Provides that children in custody of the office of juvenile justice may attend review hearings via secure video conference. (8/1/26)

SB 396 amends Children's Code Article 906(B)(1) and (3) to modify how review hearings are conducted for children in the custody of the Office of Juvenile Justice. The bill replaces the existing requirement that the OJJ physically transport children to the committing court for in-person review hearings with a requirement that children participate in review hearings via a secure video conferencing platform. The initial review hearing must still occur within six months of the child's commitment, with subsequent hearings at least every six months thereafter, unless waived by the child's counsel and the committing court. The bill mandates that OJJ staff and contract staff participate virtually in these required review hearings. Additionally, the legislation clarifies that references to "detention centers" in the statute specifically mean juvenile detention centers.

The practical effect of this legislation is that children judicially committed to OJJ custody will no longer be transported physically to courthouses for mandatory review hearings. Instead, review hearings will be conducted remotely via video conferencing, reducing the transportation burden on the OJJ and its contractors while allowing judges to maintain regular oversight of children in custody. This change applies regardless of the type of facility where the child is held, including state-run secure facilities, state-run nonsecure facilities, private contract facilities, and juvenile detention centers. The shift from in-person to virtual hearings may affect court operations, judicial staff, defense counsel, prosecutors, and OJJ personnel who must adjust their procedures and technology infrastructure to accommodate video conferencing participation.

This legislation operates within the existing framework of Louisiana's Children's Code provisions governing the custody and oversight of juveniles in state custody. The amendment preserves the substantive requirement for regular judicial review hearings, a safeguard built into juvenile justice proceedings, while modifying only the mechanism of participation. The definition of which children qualify as committed to OJJ custody remains unchanged, maintaining that a child need not be physically located at a state facility to be considered in OJJ custody if judicially committed to its legal custody. The provision that in-person hearings may still be waived by consent of the child's counsel and the court provides flexibility within the new video conferencing framework.