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S 16

Status Offenders

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Brad Hutto

Massachusetts bill authorizes $425,000,000 for emergency housing and respite shelters for unhoused families, with related limits and reporting.

Referred to Committee on Judiciary
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · S 16

Summary — S 16 ("Status Offenders")

Status: Introduced Feb 10, 2025; referred to Committee on Judiciary.
Note: The circulating text for S 16 appears to combine material from multiple jurisdictions and measures. The document includes (1) a Massachusetts Senate amendment/appropriation text (related to emergency housing assistance and a $425 million transfer) and (2) a substantive set of amendments to a juvenile code concerning “status offenders” (text matching changes to South Carolina’s juvenile code). Below is an objective, consolidated summary of the primary substantive provisions found in the file and the procedural activity recorded.

Purpose / Intent

  • Two distinct aims appear in the combined text:
    1. Fund emergency supportive services and temporary respite shelter for unhoused families in Massachusetts by appropriating $425,000,000 from a Transitional Escrow Fund for FY2025–FY2026.
    2. Reform juvenile-court handling of “status offenses” (acts that are not crimes if committed by adults), by limiting out‑of‑home detention, requiring family counseling before filing certain petitions, distinguishing status vs. criminal adjudications for commitment and sentencing, and providing for automatic expungement of status-offense records subject to exceptions.

Key provisions (by topic)

Massachusetts — Emergency Housing / Appropriation

  • Appropriates $425,000,000 from the Transitional Escrow Fund for supportive services and safe shelter for unhoused families.
  • Secretary of Administration & Finance may transfer funds to state agencies; 14-day notification to legislative Ways & Means committees required prior to transfers.
  • Establishes temporary “respite sites” for eligible families on arrival (generally up to 30 days, with limited extensions by the Secretary of Housing and Livable Communities).
  • Respite stays count toward program length-of-stay limits under chapter 23B (emergency housing assistance).
  • Allows coordination with resettlement agencies and transfer of funds to workforce/training programs targeted at populations served.
  • Makes these funds available through June 30, 2026 and subjects them to existing reporting and program rules cited.

Juvenile justice — Status offenders (statutory revisions)

  • Prohibits secure confinement of a juvenile in an adult jail for more than six hours; juveniles must be sight-and-sound separated from adults during that period.
  • Restricts placement of children taken into custody for status offenses: generally no more than 24 hours in a juvenile detention facility (except where a prior court order expressly notifies the child that further violations can lead to secure detention).
  • Limits secure detention for violations of court orders (e.g., contempt for failing to comply) to a shorter period (text amends a previous 72‑hour limit down to 48 hours, excluding weekends/holidays).
  • Before accepting a referral or filing for the status offense of “incorrigibility,” requires documentation that the child and family first attempted reasonable efforts to resolve problems through family/pastoral counseling, parenting classes, or similar services; agencies must refer families to local service providers if no prior assistance was sought.
  • Clarifies commitment and evaluation procedures: community or residential evaluations, temporary commitment for evaluation up to 45 days, and limits on committing children to Department of Juvenile Justice for status offenses (distinguishing status vs. criminal offenses and imposing constraints on determinate commitments).
  • Provides for automatic expungement of official records for status offenses, with specified exceptions (text indicates automatic expungement but detailed carve-outs or timing not fully shown in the excerpt).
  • Requires courts and departments to adopt related procedural protections and to promulgate regulations (e.g., for information-sharing and public-safety exceptions).

Who is affected

  • Unhoused families and pregnant women in Massachusetts (services, temporary respite sites, program eligibility).
  • Juveniles, parents/custodians, juvenile justice agencies, family courts, and Department/Agency staff in the jurisdiction(s) whose juvenile code is being amended (the text reflects South Carolina code sections) — especially youth involved in status-offense proceedings, their families, and service providers.
  • Law enforcement and detention facilities (changes to custody and detention time limits).

Procedural / Timeline notes

  • S 16 was introduced Feb 10, 2025 and referred to Judiciary. The file records extensive amendment activity (many amendments offered Feb 12, 2025; some adopted, many rejected) and the measure was reprinted as amended (see S17 reference).
  • The text as circulated is a composite of multiple pieces of legislation (appropriation language and juvenile code amendments) and may reflect a Senate amendment substituting new text for an underlying House appropriation bill (H58) — review of the official legislative docket and the bill as posted by the legislature is recommended for authoritative wording and jurisdictional context.
  • Related prior-session and companion bills are listed (e.g., A945 companion; S9074, S760, S216, S44 prior-session).

Notes / Recommendations

  • Because the circulated document mixes jurisdictional materials (Massachusetts appropriation language and juvenile-code amendments reflecting South Carolina statutory sections), confirm the intended jurisdiction and final bill text with the legislative clerk or the bill’s sponsor(s) before citing or acting on these provisions.
  • Important specifics (exact expungement procedures, precise exceptions, regulatory standards) are referenced but not fully included in the excerpt; consult the full bill text for operational details.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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