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The cost of juvenile delinquency in Mitchell County ... too high?
When a juvenile gets in trouble with the law and is referred to juvenile court services, a myriad of wheels are set in motion. The offender's family must be consulted, rehabilitation plans are set up and/or detention procedures are handed down by the court system if charges are serious enough and rehabilitation is not deemed possible.
All of these procedures are obviously emotionally draining for the juvenile and his or her family and can be very costly to the county in which the juvenile is sentenced.
This very issue came up at a recent meeting of the Mitchell County Board of Supervisors. During the discussion, some of the numbers being spent in recent months were a topic of interest.
For example, the Mitchell County Auditor's office reported that in fiscal year 2005 the county spent $4,350.25 for sheltered services (treatment) at Francis Lauer Youth Center in Mason City, Bremwood Lutheran Home in Waverly and Blackhawk County Youth Shelter in Waterloo. Presently, in fiscal year 2006 (since July), the costs have totaled $1,512.65.
If detention of a juvenile is required, costs to the county go considerably higher.
The Auditor's office reported that in fiscal year 2005 $17,660 was spent for juvenile detention in the North Iowa Detention Center in Waterloo and state detention centers in Tama and Toledo. This year's costs to the county have reached $6,825 since July.
To understand juvenile crime, the legal procedures (and costs) that accompany the handling of these cases, one needs to have a basic knowledge of how the juvenile court system works.
According to information provided by the Iowa Judicial Branch web site, here is an overview of how juvenile delinquency cases are handled:
Delinquency Proceedings - Juvenile delinquency cases are handled in the same manner as criminal cases with a few key differences. In a juvenile court delinquency case, a child is adjudicated to be a delinquent, rather than convicted of a crime. Rather than being sentenced or put on probation for a certain number of years as adult offender would, the juvenile is given a rehabilitative plan which usually is not time limited. The focus is to provide the child the services that will prevent future delinquencies. In a delinquency case there is no right to a jury trial.
Intake - This is the first step of delinquency proceedings. The juvenile officer and the juvenile's parents screen the complaint concerning the juvenile to determine whether or not the court should take action. In this process the case may proceed in two directions, informal adjustment or the filing of a delinquency petition. If the child is in the custody of law enforcement, the matter may go straight to the petition stage without the intake procedure. The petition is generally filed by the county attorney.
Informal Adjustment - In this stage the juvenile court officer, the juvenile and his parents must agree to the terms of appropriate action. First, the juvenile must admit to the charges. Then the juvenile and his parents must agree to some form of probation that may include counseling, community service, substance abuse counseling or any other appropriate action. Typically, if the juvenile obeys the conditions of the informal adjustment and a petition is not filed, the juvenile is released from the oversight of the juvenile court.
Formal Proceedings - The filing of a petition triggers formal court proceedings. The petition contains allegations of the juvenile's delinquent acts.
After the filing of the petition, there will be one or more hearings - a waiver hearing or an adjudicatory hearing. Depending on the nature of the alleged delinquent act, there may be a detention hearing to determine if the juvenile should be placed or retained in detention.
Most petitions proceed to adjudicatory hearings. The county attorney will try to prove that the allegations are supported by evidence. The juvenile has right to legal counsel and can be provided counsel at state expense if they can not afford a lawyer. Both sides present evidence. The juvenile can be found innocent and would no longer be under juvenile court jurisdiction. If the juvenile is found guilty, they are then adjudicated a delinquent. At a later deposition hearing the court determines the appropriate consequences or treatment for the child.
If the juvenile case involved violent criminal behavior by an older juvenile there may be a waiver hearing in which children under 18 years of age could be tried as an adult and they are subject to the same criminal procedures and penalties as adults.
Disposition - The court has two disposition options: probation or placement. If the court orders probation, the juvenile must comply with certain conditions. While on probation the child is under the supervision of a juvenile court officer. If the juvenile successfully completes probation, they are released from the supervision of the court. If they don't comply with probation, they will be subject to further disposition by the court. The juvenile may be placed in foster care, residential treatment or a state institution. After the juvenile completes treatment, they are under probation.
Dave Carlson, is a Juvenile Court Officer and Supervisor for nine counties, including Mitchell County. He reported that for the last five to six years Mitchell County has averaged 76 juvenile complaints per year that actually are referred to the Juvenile Court System. Many of these complaints involve the abuse of alcohol or drugs. Approximately 70 per cent of these complaints involve some type of misdemeanor offense. Most of these cases are handled in the informal adjustment phase and usually involves probation, community service or some kind of counseling for the juvenile.
Only about 10 per cent of these cases actually go to the court system. Information from the Mitchell County Clerk of Court's office indicated that in 2005 five cases reached the court system and so far in 2006 four cases have been acted upon in court.
Post court detention or treatment for juvenile offenders is very costly. Many times only one to three individuals are involved in detention or treatment during the year, but the costs are still expensive. Juvenile delinquency is a complicated issue involving many factors. There is no easy solution to the problem. Dealing with juvenile offenders is a necessary evil and certainly will always be an issue to deal with in any civilized society. Most experts say one constant in the study of the problem is the lack of attachment by the child to his family.
"Many youth don't have the family structure, support and value systems in place that would help deter many problems, concluded Larson. "Better support by the family would help ease many emotional and financial burdens for everyone."
Story created Dec 12, 2006 - 15:48:43 CST.
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