Juvenile Justice

Updated definitions for 'child in need of services', 'family in need of services', and 'habitually truant' to clarify eligibility criteria and thresholds.

Added requirements for early truancy intervention procedures and expanded services available to families in need of services.

Added provisions for appointment of counsel in certain circumstances and payment of counsel costs for nonindigent parents.

Added requirements for case staffing committees and interagency agreements for family services referrals.

Modified contempt of court procedures to limit use of secure detention and establish alternative sanctions like community service.

Modified provisions to prohibit placement of children in secure detention facilities for status offenses and establish time limits for shelter placements.

Modified eligibility criteria for voluntary family services and clarified when children may be placed in shelter care.

Renamed Chapter 984 to 'Children and Families in Need of Services; Prevention and Intervention for School Truancy and Ungovernable and Runaway Children' to better reflect the chapter's focus areas.

Updated the definition of 'habitual truant' to specify 15 unexcused absences within 90 calendar days as the threshold for filing a child-in-need-of-services petition.

Established a 180-day maximum retention of jurisdiction for early truancy intervention cases before they must be terminated or converted to child-in-need-of-services proceedings.

Added requirements for case staffing committees to convene within 30 days of court referral and to provide written reports within 7 days of meetings.

Updated rules for court-appointed counsel to clarify when counsel may be appointed for nonindigent parents and established compensation limits of $1,000 at trial and $2,500 at appellate level.

Limited the use of secure detention facilities for children in need of services, restricting such placements to specific circumstances and requiring alternative sanctions first.

Extended contempt sanctions for children in need of services from 5 days to 15 days for second or subsequent offenses, while maintaining alternative sanctions as the primary approach.

Modified eligibility criteria for voluntary family services to clarify when families are ineligible, particularly regarding concurrent dependency or delinquency proceedings.

Created new section 984.0861 prohibiting the use of detention care facilities for children under Chapter 984 jurisdiction, requiring alternative sanctions instead.

Added requirements for parents to use available health care insurance for services and established provisions for appointing counsel to represent parents in certain circumstances.

Created new requirements for early truancy intervention including court jurisdiction limits, service requirements, and provisions for retaining jurisdiction until truancy is resolved.

Added requirements for departments to post information guides on websites and distribute them to parents, law enforcement, and schools.

Repealed sections 984.08 and 984.085 relating to attorney fees and sheltering unmarried minors, transferring the latter to Chapter 787.

Established new requirements for case staffing committees including member composition, meeting timelines, and reporting obligations.

Expanded the definition of 'child in need of services' to explicitly include children who are habitual truants or ungovernable despite reasonable efforts to address the behavior.

Added new definitions for 'early truancy intervention', 'truant status offender', and 'family in need of services' to clarify the scope of services and jurisdiction.

Revised contempt of court procedures to limit detention use, establish alternative sanctions coordinators, and require due process protections including right to counsel for indigent children in contempt hearings.

Modified eligibility criteria for voluntary family services to clarify when services are available and when families are ineligible based on existing delinquency or dependency proceedings.