In the Matter of C.H., A Youth under the age of Eighteen - Supreme Court of Montana On December 9, 1981, declared C.H., 14 years old, youth in need of supervision for the offense of habitual truancy February 24, 1982, C.H. admitted to having been truant from school. C.H. was ordered – to attend all her high school classes – to attend counseling sessions – to attend tutoring sessions with each teacher – to follow certain procedures in case of absences – to be evaluated by a clinical psychologist. Six days later, the court was informed that C.H. had violated the consent order by failing to attend school on March 3, The new petition alleged that C.H. was a delinquent youth under the provisions of the Montana Youth Court Act.

C.H. had appealed adjudging her a delinquent youth label, sending her to girls' school for an evaluation, and placing her on formal probation for one year, arguing that the Montana Youth Court Act, Mont. Code Ann. § , which allowed a youth in need of supervision who had violated her probation to be adjudged a delinquent youth, was unconstitutional. After a full hearing on the merits, C.H. was committed to Mountain View School for Girls for a period of 45 days for an evaluation.

In accordance with Mountain View's recommendations, the court ordered C.H. placed on formal probation for one year subject to the following conditions: – 1) That the youth attend school at the Helena Alternative School on a regular basis, with no unexcused absences – 2) that the conduct of the youth be that of a law- abiding citizen and that said youth shall obey all laws promulgated by lawful authority. C.H. had no other reports of truancy or other problems after this final order of December 16, 1982.

Montana’s Juvenile Justice System – Task Force Montana formed a task force that was developed to enforce the Delinquency prevention policy which – defines delinquency prevention – provides a basis for program funding – develops proposed legislation, – mandates evaluation and accountability of youth development and delinquency prevention programs. The task force identified four major objectives to this end: – 1. to make specific juvenile crime prevention recommendations to educational systems – 2. to make specific recommendations to employers, unions, and public employment agencies concerning youth activities – 3. to make specific recommendations to the health professional and the general public concerning health and juvenile crime relationships – 4. to promote coordination among existing state, local government, and private agencies for the implementation of a unified policy.

ProsCons Concerned with the prevention of delinquency Treatment focuses on education and rehabilitation Counseling and mentoring services are provided Programming provided keeps juveniles involved Vocational training for juveniles prepares them for better futures Obviously not doing too much wrong due to the extremely few numbers of juvenile court cases on record Possibly hard to keep track of every delinquent juvenile because the state is so expansive

How would you grade the system? Juvenile Justice system of Montana does a good job in rehabilitation for it’s youth Focus on important programs that prepare youth for better futures in education, health, and vocations The system is built on coordination among existing state, local government, and private agencies for the implementation of a unified policy which allows the different units to work together for the same cause Grade: A+

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