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CHILDREN & FAMILIES
IN NEED OF SERVICES
Amy Howell
Southern Juvenile Defender Center
Emory University School of Law
Juvenile Court Ideology
Courts were described as benign, nonpunitive and therapeutic.
The state adopted the legal doctrine of
parens patrie, the state as parent, to
authorize state intervention with youths
whose parents had lost control.
The state would then informally adopt the
youth and act as its guardian to consider
what was in their best interest.
Theory behind CHINS/FINS
To provide at-risk children and families
with community based services to address
their needs and reduce the need for outof-home placements of children and future
court involvement.
Distinctions CHINS/ FINS/ PINS
Child Welfare
Status Offenders
 Runaway
 Truancy
 Unruly
 Alcohol consumption
Delinquent Youth
Early Intervention
Child Safety vs. Family Preservation

Assessments

Home visits

Services
Delinquency Prevention
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention Act - JJDPA
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Enacted 1974
Report from President’s Commission on Law
Enforcement and Administration of Justice
Mandate non criminal offenders not placed in
secure detention facilities
Federal funding linked to state’s successful
efforts to decriminalize status offenses and
de-institutionalize status offenders
Reauthorization November 2, 2002
Overview of the Law
Children in Need of Services (CHINS)

To recognize that certain behaviors occurring
within a family or school environment indicate
that a child is experiencing serious difficulties
and is in need of services and corrective
action in order to protect the child from the
irreversibility of certain choices, and to protect
the integrity of the family and the authority it
must maintain in order to fulfill its
responsibilities to raise the next generation.
New Hampshire, RSA§ 169-D:1 (2003)
Overview of the Law
Families in Need of Services (FINS)
 To define self-destructive 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.
Louisiana, La. Ch.C. Art. 726 (2003)
Persons in Need of Supervision (PINS)
Georgia’s Current Laws
Deprived Child
 Is without proper parental care or
control, subsistence, education, or other
care or control necessary for the child’s
physical, mental or emotional health or
morals.
Georgia’s Current Laws
Status Offender

A child who is charged with or adjudicated of
an offense which is only an offense because
of the perpetrator’s status as a child. Such
offenses shall include, but are not limited to,
truancy, running away from home,
incorrigibility, and unruly behavior.
Delinquent Child

A child who has committed a delinquent act
and is in need of treatment or rehabilitation.
States with CHINS/FINS
STATE
Statutory
Language
Enacted
Agency
Type
Arkansas
FINS
1987
Juvenile Justice
Connecticut
FINS
1980
Child Welfare
Florida
CHINS
1989
Juvenile Justice
Kansas
Child In Need of
Care
1982
Child Welfare
Louisiana
FINS
1991
Juvenile Justice
States with CHINS/FINS
STATE
Statutory
Language
Enacted
Agency Type
Massachusetts
CHINS
1973
Child Welfare
Minnesota
CHINS
1999
Child Welfare
New Hampshire CHINS
1979
Child Welfare
New Mexico
FINS
1978
Child Welfare
New York
PINS
1962
Child Welfare
New Hampshire
CHINS
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Under 18
Status Offenses
Repeat Offender
Prior to filing a petition community resources
must be exhausted
Investigative report by Human Services
Department
Court may order treatment or services for both
children and parents
Police and court records destroyed at 18
FLORIDA
Department of Juvenile Justice

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Contract to Providers
2001 award 3 year $108 million dollar contract
CHINS & FINS


Ungovernable, Truant, or Runaway
No active or pending child welfare or delinquent
action
Delinquency Prevention Program
Funding
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State
Federal
Contempt Provision
LOUISIANA
Division of Youth Services
FINS Program in each Judicial District
Funding
Challenges of CHINS/ FINS
CHINS
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Boot Strapping
Contempt
Delinquency Charges
Focus on child
FINS

Separation of powers
Therapeutic vs Adversarial
Direct Funding
NEW YORK
Enacted 1962


Made status offenses non-criminal
Limited use of detention to 1 year
84% of PINS petitions had no prior history of
delinquency
18% had previous child welfare involvement
60% of petitions related to truancy
45% of Petitions initiated by parents
73% of PINS were girls
Large numbers of youth enter foster care
MASSACHUSETTS
Enacted in 1973

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Status offenses decriminalized
CHINS behaviors not offenses against society
but rather offenses against self interest
54% of CHINS youth faced adult criminal
or delinquent offenses within three years
of their first CHINS petition.
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Adversarial
Punitive Approach
Insufficient access to community services
Necessary Elements: CHINS/FINS
Statutory Construction
 A complete chapter devoted to CHINS
Funding
 Adequate funding to ensure
comprehensive services
Procedural Protections
 Due process safeguards to ensure
fairness
Necessary Elements: CHINS/FINS
Program Accountability
 Measure to monitor progress and
success of implementation
Focus on Family Participation
 Requiring parents to participate in their
child’s service needs
Contact Information
Amy Howell
Equal Justice Works Fellow
The Southern Juvenile Defender Center
Emory University School of Law
[email protected]
(404) 727-6235
www.juveniledefender.org