2023 Tennessee Code › Title 37 - JUVENILES (§§ 37-1-NEW — 37-11-103) › Chapter 1 - JUVENILE COURTS AND PROCEEDINGS (§§ 37-1-NEW — 37-1-910) › Part 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 37-1-NEW — 37-1-189) › Section 37-1-137 - Commitment of delinquent children to the department of children's services

(a)
(1)
(A)
An order of the juvenile court committing a delinquent child to the custody of the department of children's services shall be for an indefinite time.
(B)
If a juvenile offender is tried and adjudicated delinquent in juvenile court for the offense of first degree murder, second degree murder, rape, aggravated rape, rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child, aggravated sexual battery, kidnapping, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, especially aggravated robbery, aggravated arson, aggravated burglary, especially aggravated burglary, commission of an act of terrorism, carjacking, or violations of §
39-17-417(b), (i) or (j)
, or an attempt to commit any such offenses, or has been previously adjudicated delinquent in three (3) felony offenses arising out of separate criminal episodes at least one (1) of which has resulted in institutional commitment to the department of children's services, or is within six (6) months of the child's eighteenth birthday at the time of the adjudication of the child's delinquency, the commitment may be for a determinate period of time but in no event shall the length of the commitment be greater than the sentence for the adult convicted of the same crime, nor shall such commitment extend past the offender's nineteenth birthday. Commitment under this section shall not exceed the sentences provided for by the Tennessee Criminal Sentencing Reform Act of 1989, compiled in title 40, chapter 35, and in no event shall a juvenile offender be sentenced to Range II or Range III.
(2)
However, no child shall be committed to such department when the court deems it in the best interest of the child without a pre-commitment report including, but not limited to:
(A)
Educational status;
(B)
Family background information;
(C)
Employment background;
(D)
Physical examination and report; and
(E)
Psychological report (if possible).
(3)
Such report shall be prepared by the probation officer assigned to the juvenile to be committed.
(4)
Notwithstanding subdivisions (a)(2) and (3), the information in a pre-commitment report shall be provided only when presently available and shall not be provided at an additional cost to the department.
(5)
The department may place the child in a suitable state institution, foster home or group home, or the department may purchase services from any agency, public or private, that is authorized by law to receive or provide care or services for children.
(6)
The commissioner, in consultation with the executive committee of the Tennessee council of juvenile and family court judges, shall promulgate rules and regulations relative to commitment criteria for the incarceration of juvenile offenders in facilities operated or managed by the department. All such rules and regulations shall be promulgated in accordance with the provisions of the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
(b)
(1)
Subject to subsection (c), a delinquent child committed to the custody of the department for an indefinite time shall be discharged or placed on home placement supervision after a maximum of six (6) months, excluding any amount of time that a child is absent from placement for whatever reason, unless:
(A)
The treatment and rehabilitation of the child require that the child remain in custody beyond six (6) months to complete an evidence-based program in a custodial setting addressing a treatment need identified by the previously administered validated risk and needs assessment;
(B)
The child is alleged to have committed a new delinquent act; or
(C)
The child is alleged to be an escapee from a secure juvenile facility or institution.
(2)
The commissioner shall prescribe procedures whereby the child's treatment, rehabilitation, and progress shall be reviewed monthly and a recommendation for or against home placement or discharge shall be made to the commissioner or the commissioner's designee at least quarterly.
(3)
The commissioner shall notify the committing court at least fifteen (15) days prior to the proposed discharge of a child under subdivision (b)(1).
(c)
(1)
(A)
The commissioner or the commissioner's designee, with the assent of the committing court, may make a home placement of a child under the continuing supervision of the department.
(B)
Notification of a home placement of a child shall be made in writing to the committing court at least fifteen (15) days prior to the proposed date of such placement. Unless the committing court makes an objection in writing to the commissioner or the commissioner's designee or sets a hearing within the fifteen-day period with such hearing to be held at the earliest possible date, the court shall be considered to have assented to the home placement and the child shall immediately be released to home placement supervision.
