A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT awarding a legislative salary increase for juvenile justice staff and appropriatiNG funds for that purpose.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  Effective July 1, 2025, there is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Public Safety, Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the sum of ten million four hundred thousand dollars ($10,400,000) in recurring funds for the 2025‑2026 fiscal year and the sum of fourteen million one hundred thousand dollars ($14,100,000) in recurring funds for the 2026‑2027 fiscal year to be allocated for employee salary increases as awarded by Section 2 of this act.
SECTION 1.(b)  Of the funds appropriated in subsection (a) of this section, the sum of three million nine hundred thousand dollars ($3,900,000) shall be allocated to reduce salary compression in connection with these increases.
SECTION 2.(a)  Effective for the 2025‑2027 fiscal biennium, the following annual salary schedules shall be in effect for Youth Counselor Technicians, Youth Services Behavioral Specialists, and Youth Counselors in the Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention:

Fiscal Year 2025‑26
Years of Experience	Youth				Youth Services		Youth
Counselor			Behavioral			Counselors	Technicians			Specialists
0			$40,908			$42,254			$45,910
1			$43,771			$45,211			$48,354
2			$46,398			$47,972			$51,256
3			$48,718			$50,320			$53,818
4			$50,665			$52,333			$55,971
5			$52,186			$53,902			$57,650
6+			$53,230			$54,981			$58,803

Fiscal Year 2026‑27
Years of Experience	Youth				Youth Services		Youth
Counselor			Behavioral			Counselors
Technicians			Specialists
0			$42,953			$44,367			$48,206
1			$45,960			$47,472			$50,772
2			$48,718			$50,371			$53,819
3			$51,154			$52,836			$56,509
4			$53,198			$54,950			$58,770
5			$54,795			$56,597			$60,533
6+			$55,892			$57,730			$61,743

SECTION 2.(b)  Effective for the 2025‑2027 fiscal biennium, the following annual salary schedules shall be in effect for Juvenile Court Counselors in the Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention:

Years of		Juvenile		Juvenile
Experience		Court			Court
Counselors		Counselors

FY 2025‑26		FY 2026‑27
0			$49,391		$51,861
1			$52,601		$55,231
2			$56,021		$58,822
3			$59,662		$62,645
4			$63,541		$66,718
5			$67,670		$71,054
6+			$72,070		$75,674

SECTION 3.  Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes law.