Section 2. Efforts to Avoid Court Involvement

Introduction

This section of the National Standards discusses key principles and practices that shape how education, social service, community-based, child welfare, runaway and homeless youth, mental health, law enforcement and juvenile justice systems should first respond to youth and families at risk and in need of immediate assistance. They offer guidance to professionals on how to identify the reason(s) the child and family have been referred to them and select and deliver the best early intervention services that will help the child and family avoid court involvement.  

Key Principles

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Education, social service, community-based, child welfare, runaway and homeless youth, mental health, law enforcement and juvenile justice systems should:

  • Aim to resolve all status offense matters through the provision of voluntary diversion services (Section 2.1)
  • Determine the proper course of action by identifying the family circumstances, unmet needs, or other factors that led to contact with the status offense system (Section 2.2)
  • Train professionals who first respond to alleged status offenses about family and community dynamics and other factors that can cause status behaviors, as well as the availability and role of screenings, assessments and services (Section 2.3)


Law enforcement systems should:

  • Focus on prevention and intervention by connecting children and families to needed services in lieu of charging or detaining children alleged to have committed status offenses (Section 2.4)

"We are especially gratified at the Standards’ attention to keeping status offenders out of formal juvenile court processing and their strong position that incarceration for any purpose is inappropriate.  The Standards will surely help to inspire legislative and policy change around the country." 

Sue Burrell
Staff Attorney
Youth Law Center


Education systems should:

  • Implement responses to truancy that match the reasons youth are absent from school and that aim to avoid court involvement, school suspension or expulsion (Section 2.5)


Child welfare, juvenile justice and runaway and homeless youth systems should:

  • Implement responses to alleged status behaviors that aim to avoid court involvement and are tailored to the reasons the youth and family have been referred to the child welfare, juvenile justice or runaway and homeless youth system (Section 2.6)


Court intake personnel should:

  • Not accept jurisdiction over any status offense case until it has been determined that the applicable statutory requirements were met and that the agency that first responded to the claim made reasonable efforts to avoid court involvement by exhausting all available, culturally appropriate, pre-court assessments, services, entitlements and treatments (Section 2.7)