NCJ Number: 185973
Title: Juvenile Justice in Tennessee
Journal: Advocate Volume:9 Issue:1 Dated:May 1999 Pages:3-3
Date Published: May 1999
Annotation: This description of juvenile justice in Tennessee contains data
on the number of children processed during the 1997 calendar year
and lists the areas of authority of Tennessee's juvenile courts,
followed by explanations of the process, intake, adjudication,
and disposition procedures of the juvenile court system.
Abstract: Nearly 68,000 children were referred to Tennessee's 98 juvenile
courts during the 1997 calendar year. Although 37 percent of the
referrals did not involve children committing offenses, more than
half of them were for alleged delinquent offenses. Status
offenses composed 14 percent of total referrals. Tennessee's 16
private-act juvenile courts and 82 General Sessions Courts with
juvenile jurisdiction have authority in 13 areas, including the
adjudication of children as dependent, neglected, abused, unruly,
and delinquent; the determination of custody or the appointment
of a guardian of a child; the termination of parental rights; and
the ordering of treatment, evaluation, or commitment of mentally
retarded and mentally ill children. The juvenile court process
has three phases: intake, adjudication, and disposition. The
court reviews referrals to determine whether it has the authority
to intervene and possible interventions. If a petition is filed,
the case often goes into the adjudicatory phase. The judge hears
the case to determine if the allegations of the petition are
true. If the allegations cannot be proven, the petition will be
dismissed. The purpose of the dispositional phase is to determine
an appropriate course of action regarding the child and his/her
circumstances. The child's treatment, social, and rehabilitation
needs are considered. Three resources are listed.
Main Term(s): Juvenile justice system
Index Term(s): Juvenile adjudication; Juvenile case disposition; Juvenile court intake; Juvenile court jurisdiction; Juvenile court statistics; Juvenile justice policies; Juvenile processing; Tennessee
Sponsoring Agency: Tennessee Cmssn on Children and Youth
Corporate Author: Tennessee Cmssn on Children and Youth
Page Count: 1
Format: News/Media
Type: Program/Project Description
Language: English
Country: United States of America
To cite this abstract, use the following link: http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=185973
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