In a few weeks, it’ll be no more teachers, no more books and many more hours of free time for local kids.

For some of them, less supervision could mean more opportunities to get into trouble.

Children and teens who run away from home, shoplift or stay out past curfew could find themselves standing in Brown Circuit Court facing a juvenile delinquency charge or a “status offense.”

Juvenile delinquency is when a child commits an act that would be considered a crime if it were committed by an adult — anything from shoplifting to auto theft to drug use, Judge Judith Stewart said.

Status offenses include truancy and running away from home — acts that are only legal problems because of the child’s status as a juvenile. Under state law, children under the age of 18 must be home by curfew, attend school and live with a guardian unless they are legally emancipated.

“In those cases, the state has to prove not only that act, but they have to take one more step and show the child needs care or treatment or rehabilitation (that) they’re not likely to receive without being involved in the coercive environment of the court,” Stewart said.

Last year, 30 juvenile delinquency and 12 status delinquent cases were filed. Those cases involved 35 different kids, 12 girls and 23 boys, Chief Probation Officer Jennifer Acton said.

The youngest child involved in a case last year was 11.

This year, the numbers are seven for juvenile delinquency and two for status offenses involving four girls and five boys. Acton said three of them had offenses last year.

Those statistics do not include “informal adjustments,” which is a period of time in which a child has to follow agreed-upon rules, similar to probation.

Asking for help

Referrals for possible juvenile delinquency charges are made to the Brown County Probation Office by parents, police or the schools.

Brenda Dewees is often the probation officer to handle those cases.

“How do I help them help themselves? Because that’s what has to happen for it to be a long-term effect,” she said.

Most juveniles come through the probation department who are already in the court system.

Juveniles in the system usually range from 13 to 17 years old, but a few years ago a 10-year-old was charged as a juvenile delinquent, Stewart said.

Only a handful of children are brought in by parents who are at a loss for what to do with them.

“I have parents who will say, ‘I want my kid to go to detention (center). They need to sit in detention for a weekend.’ And it’s like, well, that’s not how we do things,” Acton said.

Once a referral is made, Dewees meets with the parents and child. That’s when she explains to the child what delinquency is and why he or she should follow the rules.

“I have had a mom bring her daughter in because her daughter would sneak out. She just thought it was her mom’s rule. She didn’t know she would get in trouble legally. When she found that out, she stopped,” Dewees said.

“We don’t do a scared-straight kind of thing,” Stewart said.

Stewart said some parents bring their kids into the probation department because they’re doing “things that the parents think frequently are unsafe for the child, (like) being out, not coming home when they’re supposed to, being places they’re not supposed to be, (and) obviously concerns if there’s any kind of drug use or anything like that,” she said.

“There can also be actual mental health issues at play. It can make it much more complicated and much more in need of services.”

“We see an awful lot of substance abuse,” Stewart added, citing alcohol and drug use.

After the initial meeting, Dewees prepares a report and discusses the case with the prosecutor. The prosecutor will decide whether or not to file a delinquency petition, proceed with an informal adjustment, or not do anything at all, Stewart said.

The case also could be forwarded to the Department of Child Services if abuse is suspected.

If a delinquency petition is filed and the court decides to grant the petition, it proceeds like a criminal case for an adult. An initial hearing is held, attorneys are hired or appointed, and the child enters an admission or denial of guilt.

A fact-finding hearing is set if a child denies the delinquency.

If the court does find the child to be delinquent, it can then offer services to help the child, like counseling. Dewees said she has a file cabinet full of resources for families, from Centerstone mental health services to Al-Anon, a recovery program for families and friends of alcoholics.

Acton said most guardians are grateful to receive information on ways to help their child.

“We have a lot of grandparents as well raising kids these days. We see that often. They’re always very grateful when receiving information,” she said.

Parents have the option to not take official action if the child hasn’t committed a criminal act. If that’s what they choose, they still often will take the names of agencies who can help, Dewees said — “which is truly what we would prefer. I believe families are the best people to manage and fix their own issues if they’re willing to acknowledge them and do that,” she said.

