478.1000. Criminal nonsupport courts authorized--referral of cases--allocation of resources--fund created, use of moneys. - Missouri Statutes

Criminal nonsupport courts authorized--referral of cases--allocationof resources--fund created, use of moneys.

478.1000. 1. Criminal nonsupport courts may be established by anycircuit court to provide an alternative for the criminal justice system todispose of cases which stem from criminal nonsupport. A criminalnonsupport court shall combine judicial supervision, substance abusetreatment, education including general education development certificate(GED) programs, vocational or employment training, work programs, andsupport payment plans for criminal nonsupport court participants. Exceptfor good cause found by the court, a criminal nonsupport court making areferral for education, substance abuse treatment, vocational or employmenttraining, or work programs, when such program will receive state or federalfunds in connection with such referral, shall refer the person only to aprogram which is certified by a department of the state of Missouri, unlessno appropriate certified program is located within the same county as thecriminal nonsupport court. Upon successful completion of the education,substance abuse treatment, vocational or employment training program, workprogram, or support payment plan, the defendant becoming gainfullyemployed, or the defendant commencing payment of current and accruedsupport, the charges, petition, or penalty against a criminal nonsupportcourt participant may be dismissed, reduced, or modified. Any feesreceived by a court from a defendant as payment for education, substanceabuse treatment, or training programs shall not be considered court costs,charges, or fines.

2. Each circuit court shall establish conditions for referral ofproceedings to the criminal nonsupport court. The defendant in anycriminal proceeding accepted by a criminal nonsupport court for dispositionshall be a nonviolent person, as determined by the prosecuting attorney,and shall be subject to the conditions set forth in subsection 6 of section568.040, RSMo. Any proceeding accepted by the criminal nonsupport courtprogram for disposition shall be upon agreement of the parties.

3. Any report made by the staff of the program shall not beadmissible as evidence against the participant in the underlying criminalnonsupport case. Notwithstanding the foregoing, termination from thecriminal nonsupport court program and the reasons for termination may beconsidered in sentencing or disposition.

4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, criminal nonsupportcourt staff shall be provided with access to all records of any state orlocal government agency relevant to the supervision of any programparticipant. Upon general request, employees of all such agencies shallfully inform criminal nonsupport court staff of all matters relevant to thesupervision of the participant. All such records and reports and thecontents thereof shall be treated as closed records and shall not bedisclosed to any person outside of the criminal nonsupport court, and shallbe maintained by the court in a confidential file not available to thepublic.

5. In order to coordinate the allocation of resources available tocriminal nonsupport courts throughout the state, there is herebyestablished a "Criminal Nonsupport Courts Coordinating Commission" in thejudicial department. The criminal nonsupport courts coordinatingcommission shall consist of one member selected by the director of thedepartment of corrections; one member selected by the director of thedepartment of social services; one member selected by the director of thedepartment of education; one member selected by the director of thedepartment of public safety; one member selected by the state courtsadministrator; one member selected by the director of the department oflabor and industrial relations; three members selected by the Missourisupreme court, one being a criminal defense attorney; and one member who isa prosecuting attorney selected by the office of prosecution services. TheMissouri supreme court shall designate the chair of the commission. Thecommission shall periodically meet at the call of the chair; evaluateresources available for assessment and training of persons assigned tocriminal nonsupport courts or for operation of criminal nonsupport courts;secure grants, funds, and other property and services necessary ordesirable to facilitate criminal nonsupport court operation; and allocatesuch resources among the various criminal nonsupport courts operatingwithin the state.

6. There is hereby established in the state treasury a "CriminalNonsupport Court Resources Fund", which shall be administered by thecriminal nonsupport courts coordinating commission. Funds available forallocation or distribution by the criminal nonsupport courts coordinatingcommission may be deposited into the criminal nonsupport court resourcesfund. The state treasurer shall be the custodian of the fund and mayapprove disbursements from the fund in accordance with sections 30.170 and30.180, RSMo. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080, RSMo,moneys in the criminal nonsupport court resources fund shall not betransferred or placed to the credit of the general revenue fund of thestate at the end of each biennium, but shall remain deposited to the creditof the criminal nonsupport court resources fund.

(L. 2009 S.B. 140 § 478.495)