(C)
The first thirty (30) days after the child's return to home placement supervision shall be a trial home pass with the department retaining legal custody of the child. If the child successfully completes the trial home pass, at the end of the thirty-day trial home pass the child shall automatically continue on home placement supervision status, unless the court has ordered that supervision status is not necessary, and the department's legal custody of the child shall terminate. Such home placement supervision by the department shall continue until the court orders a discharge of such supervision under subdivision (g)(1).
(D)
If the committing court objects to the home placement supervision, such objections shall be made in writing to the commissioner or the commissioner's designee setting forth the reasons for such objections. A valid ground for such objection shall include, but not be limited to, consideration of the nature of the offense committed by the juvenile. No juvenile shall be released on home placement supervision if the committing court objects in the prescribed written manner. Upon receiving the objection from the committing court, the commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall review the child's file and consult with the committing judge regarding such denial in the form of a hearing set by either the court or by motion of the department or any attorney for the child.
(E)
If no agreement is reached between the department and the committing judge, then the commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall request a hearing on the proposed placement by a three-judge panel to be appointed by the executive committee of the Tennessee council of juvenile and family court judges. Such three-judge panel shall not include the committing judge. The panel will hear and resolve the controversy within thirty (30) days of receipt of the commissioner's or the commissioner's designee's request for a hearing by the executive secretary of the council and the decision of the panel shall be final.
(2)
In the event the juvenile offender is a person described in subdivision (a)(1)(B) and is given a determinate commitment, and the commissioner or the commissioner's designee is of the opinion that the juvenile offender is a fit subject to return to home placement prior to the achievement of committal reduction credits as set out in subsection (h), the commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall request a hearing before the judge of the juvenile court in which the original commitment occurred. The request shall state the reasons for recommending the early release placement and shall make specific recommendations as to where the child will be placed. A copy of the request for a hearing shall be supplied to the district attorney general. If, on review of the record, the court is of the opinion that the request is well taken and the district attorney general has no objection, the judge may order the early release placement without a hearing. Otherwise, the court shall schedule a hearing within fifteen (15) days of the receipt of the request for hearing. At the hearing, the department, the juvenile offender, and the state shall be given an opportunity to be heard in support of or in opposition to the proposed early release placement and all of the parties may subpoena witnesses to testify on any issue raised by the proposed placement. The court may make such orders pertaining to such placement as the court determines are justified under the proof produced at the hearing for such early release placement. The court's decision may be appealed under §
37-1-302
.
(d)
(1)
(A)
If the designee of the department supervising a delinquent child on home placement supervision has reasonable cause to believe that such child has violated the conditions of home placement supervision in an important respect after the trial home pass has ended, the designee may file a petition alleging a violation of home placement supervision; provided, that, unless a new petition has been filed alleging the child has committed a new delinquent offense or habitual and unlawful absence pursuant to §
49-6-3007
, the court, in its discretion, may direct the designee that, in some or all circumstances, such a petition should be filed only if the designee makes and documents attempts to address the noncompliant behavior and determines and documents the reasons for which court intervention is needed to address the noncompliance.
(B)
The court may require that the child be placed in detention pending adjudication of the petition, but only in accordance with §
37-1-114
. The department is prohibited from taking the child into custody until the court finds that the child has violated conditions of the home placement supervision by incurring an adjudication of delinquency for a new offense that meets the eligibility criteria for commitment to the department under §
37-1-131(a)(4)
and the court terminates the home placement supervision. Nothing in this subdivision (d)(1) shall prevent the transfer of a juvenile under §
37-1-134
.
(2)
No such court permission is required during the trial home pass and the department is authorized to remove the child from the home, but only if the child cannot be located by the designee after documented efforts to locate the child or a new petition has been filed alleging the child has committed a delinquent offense arising from a separate incident from the original petition. A notice of such removal and disruption of the trial home pass shall be filed with the court within ten (10) days as a violation allegation or other appropriate petition or motion and the legal custody of the department is not terminated. A review hearing on such action shall be held within thirty (30) days of such filing. Nothing in this subdivision (d)(2) shall prevent the transfer of a juvenile under §
37-1-134
.