If a child is not charged with a violent crime, the family wants to work on the child’s behavior, and the child is willing to put forth the effort, the prosecutor’s office and probation department can decide to use an “informal adjustment.”

An informal adjustment is a period of time in which certain conditions are in place, like requiring the child to attend school. Dewees checks in with those kids to make sure they’re following the rules.

If a child complies, a petition alleging delinquency never gets filed, Stewart said.

“It works with a lot of kids. It allows them to get services they need and have that additional supervision of making sure they actually do it,” Stewart said. “It’s a very good alternative to have.”

‘Not bad kids’

If a child is found to be a juvenile delinquent, a dispositional hearing is conducted, which is similar to a sentence hearing for an adult, Stewart said.

“Probation prepares a report. Parents have an opportunity themselves to tell what they think should happen, what consequences, what services (the child should receive),” Stewart said.

The court could require outpatient treatment or probation. Probation could include performing community service, going through the Thinking For a Change program which is meant to alter behavior, or turning in homework and showing up for school.

A juvenile delinquency charge does not automatically fall off a child’s record when he or she becomes an adult. There is a process for the charge to be expunged, but it differs from when an adult has a charge expunged because the child’s charge is truly removed from court records, Stewart said.

“You get rid of files. You order law enforcement to get rid of files. It goes away,” she said.

If a charge is expunged, it cannot be used against the child if he or she later commits a crime as an adult.

If that juvenile charge is not expunged, it could be used as an aggravating factor in the future, Stewart said.

“The whole point is try to make sure that that child gets on the right track, if they aren’t, and does well,” Dewees said of the process.

Both Dewees and Stewart said they see success cases often. Dewees said young people will stop by and tell her how they are doing.

“Kids are so resilient. Everybody makes mistakes,” Stewart said.

“They’re not bad kids.”

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When parents or school administrators are at a loss on what to do with a child who cannot be controlled, they may notify the authorities by reporting an “incorrigible child.”

“Stress, illness … the child acts inappropriately to what they’re supposed to. It’s just a kid out of control,” said Nashville Police Chief Ben Seastrom said.

These are not the kids that “you see them in stores and the parents do their ‘mom voice’ and they’re back in line,” Seastrom said. “These kids, it doesn’t work that way.”

Among schools, he said Nashville Police most often get “incorrigible child” calls from the intermediate and junior high schools. “Most of the time when it’s a high school call, we’re in for fights or possession or something else. It’s more of an adult crime or adult investigation,” he said.

If the “incorrigible” child is already in the juvenile probation system, notifying police is part of the plan, Seastrom said.

But having the police respond to help control a child can sometimes cause a problem by having the kids look at police in a “bad light,” Seastrom said. He said those children often see police as a “third parent” — and that may not be a good thing.

“This needs to be a person in the community that you can go to for any problem to try and get help. They don’t need to see us a person they need to avoid,” he said.

Seastrom the initial approach when responding to such calls is to just talk with the child. But sometimes, children don’t respond to that conversation.

“They don’t want to hear anyone that they figure is an authority give them orders or demands to calm down. They want to make their own way,” he said.

“It happens, but it’s pretty rare, where we have to restrain a child and take them into custody. Usually, we can talk to them and try and help calm them down. Really, just interaction with them sets them at a new level. Sometimes I’m a different voice, let’s say at the school, than the principal, or at home, it’s mom. They don’t want to listen and I show up and I am able to talk to them.”

He sees responding to incorrigible child calls from parents as providing “immediate backing” for parents.

“I’m going to say, ‘Mom, what do you want to do?’ ‘Well, they’re supposed to do this, this and this.’ ‘Well, you need go do this and this. You need to listen to your mother and if you don’t, Mom has an option to have you get in trouble,’” he said.

“Some kids are just a little wilder than others, and some parents just have a little bit more of an issue than others,” Seastrom said.

“I won’t say it’s bad parenting, because sometimes it’s great homes, great parents and the kids are just not able to cope.”

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