interstate commission shall include, as nonvoting members, persons who are members of interested organizations. Those nonvoting members shall include members of the national organizations of governors, legislators, state supreme court chief justices, attorneys general, juvenile justice and juvenile corrections officials, and crime victims and members of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children, and the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision. The interstate commission may provide in the bylaws for the inclusion of additional nonvoting members, including members of other national organizations, in such numbers as may be determined by the interstate commission.

(d) Each compacting state represented at any meeting of the interstate commission is entitled to one vote. A majority of the compacting states shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, unless a larger quorum is required by the bylaws.

(e) The interstate commission shall meet at least once each year. The chairperson may call additional meetings and, upon the request of a simple majority of the compacting states, shall call additional meetings. Public notice shall be given of all meetings and, except as provided in par. (i) , meetings shall be open to the public.

(f) The interstate commission shall establish an executive committee, which shall include officers and members of the interstate commission and others as determined by the bylaws. The executive committee may act on behalf of the interstate commission during periods when the interstate commission is not in session, with the exception of rule making and amending the compact. The executive committee shall oversee the day-to-day activities of the administration of the compact that are managed by an executive director and interstate commission staff; administer enforcement of and compliance with the compact, the bylaws, and the rules; and perform such other duties as directed by the interstate commission or as specified in the bylaws.

(g) Each commissioner is entitled to cast the vote to which the compacting state represented by the commissioner is entitled and to participate in the business and affairs of the interstate commission. A commissioner shall vote in person and may not delegate a vote to another compacting state, except that a commissioner, in consultation with the state board of the commissioner’s state, may appoint another authorized representative, in the absence of the commissioner, to cast a vote on behalf of the compacting state at a specified meeting. The bylaws may provide for members’ participation in meetings by telephone or by other means of telecommunication or electronic communication.

(h) The bylaws shall establish conditions and procedures under which the interstate commission shall make its information and official records available to the public for inspection or copying. The interstate commission may exempt from disclosure any information or official records to the extent that the information or records would adversely affect personal privacy rights or proprietary interests.

(i) Public notice shall be given of all meetings, and all meetings shall be open to the public, except as specified in the rules or as otherwise provided in the compact. The interstate commission and any of its committees may close a meeting to the public if the interstate commission or committee determines by a two-thirds vote that an open meeting would be likely to do any of the following:

1. Relate solely to the interstate commission’s internal personnel practices and procedures.

2. Disclose matters that are specifically exempted from disclosure by statute.

3. Disclose trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential.

4. Involve accusing any person of a crime or formally censuring any person.

5. Disclose information that is of a personal nature, if disclosure of the information would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

6. Disclose investigative records that have been compiled for law enforcement purposes.

7. Disclose information that is contained in or related to an examination, operating, or condition report prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of the interstate commission with respect to a regulated person for the purpose of regulation or supervision of that person.

8. Disclose information, the premature disclosure of which would significantly endanger the stability of a regulated person.

9. Specifically relate to the interstate commission’s issuance of a subpoena or the participation of the interstate commission in a civil action or other legal proceeding.

(j) For every meeting that is closed under par. (i) , the interstate commission’s legal counsel shall publicly certify that, in the opinion of the legal counsel, the meeting may be closed to the public and shall reference each provision under par. (i) authorizing closure of the meeting. The interstate commission shall keep minutes that shall fully and clearly describe all matters discussed in any meeting and shall provide a full and accurate summary of any actions taken, and the reasons for those actions, including a description of each of the views expressed on any item and the record of any roll call vote reflecting the vote of each commissioner on the question. All documents considered in connection with any action shall be identified in the minutes.

(k) The interstate commission shall collect standardized data concerning the interstate movement of juveniles as directed by the rules. The rules shall specify the date to be collected and the means of collection and shall specify data exchange and reporting requirements. Those methods of data collection, exchange, and reporting shall, insofar as is reasonably possible, conform to up-to-date technology and shall coordinate the interstate commission’s information functions with the appropriate repository of records.

(4) Article IV — Powers and Duties of the Interstate Commission. The interstate commission shall have the power and duty to do all of the following: