2010 Tennessee Code
Title 37 - Juveniles
Chapter 1 - Juvenile Courts and Proceedings
Part 1 - General Provisions
37-1-131 - Delinquent child Disposition Restitution.

37-1-131. Delinquent child Disposition Restitution.

(a)  If the child is found to be a delinquent child, the court may make any of the following orders of disposition best suited to the child's treatment, rehabilitation and welfare:

     (1)  Any order authorized by § 37-1-130 for the disposition of a dependent or neglected child;

     (2)  (A)  Placing the child on probation under the supervision of the probation officer of the court or the department of children's services, any person, or persons or agencies designated by the court, or the court of another state as provided in § 37-1-143, under conditions and limitations the court prescribes;

          (B)  The court shall make a finding that the child's school shall be notified, if:

                (i)  The adjudication of delinquency was for an offense involving:

                     (a)  First degree murder;

                     (b)  Second degree murder;

                     (c)  Rape;

                     (d)  Aggravated rape;

                     (e)  Rape of a child;

                     (f)  Aggravated rape of a child;

                     (g)  Aggravated robbery;

                     (h)  Especially aggravated robbery;

                     (i)  Kidnapping;

                     (j)  Aggravated kidnapping;

                     (k)  Especially aggravated kidnapping;

                     (l)  Aggravated assault;

                     (m)  Felony reckless endangerment; or

                     (n)  Aggravated sexual battery; or

                (ii)  The adjudication of delinquency was for a violation of:

                     (a)  Voluntary manslaughter, as defined in § 39-13-211;

                     (b)  Criminally negligent homicide, as defined in § 39-13-212;

                     (c)  Sexual battery by an authority figure, as defined in § 39-13-527;

                     (d)  Statutory rape by an authority figure, as defined in § 39-13-532;

                     (e)  Prohibited weapon, as defined in § 39-17-1302;

                     (f)  Unlawful carrying or possession of a firearm, as defined in § 39-17-1307;

                     (g)  Carrying weapons on school property, as defined in § 39-17-1309;

                     (h)  Carrying weapons on public parks, playgrounds, civic centers, and other public recreational buildings and grounds, as defined in § 39-17-1311;

                     (i)  Handgun possession, as defined in § 39-17-1319;

                     (j)  Providing handguns to juveniles, as defined in § 39-17-1320; or

                     (k)  Any violation of § 39-17-417 that constitutes a Class A or Class B felony; and

                (iii)  School attendance is a condition of probation, or if the child is to be placed in the custody of a state agency and is to be placed in school by a state agency or by a contractor of the state agency;

          (C)  The court may make a finding that the child's school shall be notified based on the circumstances surrounding the offense if the adjudication of delinquency is for an offense not listed in this subsection (a);

          (D)  The court shall then enter an order directing the youth service officer, probation officer, or the state agency, if the child has been committed to the custody of the state agency, to notify the school principal in writing of the nature of the offense and probation requirements, if any, related to school attendance, within five (5) days of the order or before the child resumes or begins school attendance, whichever occurs first. In individual cases when the court deems it appropriate, the court may also include in the order a requirement to notify county and municipal law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction over the school in which the child will be enrolled;

          (E)  When the principal of a school is notified, the principal of the child's school, or the principal's designee, shall convene a meeting to develop a plan within five (5) days of the notification. Reasonable notice shall be given of the date and time of the meeting. The child, the department of children's services if the child is in state custody, the child's parent/guardian/legal caretaker if not in state custody, and other appropriate parties identified by the child, the department of children's services or parent/guardian/legal caretaker shall be invited to the meeting. The plan shall set out a list of goals to provide the child an opportunity to succeed in school and provide for school safety, a schedule for completion of the goals and the personnel who will be responsible for working with the child to complete the goals;

          (F)  The information shall be shared only with the employees of the school having responsibility for classroom instruction of the child and the school counselor, social worker or psychologist who is involved in developing a plan for the child while in the school, and with the school resource officer, and any other person notified pursuant to the provisions of this section. The information is otherwise confidential and shall not be shared by school personnel with any other person or agency, except as may otherwise be required by law. Notification in writing of the nature of the offense committed by the child and any probation requirements and the plan shall not become a part of the child's student record;

          (G)  In no event shall a child be delayed from attending school for more than five (5) school days from the date of notice;

          (H)  Notwithstanding any other state law to the contrary, the department of children's services shall develop a written policy consistent with federal law detailing the information to be shared by the department with the school for children in its legal custody when notification is required;

          (I)  Upon the subsequent enrollment of any such student in any other LEA, the parents or custodians of the student, and the administrator of any school having previously received the same or similar notice pursuant to this section, shall notify the school in the manner specified in § 49-6-3051;

          (J)  A violation of the confidentiality provisions of subdivision (a)(2)(F) is a Class C misdemeanor;

          (K)  (i)  If the court does not place the child in state custody, but orders the child to complete an inpatient mental health treatment program at a hospital or treatment resource as defined in § 33-1-101, upon leaving that hospital or treatment resource, the principal of the child's school shall be notified and the principal of the child’s school or the principal’s designee shall convene a meeting to develop a transition plan within five (5) days of the notification. Reasonable notice shall be given of the date and time of the meeting. The child, child’s parent/guardian/legal caretaker, other relevant service providers, and other appropriate parties identified by the child and parent/guardian/legal caretaker shall be invited to the meeting;

