Despite a parent's best efforts, some young people find themselves in trouble with the law. Peer pressure, the need to assert independence, or misjudgments can place your adolescent at risk of involvement in activities that result in arrest and processing through the local juvenile justice system.
Juvenile justice systems vary widely between communities. If your child becomes involved in the juvenile justice system, your first step is to learn how the system in your area works. This knowledge will allow you to advocate for an outcome that teaches your child about the results of inappropriate behavior without hurting his or her prospects for the future.
There are three kinds of juvenile cases:
1. Abuse/neglect cases, in which the child has been mistreated by the parents, and it is necessary for the court to take over temporary legal custody for the protection of the child. Depending on the circumstances, it may also be necessary for the court to take physical custody, removing the child from the parents' home and placing the child with relatives or in foster care.
2. Delinquencies (law violations), in which the child has committed an offense which would be charged as a crime if the child were an adult.
3. Status cases, in which a child runs away from home, or is frequently truant from school, or is otherwise beyond parental control.
Begin by asking the processing officer at the police station (usually an officer in the juvenile division) to explain the process to you:
· What happens next?
· Whom should I speak with to get assistance if my child is referred to juvenile court?
· Why was my child arrested?
· Will my child have a record simply as a result of the arrest?
· Will you have to detain my child or can he or she be released in my custody? Will we need to post bond?
In many cases, particularly for minor offenses or a first-time arrest, youth will be released into their parent's custody. They also may be diverted into a community service program where they will be expected to perform volunteer service. In exchange, the charges against them will be dropped.
If your child is referred to juvenile court, however, what happens next will depend on the structure of the local system, the actions of the prosecutor's office, and the availability of diversion or treatment programs. The prosecutor and juvenile court staff can tell you what to expect from the process. (Juvenile court staff include intake or probation department staff who often conduct preliminary investigations. These investigations provide juvenile court judges with background information they use to decide on dispositions.)
You also are well advised to seek legal counsel if your child is referred to the court system. Youth of families without financial resources can request counsel from the local public defender's office.
Even if you obtain a lawyer to represent your child, you should accompany your teen through all juvenile justice system processing: intake, meetings with juvenile court staff and diversionary or treatment program staff, and any court hearings.
Keep in mind that the main intent of most juvenile justice systems is to help young people redirect their lives, not simply to punish them. Still, your role in advocating for your child is crucial. There are several alternatives to a court hearing, court decision, or detention. Your child can be diverted, for example, into a treatment program. Further, when a court hearing and decision are required, courts usually view a parent's involvement in the case positively when making a decision.
It is often in times of crisis that bonds between parents and adolescents are reaffirmed. At those times, youth again turn to their parents for support and protection. Troubling circumstances may present parents of adolescents with opportunities to show their love and support, to help their child obtain services to deal with specific problems, and to strengthen interpersonal connections that will benefit the family for years to come.
Glossary of Terms-
Acquittal: Judgment of the court that a person is not guilty of the offense(s) for which he or she has been tried. The judgment is made by a jury or a judicial officer.
Adjudicate: To settle a case by judicial procedure.
Adjudication hearing: Stage in juvenile court proceedings in which arguments, testimony, and evidence are presented to determine whether a youth actually committed the alleged offense.
Aftercare: Control, supervision, and care exercised over youth after they leave community-based programs or are released from juvenile facilities. Aftercare may include probation, counseling, enrollment in a community program, or other forms of treatment. Aftercare services are designed to support young people's return to their families and communities and to lessen the chance that they will get in trouble again.
CHINS or CIN: Commonly used abbreviation for "child in need of supervision." Also referred to as PINS ("person in need of supervision").
Commitment: Action of a judicial officer ordering that a young person who has been alleged or judged to have committed an offense be placed in a particular kind of confinement or community residential program.
Correctional facility: Facility for the confinement of individuals accused or convicted of criminal or delinquent activity.
Delinquent offense: An act committed by a youth that would be a crime if committed by an adult. Examples include assault, burglary, or possession of illegal drugs.
Dependency case: A case in which neglect or physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of a young person by a parent is alleged.
