(a) This part shall be construed to effectuate the following public purposes:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 37-1-101

  • Child: means :
    (A) A person under eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102
  • Custody: means the control of actual physical care of the child and includes the right and responsibility to provide for the physical, mental, moral and emotional well-being of the child. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102
  • 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.
  • Juvenile court: means the general sessions court in all counties of this state, except in those counties and municipalities in which special juvenile courts are provided by law, and "judge" means judge of the juvenile court. See Tennessee Code 37-1-102
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) Provide for the care, protection, and wholesome moral, mental and physical development of children coming within its provisions;
(2) Consistent with the protection of the public interest, remove from children committing delinquent acts the taint of criminality and the consequences of criminal behavior and substitute therefor a program of treatment, training and rehabilitation;
(3) Achieve the foregoing purposes in a family environment whenever possible, separating the child from such child’s parents only when necessary for such child’s welfare or in the interest of public safety;
(4) Provide a simple judicial procedure through which this part is executed and enforced and in which the parties are assured a fair hearing and their constitutional and other legal rights recognized and enforced;
(5) Provide simple interstate procedures that permit resort to cooperative measures among the juvenile courts of the several states when required to effectuate the purposes of this part;
(6) Generally deinstitutionalize children who have not been found to be delinquent; and
(7) Provide developmentally appropriate interventions based on current scientific research in related fields, including neuroscience, psychology, sociology, and criminology.
(b) It is the intention of the general assembly in the passage of this part to promulgate laws relative to children that are to be uniform in application throughout the state.
(c) Each of the juvenile courts in all the counties and municipalities of the state as described in § 37-1-102 have all of the jurisdiction, authority, rights, powers and duties prescribed by this part, and any additional jurisdiction, authority, rights, powers or duties conferred by special or private act upon any of the juvenile courts in the state are not intended to be invalidated or repealed by this part, except where inconsistent or in conflict with any provisions of this part.
(d) Whenever a juvenile court conducts a child custody proceeding, as defined in § 36-6-205, the court shall ensure compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act, compiled in 25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.
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