Juvenile Delinquency and F.I.N.S. Cases

Delinquency

Delinquency cases begin when a juvenile is charged with having committed an act that would be considered a criminal offense if they were an adult. The minor being charged is appointed an attorney to represent them, and the district attorney's office files a petition with these allegations. There is then a hearing, called an answer hearing, where the minor can admit to the allegations, or deny them. If the minor denies the allegations, there will be an adjudication hearing set. At the adjudication hearing, the district attorney's office must try to prove the minor committed the acts he or she is accused of. If the Judge determines the minor did commit these acts, then another hearing, called a disposition hearing, will be set. Similar to sentencing in adult court, the Judge will decide at disposition what sort of treatment, supervision, or rehabilitation the child needs- such as community service, restitution, probation, or placement in secure care. The court has jurisdiction over these cases until the minor reaches the age of 21.

FINS

FINS, which is short for Family in Need of Services, are cases that begin in the juvenile court in a few different ways. FINS cases involve court supervision of a juvenile who has committed misconduct that does not fall under the category of a criminal offense. FINS cases also include cases where the caretaker of the child has caused the child's misconduct, or has failed to cooperate with the child's school regarding truancy or other education problems. Children are appointed attorneys to represent them in these cases, and these cases follow a similar process as the delinquency cases described above, and in the table below. As part of the disposition in a FINS case, a juvenile may be placed in the care of someone other than the parent(s) or caretaker, but are not placed in secure care such as a detention facility.

Restorative Justice Diversion Program

The Restorative Justice program works closely with the District Attorney's office to refer juveniles who have committed a minor delinquent offense to this program. Juveniles who are referred are assigned to community based programs designed to address the type of offense committed.

This program is for first time, misdemeanor offenses. The juveniles assigned to this program must acknowledge their guilt and be prepared to accept responsibility for their actions. Once the juvenile completes the program, the petition is dismissed and the juvenile does not have a conviction on their record.

Programs in the community that are utilized include:

• Juvenile Services' Early Education and Substance Abuse (Five Week) Diversion Program
• Volunteers for Youth Justice programs
• As Teen Court, Stamp Out Shoplifting
• Violence Prevention
• Power of Choice
• Facts of Life
• Caddo Parish Sheriff programs
• Anger Management Program
• Personal Responsibility Program

Caddo Parish District Attorney Juvenile Diversion Information Website

Misdemeanor & Truancy Referral Center

The Rutherford House Misdemeanor and Truancy Referral Center was established to assist law enforcement officers in dealing with juveniles charged for delinquent offenses or truancy.

The law enforcement officers can bring these offenders to the referral center and are able to return to their duties quickly because the center personnel will process the juvenile and get them where they need to be. This process also reduces the population in the Juvenile Detention Center thus allowing this facility to operate much more efficiently. The juveniles who are brought to the referral center receive a comprehensive assessment and are referred to community based resources for needed services. Information on each juvenile is then forwarded to the District Attorney's office for the filing of charges if warranted.

Electronic Monitoring & Intensive Supervision

Each Division of the Juvenile Court is equipped with an Intensive Supervision Probation Officer and electronic monitoring devices.

The Court has the discretion to release juveniles from the Juvenile Detention Center to be supervised by an Intensive Probation Officer while being monitored on an electronic monitor.

This is a device that is attached to a land based telephone or cell phone unit that monitors the juvenile twenty-four hours a day to determine if the juvenile has left the home unauthorized.

It is a valuable tool for pretrial release of juveniles charged with delinquent acts and for support for Probation Officers who have a juvenile placed on the monitor as an alternative to secure detention.

Juvenile Services own the monitors, however, the daily monitoring fee is paid by a grant from the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement. If damaged by a child after being installed, the child (or parent or guardian) may be responsible for replacing it.

Probation Supervision

The Probation Supervision Division of the Probation Department has the responsibility to enforce court orders for those youth who have been placed on probation by a Juvenile Court Judge.

The probation officers administer a SAVRY Risk Assessment to determine risk and supervision levels for each juvenile. Based on this assessment and in-depth interviews with the juvenile and family, the probation officer develops a Case Service Plan which determines the programs and services the juvenile will be referred.

Family in Need of Services (F.I.N.S)

Mission

Families In Need of Services (FINS) established jurisdiction of juvenile courts to intervene, to prevent the ripening of family conflict, delinquency, abuse and neglect. FINS is an intervention process aimed at preventing formal juvenile court involvement, therein reducing the number of children/youth lodged in the court system.

What is the purpose of FINS?

• To curtail self-destructing behaviors by the child and conduct by other family members which contribute to the child's harm and which warrant court intervention in the family's life so that appropriate services to remedy the family's dysfunction can be secured;
• To secure the effectiveness of court's intervention by obtaining the cooperation and coordination of all public institutions or agencies having responsibility to supply service to any member of the family referred to the court;
• To establish a family service plan, which is binding upon all family members and the appropriate services provider;
• And to protect the integrity of the family by authorizing adjudication and the imposition of a dispositional judgment requiring participation in a plan of service only after all available voluntary alternatives have been exhausted.

Who can request assistance?

• Referrals can be made by parents, schools officials, police officers, district attorneys, judges, or concerned citizens.
• Referrals can be made in person at Caddo Parish Juvenile Court.

When should assistance be requested?

