Background:

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) is a federal law that provides funding to states that follow certain protections in the care and treatment of youth in the juvenile justice system. The JJDPA requires that juveniles who have committed an offense that would not be criminal by an adult, known as a status offense, not be placed in secure detention facilities or secure correctional facilities. However, an exception to this requirement is made for juveniles who have violated a court order.

At-Risk Youth.

An at-risk youth (ARY) court process allows a parent or guardian to petition to the court if their child meets at least one of the following three requirements:

is absent from home for at least 72 consecutive hours without parental consent;
is beyond parental control such that his or her behavior endangers the health, safety, or welfare of the child or any other person; or
has a substance abuse problem for which there are no pending criminal charges relating to the substance abuse.

The purpose of filing an ARY petition is to obtain assistance and support from the juvenile court in maintaining the care, custody, and control of the child and to assist in the resolution of family conflict, after alternatives to court intervention have been attempted. The ARY proceeding is a voluntary process, and a parent or guardian may request dismissal at any time.

Child in Need of Services.

A child in need of services (CHINS) court process allows a child, parent, guardian, or the Department of Social and Health Services and after July 1, 2018, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to petition the court if the child meets at least one of the following requirements:

is beyond parental control such that the child's behavior endangers the health, safety, or welfare of the child or other person;
has been reported to law enforcement as absent without consent for at least 24 consecutive hours from the parent's home, a crisis residential center, an out-of-home placement, or a court-ordered placement on two or more separate occasions and has exhibited a serious substance abuse problem or behaviors that create a serious risk of harm to the health, safety, or welfare of the child or any other person;
is in need of necessary services, including food, shelter, health care, clothing, educational, or services designed to maintain or reunite the family and lacks access to or has declined to utilize these services, and whose parents have evidenced continuing but unsuccessful efforts to maintain the family structure or are unable or unwilling to continue efforts to maintain the family structure; or
is a sexually exploited child.

The purpose of filing a CHINS petition is to obtain a court order mandating temporary placement, for up to six months, of the child in a residence other than the home of his or her parent or guardian, because a serious conflict exists between the parent and child that cannot be resolved by delivery of services to the family during continued placement of the child in the parental home, and reasonable efforts have been made to prevent the need for removal of the child from the parental home.

The court may impose remedial sanctions including a fine up to $100 and confinement for up to 7 days, or both for contempt of the ARY or the CHINS court proceeding.

Compulsory School Attendance.

Children 8 to 18 years of age must attend public school unless they fall within certain exceptions, such as attending private school or receiving home-based instruction. If a parent enrolls a 6-year-old or 7-year-old child in school, the child is required to attend school, and the parent is responsible for ensuring the child attends.

When a child 8 to 18 years of age has unexcused absences, schools and school districts must take certain steps to eliminate or reduce the child's absences:

after one unexcused absence in one month, the school must inform parents in writing or by phone of potential consequences of continued absences;
after three unexcused absences in one month, the school must schedule a conference with the parents and take steps to reduce absences;
before a student accumulates five unexcused absences in one month, the district must enter into an attendance agreement with the student and parent, refer the student to a community truancy board, or file a truancy petition with the court; and
after seven unexcused absences in one month or 10 unexcused absences in one year, the district must file a truancy petition with the court if the student is under the age of 17. A petition may be filed with respect to a student who is 17 years of age.

Similar requirements are in place with respect to 6-year-old and 7-year-old children who are enrolled in school, except that after seven unexcused absences in a month or ten unexcused absences in a year, the school district must file a truancy petition against the parent of the child.

If a child fails to comply with a truancy court order, the court may impose:

community restitution;
nonresidential programs with intensive wraparound services
a requirement that the child meet with a mentor; or
other services that that court deems appropriate.

If the child continues to fail to comply with the truancy court order and the court makes a finding that other measures to secure compliance have been tried but have been unsuccessful and no less restrictive alternative is available, the court may order the child to be subject to detention for no longer than seven days. Courts must give preference to imposing detention for contempt of a truancy court order in a secure crisis residential center close to the child's home rather than a juvenile detention center.

Contempt of Court.

A contempt of court finding may be made if an individual intentionally disobeys a lawful court order, among other things.

Following a contempt of court finding, a court may impose remedial sanctions if the court finds that a person failed or refused to perform an act that is within the person's power to perform. A remedial sanction is imposed for the purpose of coercing performance when the contempt involves refusing to perform an act that is in the person's power to perform.

A court may impose up to seven days of detention as a remedial sanction following a contempt of court finding in an ARY, CHINS, truancy, or dependency action.