A status offense is behavior that is lawful for adults but unlawful for children. Status offenses include truancy, running away from home, curfew violations, being beyond the control of parents, using tobacco, consumption of alcohol, and the consumption of marijuana (in states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use).
Most states retain some type of status offense jurisdiction, either as a matter of dependency or delinquency. However, most states have also increased diversion options and have encouraged diversion of these cases from the formal system. Generally, informal processing of a case means that even though the youth has admitted the offense, if the youth complies with the informal intervention, either a formal complaint is not filed, or if already filed, is dismissed. Juvenile justice courts should have processes for handling status offenses that include the following guidelines:
The juvenile justice court must acknowledge that the most effective solutions for the problems underlying status offenses involve evidence-based services to the child and family within the community. Specific to truancy, the focus should be to keep kids in school and out of court. There is a role for the juvenile justice court in status offenses, but it is limited and restrained.
- Aim to resolve all status offense matters through the provision of voluntary diversion services.
- Not securely detain or confine youth at any point in the status offense process.
Juvenile justice courts should limit formal processing of petitions to cases where it is apparent that law enforcement diversion, prosecutor diversion, or juvenile justice court diversion to community services has failed to protect, or will be ineffective in protecting, the community from significant risk of harm. Juvenile justice courts should encourage law enforcement and prosecutors to consider diversion for every status offender, every first-time, non-violent misdemeanant offender, and other offenders as appropriate.