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Wednesday, June 02, 2004
Indiana Decisions - Recent Indiana Supreme Court ruling "has child welfare officials scrambling"
According to a story today in the Indianapolis Star:
An Indiana Supreme Court ruling requiring judges to determine whether a child is competent before continuing with Juvenile Court proceedings has child welfare officials scrambling. If children are determined to be incapable of understanding and assisting in their defense, they will have to be treated at county expense until they can understand.However, according to state mental health officials who challenged Judge Payne's ruling, there are no adequate state-owned facilities for resotring competency in children, and "Competency may never be restored in some children." More:The treatment, called "restoration," involves teaching children, at their level, to understand the court proceedings and how to help their attorneys. Some children may never reach that level, and officials also have to determine what should happen to them. Officials believe hundreds of children statewide could fall in this category, depending on how broadly the court decision is interpreted. * * *
The Supreme Court decision, rendered two weeks ago, states a juvenile must have the same right as an adult to be deemed competent enough to understand charges before the case goes any further in court. Many officials in the juvenile justice system are just now learning of the potential ramifications.
The decision arose from appeals in four cases that originated in Marion County Juvenile Court. In each case, children from the ages of 10 to 13 were charged with crimes that would be felonies if committed by adults. The charges included sexual battery, child molesting, arson and burglary. In each case, the child accused in the crime was mentally ill and mentally retarded. One child was diagnosed with autism. Payne ordered psychiatric evaluations, and the children were found incompetent to undergo proceedings. They were turned over to the state Department of Mental Health.
When the Juvenile Court attempted to send the children to state facilities, the Family and Social Services Administration's Division of Mental Health filed a motion to intervene, asking the judge to reverse the orders.The decision is In the Matter of K.G., D.G. D.C.B. and J.J.S. (5/20/04 IndSCt) [Statutory Construction; Juvenile Law], reported here in the Indiana Law Blog. Justice Rucker: "We hold that although juveniles alleged to be delinquent have the constitutional right to have their competency determined before they are subjected to delinquency proceedings, the adult competency statute is not applicable in reaching that determination."The Juvenile Court's decision was upheld by the Court of Appeals. But the state Supreme Court ruled that the Juvenile Court has the responsibility of seeing that the child is restored to competency if possible.
State institutional treatment could cost up to $600 a day, officials said, which is motivating them to find at-home or lower cost placement.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on June 2, 2004 07:49 AM
Posted to Indiana Decisions