CHILDREN & FAMILIES IN NEED OF SERVICES

1. CHILDREN & FAMILIES IN NEED OF SERVICES Amy Howell Southern Juvenile Defender Center Emory University School of Law

2. Juvenile Court Ideology • Courts were described as benign, non-punitive and therapeutic. • The state adopted the legal doctrine of parens patrie, the state as parent, to authorize state intervention with youths whose parents had lost control. • The state would then informally adopt the youth and act as its guardian to consider what was in their best interest.

3. Theory behind CHINS/FINS • To provide at-risk children and families with community based services to address their needs and reduce the need for out-of-home placements of children and future court involvement.

4. Distinctions CHINS/ FINS/ PINS • Child Welfare • Status Offenders • Runaway • Truancy • Unruly • Alcohol consumption • Delinquent Youth

5. Early Intervention • Child Safety vs. Family Preservation • Assessments • Home visits • Services

6. Delinquency Prevention • Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act - JJDPA • Enacted 1974 • Report from President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice • Mandate non criminal offenders not placed in secure detention facilities • Federal funding linked to state’s successful efforts to decriminalize status offenses and de-institutionalize status offenders • Reauthorization November 2, 2002

7. Overview of the Law • Children in Need of Services (CHINS) • To recognize that certain behaviors occurring within a family or school environment indicate that a child is experiencing serious difficulties and is in need of services and corrective action in order to protect the child from the irreversibility of certain choices, and to protect the integrity of the family and the authority it must maintain in order to fulfill its responsibilities to raise the next generation. New Hampshire, RSA§ 169-D:1 (2003)

8. Overview of the Law • Families in Need of Services (FINS) • To define self-destructive behaviors by the child and conduct by other family members which contribute to the child’s harm and which warrant court intervention in the family’s life so that appropriate services to remedy the family’s dysfunction can be secured. Louisiana, La. Ch.C. Art. 726 (2003) • Persons in Need of Supervision (PINS)

9. Georgia’s Current Laws • Deprived Child • Is without proper parental care or control, subsistence, education, or other care or control necessary for the child’s physical, mental or emotional health or morals.

10. Georgia’s Current Laws • Status Offender • A child who is charged with or adjudicated of an offense which is only an offense because of the perpetrator’s status as a child. Such offenses shall include, but are not limited to, truancy, running away from home, incorrigibility, and unruly behavior. • Delinquent Child • A child who has committed a delinquent act and is in need of treatment or rehabilitation.

11. States with CHINS/FINS

12. States with CHINS/FINS

13. New Hampshire • CHINS • Under 18 • Status Offenses • Repeat Offender • Prior to filing a petition community resources must be exhausted • Investigative report by Human Services Department • Court may order treatment or services for both children and parents • Police and court records destroyed at 18

14. FLORIDA • Department of Juvenile Justice • Contract to Providers • 2001 award 3 year $108 million dollar contract • CHINS & FINS • Ungovernable, Truant, or Runaway • No active or pending child welfare or delinquent action • Delinquency Prevention Program • Funding • State • Federal • Contempt Provision

15. LOUISIANA • Division of Youth Services • FINS Program in each Judicial District • Funding

16. Challenges of CHINS/ FINS • CHINS • Boot Strapping • Contempt • Delinquency Charges • Focus on child • FINS • Separation of powers • Therapeutic vs Adversarial • Direct Funding

17. NEW YORK • Enacted 1962 • Made status offenses non-criminal • Limited use of detention to 1 year • 84% of PINS petitions had no prior history of delinquency • 18% had previous child welfare involvement • 60% of petitions related to truancy • 45% of Petitions initiated by parents • 73% of PINS were girls • Large numbers of youth enter foster care

18. MASSACHUSETTS • Enacted in 1973 • Status offenses decriminalized • CHINS behaviors not offenses against society but rather offenses against self interest • 54% of CHINS youth faced adult criminal or delinquent offenses within three years of their first CHINS petition. • Adversarial • Punitive Approach • Insufficient access to community services

19. Necessary Elements: CHINS/FINS • Statutory Construction • A complete chapter devoted to CHINS • Funding • Adequate funding to ensure comprehensive services • Procedural Protections • Due process safeguards to ensure fairness

20. Necessary Elements: CHINS/FINS • Program Accountability • Measure to monitor progress and success of implementation • Focus on Family Participation • Requiring parents to participate in their child’s service needs

21. Contact Information Amy Howell Equal Justice Works Fellow The Southern Juvenile Defender Center Emory University School of Law ahowell@law.emory.edu (404) 727-6235 www.juveniledefender.org