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Types of Juveniles Within The Juvenile Court's Jurisdiction

The juvenile court legislation of each state and territory typically defines three major groups of children within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court: delinquents, children in need of supervision, and dependent, abused, or neglected juveniles. The juvenile court in all of the states and territories (except the Trust Territories in which the juvenile court apparently does not have jurisdiction over dependent, abused, or neglected juveniles) has jurisdiction over these three groups of children.

A. Delinquents

There are three major categories of delinquents within the court's jurisdiction: (1) A juve

nile who has committed a delinquent act which is defined as conduct which would, under the law of the jurisdiction in which the offense was committed, be a crime if committed by an adult.*

ordinance, or (b) who has without just cause run away from his parental home or other properly authorized and lawful place of abode, or (c) who is beyond the control of his parent, parents, guardian or other custodian or (d) who has engaged in indecent or immoral conduct, or (e) who has been habitually truant or who, while in school has been continuously and overtly defiant of school rules and regulations, or (f) who has violated any lawful order of the superior court.15

The inclusion of status offenses within the delinquent category is significant because it could mean that juveniles who have committed minor offenses such as curfew and truancy violations are treated no differently than juveniles who have committed crimes such as burglary and rape. However, although some codes do place these groups of children in the same category, it is important to note that there may be other provisions for separate treatment especially at the disposition stage.

Fifteen states clearly exclude children in need of supervision from their delinquent category: Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington. For example, New Hampshire's law states: "Delinquent" means a person who has committed an offense before reaching the age of 18 years which would be a felony or misdemeanor under the criminal code of this state if committed by an adult...16

States with this type of legislation thus progressively distinguish, at least in their definitional provisions, between the more serious juvenile offenders and those who are within the court's jurisdiction for an offense committable only by a child. Although states may distinguish between the two groups, however, treatment may be the same for both as in Idaho. 1. The Term, "Delinquent"

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Unfortunately for the juveniles involved, the term, "delinquent, is used in most states. As discussed in the Standard Juvenile Court Act-which avoids using the term "delinquency" (and "neglect")--the terms or categories tend to detract from the individualized treatment of juveniles and are "always unnecessary, sometimes impracticable, and often harmful."17 Labeling is harmful given the social stigma attached to the term "delinquent. Yet, only 13 states avoid use of the term: California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Utah, the Virgin Islands, and Washington.

Although this lack of labeling would appear to be in the best interests of the juvenile, it is questionable whether a juvenile can be treated as an individual, with or without labels, given the essential institutional quality of the system. In California, although the term "delinquent" is not used, such juvenile offenders are known as "602's". One wonders whether this is any more acceptable than the term "delinquent". Additionally, as pointed out in the Standard Juvenile Court Act, although juveniles may be harmed by the categorization by the system, their parents trust the system more when there are clear categories--when their child's be

havior is diagnosed and a form of treatment prescribed as efficiently as possible.18

2. Traffic Offenders

In many codes, some or all traffic offenses are not within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court which means that juveniles lose some significant protections (depending on the state involved) of the juvenile justice system. They may be treated as adults in the worst possible way: incarceration in the county jail.

On the other side of this issue though are the practical problems involved in having jurisdiction of traffic offenses in the juvenile court. As is pointed out in the Standard Juvenile Court Act, since it is likely that the juvenile court is at the district level covering one or more counties, time and distance in getting to hearings may create an unnecessary hardship for children and families.19 A solution, however, may be to provide by statute for Juvenile Traffic Offenders, as is done in some states. Juvenile traffic offenders could be treated as adults but protected from the adult punishment system (with at least a prohibition on the jailing of such juveniles).

B.

Children in Need of Supervision

In most of the 56 states and territories, this second category of juveniles within the juvenile court's jurisdiction is referred to as a "child (or juvenile) in need of supervision" or an "incorrigible child"* although some states omit the label. The definitions of this cate

gory include: (1) truant; (2) beyond control of one's parents, disobedient; (3) violation of a status offense; (4) one who is dangerous to himself or herself and others; and (5) runaways.

*Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, District of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

The following chart indicates states with more unique definitions of the children in need of supervision category:

States

Colorado and Missouri

Georgia

Mississippi

Rhode Island

Definition

Child's behavior or condition is dangerous to him/herself or others An "unruly" child is a truant, one who is disobedient, has committed a status offense, is a runaway, a loiterer after hours, patronizes any bar or possesses alcohol, or one who has committed a delinquent act and is in need of supervision but not of treatment or rehabilitation

A child in need of supervision is one who has reached 7 years old and is disobedient and ungovernable, truant, a runaway, or has committed a delinquent act

A wayward child is a runaway, one who associates with the wrong