23.0670.02000
Sixty-eighth
Legislative Assembly HOUSE BILL NO. 1263
of North Dakota
Introduced by
Representatives Klemin, Cory, Hanson, Karls, Roers Jones
Senators Braunberger, Dever, Dwyer, Elkin, Larson
1 A BILL for an Act to create and enact a new subdivision to subsection 1 of section 27-20.2-05 of
2 the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the powers of the director of juvenile court; and to
3 amend and reenact sections 27-20.2-01 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the
4 Juvenile Court Act definitions.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF NORTH DAKOTA:
6 SECTION 1. AMENDMENT. Section 27-20.2-01 of the North Dakota Century Code is
7 amended and reenacted as follows:
8 27-20.2-01. Definitions.
9 As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:
10 1. "Abandon" means:
11 a. As to a parent of a child not in the custody of that parent, failure by the
12 noncustodial parent significantly without justifiable cause:
13 (1) To communicate with the child; or
14 (2) To provide for the care and support of the child as required by law; or
15 b. As to a parent of a child in that parent's custody:
16 (1) To leave the child for an indefinite period without making firm and agreed
17 plans, with the child's immediate caregiver, for the parent's resumption of
18 physical custody;
19 (2) Following the child's birth or treatment at a hospital, to fail to arrange for the
20 child's discharge within ten days after the child no longer requires hospital
21 care; or
22 (3) Willfully fail to furnish food, shelter, clothing, or medical attention reasonably
23 sufficient to meet the child's needs.
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1 2. "Abandoned infant" means a child who has been abandoned before reaching the age
2 of one year.
3 3. "Child" means an individual who is:
4 a. Under the age of eighteen years and is not married; or
5 b. Under the age of twenty years with respect to a delinquent act committed while
6 under the age of eighteen years and not married.
7 4. "Child in need of protection" means a child who:
8 a. Is without proper parental care or control, subsistence, education as required by
9 law, or other care or control necessary for the child's physical, mental, or
10 emotional health, or morals, and the need for services or protection is not due
11 primarily to the lack of financial means of the child's parents, guardian, or other
12 custodian;
13 b. Has been placed for care or adoption in violation of law;
14 c. Has been abandoned by the child's parents, guardian, or other custodian;
15 d. Is without proper parental care, control, or education as required by law, or other
16 care and control necessary for the child's well-being because of the physical,
17 mental, emotional, or other illness or disability of the child's parent or parents,
18 and that such lack of care is not due to a willful act of commission or act of
19 omission by the child's parents, and care is requested by a parent;
20 e. Is in need of treatment and whose parents, guardian, or other custodian have
21 refused to participate in treatment as ordered by the juvenile court;
22 f. Was subject to prenatal exposure to chronic or severe use of alcohol or any
23 controlled substance as defined in chapter 19-03.1 in a manner not lawfully
24 prescribed by a practitioner;
25 g. Is present in an environment subjecting the child to exposure to a controlled
26 substance, chemical substance, or drug paraphernalia as prohibited by section
27 19-03.1-22.2; or
28 h. Is a victim of human trafficking as defined in title 12.1.
29 5. "Child in need of services" means a child who in any of the foregoing instances is in
30 need of treatment or rehabilitation:
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1 a. Is habitually and without justification truant from school subject to compulsory
2 school attendance and is absent from school without an authorized excuse more
3 than three days during a school year;
4 b. Is habitually disobedient of the reasonable and lawful commands of the child's
5 parent, guardian, or other custodian, including running away, and is ungovernable
6 or who is willfully in a situation dangerous or injurious to the health, safety, or
7 morals of the child or others;
8 c. Has committed an offense applicable only to a child, except for an offense
9 committed by a minor fourteen years of age or older under subsection 2 of
10 section 12.1-31-03 or an equivalent local ordinance or resolution; or
11 d. Is under the age of fourteen years and has purchased, possessed, smoked, or
12 used tobacco, a tobacco-related product, an electronic smoking device, or an
13 alternative nicotine product in violation of subsection 2 of section 12.1-31-03. As
14 used in this subdivision, "electronic smoking device" and "alternative nicotine
15 product" have the same meaning as in section 12.1-31-03; and
16 e. In any of the foregoing instances is in need of treatment or rehabilitation.
17 6. "Custodian" means a person, other than a parent or legal guardian, which stands in
18 loco parentis to the child and a person that has been given legal custody of the child
19 by order of a court.
20 7. "Delinquent act" means an act designated a crime under the law, including local
21 ordinances or resolutions of this state, or of another state if the act occurred in that
22 state, or under federal law.
23 8. "Delinquent child" means a child who has committed a delinquent act and is in need of
24 treatment or rehabilitation.
25 9. "Director" means the director of juvenile court or the director's designee.
26 10. "Diversion" means an intervention strategy that redirects a child away from formal
27 processing in the juvenile justice system, while still holding the child accountable for
28 that child's actions.
29 11. "Facility" means buildings, structures, or systems, including those for essential
30 administration and support, which are used to provide residential treatment for
31 children.
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1 12. "Host county" means the county within the human service zone in which the human
2 service zone administrative office is located and in which the human service zone
3 team members are employed.
4 13. "Human service zone" means a county or consolidated group of counties
5 administering human services within a designated area in accordance with an
6 agreement or plan approved by the department of health and human services.
7 14. "Individual justice planning" means a process to identify, accommodate, and develop
8 appropriate consequences for behaviors caused by or related to an individual's mental
9 or cognitive impairment.
10 15. "Juvenile court" means the district court of this state.
11 15.16. "Juvenile drug court" means a program established by the supreme court which is a
12 post-petition or post-adjudication program aimed at intervening in substance use
13 disorders through intense supervision and participation in recovery services.
14 16.17. "Proceeding" means any hearing conducted before a juvenile court or a referral for
15 service.
16 17.18. "Qualified residential treatment program" means a licensed or approved residence
17 providing an out-of-home treatment placement for children, including a
18 trauma-informed model.
19 18.19. "Relative" means:
20 a. The child's grandparent, great-grandparent, sibling, half-sibling, aunt, great-aunt,
21 uncle, great-uncle, nephew, niece, or first cousin;
22 b. An individual with a relationship to the child, derived through a current or former
23 spouse of the child's parent, similar to a relationship described in subdivision a;
24 c. An individual recognized in the child's community as having a relationship with
25 the child similar to a relationship described in subdivision a; or
26 d. The child's stepparent.
27 19.20. "Restorative justice" means a system of justice which focuses on the rehabilitation of
28 offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large.
29 20.21. "Shelter care" means temporary care of a child in physically unrestricted facilities.
30 21.22. "The court" means the district courts as designated by the North Dakota supreme
31 court which includes juvenile court as a subset of district court.
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1 22.23. "Willfully" has the meaning provided in section 12.1-02-02.
2 SECTION 2. A new subdivision to subsection 1 of section 27-20.2-05 of the North Dakota
3 Century Code is created and enacted as follows:
4 Make a referral for the child's participation in the individual justice planning
5 process.
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Statutes affected: INTRODUCED: 27-20.2-01
Enrollment: 27-20.2-01