2005 Vermont Code - § 5504. — Retention of jurisdiction

§ 5504. Retention of jurisdiction

(a) Except as otherwise provided by this title, jurisdiction of a child obtained by the juvenile court in a proceeding under this chapter shall be retained by it, for the purposes of implementing the orders made and filed in that proceeding, until the child attains his majority, unless terminated by order of the court prior thereto.

(b) The family court may retain jurisdiction over a youthful offender up to the age of 19.

(c) In relation to the retention of jurisdiction provision of subsection (b) of this section, any party may request, or the court on its own motion may schedule, a hearing to determine the propriety of extending the jurisdictional time period. This hearing shall be held within the three-month time period immediately preceding the child's eighteenth birthday, and the order of continued jurisdiction shall be executed by the court on or before that birthday. In determining the need for continued jurisdiction, the court shall consider the following factors:

(1) the extent and nature of the child's record of delinquency;

(2) the nature of past and current treatment efforts and the nature of the child's response to them;

(3) the prospects for reasonable rehabilitation of the child by use of procedures, services and facilities currently available to the court; and

(4) whether the safety of the community will best be served by a continuation of jurisdiction.

(d) A hearing under subsection (c) of this section shall be held in accordance with the procedures provided in section 5532(b) of this title. (1967, No. 304 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; amended 1971, No. 90, § 17; 1981, No. 1 (Sp. Sess.), § 3, eff. July 17, 1981; 1995, No. 178 (Adj. Sess.), § 303; 1997, No. 116 (Adj. Sess.), § 3.)