1.    “Accountability” means that after a child is determined to have committed delinquent behavior, by admission or adjudication, the child is held responsible for the behavior through individualized and structured consequences or sanctions for the loss, damage, or injury suffered and proportionate to the offense.

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Terms Used In North Dakota Code 27-20.4-01

  • Allegation: something that someone says happened.
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • children: includes children by birth and by adoption. See North Dakota Code 1-01-18
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Individual: means a human being. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • population: means the number of inhabitants as determined by the last preceding state or federal census. See North Dakota Code 1-01-47
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • written: include "typewriting" and "typewritten" and "printing" and "printed" except in the case of signatures and when the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See North Dakota Code 1-01-37

2.    “Arrest” means a taking into custody of a child by law enforcement in the manner authorized by law to answer for the commission of a delinquent offense.

3.    “Attendant care” is a nonsecure holdover site for delinquent children who have been picked up by law enforcement and need constant short-term supervision on a preadjudicatory basis or as an alternative to detention.

4.    “Certified shelter care” means a nonsecure permanent dwelling operated by an agency certified by the department of health and human services, where employees offer safe shelter, food, and a structured routine, and which is available twenty-four hours a day to a resident in need of emergency placement, not to exceed seven days, unless otherwise approved by the department.

5.    “Child” means an individual who is:

a.    Under the age of eighteen years and is not married; or

b.    Eighteen years of age or older with respect to a delinquent act committed while under the age of eighteen years and not married, unless an offense is transferred under section 27-20.4-21.

6.    “Community-based program” means a nonresidential program.

7.    “Custodian” means a person, other than a parent or legal guardian, which stands in loco parentis to the child and a person that has been given legal custody of the child by order of a court.

8.    “Delinquent act” means an act designated a crime under the law, including local ordinances or resolutions of this state, or of another state if the act occurred in that state, or under federal law.

9.    “Delinquent child” means a child who has committed a delinquent act and is in need of treatment or rehabilitation or is a child subject to proceedings arising under the interstate compact on juveniles.

10.    “Detention” means a physically secure facility with locked doors. The term does not include shelter care, attendant care, or home confinement.

11.    “Director” means the director of juvenile court services.

12.    “Dispositional stage” means any proceeding after adjudication for a delinquent offense.

13.    “Diversion” means an intervention strategy made by a person with authority which directs the child away from formal court processing to a specifically designed program or activity to hold the child accountable for the actions of the child and prevents further involvement in the formal legal system.

14.    “Division” means the division of juvenile services.

15.    “Evidence-based” means a program or practice that has had multiple randomized control studies demonstrating the program or practice is effective for a specific population, has been researched, and has been rated as effective by a standardized program evaluation tool.

16. “Facility” means buildings, structures, or systems, including those for essential administration and support, which are used to provide residential treatment for children.

17.    “Fit and willing relative or other appropriate individual” means a relative or other individual who has been determined, after consideration of an assessment that includes a criminal history record investigation under chapter 50-11.3, to be a qualified individual under chapters 27-20.1 and 30.1-27, and who consents in writing to act as a legal guardian.

18.    “Graduated sanctions” means a calibrated system of sanctions designed to ensure that children face timely and consistent consequences that correspond to the    frequency and nature of a child’s noncompliant behaviors, public safety risk, and engagement in supervision and services.

19.    “Home” when used in the phrase “to return home” means the abode of the child’s parent with whom the child formerly resided.

20.    “Home confinement” means predisposition or post-disposition temporary placement of a child in the child’s home, or a surrogate home with the consent of the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian for supervision.

21.    “Human service zone” means a county or consolidated group of counties administering human services within a designated area in accordance with an agreement or plan approved by the department of health and human services.

22.    “Incentives” means calibrated system of rewards designed so that children receive immediate and consistent feedback that supports appropriate behavior and follow through with probation conditions.

23.    “Informal adjustment” means a meeting held by the director of juvenile court or designee to resolve a low-level delinquent referral and is an alternative to the filing of a petition for formal court processing.

24.    “Intensive supervision probation program” means a community-based alternative that provides a higher degree of supervision and use of graduated incentives and sanctions over a child, post-adjudication, to ensure public safety and applies to children who are at high risk to reoffend.

25.    “Juvenile court” means the district court of this state.

26.    “Juvenile drug court” means a program established by the supreme court which is a post-petition or post-adjudication program aimed at intervening in substance use disorders through intense supervision and participation in recovery services.

27.    “Pick up and hold order” means an order of the court to take a child into custody based upon an allegation of delinquency or failure to appear for court, or a determination the child poses a risk to public safety while under court-ordered supervision.

28.    “Predisposition assessment” means an investigation, assessment, and written report to the court based on the results of risk and need screening and assessment tools regarding a disposition for a delinquent child.

29.    “Proceeding” means any hearing or informal adjustment conducted before a court.

30.    “Qualified residential treatment program” means a licensed or approved residence providing an out-of-home treatment placement for children including a trauma- informed model.

31.    “Referral” means a written report of alleged delinquent behavior of a child which is received by the director of juvenile court.

32.    “Relative” or “kinship relative” means:

a.    The child’s grandparent, great-grandparent, sibling, half-sibling, aunt, great-aunt, uncle, great-uncle, nephew, niece, or first cousin; b.    An individual with a relationship to the child, derived through a current or former spouse of the child’s parent, similar to a relationship described in subdivision a; c.    An individual recognized in the child’s community as having a relationship with the child similar to a relationship described in subdivision a; or

d.    The child’s stepparent.

33.    “Risk factors” means characteristics and behaviors that, when addressed or changed, affect a child’s risk for committing delinquent acts.

34.    “Shelter care” means temporary care during which a child needs a safe bed outside the home, in a shelter care site or a certified shelter care site managed by an agency or licensed foster care facility.

35.    “Treatment” means targeting interventions that focus on risk factors, improved mental health, and improved positive youth outcomes.