NCJ Number
76663
Journal
Indiana Law Journal Volume: 54 Issue: 4 Dated: (1978-1979) Pages: 539-576
Date Published
1979
Length
38 pages
Annotation
Indiana's new juvenile law's jurisdiction over misbehaving children and their parents is examined.
Abstract
The new Indiana juvenile law, effective in October 1979, follows the traditional view in its definition of delinquent acts, which includes not only commission of crime, but departure from home without reasonable cause or permission, truancy, habitual disobedience to the reasonable and lawful commands of parent or guardian, and curfew violation. The new code also departs from the traditional approach in a number of respects. In connection with assertion of jurisdiction itself, it differentiates the wrongfulness or seriousness of criminal and noncriminal misbehavior in much the same way that a revisionist would. The jurisdiction of the court is based upon a finding that the respondent is a 'delinquent child.' Whereas any child who commits a crime is, for that reason alone, a delinquent child and therefore subject to the court's dispositional power, a youth who is charged with any other kind of delinquent act can only be found a delinquent child upon two separate findings: (1) that he/she did such an act and (2) that he/she needs care, treatment, or rehabilitation that he is not receiving, that he is unlikely to accept voluntarily, and that is unlikely to be provided or accepted without the coercive intervention of the court. Moreover, even if such a showing is made, incorrigible or ungovernable children cannot be committed to either the State industrial school or a secure private facility. They may only be placed on probation, ordered to participate in outpatient treatment, or placed in a foster home or nonsecure shelter care facility. The new law also provides that the parents of a child charged with delinquency may be made parties for dispositional purposes and, therefore, may be required to participate in some therapeutic regimen together with the child who is the initial respondent in the case. These aspects of the code are examined in detail and assessed. A total of 168 footnotes are provided.