---
title: HB 1405. Courts; cognitive behavioral therapy for certain children in restrictive custody with the Department of Juvenile Justice; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1405
cite_as: HB 1405, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1405
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1405.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1405/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73458
date: 2026-02-25
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1404.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1406.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1405.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1405
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-20
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Soo Hong
- Carmen Rice
- Bethany Ballard
- Clint Crowe
- Scott Holcomb
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1405/2025
upstream_id: 2121431
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- juvenile justice
- mental health services
- cognitive behavioral therapy
- criminal justice reform
- recidivism
---
# HB 1405. Courts; cognitive behavioral therapy for certain children in restrictive custody with the Department of Juvenile Justice; provide
## Text
House Bill 1405
By: Representatives Hong of the 103rd, Rice of the 139th, Ballard of the 147th, Crowe of the
118th, and Holcomb of the 101st
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 6 of Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to delinquency, so as to provide for cognitive behavioral therapy for certain children
in restrictive custody with the Department of Juvenile Justice; to provide for criteria and
evaluation for participation; to require DJJ to provide such services; to provide for a
minimum number of hours of provided therapy for such children; to require DJJ to annually
produce a report on the provision of such services; to provide for contents and recipients of
such report; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 6 of Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
delinquency, is amended in Code Section 15-11-602, relating to disposition of class A or
class B designated felony acts, by adding a new subsection to read as follows:
"(i)(1) DJJ shall evaluate any child adjudicated for a class A designated felony act or
class B designated felony act and placed in restrictive custody to determine whether such
child exhibits behavior that indicates the child could benefit from cognitive behavioral
therapy. For any such child, DJJ shall provide and such child shall attend cognitive
behavioral therapy until he or she completes at least 200 hours of such therapy or until
he or she is released from restrictive custody, whichever event occurs first.
(2) DJJ shall, on or before July 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, produce a report stating
the number of children who received cognitive behavioral therapy pursuant to this
subsection as well as the three-year recidivism rate for those children. Such report shall
contain only anonymized data. Such report shall be provided to the Governor, the
Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the director of the
Criminal Justice Coordinating Council."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
House Bill 1405 would require the Department of Juvenile Justice to evaluate certain young offenders in restrictive custody for cognitive behavioral therapy needs and provide at least 200 hours of that therapy, with annual public reporting on outcomes.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law currently governs how children adjudicated for the most serious juvenile offenses, called class A or class B designated felony acts, are placed in restrictive custody by the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). This bill adds a new requirement to that law. DJJ would have to evaluate any child adjudicated for these offenses and placed in restrictive custody to see whether the child's behavior suggests they could benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy, a structured talk therapy approach aimed at changing harmful thought and behavior patterns.
For children identified through that evaluation, DJJ would have to provide the therapy, and the child would have to attend, until they complete at least 200 hours of therapy or are released from restrictive custody, whichever comes first. Starting July 1, 2027, and every year after, DJJ would have to produce an anonymized report on how many children received the therapy and their three year recidivism rate, sending it to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, and the director of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.
### What it does
- Requires DJJ to evaluate children adjudicated for class A or class B designated felony acts and placed in restrictive custody for signs they could benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy.
- Requires DJJ to provide, and the child to attend, cognitive behavioral therapy until reaching 200 hours or release from restrictive custody, whichever happens first.
- Requires DJJ to produce an annual report starting July 1, 2027 on the number of children who received the therapy and their three-year recidivism rate.
- Requires that report to contain only anonymized data and be sent to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, and the director of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.
- Repeals any conflicting Georgia laws.
### Who it affects
Children adjudicated for class A or class B designated felony acts who are placed in restrictive custody, the Department of Juvenile Justice, which must evaluate and provide therapy and produce reports, and state officials including the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, and the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council who receive the reports.
### Why it matters
Young people held in restrictive custody for serious offenses would gain a guaranteed path to therapy meant to address behavior linked to their offenses, while DJJ would take on new evaluation, service, and reporting duties. The recidivism data could later inform how well the therapy works.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. ยง 15-11-602 by adding subsection (i), covering children adjudicated for class A or class B designated felony acts placed in restrictive custody.
- DJJ must evaluate each such child for behavior indicating they could benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy.
- DJJ must provide and the child must attend at least 200 hours of therapy, ending early only if the child is released from restrictive custody first.
- DJJ must issue an annual report by July 1, 2027 and each year after, covering the number of children treated and their three-year recidivism rate.
- The report must use only anonymized data and go to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, and the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council director.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting Georgia laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-20)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-25)
- Sponsors: Soo Hong, Carmen Rice, Bethany Ballard, Clint Crowe, Scott Holcomb
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73458
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1405.md?full=1