2015 Vermont Statutes
Title 33 - Human Services
Chapter 51 - General Provisions
§ 5103 Jurisdiction

§ 5103. Jurisdiction

(a) The Family Division of the Superior Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all proceedings concerning a child who is or who is alleged to be a delinquent child or a child in need of care or supervision brought under the authority of the juvenile judicial proceedings chapters, except as otherwise provided in such chapters.

(b) Orders issued under the authority of the juvenile judicial proceedings chapters shall take precedence over orders in other Family Division proceedings and any order of another court of this State, to the extent they are inconsistent. This section shall not apply to child support orders in a divorce, parentage, or relief from abuse proceedings until a child support order has been issued in the juvenile proceeding.

(c)(1) Except as otherwise provided by this title and by subdivision (2) of this subsection, jurisdiction over a child shall not be extended beyond the child's 18th birthday.

(2)(A) Jurisdiction over a child who has been adjudicated delinquent may be extended until six months beyond the child's 18th birthday if the offense for which the child has been adjudicated delinquent is a nonviolent misdemeanor and the child was 17 years old when he or she committed the offense.

(B) In no case shall custody of a child aged 18 years or older be retained by or transferred to the Commissioner for Children and Families.

(C) Jurisdiction over a child in need of care or supervision shall not be extended beyond the child's 18th birthday.

(D) As used in this subdivision, "nonviolent misdemeanor" means a misdemeanor offense which is not a listed crime as defined in 13 V.S.A. § 5301(7), an offense involving sexual exploitation of children in violation of 13 V.S.A. chapter 64, or an offense involving violation of a protection order in violation of 13 V.S.A. § 1030.

(d) The Court may terminate its jurisdiction over a child prior to the child's 18th birthday by order of the Court. If the child is not subject to another juvenile proceeding, jurisdiction shall terminate automatically in the following circumstances:

(1) upon the discharge of a child from juvenile probation, providing the child is not in the legal custody of the Commissioner;

(2) upon an order of the Court transferring legal custody to a parent, guardian, or custodian without conditions or protective supervision;

(3) upon the adoption of a child following a termination of parental rights proceeding. (Added 2007, No. 185 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 224; 2011, No. 159 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)