Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland. Ben McCanna/Portland Press Herald

Maine lawmakers are recommending the Legislature adopt a proposal that would allow some juveniles facing adult charges to stay in a facility with other teens after they turn 18, rather than be moved to an adult jail.

The Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety voted unanimously in favor of the bill this week, with some amendments that clarified how the process would work.

Juveniles facing adult-level charges must be moved to an adult jail when they reach their 18th birthday, according to Maine law. A new proposal, LD 42, would let the Department of Corrections ask the courts to extend their stay at the state’s only juvenile detention facility until their indictment on adult charges — at least until they turn 21.

Christine Thibeault, the associate commissioner for the Department of Corrections’ juvenile services, has said this bill will help meet the needs of a small group of juveniles facing adult charges, especially those who might be receiving education or behavioral services at Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland.

But some specifics of the proposal were unclear at the bill’s first public hearing last week, including what factors would allow these teens to stay at Long Creek.

The corrections department brought several amendments to the committee’s work session on Wednesday, detailing how the legal process would look for the department to submit such a request.

One addition would require that the department file its request to the courts 14 days prior to the bind-over hearing, or at least 30 days before the juvenile turns 18, and notify prosecutors as well as the juvenile’s attorney, according to Samuel Prawer, the department’s director of government affairs.

A judge would then need to consider three factors to decide whether to keep the teen at Long Creek: whether their behavior is a risk to others at the facility, whether they have behavioral health needs, and whether they are engaged in programming at Long Creek.

If the court grants the department’s request, they can remain in custody there until they are indicted on the adult charges. The department may ask to rescind its request, but only if it can meet a burden of proof to show that the teen isn’t suited to stay at Long Creek.

Lawmakers at the work session mostly agreed that the proposed amendments were sufficient and clear, though Rep. Nina Milliken, D-Blue Hill, said she believes it’s unethical that juveniles can be charged as adults.

Juvenile defense attorney Sharon Craig said in a phone interview Friday that she appreciates that these additions have been made to clarify the timeline and legal process, because she said the bill originally sounded vague and one-sided.

She said the three factors are exactly what she would expect the court to consider because they align with why “the court or the state believes that youth should be sent to Long Creek” in the first place.

However, Craig said the bill should also include a rule allowing the juvenile to present evidence and defend themselves at a hearing if the department wants to rescind its request. Plus, the juvenile should be able to make such a request themselves, she said.

The amendments “at least give more direction to the courts and give notice to the juvenile as well, but I do think there should be some more additions,” Craig said.