(e)
The juvenile court that committed the delinquent child to the department retains jurisdiction to determine allegations of violation of home placement supervision. Such court shall schedule a hearing within seven (7) days of the time the petition is filed alleging a violation of home placement supervision and cause written notice to be served on the child, the child's parent or parents, guardian, or other custodian, and the department's designee a reasonable time before the hearing. The written notice shall contain a copy of the petition and any other written report or statement detailing the violation or violations as well as the time, place, and purpose of the hearing. At the hearing, the court shall allow the child to be heard in person and to present witnesses or documentary evidence. The child shall also have the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses.
(f)
(1)
If the court finds that no violation has occurred, the child shall be allowed to resume the former conditions of home placement.
(2)
If the court finds that a violation occurred because the child has been adjudicated for a new offense eligible for commitment to the department under §
37-1-131(a)(4)
, the court may order that the child be re-committed to the department or utilize any other disposition option permitted by law. Such order shall contain the reasons relied on for terminating the home placement. Upon any such termination and commitment to the department, the child may be placed as the commissioner or the commissioner's designee may direct.
(3)
(A)
If the court finds that a violation occurred but the child has not been adjudicated for a new offense that is eligible for commitment to the department, the court may modify conditions of home placement consistent with the results of the previously administered validated risk and needs assessment, including ordering a transfer or grant pursuant to §
37-1-131(a)(1)
, but shall not order that the child be re-committed to the department or otherwise remove the child from the child's home, including the home of a parent, guardian, or other legal custodian, unless the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the child is in imminent risk of danger to the child's health or safety and needs specific treatment or services that are available only if the child is placed in the custody of the department.
(B)
A child placed in the custody of the department under this subdivision (f)(3) shall remain in custody so long as necessary to complete the treatment or services, which shall be evidence-based and provided by a qualified provider, but shall remain in custody no longer than six (6) months; provided, that the court may order that the child remain in custody for up to an additional six (6) month period if the court finds after a hearing or stipulation that:
(i)
The child needs treatment or services that are available only if the child is in custody; and
(ii)
The treatment or services the child needs are evidence-based and will be provided by a qualified provider.
(4)
The child may appeal the disposition of the court as provided in §
37-1-159
.
(g)
(1)
The commissioner or the commissioner's designee may discharge a child placed on state probation pursuant to §
37-1-131(a)(2)(A)
or under home placement supervision status by the department after legal custody ends pursuant to subdivision (c)(1)(C) and thereby terminate supervision of the child by the department. Notification of discharge of a child shall be made in writing to the committing court at least fifteen (15) days prior to the proposed discharge. Unless the committing court makes an objection in writing to the commissioner or the commissioner's designee or sets a hearing within the fifteen-day period with such hearing to be held at the earliest possible date, the court shall be considered to have assented to the discharge from home placement supervision status of the department or from state probation, and such supervision by the department shall terminate.
(2)
Upon receiving the written objection from the committing court, the commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall review the child's file and within fifteen (15) days of receipt of such objection may file a motion for a hearing. The court shall hold such hearing within thirty (30) days of the motion filing. A written decision will be rendered within ten (10) days of that hearing. If the department does not concur with the hearing decision, it shall notify the executive committee of the Tennessee council of juvenile and family court judges which shall appoint a panel of three (3) juvenile or family court judges to review the commissioner's final decision. Such three-judge panel will hear and resolve, by a majority vote, the controversy within thirty (30) days of the filing of the commissioner's request. The committing judge shall not be a member of the three-judge panel. The determination of the three-judge panel shall be final.
