(a) This chapter shall be known as the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act. The purpose of this chapter is to facilitate the care, protection, and discipline of children who come under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, while acknowledging the responsibility of the juvenile court to preserve the public peace and security.
(b) In furtherance of this purpose, the following goals have been established for the juvenile court:
(1) To preserve and strengthen the family of the child whenever possible, including improvement of the home environment of the child.
(2) To remove the child from the custody of his or her parent or parents only when it is judicially determined to be in his or her best interests or for the safety and protection of the public.
(3) To reunite a child with his or her parent or parents as quickly and as safely as possible when the child has been removed from the custody of his or her parent or parents unless reunification is judicially determined not to be in the best interests of the child.
(4) To secure for any child removed from parental custody the necessary treatment, care, guidance, and discipline to assist him or her in becoming a responsible, productive member of society.
(5) To promote a continuum of services for children and their families from prevention to aftercare, considering wherever possible, prevention, diversion, and early intervention.
(6) To promote the use of community-based alternatives as deterrents to acts of juvenile delinquency and as least restrictive dispositional alternatives.
(7) To hold a child found to be delinquent accountable for his or her actions to the extent of the age, education, mental and physical condition, and background of the child, and all other relevant factors and to provide a program of supervision, care, and rehabilitation, including restitution by the child to the victim of his or her delinquent acts.
(8) To achieve the foregoing goals in the least restrictive setting necessary, with a preference at all times for the preservation of the family and the integration of parental accountability and participation in treatment and counseling programs.
(c) Judicial procedures through which these goals are accomplished will assure the parties a fair hearing where their constitutional and other statutory rights are recognized and enforced.
(d) This chapter shall be liberally construed to the end that each child coming under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court shall receive the care, guidance, and control, preferably in his or her own home, necessary for the welfare of the child and the best interests of the state.
(Acts 1990, No. 90-674, p. 1304, §1; Acts 1997, No. 97-621, p. 1087, §1; §12-15-1.1; amended and renumbered by Act 2008-277, p. 441, §1.)
Notes of Decisions
G.H. v. Cleburne Cnty. Dep't of Human Resources, 62 So. 3d 540 (Ala. Civ. App. 2010).
· cites it 7× “The phrase "in need of care or supervision" remained in the old AJJA until it was amended and renumbered as of January 1, 2009; it is now found in § 12-15-102(8)(a), a part of the new Alabama Juvenile Justice Act ("the new AJJA"), Ala.Code 1975, § 12-15-101 et seq. See supra…”
C.O. v. Jefferson Cnty. Dep't of Human Resources, 206 So. 3d 621 (Ala. Civ. App. 2016).
· cites it 2× “Code 1975, § 12-15-102(8), a part of the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act (“the AJJA”), Ala.Code 1975, § 12-15-101 et seq., a “dependent child” is “a.”
Y.N. v. Jefferson Cnty. Dep't of Human Resources, 67 So. 3d 76 (Ala. Civ. App. 2011).
· cites it 4× “The mother asserts that the juvenile court erred because, she says, a complete suspension of a parent's right to visit a dependent child violates the overall purpose of the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act ("the AJJA"), Ala.Code 1975, § 12-15-101 et seq.; a complete suspension of a…”
Ex parte Marshall Cnty. Dep't of Human Resources, 234 So. 3d 519 (Ala. Civ. App. 2016).
· cites it 2× “Although I understand that the juvenile court is attempting tó meet one of the goals of the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act (“the AJJA”), § 12-15-101 et seq., Ala. Code 1975, by seeking to reunite the father and the child, I note that the AJJA requires that reunification be…”
Ex Parte L.E.O., 61 So. 3d 1042 (Ala. 2010).
· cites it 2× “This interpretation comports with the purposes of the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act, now § 12-15-101 et seq., Ala.Code 1975, among which are to provide children with permanency and to foster family preservation.”
M.H. v. Jefferson Cnty. Dep't of Human Resources, 42 So. 3d 1291 (Ala. Civ. App. 2010).
