I. The court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over all proceedings alleging a child is in need of services.
II. The court may, with the consent of the child, retain jurisdiction over any child who, prior to his eighteenth birthday, was found to be a child in need of services, and who is attending school for the purpose of obtaining a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma. The court shall make orders relative to the support and maintenance of the child during the period after the child’s eighteenth birthday as justice may require.

Terms Used In New Hampshire Revised Statutes 169-D:3

  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • justice: when applied to a magistrate, shall mean a justice of a municipal court, or a justice of the peace having jurisdiction over the subject-matter. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:12

III. The court shall close the case when the child reaches age 18, or if jurisdiction is retained, when the child ceases to be enrolled as a full-time student during sessions of the school, or graduates from such school, or upon reaching the age of 21, whichever shall first occur.