Section 15-11-504. (Effective January 1, 2014) Place of detention; data on child detained

   (a) An alleged delinquent child may be detained only in:

   (1) A licensed foster home;

   (2) A home approved by the court which may be a public or private home;

   (3) The home of such child's noncustodial parent or of a relative;

   (4) A facility operated by a licensed child welfare agency; or

   (5) A secure residential facility or nonsecure residential facility.

(b) Placement shall be made in the least restrictive facility available consistent with the best interests of the child.

(c) A child 15 years of age or older and alleged to be a delinquent child may be held in a jail or other facility for the detention of adults for identification or processing procedures or while awaiting transportation only so long as necessary to complete such activities for up to six hours, or for up to 24 hours if the closest secure residential facility is more than 70 miles from such facility, if all of the following apply:

   (1) Such child is detained for the commission of a crime that would constitute a class A designated felony act, class B designated felony act, or a serious violent felony as defined in Code Section 17-10-6.1;

   (2) Such child is awaiting a detention hearing;

   (3) Such child's detention hearing is scheduled within 24 hours after being taken into custody, excluding weekends and legal holidays;

   (4) There is no existing acceptable alternative placement for such child; and

   (5) The jail or other facility for the detention of adults provides sight and sound separation for children, including:

      (A) Total separation between children and adult facility spatial areas such that there is no verbal, visual, or physical contact and there could be no haphazard or accidental contact between child and adult residents in the respective facilities;

      (B) Total separation in all program activities for children and adults within the facilities, including recreation, education, counseling, health care, dining, sleeping, and general living activities;

      (C) Continuous visual supervision of a child; and

      (D) Separate staff for children and adults, specifically direct care staff such as recreation, education, and counseling, although specialized services staff, such as cooks, bookkeepers, and medical professionals who are not normally in contact with detainees or whose infrequent contacts occur under conditions of separation of children and adults, can serve both.

(d) A child shall not be transported with adults who have been charged with or convicted of a crime. DJJ may transport a child with children who have been charged with or convicted of a crime in superior court.

(e) The official in charge of a jail or other facility for the detention of adult offenders or persons charged with a crime shall inform the court or the juvenile court intake officer immediately when a child who appears to be under the age of 17 years is received at such facility and shall deliver such child to the court upon request or transfer such child to the facility designated by the juvenile court intake officer or the court.

(f) All facilities shall maintain data on each child detained and such data shall be recorded and retained by the facility for three years and shall be made available for inspection during normal business hours by any court exercising juvenile court jurisdiction, by DJJ, by the Governor's Office for Children and Families, and by the Council of Juvenile Court Judges. The required data are each detained child's:

   (1) Name;

   (2) Date of birth;

   (3) Sex;

   (4) Race;

   (5) Offense or offenses for which such child is being detained;

   (6) Date of and authority for confinement;

   (7) Location of the offense and the name of the school if the offense occurred in a school safety zone, as defined in Code Section 16-11-127.1;

   (8) The name of the referral source, including the name of the school if the referring source was a school;

   (9) The score on the detention assessment;

   (10) The basis for detention if such child's detention assessment score does not in and of itself mandate detention;

   (11) The reason for detention, which may include, but shall not be limited to, preadjudication detention, detention while awaiting a postdisposition placement, or serving a short-term program disposition;

   (12) Date of and authority for release or transfer; and

   (13) Transfer or to whom released.

Code 1981, § 15-11-504, enacted by Ga. L. 2013, p. 294, § 1-1/HB 242.