· cites it 3× “Section 12-15-315 is a new provision that became effective on January 1, 2009, as part of the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act, Ala.Code 1975, § 12-15-101 etseq. 2 . The juvenile court indicated in its judgment terminating the mother’s parental rights that it had found on "December…”
David Charles Herring v. State of Alabama., 100 So. 3d 616 (Ala. Crim. App. 2011).
· cites it 4× “Specifically, Herring argues that the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act, see § 12-15-101 et seq., Ala.Code 1975, 7 is sufficient to protect children.”
A.E. v. M.C., 100 So. 3d 587 (Ala. Civ. App. 2012).
· cites it 3× “Under the current Alabama Juvenile Justice Act ("the AJJA”), § 12-15-101 et seq., Ala. Code 1975, if a child whose paternity has been established by a judgment of the juvenile court has not been determined to be dependent, the juvenile court does not retain continuing…”
K.P. v. Etowah Cnty. Dep't of Human Resources, 43 So. 3d 602 (Ala. Civ. App. 2010).
· cites it 2× “Code 1975, § 26-18-7, and enacted the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act ("AJJA”), codified at Ala.Code 1975, § 12-15-101 et seq. The effective date of the AJJA is January 1, 2009; the mother has not asserted that the AJJA applies in this case.”
A.E.T. v. Limestone Cnty. Dep't of Human Resources, 49 So. 3d 1212 (Ala. Civ. App. 2010).
· cites it 2× “Code 1975, § 26-18-7, sind enacted the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act ("AJJA”), codified at Ala.Code 1975, § 12-15-101 et seq. The effective date of the AJJA is January 1, 2009.”
T.C. v. Mac.M., 96 So. 3d 115 (Ala. Civ. App. 2011).
· cites it 3× “The dissent asserts that recent changes in the current Alabama Juvenile Justice Act (“the new AJJA”), § 12-15-101 et seq., Ala.Code 1975, which replaced the former Alabama Juvenile Justice Act (“the former AJJA”), former § 12-15-1 et seq.”
L.R.S. v. M.J., 229 So. 3d 772 (Ala. Civ. App. 2016).
· cites it 2× “The legislature repealed those Code sections when it adopted the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act of 2008 (“the AJJA”), Ala. Code 1975, § 12-15-101 et seq, No similar provisions appear in the AJJA.”
— Ala. Code § 12-15-101(3) — 2 cases
— Ala. Code § 12-15-101(8) — 4 cases
— Ala. Code § 12-15-101(a) — 9 cases
David Charles Herring v. State of Alabama., 100 So. 3d 616 (Ala. Crim. App. 2011).
“Specifically, Herring argues that the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act, see § 12-15-101 et seq., Ala.Code 1975, 7 is sufficient to protect children.”
— Ala. Code § 12-15-101(a)(2) — 2 cases
— Ala. Code § 12-15-101(b) — 3 cases
David Charles Herring v. State of Alabama., 100 So. 3d 616 (Ala. Crim. App. 2011).
“Specifically, Herring argues that the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act, see § 12-15-101 et seq., Ala.Code 1975, 7 is sufficient to protect children.”
— Ala. Code § 12-15-101(b)(1) — 3 cases
David Charles Herring v. State of Alabama., 100 So. 3d 616 (Ala. Crim. App. 2011).
“Specifically, Herring argues that the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act, see § 12-15-101 et seq., Ala.Code 1975, 7 is sufficient to protect children.”
— Ala. Code § 12-15-101(b)(2) — 1 case
— Ala. Code § 12-15-101(b)(3) — 8 cases
Ex parte Marshall Cnty. Dep't of Human Resources, 234 So. 3d 519 (Ala. Civ. App. 2016).
“Although I understand that the juvenile court is attempting tó meet one of the goals of the Alabama Juvenile Justice Act (“the AJJA”), § 12-15-101 et seq., Ala. Code 1975, by seeking to reunite the father and the child, I note that the AJJA requires that reunification be…”
— Ala. Code § 12-15-101(b)(7) — 1 case
— Ala. Code § 12-15-101(b)(8) — 2 cases
— Ala. Code § 12-15-101(c) — 1 case
— Ala. Code § 12-15-101(d) — 2 cases
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