• If a child has unexcused absences (truancy) and repeatedly violates school rules.
• If a child is ungovernable.
• If a child is a runaway.
• If a child has repeatedly possessed consumed intoxicating beverages, or has misrepresented or deceived his age for the purpose of purchasing or receiving such beverages.
• If a child has committed an offense (i.e. gambling, purchase or use of alcohol, cigarettes, etc.).
• If a child under ten years of age has committed any offense which by law if committed by adult would be a crime under any federal, state, or local law.
• If a caretaker has caused, encouraged, or contributed to the child's delinquent behavior.
• If, after notice, a caretaker has willfully failed to attend a meeting with the child's teacher, school principal, or other appropriate school employee to discuss the child's truancy, repeated violation of school rules, or other serious educational problems.

Who is the FINS Officer?

The FINS Officer serves as a neutral third party, which helps to resolve individual/family conflict, by identifying problem areas and coordinating services without formal court intervention. There are three principal features of the FINS' process:

• Authority of the court to intervene even though the child is not delinquent and the parent has not violated any obligations established by the children's code.
• Authorization to develop and implement a plan for resolving child/family disputes under the supervision of the court.
• Court responsibility to insure that services provided by public agencies are made available to meet the needs of the family.

FINS is designed to bring together resources for the purpose of helping families to remedy self-destructive behaviors. At least five district state agencies have responsibility for providing service to families who appear before the juvenile courts:

• Department of Social Services
• Office of Youth Development
• Department of Health and Hospitals
• Department of Education
• Department of Labor

Representatives of private community agencies may also be included. If an Informal Family Service Plan agreement is reached, both public and private agency representatives are signatories and commit themselves to the completion of the plan. If formal court intervention (adjudicative process) becomes necessary, the court has the power to order any public institution or agency and its representatives to provide available services and make semi-annual progress reports.

Juvenile Delinquency and FINS Glossary

Answer - a court hearing after the petition has been filed, where the juvenile may admit to all the claims the district attorneys has made, or deny them. If the juvenile denies committing these acts, the case will be set for an adjudication hearing.

Adjudication - this is what they call a trial in juvenile court. It is the court appearance where the district attorney's office must try to prove the minor committed the acts he or she is accused of.

Article 896 - Deferred Dispositional Agreement - At any time after the entry of an adjudication order, the court may, on motion of the district attorney or of counsel for the child, suspend further proceedings and place the child on supervised or unsupervised probation. The child and his parent must consent to this special type of disposition.

Child - in delinquency cases, a child is someone younger than 21 who commits a delinquent act before turning 17 years old.

Competency - before a juvenile can be adjudicated for an offense, the juvenile must be able to understand the process and be able to help their attorney at the adjudication hearing. If it is determined that the juvenile cannot- either because of mental illness or developmental disability- the child is found to be incompetent. The court will then decide if the juvenile can be found competent or restored to competency after classes, or if they are permanently incompetent.

Continued Custody Hearing - if a juvenile is taken into custody, much like when an adult is arrested, but not released back to their parents, a hearing must be held within three days. This hearing is the continued custody hearing.

Defense Attorney - the lawyer who works for a juvenile accused of committing an offense.

Delinquent Act - a delinquent act is an offense that would be a crime if committed by an adult.

Disposition - similar to sentencing in adult court, the Judge will decide at disposition what sort of treatment, supervision, or rehabilitation the child needs- such as community service, restitution, probation, or placement in secure care.

Diversion - program run by the district attorney as an alternative to being prosecuted in juvenile court. If the juvenile successfully completes diversion, they are not adjudicated for that offense and the case against them is dismissed.

DJS - Department of Juvenile Services, provides probation resources and supervision to juveniles.

Felony Grade Delinquent Act - an act that would be a felony if it were committed by an adult. An act is a felony for an adult if it could be punished by hard labor - that is, by being sent to a state prison. Youth cannot be punished at hard labor, but it is still sometimes important to know whether an act is felony-grade or misdemeanor-grade.

IDB - short for indigent defender board. This term is commonly used to refer to the attorney the court appoints to represent the juvenile.

Misdemeanor Grade Delinquent Act - an act that would be a misdemeanor if it were committed by an adult. An act is a misdemeanor if it is not a felony - that is, if it cannot be punished by hard labor for an adult. As a general rule, a youth cannot receive a disposition - or sentence - lasting longer than six months in custody or two years on probation for a misdemeanor-grade act.

OJJ - short for the Office of Juvenile Justice, which is an agency of the state of Louisiana. OJJ runs all of the secure and nonsecure custody facilities in Louisiana.

Parole - if a juvenile has been sentenced to secure care, such as a detention facility, that juvenile may be allowed to be released earlier than the period of time ordered. The Department of Safety and Corrections Office of Juvenile Justice makes the decision as to whether a juvenile may be paroled.

Probation - a youth can be given probation as a disposition - that's like a "sentence" - after he or she is adjudicated delinquent. Probation usually means that the youth has to follow rules that the Judge makes, but gets to live at home.

Petition - a written request filed in Court by the district attorney's office that claims a juvenile committed misdemeanor or felony grade acts and asks the Court to hear the case and make a decision.

Public Defender - A defense attorney who works for juveniles who can't afford to pay for a lawyer. Public defenders work for their clients, not for the court or the state.

Delinquency Flowchart