Children's Court Research Articles

Klithih Restorative Solutions for Minors

Klitih is basically a form of juvenile or child delinquency that is committed at night by randomly abusing or injuring the victim. Klitih has been on the rise again recently with a peak in 2021, namely 58 cases. The purpose of this writing is to explain glitch behavior as part of crimes committed by minors and restorative efforts in the hope that the perpetrators will become aware and improve their behavior. The method used is a normative juridical approach using primary, secondary, and tertiary legal sources. Data analysis was carried out using a qualitative approach. The results of the research show that Klitih is a criminal act where the perpetrator is considered young or underage, so following the reform of the justice system for children, namely Law no. 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System which replaces Law no. 3 of 1997 concerning Children's Courts and Law Number 35 of 2014 concerning Amendments to Law Number 23 of 2002 concerning Child Protection. The case of Klitih in Yogyakarta is better brought to the realm of diversion, namely taking the judiciary out with the aim of creating a balance of justice or restorative justice. It is hoped that the restorative resolution of glitches can lead to the protection of children's rights and also the protection of society in general, as well as there being elements of positive progressive law through education and guidance.

Kids, courts and canines: Evaluating the Justice Facility Dog Program through a therapeutic lens in the Perth Children's Court

Court environments can be stressful and induce anxiety in victims, witnesses, and other court users. Taking heed from justice facilities in other jurisdictions, the Children's Court of Western Australia introduced Winston, a justice facility dog, at the Perth Children's Court facility to help reduce the stress and anxiety of victims, witnesses, and court users. This article presents survey ( n = 55) and interview data ( n = 17) from staff and stakeholders who reported positive changes in the court atmosphere, with limited negative impacts on the running of the court. Surveys were also conducted with child victims/survivors ( n = 13), caregivers ( n = 44), and other court users (including accused young people; n = 23). Children and caregivers’ results indicated significantly reduced stress and anxiety levels associated with attending the Children's Court after interacting with the facility dog. When analysed through a lens of therapeutic jurisprudence, the positive impacts on court-user well-being and limited impact on the court and legal processes solidified the therapeutic principles of the program. The findings of this study highlight that justice systems could implement similar positive therapeutic programs at other courts to reduce negative impacts on people attending and working at the facilities.

The Penalty System for Minor Crime in Realizing the Values of Pancasila Justice

Minor crimes can still be handled using the concept of a restorative justice approach. Restorative justice has an implementation method by means of penal mediation or by diversion of criminal acts. Penal mediation is used in handling ordinary crimes, in the sense that it is carried out by adults, while the use of diversion is carried out in cases involving children and is in the Children's Court. The problem in this research is how the punishment system for minor crimes is based on Pancasila justice. The research method uses a constructivist paradigm, with a social legal research approach method, and a descriptive research type. Types and sources of data use secondary materials in the form of primary legal materials, secondary legal materials and tertiary legal materials. Data collection methods use literature and qualitative analysis methods. The results of the research are that the punishment system for minor crimes is not yet fair, legal action is still carried out procedurally. One effort that can be made is a policy approach to resolving minor crimes (Tipiring) through restorative justice; so it is necessary to reconstruct the Regulations on Light Crimes Based on Pancasila Justice, namely in the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP), in Article 205 Paragraph 1 and the Republic of Indonesia Prosecutor's Regulation Number 15 of 2020 concerning Termination of Prosecution.

Infants entering out-of-home care: Health, developmental needs and service provision