Dependent: A legal term denoting a young person who is alleged to have been neglected or physically, sexually, or emotionally abused by a parent and has come to the attention of the court.
Detention: Temporary confinement of a youth alleged to be delinquent pending pretrial release, juvenile court proceedings, or disposition.
Disposition: The decision reached concerning a young person's case. Examples include, but are not limited to, a juvenile court judge's decision to dismiss the case or to order a young person to participate in a drug treatment program or perform community service. Juvenile court case dispositions fall into the following categories:
· Dismissal: An order of the court disposing of a case without conducting a trial of the issues. Dismissal may occur when there is a finding of insufficient evidence to bring the matter to trial, when no more decisions or actions are anticipated, or when the case is already being handled by another court.
· Placement: Removing a youth found to have committed an offense from the home and placing him or her elsewhere for a specified period of time, such as in a juvenile or other facility.
· Probation: Placing a youth found to have committed an offense under the supervision of the court. During probation, the young person must maintain good behavior, not commit another offense, and meet any other conditions the court may deem appropriate to impose.
· Probation before judgment: Placing a youth found to have committed an offense on probation before the judge makes a final decision. Successful completion of the probation period results in a complete dismissal of the charges without any finding of involvement by the young person in the offense.
· Transfer or waiver to adult criminal court: Transfer of a young person's case to a court normally used to try adults for violations of criminal law, such as murder, rape, robbery, burglary, or distribution of illegal drugs. A juvenile's case usually is transferred to adult criminal court because of the serious nature of the alleged offense.
· Other: A youth found to have committed an offense may be given a disposition other than a commitment or probation, such as requiring participation in a drug abuse treatment system, payment of fines, or performance of community service.
Disposition hearing: Hearing held after the adjudication hearing in which the judge determines the disposition of a young person's case.
Diversion: Channeling young people into programs as an alternative to processing their cases through the juvenile court. A youth, for example, might be referred to a community service program to perform volunteer work to "repay" the community.
Group home: A non-secure program in which a group of young people live and receive services at the program facility under the supervision of adult staff. Group homes emphasize family-style living in a homelike atmosphere. Although many youth living in group homes are ordered there by the court, group homes may also house abused or neglected youth who are placed there by social service agencies.
Hearing: A court proceeding to decide on a course of action or to determine a young person's involvement or noninvolvement in an offense. Arguments, witnesses, and evidence are heard by a judicial officer or administrative body in making the decision.
Holistic or wraparound services: In the wraparound service approach, a team of professionals from different disciplines works with a young person and his or her family to offer services that meet their specific needs. The team also may work with the family in a location that is comfortable for the family, for example, at their home or at the young person's school.
Intake/arrest: Action of taking a youth into police custody for the purpose of charging him or her with a delinquent act. The juvenile justice process often begins with an investigation by a police officer, either because he or she observes a delinquent act being committed or because such an act is reported. The police officer will generally take one of three actions at intake or arrest: (1) release the youth to his or her parents with a warning or reprimand, (2) release the youth to the parents under the condition that the youth enroll in a community diversion program, or (3) keep the youth in custody and refer the matter to the juvenile court's intake officer for further processing.
Intake decision: Recommendation made by the juvenile court's intake officer to either handle the case informally or schedule the case for a hearing in juvenile court.
Intake hearing: Early stage in juvenile court proceedings in which an intake officer decides to either handle the case informally or schedule the case for a juvenile court hearing.
Intake officer: An official who receives, reviews, and processes cases in which a young person is alleged to have committed an offense. The intake officer can recommend either handling the case informally or scheduling the case for a hearing in juvenile court. The intake officer may also provide referrals for juveniles and their families to other community agencies.
Juvenile: A young person at or below the upper age of juvenile court authority, as defined in the local jurisdiction. In most States, young people age 18 or younger fall under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.
Juvenile court: A court with authority over cases involving individuals under a specified age, usually 18 years.
Mandatory release: Release from an institution required by law when an individual has been confined for a period equal to his or her full sentence minus time for good behavior, if any.
Mediation: An alternative to a court proceeding in which a neutral person assists two or more people to resolve a conflict and reach a solution acceptable to all sides.
