NCJ Number
143400
Date Published
1979
Length
26 pages
Annotation
While juvenile court intake ranges from an ideal screening assessment decisionmaking system to systems which do little more than process paper and file petitions, the prevalent view of intake centers around the decisions whether or not to detain the child and whether or not to take a case to court.
Abstract
Several policy issues confront any practitioner, planner, or manager concerned with juvenile intake procedures. Some of the crucial issues identified include the degree of discretion for intake staff, criteria for judicial or nonjudicial handling, criteria for detention decisions, standards relating to status offenders, accountability of the juvenile for his actions, and family-centered versus child-centered approaches. Intake officers deal with law, court rules, policies, procedural manuals, multiple agencies, community pressure, and controversial situations. They require clear procedural guidelines relating to records, statistical reporting, police relations, victim relations, time limits, supervisory case control, advising on rights, and use of volunteer supervision. Staffing considerations discussed here include organization; experience requirements, pay levels, and supervisory ratios; staffing levels; and executive versus judicial administration on intake. Each policy and procedure should be created with the dual objectives of protecting the community from further delinquency and protecting the child and his family from unnecessary intervention by the juvenile justice system. 2 appendixes