BackgroundThere are rising numbers of infants entering out-of-home care due to child protection concerns. Research has found that infants entering care are at higher risk of developmental vulnerability and poor health problems. ObjectivesTo determine the prevalence of developmental vulnerability for children who entered care as infants, and the extent and likelihood of service provision in relation to their developmental vulnerability. Participants and settingThis study includes children who entered care before the age of 1 year for the first time between May 2010 and October 2011 in New South Wales, Australia, and who received final Children's Court care and protection orders by 30 April 2013. MethodsThis is a prospective cohort study using interview data from the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study (POCLS) as well as linked administrative child protection and health data. This study used standardised assessments (Age and Stages Questionnaire and the Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment) included in the POCLS. Simple and multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the likelihood of infants receiving professional services for developmental delays since placement. FindingsA high proportion of children who entered care as infants were identified as developmentally vulnerable through health indicators (36 %) and standardised assessments (70 %). Only 17 % of infants in care received services for developmental delay, with 20 % and 15 % of those identified as developmentally vulnerable through standardised assessments and health-related variables receiving services, respectively. ConclusionsThe findings point to the importance of developmental assessment of infants in care and the identification of developmental vulnerability and delays. The provision of early intervention services is essential for this group of high-risk infants and will be important in optimising their health, as well as social and emotional outcomes.

Outcomes for children with disability in out-of-home care: Evidence from the pathways of care longitudinal study in Australia

BackgroundChildren with disability are over-represented in out-of-home care (OOHC) in Australia and internationally. Yet we know little about their circumstances, placement types, support needs, and the outcomes of their trajectories and wellbeing through care. ObjectiveWe examine the wellbeing and outcomes of children with and without disabilities in OOHC. Participants and settingWe use panel data from waves 1–4 of the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study (POCLS) collected between June 2011 and November 2018 by the New South Wales (NSW) Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), Australia. The POCLS sampling framework covers all children aged 0–17 years who entered OOHC in NSW for the first time between May 2010 and October 2011 (n = 4126). A subset of these children (n = 2828) had final Children's Court orders by 30 April 2013. Among these, caregivers of 1789 children agreed to participate in the interview component of the POCLS. MethodsWe employ a random effects estimator to analyse the panel data. This is standard practice to exploit a panel database when some of the key explanatory variables are time invariant. ResultsChildren with disability have poorer wellbeing than children without disability across the three domains of physical health, socio-emotional wellbeing, and cognitive ability. However, children with disability have fewer difficulties at school and better school bonding. The type of placements – namely relative/kinship care, restoration/adoption/guardianship, foster care and residential care – have little or limited association with wellbeing of children with disability. ConclusionsChildren with disability tend to have lower levels of wellbeing in OOHC than children without disability, and this is driven mainly by their disability status rather than care factors.

Problem of Determining Past Income for Children in Court the Decisions

The data obtained were then analyzed using the content analysis method. Decision Religious shows that the legal basis for refusing claims for māḍiyah maintenance for children in divorce is legal considerations as considered by the Supreme Court in its decision rejecting lawsuits for past maintenance for children, namely that the father's obligation to provide for his child is lil-intifā’, not lit -tamlīk, then a person's negligence fathers who do not provide for their children cannot be sued. This leads to injustice because māḍiyah maintenance is not granted to children. This will certainly be detrimental to the life and welfare of the child, who in other circumstances can become a shield for a father who neglects to provide for his child. Māḍiyah's livelihood is a form of protection for the rights of divorced women and children born during a marriage. This is in line with the verses of the Koran and hadith which talk about the obligation of a father to his wife and children to provide maintenance.

MB v Children's Court of Victoria

MB v Children's Court of Victoria

Court Advisers in Malaysia: A ‘Neglected’ Component of the Court For Children?

The court advisers are not a new component in the criminal justice system, especially in cases involving children. In most jurisdictions in the world, the court advisers (as known in Malaysia) or social workers/panel of advisers in other countries, are a component that was introduced to assist the judicial officer in determining a proper and suitable order for the child offenders. In Malaysia, children who have committed offences will be brought before the Court For Children (formerly known as the Juvenile Court). The Magistrate that presides the court will be assisted by two appointed court advisers. Although they comprise laymen without any legal qualification, their roles are recognised as equally important because they are the ones who are going to advise the Magistrate based on their knowledge and experience in dealing with children. In other words, the court advisers are a component that must exist in a trial so that a properly instituted quorum is constituted. The court advisers are introduced in the Juvenile Justice System for a reason. The court shall make sure that the court advisers are called and present throughout the trial. The court in the case of Public Prosecutor v Ayasamy [1955] 1 MLJ 64 highlighted this point more than 60 years ago. The logic is very simple, how can court advisers offer proper advice without attending the trial? Thus, in this article, the writers will explore the importance of making sure that the court advisers are present in the Court For Children trials. At the same time, the writers will also explore if there has been any development in the role and functions of the court advisers in Malaysia post the decision in the case of Public Prosecutor v Ayasamy. The reason being, more than six decades after the said case, the same issue was raised in the High Court’s decision in the case of Pendakwa Raya v Mohd Zairul Iman Zainon [2018] MLJU 578.