(3)
In the event the juvenile offender is a person described in subdivision (a)(1)(B) and is given a determinate commitment, and the commissioner or the commissioner's designee is of the opinion that the juvenile offender is a fit subject for discharge, the commissioner or the commissioner's designee shall request a hearing before the judge of the juvenile court in which the original commitment occurred. The request shall state the reasons for recommending the discharge and shall make specific recommendations as to where the child will be placed. A copy of the request for a hearing shall be supplied to the district attorney general. If, on review of the record, the court is of the opinion that the request is well taken and the district attorney general has no objection, the judge may order the placement without a hearing. Otherwise, the court shall schedule a hearing within fifteen (15) days of the receipt of the request for hearing. At the hearing, the department, the juvenile offender and the state shall be given an opportunity to be heard in support of or in opposition to the proposed discharge and all of the parties may subpoena witnesses to testify on any issue raised by the proposed discharge. The court may make such orders pertaining to the continued commitment or discharge as the court determines are justified under the proof produced at the hearing. The court's decision shall be appealable under the provisions of §
37-1-302
.
(h)
(1)
Any juvenile offender who is given a determinate commitment shall be eligible to receive time credits toward the determinate sentence imposed. Such time credits shall be awarded for good institutional behavior or satisfactory performance, or both, within institutional programs. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, awarded time credits shall operate to reduce the time a juvenile offender must serve in the department on the determinate sentence.
(2)
Each juvenile offender who exhibits good institutional behavior or exhibits satisfactory performance, or both, within a program may be awarded time credits toward the sentence imposed, varying between one (1) day and sixteen (16) days for each month served, with not more than eight (8) days for each month served for good institutional behavior and not more than eight (8) days for each month served for satisfactory program performance in accordance with criteria established by the department. No juvenile offender shall have the right to any such time credits nor shall any juvenile offender have the right to participate in any particular program and may be transferred from one (1) program to another without cause.
(3)
Such sentence credits shall not be earned or credited automatically, but rather shall be awarded on a monthly basis to a juvenile offender at the discretion of the responsible superintendent in accordance with the criteria established by the department, and only after receipt by the superintendent of written documentation evidencing the juvenile offender's good institutional behavior or satisfactory program performance, or both.
(4)
Such sentence credits may not be awarded for a period of less than one (1) calendar month or for any month in which a juvenile offender commits a major violation of which such juvenile offender is found guilty. No sentence credits for good institutional behavior may be awarded for any month in which a juvenile offender commits any disciplinary violation of which such juvenile offender is found guilty.
(5)
A juvenile offender may be deprived of those sentence credits previously awarded pursuant to this subsection (h) only for the commission of any major infraction designated by the department as a major violation, or refusal to participate in a program.
(6)
All determinately sentenced juvenile offenders, including those juveniles who are currently serving their sentences, are eligible for the sentence reduction credits authorized by this subsection (h). However, sentence reduction credits authorized by this subsection (h) may be awarded only for conduct or performance, or both, from and after July 1, 1987.
Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 611,s 1, eff. 7/1/2024.
Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 312, s 8, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1052, Sec.s 41, eff. 7/1/2018 and Secs.s 40, s 42 eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by 2018 Tenn. Acts, ch. 1052, s 39, eff. 7/1/2019.
Acts 1970, ch. 600, § 37; impl. am. Acts 1971, ch. 76, § 1; 1972, ch. 786, §§ 1, 2; 1975, ch. 326, § 3; 1976, ch. 745, §§ 3, 4, 5; 1977, ch. 171, §§ 1, 2; 1979, ch. 297, § 1; 1980, ch. 907, § 1; T.C.A., § 37-237; Acts 1985, ch. 441, §§ 3-5; 1987, ch. 56, § 1; 1988, ch. 979, §§ 6, 7; 1989, ch. 278, § 44; 1990, ch. 958, §§ 2-4; 1990, ch. 982, § 3; 1993, ch. 276, § 3; 1996, ch. 1079, §§ 73, 96-98, 100-102; 2005, ch. 265, § 3; 2011 , ch. 486, §§ 4-7.