GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1989 SESSION
CHAPTER 235
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. G.S. 7A-654 reads as rewritten:
"§ 7A-654. Prerelease planning.
The Director of the Division of Youth Services shall be responsible for evaluation of the progress of each juvenile at least once every six months as long as the juvenile remains in the care of the Division. If the director determines that a juvenile is ready for release, he shall initiate a prerelease planning process. The prerelease planning process shall be defined by rules and regulations of the Division of Youth Services, but shall include the following:
(1) Written notification to the judge who ordered commitment;
(2) A prerelease planning conference shall be held involving as many as possible of the following: the juvenile, his parent, court counselors who have supervised the juvenile on probation or will supervise him on aftercare, and staff of the facility that found the juvenile ready for release. The prerelease planning conference shall include personal contact and evaluation rather than telephonic notification.
(3) The prerelease planning conference participants shall consider, based on the individual needs of the juvenile, and pursuant to rules adopted by the Division, placement of the juvenile in any program under the auspices of the Division, including the Community-Based Alternatives programs, or under the Administrative Office of the Courts, that, in the judgment of the Division, may serve as a transitional placement, pending release under G.S. 7A-655."
Sec. 2. This act shall become effective October 1, 1989, and applies to placements on and after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 5th day of June, 1989.