Modifying children's court care plans to acknowledge poverty and disadvantage

AbstractThis think piece suggests that Children's Court Care Plans should include a new section that documents poverty and social disadvantage, especially of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, when they are under investigation for child abuse and neglect. New South Wales in Australia is used as the exemplar state, but this suggestion may find an echo elsewhere.Points for practitioners As a general proposition social and economic circumstances should be considered in addition to parental dysfunction in child protection proceedings in Children's court. Care Plans prepared for hearings in the NSW Children's Court, often developed in response to serious harm report investigations, currently do not contain information about parents' poverty and social disadvantage and hence decontextualise family living circumstances. Consistent with international evidence, Care Plans should require information about parents' socioeconomic situation, including social disadvantage of residential neighbourhood, status and cost of household tenancy, and household income. Taking account of social and economic circumstances has the potential to generate savings in out‐of‐home care that can be re‐allocated to support services to reduce poverty and social disadvantage and thereby reduce the need for removal of children from parental care.

Criminal law policy in the framework of children contact with the law

The dynamics of criminal law in Indonesia are currently experiencing complexity, because there are still children who commit legal acts such as violence, destruction, or child delinquency that results in murder. However, this is triggered by the unstable psychological and mental state of the child, the surrounding environment or way of life that grows and develops in people's lives as well as civility in communicating and socializing with people's lives. Distortion of children who are in conflict with the law when they have to prioritize attitudes, morals and skills, so there needs to be a criminal law policy in order to prioritize human values and skills (soft skills) when they are processed in correctional institutions. This research is focused on fostering skills and creativity for children who are in conflict with the law at the correctional institution at the UPT for Social Protection and Rehabilitation Marsudi Putra Surabaya. This study uses a sociological juridical approach by emphasizing research that aims to obtain legal knowledge empirically by going directly to the object. If you look at the results and analysis of the findings, that children who are in conflict with the law have felt mentally and psychologically destroyed, so they need to be triggered by skill activities such as making crafts and technology in the penitentiary at the UPT for Social Protection and Rehabilitation Marsudi Putra Surabaya. Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System (SPPA) mandates the formation of the Child Special Guidance Institution (LPKA). This is an improvement step towards fostering children who are in conflict with the law, because before LPKA was formed, it was still found that child prisoners were placed in one penitentiary joining adult inmates. At the Social Protection and Rehabilitation UPT Marsudi Putra Surabaya, the reality is that LPKA has been formed by carrying out activities that support productivity and skills. What happened to the Directorate General of Corrections at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights to: first, prepare LPKA officers from various disciplines, such as psychologists, crimonologists, criminal experts, and sociologists; second, increasing training related to fostering children in conflict with the law for LPKA officers; and third, increasing cooperation with relevant agencies in providing guidance for children in conflict with the law. Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System (UU SPPA) aims to create a court that truly guarantees the protection of the best interests of children in conflict with the law. The SPPA Law is a substitute for Law No. 3 of 1997 concerning Juvenile Courts (Children Court Law), because the Juvenile Court Law is considered no longer in accordance with legal needs in society and has not comprehensively provided special protection to children in conflict with the law.

Predictors of behavioral and emotional issues in children involved in custody disputes: A cross sectional study in urban Bengaluru.