Nonpetitioned (informally handled) case: A case decided by juvenile court intake officers rather than through a hearing in juvenile court.
Nonresidential program: Program that provides services to youth who live at home and report to the program on a daily basis or as scheduled. Young people in such a program require more attention than that provided by probation and aftercare services. Often the program operates its own education program through the local school district.
Petition: The formal charging document filed in juvenile court alleging that a youth has committed a status or delinquent offense or is a dependent. A petition asks that the court hear the young person's case or, in certain delinquency cases, that the court transfer the case to adult criminal court so that the young person can be prosecuted as an adult.
Placement: Removing a youth found to have committed an offense from the home and placing him or her elsewhere for a period, such as in a juvenile facility or group home.
Predisposition investigation: Investigation into the background and character of a young person who has been determined to have committed a delinquent offense. The investigation collects information that will assist the court in determining the most appropriate disposition.
Probation: Placing a youth found to have committed an offense under the supervision of the court. During probation, the young person must maintain good behavior, not commit another offense, and meet any other conditions the court may deem appropriate to impose.
Probation before judgment: Placing a youth found to have committed an offense on probation before the judge makes a final decision. Successful completion of the probation period results in a complete dismissal of the charges without any finding of involvement by the young person in the offense.
Recidivism: Repetition of criminal behavior.
Residential program: Program in which youth live on site in program housing. Residential programs do not have the security fences and security hardware typically associated with correctional or detention facilities. A residential program, for example, could be located in a converted apartment building or a single-family home.
Runaway or emergency shelter: A center that provides services to address the immediate needs of runaway youth for food, clothing, and shelter.
Shelter care: Any non-secure public or private facility that provides either (1) temporary placement for alleged or adjudicated status offenders prior to the issuance of a disposition order or (2) longer term care under a juvenile court disposition order.
Status offenses: Behavior that is considered an offense only if carried out by a young person. Status offenses are handled only by the juvenile court and include the following:
· Curfew violation: Breaking a regulation requiring young people to leave the streets or be at home at a prescribed hour
· Running away: Leaving the home of parents, guardians, or custodians without permission for an extended period
· Status liquor law violations: Violating laws restricting the possession, purchase, or consumption of liquor by minors
· Truancy: Failing to attend school
Training schools, camps, and ranches: Non-secure residential programs providing services to youth. Training schools also are known as youth development centers, youth villages, youth treatment centers, youth service centers, or schools or homes for boys or girls. Camps and ranches generally are located in relatively remote or rural areas. Camps have structured programs that emphasize outdoor work, including conservation and related activities. On ranches, youth usually participate in a structured program of education, recreation, and facility maintenance, including responsibility for the physical plant, its equipment, and livestock.
Transfer or waiver to adult criminal court: Transfer of a young person's case to a court normally used to try adults for violations of criminal law, such as murder, rape, robbery, burglary, or distribution of illegal drugs. A juvenile's case is transferred to adult criminal court usually because of the serious nature of the alleged offense.
Valid court order: Order of a juvenile court judge. A juvenile court hearing, for example, might result in a young person receiving a valid court order to receive counseling.
Violation of a valid court order: Failure of a status offender to comply with an order of the court, such as to receive counseling. In such cases, the court may place the child in custody.
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Johnny is caught by a high school teacher returning a playground punch in a fight William started. But it’s the second fight this month for Johnny and the school’s principal calls the police. Johnny ends up as another case in Chicago’s infamous juvenile justice system, which some experts see as just another incubator for crime.
With increased student deaths in the headlines and gang turf disputes always lurking in the background, locking up juvenile offenders and throwing away the key might seem the safe thing to do. Even schools have adopted zero tolerance policies in an effort to create safe havens. But do traditional forms of juvenile justice really reduce crime and violence? And what happens to youth exposed to the system?
The Community Justice for Youth Institute suggests there is another way to end the violence in our communities. The Institute grew out of efforts to reform the juvenile court system through a process called restorative justice. And as it works to de-escalate violence in schools and communities, the Institute has also had a tremendous impact on Chicago Public School policies.
In this episode of Community, Media & You, Cheryl Graves, director of the Community Justice for Youth Institute and board member Ryan Hollin join host Thom Clark.
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