MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2004 Regular Session
To: Juvenile Justice
By: Representative Holland
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 43-21-603, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT A CHILD COMMITTED TO THE CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES BY THE YOUTH COURT SHALL BE TRANSFERRED TO THE CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH IF THE CHILD IS FOUND TO BE IN NEED OF TREATMENT FOR A MENTAL OR EMOTIONAL DISABILITY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 43-21-603, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-21-603. (1) At the beginning of each disposition hearing, the judge shall inform the parties of the purpose of the hearing.
(2) All testimony shall be under oath unless waived by all parties and may be in narrative form. The court may consider any evidence which is material and relevant to the disposition of the cause, including hearsay and opinion evidence. At the conclusion of the evidence, the youth court shall give the parties an opportunity to present oral argument.
(3) If the child has been adjudicated a delinquent child, prior to entering a disposition order, the youth court should consider, among others, the following relevant factors:
(a) The nature of the offense;
(b) The manner in which the offense was committed;
(c) The nature and number of a child's prior adjudicated offenses; and
(d) The child's need for care and assistance.
(4) If the child has been adjudicated a child in need of supervision, before entering a disposition order, the youth court should consider, among others, the following relevant factors:
(a) The nature and history of the child's conduct;
(b) The family and home situation; and
(c) The child's need of care and assistance.
(5) If the child has been adjudicated a neglected child or an abused child, before entering a disposition order, the youth court shall consider, among others, the following relevant factors:
(a) The child's physical and mental conditions;
(b) The child's need of assistance;
(c) The manner in which the parent, guardian or custodian participated in, tolerated or condoned the abuse, neglect or abandonment of the child;
(d) The ability of a child's parent, guardian or custodian to provide proper supervision and care of a child; and
(e) Relevant testimony and recommendations, where available, from the foster parent of the child, the grandparents of the child, the guardian ad litem of the child, representatives of any private care agency which has cared for the child, the social worker assigned to the case, and any other relevant testimony pertaining to the case.
(6) After consideration of all the evidence and the relevant factors, the youth court shall enter a disposition order that shall not recite any of the facts or circumstances upon which the disposition is based, nor shall it recite that a child has been found guilty; but it shall recite that a child is found to be a delinquent child, a child in need of supervision, a neglected child or an abused child.
(7) If the youth court orders that the custody or supervision of a child who has been adjudicated abused or neglected be placed with the Department of Human Services or any other person or public or private agency, other than the child's parent, guardian or custodian, the youth court shall find and the disposition order shall recite that:
(a) (i) Reasonable efforts have been made to maintain the child within his own home, but that the circumstances warrant his removal and there is no reasonable alternative to custody; or (ii) The circumstances are of such an emergency nature that no reasonable efforts have been made to maintain the child within his own home, and that there is no reasonable alternative to custody; and
(b) That the effect of the continuation of the child's residence within his own home would be contrary to the welfare of the child and that the placement of the child in foster care is in the best interests of the child; or
(c) Reasonable efforts to maintain the child within his home shall not be required if the court determines that:
(i) The parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances including, but not limited to, abandonment, torture, chronic abuse and sexual abuse; or
(ii) The parent has been convicted of murder of another child of the parent, voluntary manslaughter of another child of the parent, aided or abetted, attempted, conspired or solicited to commit that murder or voluntary manslaughter, or a felony assault that results in the serious bodily injury to the surviving child or another child of the parent; or
(iii) The parental rights of the parent to a sibling have been terminated involuntarily; and
(iv) That the effect of the continuation of the child's residence within his own home would be contrary to the welfare of the child and that placement of the child in foster care is in the best interests of the child.
Once the reasonable efforts requirement is bypassed, the court shall have a permanency hearing under Section 43-21-613 within thirty (30) days of that finding.
(8) Upon a written motion by a party, the youth court shall make written findings of fact and conclusions of law upon which it relies for the disposition order.
(9) When a child in the jurisdiction of the youth court is committed to the custody of the Department of Human Services and is found, through a psychological evaluation or screening, to be in need of treatment for a mental or emotional disability or infirmity, as defined in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV, Revised) the youth court shall be notified and custody of the child shall be immediately given to the Department of Mental Health or the regional mental health center serving the county in which the court is located. If residential care is required and the appropriate treatment is not available within the mental health district, either because of the lack of a facility that provides the necessary treatment or the overcrowding of facilities that provide that treatment, the regional mental health center shall notify the Department of Mental Health, which shall have the custody of the child, and it shall be the Department of Mental Health's responsibility to provide the necessary services for the child, whether in or out of state, and to inform the court of the availability of those services. The court shall then issue the necessary order of commitment or for custody.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2004.