NCJ Number
185973
Journal
Advocate Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: May 1999 Pages: 3-3
Date Published
May 1999
Length
1 page
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.