(a) A child 13 to 17 years of age convicted of any offense enumerated in subparagraph (b)(2)(A) of Code Section 15-11-28 shall be committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections; provided, however, that any child in the custody of the Department of Corrections shall be housed in a designated youth confinement unit until reaching the age of 17 notwithstanding that such child was tried and convicted as an adult in superior court. Any designated youth confinement unit in which a child is housed shall be designed to ensure that children are at all times housed separately from any adult offender incarcerated in the facility in which such youth confinement unit is located and shall be designed to facilitate rehabilitation of such children, which shall mean that a youth confinement unit shall be of a nondormitory design whenever possible and whenever such facilities become available and staffed by personnel who have received specialized training in the field of juvenile justice. All designated youth confinement units shall provide to children 13 to 17 years of age who have been sentenced to such units as a result of a conviction in superior court as an adult of an offense enumerated in subparagraph (b)(2)(A) of Code Section 15-11-28 life skills training, academic or vocational training, and substance abuse and violence prevention counseling to the extent that appropriations are available for such activities.

(b) When given legal custody over a child for confinement in a youth confinement unit as provided under this Code section, the Department of Corrections shall have:

(1) The right of physical possession of the child;

(2) The right and duty to protect, train, and discipline the child;

(3) The responsibility to provide the child with food, clothing, shelter, and education;

(4) The right to determine the facility in which the child shall be confined; and

(5) The right and duty to provide or obtain for a child medical, hospital, psychiatric, surgical, or dental care or services as may be considered appropriate and necessary by competent medical authority without securing prior consent of parents or legal guardians.