Using DSS Custody in Delinquency Cases – Key Takeaways

My colleague, Sara DePasquale, and I were excited to release a new Juvenile Law Bulletin two weeks ago—Delinquency and DSS Custody without Abuse, Neglect, or Dependency: How Does that Work? We were also exhausted. While the laws that allow for courts to order juveniles into DSS custody in a delinquency proceeding are short, their implications are broad and complex. Sara’s blog announcing the bulletin, Extra! Extra! Read All About It! New Juvenile Law Bulletin – Delinquency and DSS Custody without Abuse, Neglect, or Dependency: How Does that Work?, provides some suggestions about reading the bulletin in bite-sized chunks. Now that readers have had a chance to do that, let’s focus on a few of the key points for delinquency practitioners. the proceeding remains a delinquency proceeding although the juvenile is in the custody of DSS; the only attorney who will represent a juvenile placed in DSS custody through a delinquency proceeding is the juvenile’s counsel in the delinquency matter; termination of probation does not automatically terminate DSS custody; and implementation of the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act (a.k.a. “raise the age”) could result in a new challenge for DSS placements. Once a delinquency matter, always a delinquency matter Placement of a juvenile into DSS custody in the context of a delinquency matter is the one way that juveniles can end up in a foster care setting without an accompanying abuse, neglect, or dependency proceeding. It is certainly possible that a juvenile is first placed into DSS custody as the result of an [...]