The new law includes a component which empowers communities to create local intervention programs and to direct new state funds toward local initiatives. More intensive supervision of juveniles also will be allowed in the new system. Sex offenders, previously subject to only two years of parole supervision, can now be sentenced to as much as three years of parole. The measure creates a new option for judges by allowing them to order juveniles into drug or alcohol treatment programs. It is estimated that over 80 percent of juvenile offenders have substance abuse problems.
Parental involvement is another emphasis of the new law.
Parents now will be required to attend hearings when their children are charged with a crime. Additional provisions are included to encourage and allow further parental involvement in all aspects of the juvenile justice system. Today we celebrate an achievement which at times seemed out of reach. Our families, our neighborhoods and our youth will reap substantial benefits from the sweeping reform ideas that now become law. Locke also signed a series of additional criminal justice measures.