52:17B-171.7 Monitoring of suicides occurring at county juvenile detention facilities.

8. a. The Juvenile Justice Commission shall monitor the number of suicides that occur at each county juvenile detention facility.

b. Upon an initial suicide at a facility, the commission shall conduct an evaluation of the facility's compliance with the provisions of this act, an accountability assessment and an action report.

c. If a second suicide occurs within seven years of the initial suicide, the Juvenile Justice Commission shall, within 30 days, and with the approval of the Attorney General, evaluate the facility for compliance with the provisions of this act. A facility shall not admit additional juveniles until the Attorney General has certified that the facility is in compliance with the provisions of this act.

d. If a third or subsequent suicide occurs within seven years of an initial suicide, the facility shall be immediately closed and shall not reopen until the Governor determines that it shall reopen. A task force comprised of the following seven members shall assist the Governor in making this determination: the Executive Director of the Juvenile Justice Commission, or a designee; the Attorney General, or a designee; the Child Advocate, or a designee; the Commissioner of Children and Families, or a designee; one public member; a director of a county juvenile detention facility, but not of the county facility being evaluated; and a member of the board of chosen freeholders of the county within which the facility being evaluated is located.

L.2007, c.315, s.8.