                (ii)  If an information release is executed in compliance with § 33-3-109 that provides the principal or other designated school personnel access to certain information concerning the child, the principal or other designated school personnel may work with the child's mental health provider to develop this plan. The transition plan shall set out a list of goals to provide the child an opportunity to succeed in school and provide for school safety, a schedule for completion of the goals and the personnel who will be responsible for working with the child to complete the goals. The information shall be shared only with employees of the school having responsibility for classroom instruction of the child, but the information is otherwise confidential and shall not be shared by school personnel with any other person or agency, except as may be otherwise required by law. The notification in writing of the nature of the offense committed by the child, any probation requirements, and the transition plan developed pursuant to this subdivision (a)(2)(K)(ii) shall not become a part of the child's student record;

                (iii)  In no event shall a child be delayed from attending school for more than five (5) school days;

                (iv)  A violation of the confidentiality provisions of subdivision (a)(2)(K)(ii) is a Class C misdemeanor;

     (3)  Placing the child in an institution, camp or other facility for delinquent children operated under the direction of the court or other local public authority;

     (4)  Subject to the restrictions of § 37-1-129(e), commit the child to the department of children's services, which commitment shall not extend past the child's nineteenth birthday;

     (5)  Assessing a fine not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) for each offense that constitutes a violation of a state law or municipal ordinance;

     (6)  Committing the child to the custody of the county department of children's services in those counties having such a department; and

     (7)  (A)  Ordering the child to perform community service work with such work being in compliance with federal and state child labor laws. For first-time delinquent acts involving alcohol or beer, in its order for community service work, the court may require the juvenile to spend a portion of such time in the emergency room of a hospital, only if, and to the extent, the hospital agrees with such action;

          (B)  No charitable organization, municipality, county or political subdivision thereof utilizing juveniles performing community service work pursuant to this chapter shall be liable for any injury sustained by the juvenile or other person, proximately caused by the juvenile, while the juvenile is performing a work project for such organization or governmental entity, if the organization or governmental entity exercised due care in the supervision of the juvenile;

          (C)  No charitable organization, municipality, county or political subdivision thereof, nor any employee or officer thereof, shall be liable to any person for any act of a juvenile while the juvenile is on a community work project for such organization or governmental entity, if the organization or governmental entity exercised due care in the supervision of the juvenile;

          (D)  No charitable organization, municipality, county or political subdivision thereof, nor any employee or officer thereof, shall be liable to any juvenile or the juvenile's family for death or injuries received, proximately caused by the juvenile, while the juvenile is on a community work project for such organization or governmental entity, if the organization or governmental entity exercised due care in the supervision of the juvenile;

          (E)  The authority and protection from liability provided by this section is supplemental and in addition to any other authority and protection provided by law;

(b)  (1)  If the child is found to be delinquent, the court shall determine if any monetary damages actually resulted from the child's delinquent conduct. Upon a determination that monetary damages resulted from such conduct, the court shall order the child to make restitution for such damages unless the court further determines that the specific circumstances of the individual case render such restitution, or a specified portion thereof, inappropriate.

     (2)  (A)  IF restitution is ordered pursuant to this subsection (b) in those cases where the court has made a finding that:

                (i)  A specified amount is owed;

                (ii)  Such amount is ordered to be paid pursuant to a specific payment schedule; and

                (iii)  The total amount of such ordered restitution is not paid by the time the juvenile court no longer has jurisdiction over the child;

THEN notwithstanding the provisions of § 37-1-133(b) or any other provision of law to the contrary, the recipient of such restitution may convert the unpaid balance of the restitution ordered by the court into a civil judgment in accordance with the procedure set out in this subsection (b). The payment of such civil judgment shall be at the same payment schedule as that as when the offender was a juvenile.

          (B)  Under such judgment, payments shall be continued to be made under the specific payment schedule ordered by the juvenile court until the judgment has been satisfied.

     (3)  The restitution recipient shall file a certified copy of the juvenile court's restitution order with any court having jurisdiction over the total amount of restitution ordered.

     (4)  Upon receipt of such a restitution order, the court shall take proof as to the amount of ordered restitution actually paid. If the court finds that the amount of restitution actually paid is less than the total amount of restitution ordered by the juvenile court, it shall enter a judgment in favor of the restitution recipient and against the offender for the amount of the unpaid balance of such restitution.

     (5)  A judgment entered pursuant to this subsection (b) shall remain in effect for a period of ten (10) years from the date of entry and shall be enforceable by the restitution recipient in the same manner and to the same extent as other civil judgments.

[Acts 1970, ch. 600, § 31; 1979, ch. 143, § 10; 1983, ch. 9, § 2; T.C.A., § 37-231; Acts 1985, ch. 374, §§ 1-3; 1985, ch. 441, § 2; 1989, ch. 278, § 38; 1993, ch. 276, § 2; 1995, ch. 380, § 1; 1996, ch. 815, § 1; 1996, ch. 982, § 1; 1996, ch. 1079, §§ 73, 74, 92, 93; 1997, ch. 500, § 1; 1997, ch. 525, § 1; 2003, ch. 238, § 5; 2005, ch. 57, § 1; 2005, ch. 265, § 1; 2007, ch. 200, § 1; 2007, ch. 314, § 1; 2008, ch. 1052, §§ 1-3; 2009, ch. 160, § 1.]