The increasing rates of divorce in urban India has led to the subsequent parental battle for the child's custody. This paper discusses the behavioral and emotional issues of these children in relation to their psychosocial environmental factors and other relevant socio-demographic variables. We used samples from parent interviews concerning 52 children aged 7-17-years-old, involved in child custody cases in the Family court of urban Bengaluru. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to measure response variables of behavioral and emotional issues in these children. Predictor models of quantile and multiple linear regression were used to assess the influence of psychosocial environmental factors and socio-demographic variables on the response variables. The predictor models revealed that risk of child suffering emotional and behavioral issues increased with factors such as excessive parental control, change of academic environment, general unrest at school, frequency of child's court visit, child's visitation of non-custodian parent on occasions and vacations, and negatively altered family relationship. The model however intriguingly showed that residing in nuclear household rather than with their grandparents in a non-nuclear household, decreased the risk of mental health issues in these children. This study is a novel attempt to understand the influence of the psychosocial issues on the child's mental health in the context of custody cases in India. Despite the minimum sample size, the findings imply that family-based intervention is the need of the hour in these cases. The implications for clinical practice and research are discussed.

"if other arrangements can reasonably be made": the interior architecture of Children's Courts in New Zealand in the 1930s

In 1925, the Child Welfare Act was passed. The Act introduced the idea of the Children's Court as a space "separate from the premises in which another Court usually exercises jurisdiction" (s28). In 1927, an amendment to the Act provided further elaboration, clarifying that: "persons attending any sittings of a Children's Court shall not be brought into contact with persons in attendance at any other Court." To achieve this the amendment stipulated that: "for this purpose the sittings of the Children's Court shall not, except in cases where no other suitable room is available, be held in any room in which any other Court ordinarily exercises jurisdiction; nor shall a sitting of the Children's Court, if held in the same premises as any other Court, be held at a time when such other Court is sitting, if other arrangements can reasonably be made" (s18(1)). This paper investigates the locations, and interior architectures of Children's Courts in New Zealand in the 1930s. It aims to establish whether or not the interior architecture of Children's Courts, with their legislated requirement to be physically distinct from the rest of the court system, was also distinct, and in what ways children were specifically accommodated for in this interior architecture.

Preventing Juvenile Delinquency with An Invitation to Read

Abstract In 1936 Fiorello H. La Guardia, the mayor of New York, established the Committee for the Selection of Suitable Books for Children in the Courts after local newspapers published criticism of Jacob Panken, one of his judicial appointments to the Domestic Relations Court. Justice Panken had begun to assign books for reading and reporting rather than detention as a method of rehabilitation, and the papers faulted his choice of reading material. Mayor La Guardia asked Rebecca Rankin, the director of the Municipal Reference Library, to serve as the committee's secretary and act with his authority to direct and supervise its work. Rankin oversaw the publication, An Invitation to Read: The Use of the Book in Child Guidance by F.H. La Guardia. The booklet contained a list of annotated titles grouped for boys and girls of different ages and reading levels. The list of books compiled for judges in the Children's Court contained suggestions for their use in addressing the problems of juvenile delinquency through reading. An Invitation to Read went on sale in January 1938 and generated nationwide interest. The committee updated the booklist in 1941 and renewed its efforts to place collections in the courts and hire librarians to guide the selection of reading material, which proved futile without the full support of the mayor.

FOSTERING BY CAREGIVERS WITH NO COMMON-LAW DUTY OF SUPPORT: AT LAST, SOME CLARITY IN THE LAW SS v Presiding Officer, Children’s Court, Krugersdorp 2012 (6) SA 45 (GSJ)

