NCJ Number
78030
Date Published
1981
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Findings and recommendations are reported from Georgia's Senate Juvenile Justice Study Committee.
Abstract
The senate juvenile justice study committee, created by senate resolution 353 during the 1980 session of the Georgia General Assembly, was authorized to examine the State's juvenile justice system, including the problems of public school discipline, the nature and extent of the need for change in service delivery for juveniles, and the legislative response to the needs of troubled children. Overall, the juvenile justice system was found to be a fragmented patchwork of unrelated services. The committee recommends the establishment of a committee on children and youth to unravel the fragmentation which exists within State government regarding its approach to services for children. This committee would also monitor all programs and agencies providing services to children. In order to improve the juvenile court system, it is recommended that the general assembly enact senate bill 4, which creates a unified state-financed system of juvenile courts and minimum standards for juvenile judges and referees. The juvenile probation system in Georgia is also an example of the fragmented approach to juvenile justice. The committee recommends that a unified probation system be implemented, both to provide uniformity in the quality of services rendered and to reduce the tax burden on localities. In the area of public school discipline, the committee recommends that the State department of education fund programs for alternative schools and inschool suspension programs and promulgate guidelines which would restrict the use of suspension and expulsion as a routine method of discipline. Recommendations are also offered to improve and expand community-based programs as alternatives to juvenile detention. A list of State study committees appointed to examine various juvenile problems in the State is appended.