A juvenile justice bill that addresses holding children in adult facilities, expungement of juvenile records and addresses juvenile competency is headed to the governor’s desk.

The bill, authored by Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, prohibits juveniles from being housed in adult facilities with timeline stipulations and court discretion, which will ensure that the state is “in compliance with federal regulations that make us eligible for a lot of federal money and federal programs,” Tallian previously said.

During a previous Indiana Senate committee hearing, a bill co-authored by Sen. Jean Breaux, D-Indianapolis, said the state will lose $800,000 in federal funding if it doesn’t comply with the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018, which states that youth held in adult jails, including those charged as adults, have to be moved to juvenile detention centers by December.

The second part of the bill allows for automatic expungement of juvenile records, unless the child commits a felony, and a court has discretion in determining whether the record should be expunged.

Under this portion of the bill, the record would be expunged within a year a juvenile is released or when they are 19, Tallian previously said.

The final portion of the bill outlines a procedure for determining a child’s competency. If a court determines that a child needs a competency evaluation, then there are stipulations, such as the evaluation has to be completed by a psychiatrist or other qualified professional.

On Wednesday, the Senate approved the bill, as amended by the House, in a 48-0 vote. The House added language requested by juvenile court judges about

“dual status children” — which addresses children who are in the state’s “child in need of services” program and in the juvenile justice system — and adjusted dates for when petitions need to be filed.

The House also changed the date for when competency evaluations would begin to give officials in the juvenile justice system time to adjust; made it clearer that the court system will pay for the competency evaluations; and if a child appears to be mentally ill, the bill offers a procedure for a civil commitment or a legal process for court-ordered treatment for those with a mental illness, Tallian said.

Tallian said Wednesday after the vote that she was pleased it is headed to the governor’s desk because it is an “important bill.”

“This was a big, complex bill with complicated parts,” Tallian said. “There were no real major changes. A lot of it was technical stuff.”

Sen. Susan Glick, R-LaGrange, who also authored the bill, urged the senators to vote in favor of the bill because while there are “some dangerous young people” (and) there is also “a vast group of young people who have made a mistake.”

“We’re hoping that through efforts like this, we can get them rehabilitated,” Glick said. “We can work with them, make them meaningful members of our society, and we won’t see them in the corrections system again.”

State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary, issued a statement after the vote saying she’s proud that both chambers passed the bill because it “will help our children.”

“Children deserve a fair trial and to be housed properly while waiting for trial,” Hatcher said. “That means being placed in a juvenile court and a juvenile facility — when assessed and determined as competent — and not with adult inmates.”

The bill is a good step, but moving forward the state has to focus on “breaking the school-to-prison pipeline,” Hatcher said.

“That means addressing the root problem of our juvenile justice system and the institutional racism within the system that disproportionately places our Black children in adult courts,” Hatcher said.