Some serious shortcomings in foster care law which adversely affected large numbers of children have been addressed recently in SS v Presiding Officer, Children’s Court, Krugersdorp (2012 (6) SA 45 (GSJ), hereinafter SS) and Manana v Presiding Officer, Children’s Court, Krugersdorp (SAFLI I (A3075/2011) [2013] ZAGPJHC 64 (12 April 2013), hereinafter Manana). For reasons of scope, and because the issues were somewhat different, the discussion below primarily offers an analysis of the former judgment. As will be seen, SS provided the first reported solutions to some severe problems affecting numerous children and is thus worthy of consideration in its own right. By way of background, one consequence of the AIDS pandemic in South Africa is that many children are left to be nurtured by extended family members or non-relatives, rather than by biological parents. Substitute caregivers often have limited financial means and apply to children’s courts to be designated as foster parents. Where they are successful they become eligible for monthly fostercare grants paid by the state. The best available legal ground for many foster-parent applications is contained in section 150(1)(a) of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 (the “Act”). Unfortunately, this provision has proved difficult for children’s courts to interpret. It sets as a ground for a child being “in need of care and protection” and thus eligible for foster care: “if, the child has been abandoned or orphaned and is without any visible means of support”. One uncertainty has been whether a child can be found to be abandoned in terms of this provision if currently receiving substitute care volunteered by a caregiver who has already replaced a parent. The phrase “without any visible means of support” has also been difficult tointerpret. It is unfortunate that in selecting this phrase the legislature relied on a vague, centuries-old description by English vagrancy law. Children’s court magistrates have understandably varied in their interpretations of section 150(1)(a). This has led to discrepancies in its application. A negative consequence has been that impoverished carers whose nurturing skills render them suitable parent substitutes sometimes fail in attempts to achieve foster-parent status. Vulnerable abandoned and orphaned children are then left with neither foster-care grants nor caregivers who can properly exercise parental responsibilities. This unfortunate situation, which is obviously not inthe best interests of children, has been a major concern for the department of social development. In SS, Saldulker J provided the first reported interpretation of section 150(1)(a). It will be shown that, although some issues were insufficiently dealt with, the judgment has brought much-needed clarity on several crucial aspects of foster-grant eligibility. It has also provided guidelines for eligibilityof foster-parent applicants who do not have a maintenance obligation in respect of the child. It has additionally provided directions for practitioners (particularly children's court magistrates and social workers) on evidence requirements and stages of proceedings in foster-care applications.

KEDUDUKAN DAN PERANAN PENASIHAT MAHKAMAH BAGI KANAK-KANAK DALAM SISTEM KEADILAN JENAYAH KANAK-KANAK DI MALAYSIA: ISU DAN CABARAN

The establishment of the Court for Children in the juvenile justice system is to provide legal protection for children. This court consists of a Magistrate and two advisors which one of them is a woman as provided in section 11 (2) of the Child Act 2001. Basically, the role of the advisor of the Court for Children is to advise the Magistrate relating to the orders (punishment) to be imposed on children who are in conflict with the law and to advise the parents or guardians whenever necessary. However, Section 11 of the Child Act 2001 is the only provision as regards the advisor of the Court for Children in Malaysia. There are no other guidelines or regulations on the mechanism of execution of duties of the advisor, its appointments, and training requirements. Thus, this study aims to identify the issues and challenges relating to the position and roles of the advisor. An analysis is made of legal documents and academic journals. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with the Social Welfare Department (JKM), Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM), Legal Affairs Division (BHEUU), Prime Minister Department (JPM), and five Children Court advisors (who are representing the urban and rural areas). The study found that the Children Court advisor was recognized in 1947 via the Juvenile Court Act 1947. However, there are several issues and challenges to be addressed including the jurisdiction, governance structure, a mechanism of execution of duties, appointment criteria, the appointment process, modules, and training for Children Court advisors. The absence of guidelines, specific regulations, or manuals has limited the functions and roles of the Children Court advisor. This study suggests a better legal framework for the Children Court advisors to increase their credibility and professionalism. Thus, they can play an effective role in the juvenile justice system in Malaysia.

Family Conferencing: Responsibility at Grassroots Level – A Comparative Analysis between the Netherlands and South Africa

As family group conferencing is gaining world-wide recognition as an alternative dispute resolution process, this article aims to outline the origin and relevance of this process, which promotes solution-finding to family problems by the family themselves and/or the social network and usually results in a plan or agreement that will be implemented collaboratively by the people involved. Although it was originally used in child protection matters, the process is now used for a wide range of problems pertaining to families and individual family members, including divorce matters, the illness or death of a family member, the care of the elderly, family financial problems, bullying, addiction cases, domestic violence and child justice matters. The process is also suitable for application in problems concerning any group, neighbourhood or school. Next, the application of family group conferencing in both the Netherlands and South Africa is first examined and then briefly compared. It appears that family group conferencing through Eigen Kracht in the Netherlands is an established practice which consists of a relatively simple and quick process and yields positive results for families/communities experiencing problems. Recently the Dutch Youth Act of 2015 (Jeugdwet) made legislative provision inter alia for a family group plan to be drafted by parents, in conjunction with next-of-kin or others who are part of the social environment of a youth/juvenile person. On the other hand, although extensive legislative provision is made for family group conferencing by the Children's Act 38 of 2005 in children's court proceedings and by the Child Justice Act 75 of 2008 in the child justice system in South Africa, the process has not yet reached its potential in terms of the implementation of the concept. Lastly, some recommendations are made which mainly aim to contribute to the implementation of the concept in South Africa, in that the model will eventually be fully developed and utilised for the benefit of individuals, children, their families and/or social network.

Children in Court. Historical Issues, Contemporary Perspectives. Fragments of a Discourse on the Child in Court.

Children in Court. Historical Issues, Contemporary Perspectives. Fragments of a Discourse on the Child in Court.

The Children's Bill of Mauritius: A critical assessment of key aspects

This article critically assesses the Children's Bill that has been presented as a law that will revolutionise the sphere of children's rights in Mauritius. It is set to replace the Child Protection Act which was way below the required international standard for children's rights. Essential aspects of the Bill are reviewed by using as barometers the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Some of the aspects explored are the principle of the best interests of the child, the protection of the child, the child as a juvenile offender and the Children's Court. The article also compares the Bill to the previous Child Protection Act to evaluate the efficacy of the changes brought about by the Bill.

Crossover Children: Examining Initial Criminal Justice System Contact Among Child Protection-Involved Youth

ABSTRACT Child protection-involved youth face increased risk of criminal justice system contact. Such “crossover children” experience earlier police involvement and more serious criminal justice sanctions, yet little is known about their early offending. Using a cross-sectional sample of 300 crossover children before three Victorian Children's Courts in 2016–17, this mixed-methods study examines the nature and context of children's initial police charges. Findings indicate that crossover children are initially charged with disproportionately violent offending, and often incur first police charges around the time of initial care placement. For many, initial criminal justice contact occurred in the context of conflict with caregivers, ongoing maltreatment, and household adversity, or emotional and behavioural regulation challenges. Efforts towards preventing offending for child-protection-involved youth should focus on preventing childhood maltreatment, alongside targeting parent–child relationship challenges, and strengthening community and care system responses that address the impacts of complex trauma, mental health problems, and neurodisability. IMPLICATIONS Compared to all sentenced children, those from statutory child protection backgrounds are charged with more serious offending at their first criminal court adjudication. Among “crossover children”, earlier police charges were seen for Indigenous children, those experiencing greater cumulative maltreatment, and children with emotional or behavioural challenges related to trauma, mental health, and neurodisability. Crossover children are most often first charged by police in the year before, and after, their first out-of-home care placement.

The service system challenges of work with juvenile justice involved young people in the Hunter Region, Australia

AbstractCurrent policies suggest that collaborative approaches are core to working effectively with juvenile justice involved young people. However, there is little research examining the workings of multi‐agency and collaborative endeavours in this field, or the experiences of the human service workers facilitating these connections. This paper reports on qualitative research that resulted from the Juvenile Justice and Education Equity in the Hunter Region project. Thirty‐eight human service workers were interviewed about their perceptions of the workings, strengths and challenges of the service system that supports young people who come into contact with the Children's Court in the Lower and Upper Hunter regions of New South Wales. Data analysis revealed three key themes related to (1) service gaps, cycles and maelstrom; (2) pursuing authentic service engagement; and (3) insider–outsider dynamics in service provision. Findings are discussed in relation to emerging practice and research agendas.